GE MDS DS-TD220 User Manual
MDS TD 220
217–222 MHz Data Transceiver
Start-Up Guide
Firmware Release 1.x.x
MDS 05-4818A01, Rev. 02
OCTOBER 2008
DRAFT
OPERATIONAL & SAFETY NOTICES
RF Exposure
Concentrated energy from a directional antenna may pose a health hazard to
humans. Do not allow people to come closer to the antenna than the distances
listed in the table below when the transmitter is operating. More information on
RF exposure can be found online at the following website:
www.fcc.gov/oet/info/documents/bulletins.
Antenna Gain vs. Recommended Safety Distance
Device complies with Power Density requirements at 20 cm
No
separation:
Required separation distance for 9 dBi antenna (in m): 2.53
Above data based on a 30-watt output level with a 100% duty cycle.
FCC Part 15 Notice
The transceiver is approved under Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following two conditions: (1) this device may not cause harmful interference, and (2) this device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired operation. Any unauthorized modification
or changes to this device without the express approval of Microwave Data Systems may void the user’s
authority to operate this device. Furthermore, this device is intended to be used only when installed in
accordance with the instructions outlined in this manual. Failure to comply with these instructions may
void the user’s authority to operate this device.
INTRODUCTION
This guide presents basic installation and operating instructions for the
GE MDS TD 220 Series wireless transceiver.
The TD 220 operates in two bands and power levels:
• 25-Watts in the 220-222 MHz range
• 2-Watts in the 217-220 MHz range
The radio is a GMSK unit intended for bridging ITCS messages over
the air between locomotives and wayside devices. The data interface
is Ethernet, with UDP-encapsulated ITCS message payload.
Figure 1. TD 220 Data Transceiver
NOTE:
Each second is divided into 8 133-byte time slots. The first of the 8
timeslots each second is always reserved for bases to transmit beacon
information to the mobiles in the area. Following the beacon are 4 (or
5) time slots that are always reserved for mobiles to transmit. At the
end of each second, are 3 (or 2) time slots that can be used by bases or
mobiles. These slots are used with the following priority: the previous
base, the current base, and then mobiles. In other words, during second
1 in the table below, base A actually has priority over the last three
slots. If A does not use them, B can use them. If B does not use them,
mobiles can. Bases reserve these time slots with flags in the beacon.
This scheme maximizes the potential for utilizing all slots.
05-4819A01, Rev. 01 TD220 Installation/Operation Guide
Some features may not be available on all units, based on the
options purchased and the applicable regulatory constraints
for the region in which the radio will operate.
1
1
DATA INTERFACES
DB-25
Figure 10 shows the pin arrangement for the DB-25
connector. Table 1 lists the pin functions and shows
FAC E
DATA INTER-
input/output data for the connector.
Invisible place holder
13
121110
25
Figure 2. DB-25 Pin Arrangement
(As viewed from outside the radio)
Table 1. Data Interface Pinouts
Pin No. Signal Name and Description Input/
COM3_DCD —Reserved. Input
2
3
4
COM2_TXD —Descriptive text to be supplied. Input
COM2_RXD —Descriptive text to be supplied. Output
COM2_RTS —Descriptive text to be supplied. Input
987654321
242322
20
21
181716
19
14
15
Output
2 TD220 Installation/Operation Guide 05-4819A01, Rev. 01
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
5
Table 1. Data Interface Pinouts
COM2_CTS —Descriptive text to be supplied. Output
6
7
8
9
COM3_TXD —Reserved. Output
Ground —Descriptive text to be supplied. --
COM2_DCD —Descriptive text to be supplied. Output
COM3_CTS —Reserved. Input
COM3_RTS —Reserved. Output
COM3_DTR —Reserved. Output
COM3_RXD —Reserved. Input
Ground —Descriptive text to be supplied. --
ETH_TX_H —Descriptive text to be supplied. Output
ETH_TX_L —Descriptive text to be supplied. Output
ETH_RX_H —Descriptive text to be supplied. Input
ETH_RX_L —Descriptive text to be supplied. Input
EXT_Key —Reserved. Output
EXT_DET —Reserved. Input
COM2_DTR —Descriptive text to be supplied. Input
ALARM_OUT —Reserved. Output
GPS_PPS_L
For TTL PPS, leave this pin open.
GPS_PPS_H
For TTL PPS, use this input.
COM1_RXD
COM1_TXD —Descriptive text to be supplied. Output
—Descriptive text to be supplied. Input
Input
Input
USB
The radio provides a USB Port conforming to version 1.1 of the USB
standard. This port is provided for future features such as ITCS logging to text files on a memory stick. Consult GE MDS for information
on this feature. The pinout for this connector is given in the table
below.
05-4819A01, Rev. 01 TD220 Installation/Operation Guide
3
Table 2. USB Connector Pinouts
Pin Signal Name Description
1 PC_USB_+5V +5 VDC
2 USBD- USB Data Minus
3 USBD+ USB Data Plus
4 GROUND Chassis Ground
Power
The power connector is a screw-secured 2-pin connector.
Table 3. Power Connector Pinouts
Pin Signal Name Input/Output Description
1
(Left)
(Right)
The pin orientation (as looking into the connector) is shown below.
PWR Input 13.8 Vdc input, 7A maximum
2
GROUND Input Power return
L R
The following table shows how much current is required for receiving
or transmitting vs. input voltage and RF power output.
Table 4. Current/Voltage Requirements vs. RF Output
Voltage (Vdc) RF Output (W) Current Required (A)
12 0 (RX) TBSL
12 2 TBSL
12 10 TBSL
12 25 TBSL
4 TD220 Installation/Operation Guide 05-4819A01, Rev. 01
Table 4. Current/Voltage Requirements vs. RF Output
Voltage (Vdc) RF Output (W) Current Required (A)
13.8 0 (RX) TBSL
13.8 2 TBSL
13.8 10 TBSL
13.8 25 TBSL
Antenna Connector
The Antenna Connector is a Type-N female connector with 50-Ohm
characteristic impedance.
Common Setup Tasks
Key the Transmitter for Test Purposes
1. Log in to the radio on its COM1 console using a serial terminal
emulator program.
2. Go to the Radio Configuration menu.
3. Select the frequency for the test transmission.
4. Select the RF Output Power to use. Note that power levels greater
than 2 Watts will timeout after a 5-second period by default.
Ensure ventilation with supplemental forced airflow if longer
durations are desired.
5. Select the Force TX Key menu option.
6. When finished, deselect the Force TX Key menu option.
Prepare the Network Interface for a Radio
Each radio is assigned an IP Address, a Netmask, and a Gateway IP
Address. The IP Address and Netmask should be chosen carefully.
The radio will network directly with other equipment with IP
Addresses that are on a common Subnet. IP Addresses that begin with
the same numerical IP address bits where the Netmask is one will be
on the same Subnet. For example, if the IP Address is 10.4.100.1 and
the Netmask is 255.255.0.0, the radio will attempt direct Ethernet
05-4819A01, Rev. 01 TD220 Installation/Operation Guide
5
communication with any node whose IP Address begins with 10.4. If
a message is bound for a node outside of the 10.4 network, it will be
sent to the Gateway IP address instead so that it can be placed from the
radio's subnet onto another subnet.
1. Log in to the radio on its COM1 console using a serial terminal
emulator program.
2. Go to the IP Configuration menu.
3. Set the IP address of the radio, plus the Netmask and Gateway.
4. Go to the Maintenance/Tools Menu and select the Ping Utility.
5. Enter the IP address of a known node on the network.
6. Execute the Ping and observe the results. If the network interface
is working properly, Ping responses should be received.
Set Up a Base Unit
1. If not already done, complete steps from 3.2 above.
2. Log in to the radio.
3. Go to the System Configuration menu.
4. Set the unit to Base mode and reboot if necessary.
5. Set the base type (A, B, or C).
6. Set the window size. Mobiles will transmit in a randomly selected
available slot among 2^(Window Size) slots. For small networks,
this can be 1. For larger networks, use a Window Size that provides double or quadruple the number of mobiles expected under
one base at a time.
7. Set the IP Port on which the base will receive UDP messages from
wayside devices.
8. Set up an ITCS Translation Table. For test purposes, this may be
as simple as setting up one known address with a mask of all
“If’s”.
9. Verify Ethernet Link using the Ping utility in the Maintenance/Tools Menu.
10. Begin sending UDP data.
11. Verify the TX LED illuminates and the radio begins transmitting
over the air.
6 TD220 Installation/Operation Guide 05-4819A01, Rev. 01
3.4 Set Up a Mobile Unit
1. If not already done, complete steps from 3.2 above.
2. Log in to the radio.
3. Go to the System Configuration menu.
4. Set the unit to Mobile mode and reboot if necessary.
5. Set the IP Port to which the mobile will send messages received
over the air.
6. Set the IP Port on which the mobile will accept incoming messages for transmission over the air.
7. Verify Ethernet Link using the Ping utility in the Maintenance/Tools Menu.
8. Ensure at least one base is present in the neighborhood of this
radio so that it can detect beacons and synchronize timing.
9. Begin sending UDP data from a polling program.
10. Verify the TX LED illuminates and the radio begins transmitting
over the air.
3.5 Perform Test Polling
1. Set up the Base and Mobile as above.
2. Connect as shown in the following diagram. Note: this is for
bench testing only, i.e. not for sensitivity testing. Sensitivity testing requires complete RF isolation or mixed operation to prevent
the leakage path from being the dominant RF path between units.
For bench testing, use attenuation so that the signal level at every
unit that is participating is around -70 to -50 dBm.
05-4819A01, Rev. 01 TD220 Installation/Operation Guide
7
Invisible place holder
Figure 3. Test Setup
3. Configure the Base as follows in the radio software:
8 TD220 Installation/Operation Guide 05-4819A01, Rev. 01
4. Reboot the Base
5. Obtain the Parametric Poller (parm_poller.exe) from GE MDS.
This utility saves its settings to
parm_poller.ini
in the current directory, so make one directory for the base and a different directory
for the mobile.
6. In the base directory, create the parm_poller data configuration file
parm_poller.parms
(
05-4819A01, Rev. 01 TD220 Installation/Operation Guide
) as shown below.
9
set ::parms {
{ 0 "Dest" 32 "11223344" "RW" }
{ 1 "Src" 32 "aabbccdd" "RW" }
{ 2 "Flags" 8 "00" "RW" }
{ 3 "Length" l1 "00" "RO" }
{ 4 "Seq No" sn "00" "RW" }
{ 5 "Data" nt "Hello, World" "RW" }
7. Set up the base parm_poller as shown below, where
replaced with the IP address of your base.
10.4.144.100
is
10 TD220 Installation/Operation Guide 05-4819A01, Rev. 01
8. Configure the Mobile as follows:
9. Reboot the Mobile unit.
10. Copy the base unit's
parm_poller.parms
file to the mobile direc-
tory.
11. Set up the mobile
parm_poller
as shown below.
12. Click Start Polling on both units and observe the message counts
and sequence number increment.
13. If additional visibility is desired, obtain
itcslog.exe
from GE MDS.
This utility captures messages from the logging output of the
TD220 radios and displays statistics about them. The IP Port
Number is the port number configured on the radio for ITCS logging.
05-4819A01, Rev. 01 TD220 Installation/Operation Guide
11
Description of Menu Interface
Login with user name
admin
, password
admin
.
When logged in, the Starting Information Screen is displayed.
12 TD220 Installation/Operation Guide 05-4819A01, Rev. 01
Table 5. Starting Information Screen Items
Parameter R/W Description
Device Name R* User-configured name for this radio. Set this
IP Address R* IP Address for this radio. Set this from the IP
Device Status R “Initializing” during startup and/or internal RF
Location R* User-configured location for this radio. Set
Serial Number R The manufacturer's serial number for this
Uptime R Elapsed time since the radio was started.
Current
Firmware
Current User R Login level
R* - This parameter is writable from another menu.
R* The version number of the currently operating
from the Device Names menu.
Networking menu.
deck reprogramming, “Operational” when
functioning, “Alarmed” when error
condition(s) exist.
this from the Device Names menu.
radio. Set only in the factory.
firmware. Reprogram firmware from the
Reprogramming Menu.
05-4819A01, Rev. 01 TD220 Installation/Operation Guide
13
Table 6. Main Menu Items
Parameter R/W Description
A) Starting Information
Screen
B) Network Configuration Set the radio's IP Address, Netmask,
C) System Configuration Set the radio's Mode (Base/Mobile)
D) Radio Configuration Set the radio's Frequencies, Base
E) Security Configuration Set up how the radio may be
F) Statistics / Logging Obtain historical and current
Returns to the opening menu
and Gateway
and other application-specific
operating parameters including the
Base's ITCS translation table.
transmit slot allocation (3/4), RF
Power Output, and access the Force
TX Key function.
accessed
statistics about the radio's payload
performance, and access ITCS
Logging configuration.
G) Device Information Set up the radio's Date, Time,
H) Maintenance / Tools Access the radio's Firmware
14 TD220 Installation/Operation Guide 05-4819A01, Rev. 01
Console Baud Rate and Names.
Review the radio's Model, Serial
Number, and Uptime.
Reprogramming, Configuration
Script, and Ping Utility menus.
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