Campbell Scientific RF500M Radio Modem - Manual (Page 15)

Section 3. Assembling the
Radiotelemetry Network
This section provides a logical order for RF network assembly and deployment. Details of
specific components in the system are described in Section 2 “Radiotelemetry Network
Components.” Section 2 is cross-referenced throughout this assembly section.
3.1 Final Layout
The initial locations of the base, field, and repeater stations have likely been
determined already. Locate RF stations on an area map, preferably a
topographic map. Draw a line along every communication path. Each field
station must have a path connecting it back to the base station. No path can be
going through a mountain or large obstacle; this would negate the line-of-sight
requirement. A station may need to be moved or a repeater station may need to
be added if this requirement is not met.
At each station there is an RF modem. Each modem requires a unique ID
number (RF ID). A valid RF ID is a number with the range of 1 to 255. On
the map, label the base station and the remaining stations with different ID
numbers. Later, each modem will be set with the corresponding ID number.
The RF ID, similar to a phone number, allows the base station to call many
different field stations.
3.2 Configure the RF500M
3.2.1 Device Configuration Utility
Device Configuration Utility software is used to configure the RF500M
modem. Device Configuration Utility is included with LoggerNet or it can be
downloaded for free from the Campbell Scientific web site
(http://www.campbellsci.com). The configuration options can be seen in the
following figure:
3-1