Campbell Scientific NL100 Network Link Interface - Manual (Page 26)

NL100/105 Network Link Interface
3.2.3 MD485 Connection from NL100/105 to Datalogger
Campbell Scientific's RS485 communication device, the MD485, can be
attached to an NL100/105 to provide a communication link to one or more
dataloggers. The MD485 has three communication ports: RS485 (two
terminals but the same physical port), CS I/O, and RS232. It can be configured
for communication on any two of its three ports at one time. The most typical
use of the MD485 is to set up a network of dataloggers linked together in an
RS485 network. However, you can also attach a datalogger or other
compatible peripheral to the CS I/O port or the RS-232 port of the MD485.
The MD485 can be configured to communicate in a transparent (point to point)
mode, as an MD9 emulator, or as a peripheral in a PakBus network. For
transparent or PakBus communication, the MD485 is attached to the
NL100/105's RS485 port using a 3-wire shielded cable (i.e., a 2 twisted pair
shielded cable). For MD9 emulation, at least two MD485s are required. One
MD485 is attached to the NL100/105's RS232 port using an SC12 cable. This
MD485 acts as a base MD9 device, since the NL100/105 is, in itself, not
capable of MD9 communication. A second MD485 is attached to each of the
dataloggers.
An appendix in the MD485 manual provides complete information on setting
up the NL100/105 and the MD485s for each of the above configurations, along
with information on the settings used in LoggerNet.
3.2.4 RF Connection from NL100/105 to Datalogger
Interfacing the NL100/105 to an RF Base station enables wireless
communication to remote datalogger stations over a TCP/IP network. The
preferred configuration uses the NL100/105's RS-232 port (DTE) for
connection to the RF Base as follows:
For connecting to the RS-232 port (DCE) of the RF4xx series or RF450 Spread
Spectrum radios, a standard RS-232 serial cable (CSI# 10873 or equivalent) is
used.
For connecting to the RS-232 port (DTE) on an RF500M RF Modem, a null-
modem RS-232 serial cable (CSI# 13657 or equivalent) must be used. If
connecting to the CSI/O port on the RF500M, an SC532A 9-Pin Peripheral to
RS-232 interface adapter and standard serial cables are required.
When connecting to an RF310B Base Station or its predecessors
(or directly to an RF310M RF Modem via an SC532A), the RTS
line in the standard RS-232 serial cable (pin seven on a 9-pin
connector or pin four on a 25-pin connector) must be disabled.
This is done to prevent driving the SDE signal (pin 6) on the RF
Modem's CSI/O port high and inhibiting the ME communication
cycle. NOTE
If circumstances should require the utilization of the NL100/105's CS I/O port
for connection to an RF base, please contact a Campbell Scientific
Applications Engineer for information about how this might be achieved.
The configuration of the Setup window in LoggerNet will vary depending on
the equipment and configuration settings employed. Please consult the
relevant manual(s) for configuration specifics. Figure 5 depicts the LoggerNet
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