Specifications

RV-M7 Technical Manual
56
13. SkyLine Compatibility
13.1 General
The M7 RF modem has built-in compatibility with a radio modem made by Sonik Technologies,
Vytek Wireless, and Cal Amp called the SkyLine. In most applications, Raveon’s M7 modem can
communicate with SkyLine modems, provided the M7 is properly configured. There are two
versions of the Skyline, a wide-band version running at 9600 bps over the air, and a narrow-band
version running at 5142bps over the air.
13.2 Configuring M7 to Communicate with a SkyLine
To configure the M7 modem to talk to an old SkyLine modem, the user must configure the M7 with
these commands:
ATR2 7 This command tells the M7 modem to operate with an over-the-air baud
rate of 5124 bits per second. This is the baud-rate of all narrow-band
(12.5Khz spaced) SkyLine radio modems. Wide-band SkyLine radios
operated at 9600 baud over the air. The command to set the M7 to 9600
baud over the air is ATR2 5.
ATR5 8 This command tells the M7 modem to send 8 bytes of pre-amble before
every transmission.
MYID 1234 The MYID of the M7 modem is set with the ATMY command or the MYID
command. The default MYID of the SkyLine was 1234.
TOID FFFF The TOID of the M7 modem is set with the ATDT command or the TOID
command. The default TOID of the SkyLine was FFFF (broadcast address).
A quick-configure command is included in the M7, to allow it to be easily switch to the M7 mode.
The command is “SKYLINE”. When in the configuration mode, enter SKYLINE, and the modem will
reconfigure itself as a narrow-band SkyLine modem, with TOID = FFFF, MYID=1234, 80 byte packets,
20mS serial port time out, channel 1 frequency, over-the-air baud rate 5142.
14. Antenna Information
Key to a successful installation is the choice and installation of a good antenna system. A good
quality antenna can more than double the range of a radio system. Properly locating the antenna is
vital to creating a quality radio link, and a poor installation can decrease the range of the system by
as much at 90%.
Use these guidelines to evaluate your antenna system design, and be sure contact a quality radio
communication equipment distributor such as Talley Electronics (http://www.talleycom.com ) to
help choose the proper antenna for your system.
To increase your communications range, located the antenna high as needed, practical, safe, and
allowed by your license. On fixed base-station applications, you may utilize an antenna with gain.