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Product of the month: Model 1448 Radio Range Test Set

(08/04/2005)

Geomation has recently introduced the model 1448 Radio Range Test Set in order to test in the field the effective range of the Spread Spectrum radios used in an OutDAQ network.

The test set consists in two small suitcases that can easily be carried to the field. Each suitcase, about 18x12x8 in, contains two radios: a model 1440 RML (900 MHz) identical to the one used normally on the Modbus link between a host computer and a 3300 RTU and a model 1443 RXB (2.4GHz) identical to the one used normally on the i/oXBUS link between a 3300 RTU and the i/o Module assemblies to which transducers are connected. The Radio Range Test Set is primarily intended to test the effective range of these links at the actual job site with the actual field conditions including the topography, thereby facilitating the estimation of a job and the selection of the required hardware.

A radio range test is conducted by setting up two tripods, also supplied by Geomation, on which antennas, either omni-directional or directional depending on the application, can be mounted up to an height of 10 ft. Different set-ups could also be used if the antenna heights to be tested were higher than 10 ft. The tripods are positioned at each end of the radio range path to be tested and the Radio Range Test suitcases are then connected to the antenna cables of each of the two tripods.. A laptop connected to one of the two suitcases uses then a utility software program to send hundreds of radio messages back and forth between the two suitcases through either the Modbus link radios or the i/oXBUS link radios, depending on which of the two links is being tested. The program compares the number of messages sent and received and comes up with a percentage of successful transmissions, which should be as close to 100 % as possible.

The picture below illustrates an actual radio range test setup in the field, showing a tripod with an omni-directional antenna, the radio range test set in the black Pelican suitcase in the front and the notebook PC connected to the suitcase.