Omega Products OM-CP-RFProcess101A Installation Manual

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It is the policy of OMEGA Engineering, Inc. to comply with all worldwide safety and EMC/EMI
regulations that apply. OMEGA is constantly pursuing certification of its products to the European New
Approach Directives. OMEGA will add the CE mark to every appropriate device upon certification.

The information contained in this document is believed to be correct, but OMEGA accepts no liability for any
errors it contains, and reserves the right to alter specifications without notice.
WARNING: These products are not designed for use in, and should not be used for, human applications.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION .........................................................................................................2

TRANSMITTER CHARACTERISTICS................................................................................2

TRANSMISSION DISTANCE..........................................................................................3

SYSTEM COMPONENTS AND SETUP ..............................................................................3

WIRELESS CONFIGURATION DIALOG............................................................................4

Transmitter Output Modes ........................................................................................5

Transmitter Options.................................................................................................5

Custom Transmit Interval .........................................................................................6

Indicator Mode........................................................................................................7

REGISTERING THE DEVICE ON A SYSTEM ..................................................................... 7

STARTING THE DEVICE AND SYNCHRONIZING THE TRANSMITTER...................................7

USING MULTIPLE DEVICES ..........................................................................................8

PREVENTING COLLISIONS WITH PRIME NUMBERS .........................................................9

Prime Number Examples ........................................................................................11

INCREASING RANGE WITH THE RFEXTENDER.............................................................. 11

Simple RFExtender System .....................................................................................11

Complex RFExtender System .................................................................................. 12

Module Address and Receiver Address Mask..............................................................12

Receiver Address Mask Example.............................................................................. 13

BATTERY LIFE..........................................................................................................14

BATTERY LIFE..........................................................................................................15

OPERATING ENVIRONMENT ....................................................................................... 16

SYSTEM PERFORMANCE AND RELIABILITY................................................................... 16

FCC COMPLIANCE AND REQUIREMENTS...................................................................... 17

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (FCC) NOTICE............................................17

INDUSTRY CANADA (IC) NOTICE................................................................................ 18

CONTACT INFORMATION........................................................................................... 18

TABLE OF FIGURES

Figure 1. Connecting the IFC110 interface cable.............................................................3

Figure 2. Connecting the RFC101A wireless receiver .......................................................4

Figure 3. The Wireless Configuration dialog ...................................................................4

Table 1. Prime numbers from 3 to 2160 ...................................................................... 10

Table 2. Prime number examples ............................................................................... 11

Figure 4. RFExtender as a wireless repeater ................................................................ 11

Figure 5. RFExtender as a wireless communication interface.......................................... 12

Table 3. Estimated battery life ................................................................................... 15

Table 4. Transmitter settings for battery life estimation ................................................15

OM-CP-RF Series Operations Manual
Omega Engineering, Inc. Revised 04/07/05 Page 1 of 18

Omega Engineering, Inc.
Operations Manual for OM-CP-RF Series Data Loggers

INTRODUCTION

Omega’s OM-CP-RF series line of wireless-enabled data loggers provides a simple, low­cost wireless solution for short-range data collection applications. These products are
powered by a user-replaceable internal battery and can be configured for up to ten years of
battery life. They are designed for one-way, low data-rate applications, and transmit real­time data directly to a PC for monitoring. Like Omega’s standard series of data loggers, they
are simple to use and their versatile configuration options allow for easy integration into a
wide variety of applications. The product line includes models for all the most popular
commercial and industrial measurements, as shown in this table:

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION
OM-CP-RFTemp101A Temperature Recorder and Wireless Transmitter
OM-CP-RFRHTemp101A Humidity / Temperature Recorder and Wireless Transmitter
OM-CP-RFTC4000A Thermocouple Temperature Recorder and Wireless Transmitter
OM-CP-RFRTDTemp101A RTD Temperature Recorder and Wireless Transmitter
OM-CP-RFpHTemp101A pH / Temperature Recorder and Wireless Transmitter
OM-CP-RFVolt101A DC Voltage Recorder and Wireless Transmitter
OM-CP-RFProcess101A DC Current Recorder and Wireless Transmitter
OM-CP-RFPulse101A Pulse Recorder and Wireless Transmitter

These products have onboard memory in addition to the wireless transmitter, so they
can completely replace existing data loggers and strip chart recorders while providing an
added wireless data link. This memory can also serve as a failsafe backup, in the event of
interference in the wireless channel or interruption of service to the monitoring computer.

TRANSMITTER CHARACTERISTICS

The transmitter used in the OM-CP-RF series products is a carrier present-carrier absent
(CPCA) amplitude-modulated (AM) signal operating at a carrier frequency of 418 MHz. The
data being transmitted is encoded similarly to standard RS232 serial data at a bit rate of
4,800 baud. This signal is detected by the RFC101A receiver module and converted to
RS232 signals, which are passed to the COM port of the monitoring PC.

The transmitter type and encoding method permit the device to use the maximum
allowable output power specified by the FCC, and also minimizes the amount of battery
power required for the transmission. This gives the user the best possible range, and also
ensures a long battery life.

To conform to FCC Part 15.231 rules, the data transmission takes less than one second
and the minimum periodic transmission rate allowed by the device is 30 seconds. The low
duty cycle permits several devices to use the same communication band and receiver
without excessive interference caused by “talking over” each other.

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TRANSMISSION DISTANCE

The transmission distance achievable with any wireless system is dependent on many
factors. The only consistent measurement of transmission distance that can be used with
these devices is called the “line-of-sight” transmission distance. The transmitter and
receiver are set up in a large open area, free of obstacles and interference, and are aligned
so their antennas are oriented in the same direction. Under these circumstances, the OM­CP-RF series products can achieve up to 120 feet (36 m) transmission range.

SYSTEM COMPONENTS AND SET UP

The following components are required to successfully set up and use the OM-CP-RF
series products:

▪ A personal computer running the Windows operating system (Windows 95 or higher)
▪ One of the OM-CP-RF series wireless-enabled data loggers
▪ An RFC101A wireless receiver module and power supply, for receiving wireless

transmissions from the data logger

▪ An IFC110 interface cable, for communicating with the wireless data logger
▪ Omega Data Recorder software, included with the RFC101A or IFC110

To configure the data logger, and register it on the PC for data reception, connect it to
the PC through the IFC110 serial interface cable as shown in Figure 1 below.

Figure 1. Connecting the IFC110 interface cable

To set up the system for receiving wireless data, connect the RFC101A to the PC and
plug in the power supply to a 110VAC outlet (as shown in Figure 2). In most cases, the
IFC110 will need to be removed from the PC to connect the RFC101A. If there are multiple
COM ports available on the PC, the RFC101A may be connected to a different COM port than
the IFC110, thus leaving IFC110 connected. To switch between using the IFC110 and
RFC101A, simply change to the appropriate COM port under the “Communications” menu.

OM-CP-RF Series Operations Manual
Omega Engineering, Inc. Revised 04/07/05 Page 3 of 18

Figure 2. Conn e cting the RFC101A wireless receiver

WIRE LESS CON FIGURATIO N D IALOG

Figure 3. The Wirele ss Configuration dialog

The Wireless Configuration dialog (shown in Figure 3) allows the user to select from a
variety of operating modes to meet the requirements of different monitoring systems. To
access this dialog, identify the device using the Device -> Identify Device and Read Status

OM-CP-RF Series Operations Manual
Omega Engineering, Inc. Revised 04/07/05 Page 4 of 18

menu item, switch to the “Device Detail” tab, and click the “Wireless Configuration” button.
To edit the configuration, press the “Change” button in the dialog, make the appropriate
changes, then press the “Save” button to commit the changes to the device. Note: Closing
the dialog or exiting with the “OK” button will not store the changes in the device.

To comply with FCC regulations, saving a configuration change may cause the device to
inhibit output from the transmitter while the internal timers synchronize to the new
configuration (this may be the longer of the reading interval or custom transmit interval).
To force synchronization of the timers and enable output before the aforementioned interval
has passed, restart the device from the software.

Transmitter Output Modes

Real-time data transmissions may be sent through the RF antenna, the device’s serial
port, both or neither. If both the serial and RF transmitters are disabled, the device will
function strictly as a standard data logger. The typical user will configure the device for
wireless transmission only thus transmitting data from the device to the RFC101A receiver.
However, serial transmission may be desirable for some systems where the built-in
transmitter is not powerful enough to maintain a reliable link, the signal must be brought
outside of an environment that blocks RF, or when a hardwired connection to an alternate
transmitter is required. Additionally, both modes may be enabled for combined local and
long-distance monitoring of the signal. See “Increasing Range with the RFExtender” later in
this manual.

Transmitter Options

The transmitter module has four configuration options. Two of these options pertain to
enabling and disabling the transmitter under different operating conditions and two pertain
to the timing and format of the transmitted signal. These options are summarized below.

1. Transmit only while logging – If this option is selected, the transmitter will only

output data when the logger is recording data to memory. When memory is filled
and the device stops logging, the transmitter will stop as well to indicate the logger
needs to be offloaded and restarted. If the memory wrap-around mode of the logger
is enabled, the device will continue to overwrite the oldest internal data and continue
transmitting data wirelessly. If this transmitter option is not selected, the transmitter
will continue to operate regardless of whether the device is recording data.

2. Transmit under switch control – If this option is selected, the on/off switch may

be used to inhibit the transmitter output. This allows the user to manually stop the
transmitter without affecting the logger operation or transmission timing. This may
be useful for transporting the device through an area where other devices are
operating on the same frequency band, disabling the transmitter until the device is
placed in-system, or disabling individual devices to evaluate system performance and
troubleshoot interference or collisions. In systems where a manual override is not
desirable, this option may be left unchecked, and the transmitter will not be affected
by the position of the switch.

Note: The above two transmitter options function as such: if either one of the

modes would disable the transmitter under given conditions, the transmitter will be
disabled. For the transmitter to be enabled, the required conditions must be met for
both options to allow the transmission.

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