Software manual - RFDesign Files
Contents
1. Reg S Register Description Default Val Min Val Max Val same on all modems in network So FORMAT This is for EEPROM version can t be changed Firmware V N A N A No S1 SERIAL_SPEED Serial speed in one byte form 57 2 115 No S2 AIR_SPEED Air data rate in one byte form 64 128 2 250 Yes s3 NETID Network ID It should be the same on both 25 0 499 Yes modems S4 TXPOWER Transmit power in dBm Maximum is 30dBm 20 277 0 30 No S5 ECC Enables or disables the golay error correcting 0 0 1 Yes code S6 MAVLINK Enables or disables the MAVLink framing and 1 0 0 1 No reporting S7 OP_RESEND Opportunic Resend 0 0 1 No S8 MIN_FREQ Min freq in KHz 915 000 902 000 927 000 Yes s9 MAX_FREQ Max freq in KHz 928 000 903 000 928 000 Yes S10 NUM_CHANNELS Number of frequency hopping channels 50 20 5 50 Yes 11 DUTY_CYCLE The percentage of time to allow transmit 100 10 100 No 12 LBT_RSSI Listen before talk threshold 0 0 1 Yes This parameter shouldn t be changed 13 MANCHESTER Manchester encoding This parameter shouldn t 0 0 1 Yes be changed S14 RTSCTS Ready To Send and Clear To Send This 0 0 1 No parameter shouldn t be changed 15 NODEID Node ID Base node ID is 0 One node must be 27 0 29 N A acting as a base for a multipoint environment to work NODECOUNT must be updated first before updating this parameter with bigger number S16 NODEDESTINATION Remote node ID to communicate with Set the 655352. a RFD900a Pin Name Direction Description Max Voltage 1 GND Power Ground ov 2 GND Power Ground ov 3 CTS Either Clear to send 5V 4 Vcc Power Power supply 5V 5 Vusb Power Power supply from USB 5V 6 Vusb Power Power supply from USB 5V 7 RX Input UART Data In 5V 8 P2 3 Either Digital I O 5V 9 TX Output UART Data Out 5V 10 P2 2 Either Digital I O 5V 11 RTS Either Request to send 5V 12 P2 1 Either Digital I O 5V 13 PO 1 Either Digital I O 5V 14 P2 0 Either Digital I O 5V 15 P2 6 Either Digital I O 5V 16 GND Ground OV e ADA oO oO l o o O O0O0O O e KXXX XKE Figure 1 1 Physical Pin Layout of the RFD900 Radio Modem Pin 1 of the FTDI cable black wire should connect to pin 1 of the RFD900 header In order to power the modem from the 5V USB power a jumper is needed to connect pins 4 and 6 To power the modem from an external 5V supply connect the power to pins 2 and 4 as shown in Figure 1 1 In case there is need to force the modem into boot mode short circuit pads 1 and 2 labelled BOOT on the 9 way test pads When in boot mode the RED LED will be dimly lit 3 l RFDesign Pty Ltd 16 06 2014 RFDesign Pty Ltd RFD modem software manual b RFD900u Direction Description Max Voltage 8 GND Black Power Ground ov 7 CTS White Either Clear to send 5V 6 Vcc Red Power Power supply 5V 5 RX White Input UART Data In 5V 4 TX Blue Output UART Data Ou
3. 0 29 No i value to 65535 to broadcast to all nodes Cannot be the same as NODEID NODECOUNT must be updated first before updating this parameter with bigger number S17 SYNCANY If set to 1 allows the modem to send data to all o7 0 1 No non base nodes without finding the base It is strongly recommended to set the value to 0 to avoid unwanted data communication confusion ona multipoint environment S18 NODECOUNT The total number of nodes 37 2 30 Yes RO TARGET_RSSI Optimal RSSI value to try to sustain off 255 255 50 255 No R1 HYSTERESIS_RSSI Amount of change before power levels altered 50 20 50 No Notes Defaults for firmware version 2 and later available only for firmware version 2 and later SECC Software Detection and correction extra packet information twice the packet length is sent to allow the recovery of corrupted packets injects RSSI packet when Mavlink protocol used and heartbeat packet detected Opportunicresend allows the node to resent packets if it has spare bandwidth Table 3 5 RFD900 parameters 9 l RFDesign Pty Ltd 16 06 2014 RFDesign Pty Ltd RFD modem software manual 4 Air Data Rate An air speed of 64kps will give a range of about 40km depending on antenna If the air speed is set to be lower the range of the wireless link increases but the amount of data that you can send will be limited Therefore one has to compromise between range and data rate The data rates
4. that you can choose are only limited to 2 4 8 16 19 24 32 48 64 96 128 192 and 250 The air data rate is chosen depending on e the range that you need e the data rate that you will be sending e whether you send data in one direction or both e whether you have enabled ECC or not e whether you have APM firmware with adaptive flow control 10 l RFDesign Pty Ltd 16 06 2014 RFDesign Pty Ltd RFD modem software manual 5 Network Options RFD900 can be implemented in either simple pair V1 x V2 x or multipoint network V2 x Only Node 0 Node 1 Figure 5 1 Two node Network Setup Node 1 SyncAny 0 Node 4 SyncAny 1 Figure 5 2 Five node Network Setup A few notes on the multipoint network see Figure 5 2 e In order for Node 1 to communicate with Node 2 it has to be able to see Node 0 the base and Node 2 e f Node 4 cannot see Node 0 to communicate with Node 1 it has to be able to see Node 1 and set the SyncAny parameter to 1 refer to Figure 8 3 RFD900 parameters e Please note that there is a maximum number of one node which can have SyncAny 1 parameter in a network to avoid data corruption e More nodes will reduce the bandwidth 11 l RFDesign Pty Ltd 16 06 2014 RFDesign Pty Ltd RFD modem software manual 6 Frequently Asked Questions FAQ i What does a solid RED LED mean The modem is in bootloader mode ready to accept firmware Please use the modem configuration t
5. ON 0 MAVLINK 1 12 RFDesign Pty Ltd 16 06 2014 RFDesign Pty Ltd RFD modem software manual This will allow the airborne modem to handover to multiple ground stations as it flies from the coverage area of one ground station to another Both ground stations can be connected and can control the Airborne platform simultaneously APM Planner using Mavlink 7 Useful Links viii RFD900 Firmware http rfdesign com au firmware V1 x firmware is standard SiK open source V2 x firmware is multipoint SiK MP SiK ix RFD900 Modem Tools http rfdesign com au downloads FTDI Cable http www ftdichip com Support Documents DataSheets Cables DS_TTL 232R_CABLES pdf x Software Solution Sik V1 x https github com RFDesign Sik xi 3DR Radio Configuration Tool http vps oborne me 3drradioconfig zip 13 l RFDesign Pty Ltd 16 06 2014
6. RFD radio modem software manual For RFD900A RFD900u RFD900 radio modems RFDesign Pty Ltd 6 97 Jijaws Street Sumner Park QLD 4074 rfdesign com au RFDesign Pty Ltd RFD modem software manual 1 Pin Signals and Layout eirean NEEE E AANA 3 Al RED QO OAc ccetecesesecee dectarsuntcecasestschccavcts a a E 3 b RED QQOU neiise E E avbave S vdivea teda edna AE eaa 4 2 SoftWare GCS SUPPO ains ine a AE a E E EE ee S 5 3 AT Command Siscie e EAE EE NAE ERE NEEE AET A E E anid ee ca 6 a Status COMMANAScecccsctsceties sac cexvaviascadein indexes sandedaeiesassemiansiadiet lean dnacentasancadteinds 6 DD User PINS uesia n segue tiv dante inte atdeeauvadsinns a shiva staaaauta sahaewuviaasaetiniaataeeania naaeeutnd eh 7 c Dynamic transmit power CONKIOL cceeeececessstececescseececceesneeeececeaeeeceseueeecesseneeeeceeeeneeeeeeeseneeees 8 d Paramete scoor E E E E E N E O 9 4 Air Data Rat ysosis iisi aa iar o a aa n aiiai 10 5 Network Options ccccccccccsscccccsesneeeeeeeeneeeeeeenneeeeeeeaeeeeeeeeaeeeeceeeaaeeeeesesaeeeeseeeaeeeesaesaaeeeeseeeaeeeessenaes 11 6 Frequently Asked Questions FAQ ccscccsssssececesesnececceeneeeecseaaeeecssesaeeeecseaaeeeeeseaaaeeesseesaeeeeenenaes 12 He seful LINKS saaana aar aa sesde veecuces date a Ea anaes apewsi seuanvits E e a EEE 13 2 l RFDesign Pty Ltd 16 06 2014 RFDesign Pty Ltd RFD modem software manual 1 Pin Signals and Layout
7. arameters in Table 3 5 AT Command Description RTI x Shows the radio version RTI2 x Shows the board type RTI3 x Shows board frequency RTI4 x Shows board version RTI5 x Shows all user settable EEPROM parameters RTI6 x Displays TDM timing report RTI7 x Displays RSSI signal report RTO x Exits AT command mode on the remote node RTSn x Displays radio parameter number n RTSn X x Sets radio parameter number n to X RTZLx Reboots the radio RT amp WLx Writes current parameters to EEPROM RT amp FLx Resets all parameters to factory defaults RT amp T RSSI x Enables RSSI debugging report RT amp T TDM x Enables TDM debugging report RT amp TLx Disables debugging report b User Pins User Pins this allows the user to control the extra pins on the modem with AT commands or RT Table 3 2 RT Commands and their description through the radio link AT Function Description Command PP Print Print all Pin Settings Pl x Input Set Pin x to Input PR x Read Read Pin X value When set to input PO x Output Set Pin x to Output Default can only be controlled by ATPC PC x 1 Control Turn pin x on Output Mode Set internal pull up resistor Input Mode PC x 0 Control Turn pin 2 off Output Mode Set internal pull down resistor Input Mode 7 l RFDesign Pty Ltd 16 06 2014 Table 3 3 RT Commands and their descriptio
8. n Pin RFD900 Port RFD900u Port 2 3 1 0 2 2 1 1 2 1 2 0 2 6 OW RB WI NI R O 0 1 Table 3 4 Pin to Port Map RFDesign Pty Ltd RFD modem software manual c Dynamic transmit power control By setting RO and R1 in Table 3 5 the modem is able to change its transmit power level automatically to reduce current consumption while maintaining a good RF link This is done by checking the signal strength of the link and adjusting the transmit power up and down as required The maximum transmitted power will never exceed the setting in register S4 transmit power By default register RO RSSI target is 255 which will drive the modem to its maximum permissible power level The RSSI target RO and RSSI Hysteresis R1 values need to be tested in the application to determine suitable link margin is maintained An initial starting points for dynamic power control are RO 150 R1 20 Typical ranges of RSSI in a link are 40 60 to maintain a link gt 60 for data transmission 217 for maximum reportable RSSI on the RFD900 A target RSSI of 150 will give a good starting point for link tuning In the event the modems lose link they will revert to maximum set power S4 8 l RFDesign Pty Ltd 16 06 2014 RFDesign Pty Ltd RFD modem software manual d Parameters Table 3 5 shows a table with details about the parameters that can be set in the RFD900 modem
9. ool to upload the latest version ii How many antennas do I need to use One is the minimum Two is recommended iii How do I connect the FTDI cable to the modem The black cable of the FTDI pin 1 should connect to pin 1 on the modem see above iv What do I need to upload the firmware or to change the modem configuration Download the latest firmware see Useful Links Download the RFD900 Modem Tools see Useful Links Connect the FTDI cable to the modem and to a computer Use the RFD900 Modem Tools to upload the latest firmware or to change the modem configuration see RFDS00 Modem Tools User Manual v What should do if the RFD900 Modem Tools application keeps giving me back error messages Make sure to connect the FTDI cable firmly into the modem Make sure you choose the correct COM port from the COM dropdown box and the correct Baud Rate Try for two more trials and if it still doesn t work disconnect and reconnect the modem vi upgraded to V2 x firmware and the modems don t connect anymore The default setting for a modem is to have a NODEID set to 1 A network must have one node set to 0 to be the base The base node defines the synchronisation for the whole network of nodes vii How do I configure 2 base stations and one Airborne platform with 3 modems Set the Airborne platform as follows NODEID 0 NODEDESTINATION 65535 MAVLINK 1 Set the ground station as follows NODEID 1 or 2 NODEDESTINATI
10. se steps e Use the command ATn X where n is the register number including the first character and X is the value you want to set the register to e Use the command AT amp W to write the new values to the RFD900 modem e Use the command ATZ to reboot the RFD900 modem a Status Commands Table 3 1 shows a table that gives a list of AT commands and their description AT Command Description ATI Shows the radio version ATI2 Shows the board type ATI3 Shows board frequency ATI4 Shows board version ATIS Shows all user settable EEPROM parameters ATI6 Displays TDM timing report ATI7 Displays RSSI signal report ATO Exits AT command mode ATSn Displays radio parameter number n ATSn X Sets radio parameter number n to X ATZ Reboots the radio AT amp W Writes current parameters to EEPROM AT amp F Resets all parameters to factory defaults AT amp T RSSI Enables RSSI debugging report AT amp T TDM Enables TDM debugging report AT amp T Disables debugging report Table 3 1 AT Status Commands 6 l RFDesign Pty Ltd 16 06 2014 RFDesign Pty Ltd RFD modem software manual Table 3 2 shows a table that gives a list of RT commands and their description The x parameter is optional where x is the node ID when using version 2 For example use RTI 1 to get RTI value for node 1 or simply use RTI to get the RTI value for the node set in the local NODEDESTINATION see RFD900 P
11. t Its default serial port settings are as follows e 57600 baud rate e No parity e 8 data bits e 1stop bit The RFD900 Radio Modem has many software features which include e Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum e Transparent Serial Link e Configuration by simple AT commands for local radio RT Commands for remote radio e User configurable serial data rates and air data rates e Error correction routines Mavlink protocol framing user selectable e Mavlink radio status reporting Local RSSI Remote RSSI Local Noise Remote Noise e Automatic antenna diversity switching on a packet basis in real time e Automatic duty cycle throttling based on radio temperature in order to avoid overheating 5 l RFDesign Pty Ltd 16 06 2014 RFDesign Pty Ltd RFD modem software manual 3 AT Commands The RFD900 modem can support the Hayes AT modem command set for configuration The AT command mode can be entered by using the sequence When doing this you have to wait for 1 second before and after entering the command mode in order to prevent data being interpreted as data When you are successfully in the AT command mode an OK prompt will be displayed on the screen and the RFD900 modem will stop displaying information from the other modem Whilst in AT mode you can use the AT commands to control the local RFD900 modem or the RT commands to control the remote modem To set certain registers to a particular value follow the
12. t 5V 3 RTS White Either Request to send 5V 2 P1 0 Blue Either Digital I O 5V 1 P1 1 Black Either Digital I O 5V Table 1 1 Description on 8 Pin Connector Pin 1 SIRTS_EXT Lie ExT fo 4 10m SIRX_EXT9 Figure b 1 Bottom Pin Layout 3 O 5 2 Pin 8 bik A 2 J 1 BICTS_EX lg V 1 GND Pin 1 O Figure b 2 Top Pin Layout Figure b 3 Physical Pin Layout In case there is need to force the modem into boot mode short circuit Pins 1 and 2 or Pads labelled CTS and GND on the back of the modem BIG Pads on edge of board 4 RFDesign Pty Ltd 16 06 2014 RFDesign Pty Ltd RFD modem software manual 2 Software GCS Support The software solution see Useful Links is an open source development which is also compatible with RFD900 Modem Tools see Useful Links and the 3DR Radio Configuration see Useful Links from 3D Robotics It is called SiK and was created by Mike Smith and improved on by Andrew Tridgell and RFDesign A boot loader and interface is available using RFD900 Modem Tools and field upgrade of the modem firmware via the serial port The RFD900 Radio Modem is compatible with many configuration methods like the AT Commands and APM Planner The AT Commands can be used to change parameters such as power levels air data rates serial speeds etc Integrated support for configuring the RFD900 Radio Modem is supported by the APM Planner with other GCS solutions in developmen
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