Multitech MultiModem rCell MTCBA-X-EN2 Quick Start Manual

MultiModem

Intelligent Wireless Router

®

rCell

Quick Start Guide

Copyright and Technical Support

Quick Start Guide

MultiModem® rCell
MTCBA-X-EN2
82100401L, Revision B

Copyright © 2010 by Multi-Tech Systems, Inc.

This publication may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, without prior
expressed written permission from Multi-Tech Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
Multi-Tech Systems, Inc. makes no representations or warranty with respect to the
contents hereof and specifically disclaims any implied warranties of merchantability
or fitness for any particular purpose.
Furthermore, Multi-Tech Systems, Inc. reserves the right to revise this publication
and to make changes from time to time in the content hereof without obligation of
Multi-Tech Systems, Inc. to notify any person or organization of such revisions or
changes. Check Multi-Tech’s Web site for current versions of our product
documentation.

Record of Revisions
Revision Date Description

A 05/12/09 Initial release.
B 03/15/10 This release documents firmware version 2.5.

Trademarks

Trademarks and registered trademarks of Multi-Tech Systems, Inc. include
MultiModem, the Multi-Tech logo, and Multi-Tech. All products or technologies are
the trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

Online Web Portal https://support.multitech.com/support/login.html

Knowledge Base and Support Services

Technical Support

Business Hours: M-F 9am to 5pm CST

Country By Email By Phone

Europe, Middle East, Africa: [e-mail]
U.S., Canada, all others: [e-mail]
763-717-5863

World Headquarters

Multi-Tech Systems, Inc.
2205 Woodale Drive
Mounds View, Minnesota 55112
763-785-3500 or 800-328-9717
Fax [phone]

www.multitech.com/en US/SUPPORT

+(44) 118 959 7774

800 972-2439 or

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MultiModem rCell Intelligent Wireless Router

Introduction

The purpose of this guide is to cover safety concepts, the basic
connections, and general setup of the MultiModem rCell Intelligent
Wireless Router. For detailed information refer to the User Guide which
is available on your MultiModem CD accompanying your router product
and on the Multi-Tech Web site.

Check Multi-Tech’s Web site for current versions of our product
documentation.

Safety

Ethernet Ports Caution

The Ethernet ports are not designed to be connected to a Public
Telecommunication Network or used outside the building.

Handling Precautions

All devices must be handled with certain precautions to avoid damage
due to the accumulation of static charge. Although input protection
circuitry has been incorporated into the devices to minimize the effect
of this static build up, proper precautions should be taken to avoid
exposure to electrostatic discharge during handling and mounting.

Caution: Maintain a separation distance of at least 20 cm (8

inches) between the transmitter’s antenna and the body of the
user or nearby persons. The modem is not designed for, nor
intended to be, used in applications within 20 cm (8 inches) of
the body of the user.

Vehicle Safety

● Do not use your Wireless MultiModem while driving, unless

equipped with a correctly installed vehicle kit allowing ‘Hands­Free’ Operation.

● Respect national regulations on the use of cellular telephones in

vehicles. Road safety always comes first.

● If incorrectly installed in a vehicle, the operation of Wireless

MultiModem telephone could interfere with the correct functioning
of vehicle electronics. To avoid such problems, be sure that
qualified personnel have performed the installation. Verification of

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MultiModem rCell Intelligent Wireless Router

the protection of vehicle electronics should be part of the
installation.

● The use of an alert device to operate a vehicle’s lights or horn on

public roads is not permitted.

Internal Lithium Battery

● A lithium battery located within product provides backup power for

the timekeeping capability. The battery has an estimated life
expectancy of ten years.

● When the battery starts to weaken, the date and time may be

incorrect. If the battery fails, the board must be sent back to Multi­Tech Systems for battery replacement.

● Lithium cells and batteries are subject to the Provisions for

International Transportation. Multi-tech Systems Inc. confirms that
the Lithium batteries used in the Multi-Tech product(s) referenced
in this manual comply with Special Provision 188 of the UN

Model Regulations, Special Provision A45 of the ICAO­TI/IATA-DGR (Air), Special Provision 310 of the IMDG Code,
and Special Provision 188 of the ADR and RID (Road and Rail
Europe).

Warning! There is danger of explosion if the battery is incorrectly

replaced!

Ship Kit Contents

Unbundled Package with

no Accessories

1 router
1 Quick Start Guide
1 MultiModem CD
Note: You must supply
mounting screws, AC or DC
power supply, and an
antenna.

Note: Refer to the User Guide for antenna specifications.

1 router
1 antenna
1 Ethernet cable
1 RS-232 cable
1 power supply
1 Quick Start Guide
1 MultiModem CD

Note: You must supply mounting

Bundle Package

With Accessories

screws

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Activate your Wireless Account

Please refer to the wireless account Activation Notice included with
your product and located on the MultiModem CD. Follow the directions
on the Activation Notice to activate your account.

Note: If you need remote access to your MultiModem over the

Internet for remote configuration, you need to ensure that your
wireless network provider has provisioned mobile terminated data
and fixed or dynamic public IP address in which they can configure
the network to redirect any incoming connection to that predefined
IP.

Insert the SIM Card into Holder, If required

The MultiModem requires the power supply connection to begin
operation. It also requires a SIM card (Subscriber Identity Module) to
operate on a GSM network. To install the SIM, do the following:

1. Using a small Phillips screwdriver, remove the two SIM door

screws and remove the SIM door.

Note: When changing a SIM, ensure that power is removed from

the unit.

2. Insert the SIM card into the card holder. The above graphic

illustrates the correct SIM card orientation.

3. Verify that the SIM card fits into the holder properly and then

replace the cover.

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Connect the Antenna and Power

1. Connect a suitable antenna to the SMA connector (see antenna

specifications in the User Guide).

2. Using an Ethernet cable, connect one end of the cable to the

ETHERNET connector on the back of the router and the other end
to your pc either directly or via a switch or hub.

3. If you are connecting a customer’s legacy device to the router,

connect the serial, RS232 cable from the customer’s device to the
RS232 connector on the back of the router.

4. Depending on the power source, connect either the power supply

module with the appropriate blade or the optional DC power cable.
If you are using the power supply module, remove the protective
shipping cover. Attach the appropriate interchangeable blade
piece to the power supply module.

Screw-on the power lead from the power supply module to the
power connection on the router. Now, plug the power supply into
your power source.

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For Optional Direct DC Power

● Screw-on the DC power cable to the power connector on the

router.

● Then attach the two wires at the other end of the DC power cable

to a DC fuse/terminal block on a vehicle in which you are mounting
the MultiRouter.

● Connect red wire to the "+" (positive) terminal and black wire to

the "–" (negative) terminal. Be sure the GND connection is correct.

Warning: Over-voltage protection is provided on the device. To

ensure complete protection, you may want to add additional
filtering to the DC input.

Note: For an application involving a battery: you can use permanent

“+” or key-switched “+” source. Connect the power supply to its
source (for example, in a mobile situation, to the DC fuse/terminal
block).

Notes

● The POWER LED. The POWER LED lights after power-up.

● The Status LED is a solid ON when the router is booting up,

saving a configuration, or updating firmware. When the Status
LED begins to blink, the router is ready.

● The Reset Button. Pressing and holding the Reset button for 5
seconds will restore all factory default settings. It also will set the
username and password back to admin and admin as well as
setting the IP address to the default of 192.168.2.1.

Set Your PC’s TCP/IP Address for
Ethernet Functionality

The following directions establish a TCP/IP connection at the pc so the
PC can communicate with the router. The following directions were
written using a Windows XP/ 2003+ operating system.

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MultiModem rCell Intelligent Wireless Router

1. Click Start | Settings | Control Panel. Double-click the Network

Connections icon.

2. The Network Connections screen displays. Right-click the Local

Area Connection icon and choose Properties from the drop down

list.

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MultiModem rCell Intelligent Wireless Router

3. The Local Area Connection Properties dialog box displays.

4. The Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) Properties screen.

● Select Internet Protocol [TCP/IP].

● Click the Properties button. The Internet Protocol

(TCP/IP) Properties screen displays.

Important Note:

If this screen opens and displays your current IP configuration, we
suggest you record this information for future reference (i.e., after
the router is configured, you may wish to return this PC to its
original settings).

● To set a Fixed IP Address for the pc, select Use the following

IP address.

● Enter the pc IP Address. Example: 192.168.2.x.

Note: The x in the address stands for numbers 101 and up.

● Enter the pc Subnet Mask. Example: 255.255.255.0

● Enter the pc Default Gateway. Example: 192.168.2.1

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Note: The pc settings must be in the same subnet range as

the router.
The factory default settings for the router are:

IP Address: 192.168.2.1
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0

● Select Use the following DNS server addresses.

● Close the Local Area Properties screen by clicking OK.

● Close the Control Panel.

Default Gateway: 192.168.2.2

● Enter the IP Address for the Preferred DNS Server.

Example: 205.171.3.65

● Click OK.

● Repeat these steps for each PC on your network.

AT Command for Verifying Signal Strength

To communicate directly with the cellular modem to verify signal
strength, network registeration, and roaming status, telnet to the modem.

Note: Ensure that the Status LED is blinking, indicating that the router is

ready.

1. To Telnet to the modem. You can access the modem thru the Run

icon or from the Command Prompt:
Click Start I Run icon. In the Open window, enter cmd and then
press ENTER.

Click Start I All Programs I Accessories I Command Prompt

● In the command window, type telnet 192.168.2.1 5000

● At the Login prompt, type the default user name: admin (all

lower-case). Press ENTER

● At the Password prompt, type the default pass word: admin

(all lower-case). Press ENTER

2. In the command window, type AT+CSQ

or

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3. The router responds with the received signal strength (rssi) and

the channel bit error rate (ber).RSSI ranges from 0 to 31. BER
ranges from 0 to 7 (7 is the highest error rate).

Signal Strength – RSSI

10 – 31 Sufficient
0 – 9 Weak or Insufficient
99 Insufficient

AT Command for Checking Network
Registration and Roaming Status

Use this command to verify that the wireless Router has been registered
on a wireless network.

1. In the command window, type AT+CREG?

2. The router will respond in one of the following ways:

Network Registration Verification

Value Network Registration Status
+CREG: 0,0 The router is not registered on any network
+CREG: 0,1 The router is registered on the home network
+CREG: 0,5 The router is registered on a network and it is

Note: If the router indicates that it is not registered, verify the signal

strength to determine if the problem is the strength of the received
signal.

roaming

Exiting Modem Mode

1. After the last AT Command is entered, press:

CTRL + ] (the right bracket).

2. The following prompt displays:

telnet>
Type quit and press Enter.

3. Then the following prompt displays:

c:>

Type exit and press Enter.

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Configure the Ethernet Interface Using
the Web Management Software

You are now ready to configure the Ethernet interface. This is
accomplished by using the router's factory-installed Web Management
software. The software is accessed through a Web Browser.

1. From the pc, open a Web Browser.

Type the default Gateway Address: http://192.168.2.1

Note: Ensure that the Status LED is blinking, indicating that the

router is ready.

2. Login

After entering the Address, the Login screen displays.

● Type the default User name: admin (all lower-case).

● Type the default password: admin (all lower-case).

User Name and Password Note: The User name and

Password are case-sensitive (both must be typed in lower-case).

A password can be up to 60 characters. If Windows displays the
AutoComplete screen, you may want to click No to tell the
Windows OS not to remember the password; this helps maintain
PC security.

Password Caution: It is recommended that you change the

default password to better protect the security of your router. Use
a safe password! Your first name spelled backwards is not a
sufficiently safe password; a password such as xfT35$4 is better.

● Click the Login button. The Web Management Home screen

displays.

3. Use the Setup Wizard for Quick Configuration

A quick way to configure the modem is to use the Wizard Setup in
the Web Management software.

● To begin configuration, click the Wizard Setup button located

under the menu bar.

● After clicking the Wizard Setup button, the Wizard Setup

screen displays.

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The Setup Wizard Screen

The following is a screen shot of the Setup Wizard. Using this screen
saves you time so that you are not entering the same information
several screens; the data entered here defaults to the other screens.

IP Configuration

IP Address – The default is 192.168.2.1. To change it, simply

enter your own IP address.

Mask – The default is 255.255.255.0
DNS – Enter the primary DNS IP address for the system. The

default is 0.0.0.0

PPP Configuration

PPP – The default is Disable. To connect to the Internet, you

have to enable PPP.To issue commands to the modem, PPP
must be disabled and telnet port 5000 used.

Dial-on-Demand – The default is Disabled.
Idle Time Out – Sets the amount of time the PPP link stays

active before disconnecting. Setting the value to zero causes the
link to stay active continuously.

Dial Number – Enter the dial number. The number is *99***1#.

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APN – Enter the APN (Access Point Name). The APN is assigned

by your wireless service provider.

Init String – 4 modem initialization strings are allowed.

PPP Authentication

Authentication Type – Click the button corresponding to the

authentication protocol you want to use to negotiate with the
remote peer. PAP, CHAP, or PAP-CHAP.
Default = PAP-CHAP

User Name – Enter the PPP User Name (it authenticates the

remote peer).

Password – Enter the PPP Password (it authenticates the remote

peer).

Important Note About Submit and Save & Restart

Click the Submit button located at the bottom of most screens to
save any changes you make. Then you must click the Save &

Restart button in order for your settings to take effect. Save &
Restart does not have to be executed after each screen; you can
change and Submit several screens, and then click Save &
Restart. The Save & Restart button is located on the Menu bar.

Shutdown Caution

Never unplug the power until after you have performed the Save &
Restart process when changing settings. If setup changes are not

properly saved before unplugging the power, data could be lost.

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82100401L