Roving Networks WiFly RN-370, WiFly RN-374 Install Manual And User Manual

WiFly Serial Adapter Install Guide

WiFly Serial Adapter_bp-ig 8/10/09

WIFLY SERIAL ADAPTER

RN-370 & RN-374

Battery Powered 802.11 b/g Serial

Adapter

Install Guide and User Manual

Version 1.00

Sept 19th 2009

Copyright © 2009 Roving Networks, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

The contents of this document can be changed by Roving networks without prior notice and

do not constitute any binding undertakings from Roving networks. Roving Networks is not

responsible under any circumstances for direct, indirect, unexpected or consequent

damage that is caused by this document.

Overview

The Battery powered WiFly Serial Adapter supports either RS-232 (RN-370) or
RS-422 (RN-374) interfaces. When connected to a remote host, the WiFly
serial adapter transfers data read or written to the serial interface to a remote
application such as an iPhone app, data logger or PC control console. Data is
transferred over a reliable TCP/IP socket. 802.11 b/g infrastructure or adhoc
networking has the advantage of using existing, low cost wireless connectivity
and being able to remotely connect to any WiFly serial adapter in the world.

The WiFly serial adapter is powered by two AAA batteries, an external AC to
5VDC power brick, or 5VDC (only !) on pin 9 of the DB9 connector.
Rechargeable NiMH batteries will be trickle charged when used with an external
5VDC (only !) power source. The WiFly Serial Adapter will run for up to 8 hours
while connected over WiFi on a fully charged set of batteries.

Since Apple Computer requires an additional Bluetooth authorization co­processor for any and all devices connecting to the iPhone, using the WiFi serial
adapter in adhoc mode is a simple and cost effective way to connect to iPhone
apps. The WiFly Serial Adapter is more than a cable replacement solution. By
allowing multiple TCP/IP sockets, applications can control and monitor hundreds
of Wifi Serial adapters remotely distributed across a building LAN or campus
WAN.

Other usage modes can be setup. When configured in auto connect mode, the
WiFly Serial Adapter will connect out to a pre-stored IP address whenever data
is written to the serial port. The WiFly Serial Adapter can also be set to
automatically go to sleep once idle, and wakeup based on time delay, or UART
RX data or state change of CTS signals.

Powering up the WiFly Serial Adapter

The red button on the top of the WiFly Serial Adapter is a soft ON/OFF switch.
The WiFly Serial Adapter can be powered from batteries or from the external
power connector.

Warning: Do NOT use alkaline batteries when connecting the external
power. Doing so will cause permanent damage. The WiFly Serial
Adapter will operate on 5VDC power with no batteries installed.

To turn ON the WiFly Serial Adapter, press down the red button for 1 second,
then release it. You will see the green, yellow, red and blue LEDs flash in
succession. After a moment the blue and yellow LEDs will go OFF, leaving the
red and green LED flashing.

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9

9

9

9

9

9

9

Male DB9 (Default Config) Male DB9 - Null Modem
Jumper 1<>2, 3<>4 Jumper 2<>4, 1<>3

10
8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

10
8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

Female DB9 (Default Config) Female DB9 - Null Modem
Jumper 2<>4, 1<>3 Jumper 1<>2, 3<>4

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8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

10
8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

Drive DSR on pin 6 of the male DB9
Jumpper 5<>6

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8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

Drive DTR on pin 4 of the male DB9
Jumpper 7<>8

10
8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

Drive DCD on pin 1 of the male DB9
Jumpper 9<>10

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8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

To turn OFF the WiFly Serial Adapter, press down on the red button for 1
second, then release it. The green, yellow, red and blue LEDs flash in
succession several times. Then All the LEDs will turn off and the device will be
in sleep mode.

By default the WiFly Serial Adapter automatically shuts itself off if not
connected for more than 3 minutes = 180 seconds. The sleep timer duration is
controlled by using the set system sleep <seconds> command. Use the get
sys to display the current settings of the sleep timer.

Batteries and Charging

Only use NiMH rechargeable batteries (or no batteries) when externally
powering the WiFly Serial Adapter. Applying power with alkaline batteries

will damage the device and could cause a fire hazard.

The red LED near the power connection comes on SOLID when external power
is present. When turning on the WiFly Serial Adapter a BLINKING blue LED
indicates low battery. Battery life between charges depends on use. With
typical usage you should get at least 8 hours of continuous use between
charges. Enabling sleep modes can extend the battery life.

External power can be applied from either the 5 VDC plug or pin 9 on the DB9
connector. The power plug is center pin positive, outer cylinder GND. Input
MUST be 5 VDC for proper battery charging. Higher voltages can permanently
damage the charger and battery.

In configuration mode the show bat command will return the current battery
voltage. Note that with rechargeable NiMh batteries the voltage will remain
relatively unchanged just until they go dead.

Status LEDs

State Green LED Yellow LED Red LED Blue LED

ON solid

Fast blink

Slow blink IP address OK

OFF

Connected

over TCP

No IP address

or Config Mode

Full charge

Not Associated

Associated, No

Internet

Associated,

Internet OK

Rx/Tx data

transfer

Low Power

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The blue LED blinks when data is sent or received on the serial interface. This
does not indicate that the data was sent over the WiFi connection. If the blue
LED is not flashing and your device is sending data to the serial port, you likely
have a connection, incorrect baudrate, or HW flow control (RTS/CTS) problem.

The blue LED also indicates battery status and will blink slowly when the
batteries are low except when charging. When charging the blue LED remains
off. If the device is on while the batteries are charging the blue LED will come
solid when the batteries are fully charged

When using switch1 to enable adhoc mode, after the device powers on, all LEDs
will blink in succession from green to blue. This does not occur when adhoc
mode is set through software.

There is an additional red LED near the power connector that indicates external
power is present at either the power plug of DB9 connector.

Configuration Switches

The configuration switches on the top of the WiFly Serial Adapter are small.
You will need a paper clip or small screw driver to change them. Hold the
devices with the DB9 connector facing to the right, the switches are numbered
one to four from bottom to top. The off position is towards the DB9 connector.

Switch 1 – Adhoc and restoring factory defaults

With this switch ON, the device powers up in adhoc mode. The SSID of the
adhoc network will be Wifly-GSX-NN where NN is the last two digits of the
devices mac address.

To restore factory defaults, power on the device with this switch ON, then
toggle the switch five (5) times. If there is a config file named "user" on the
WiFly Serial adapter file system, it is read in as the factory defaults instead of
using the hardcoded defaults. If no "user" config file is present, the hardcoded
factory defaults are used.

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Serial Connector Specification

DB9 connector Pin Out

Pin

RN-370M
Male DB9

1 NC NC NC
2 RXD TXD NC
3 TXD RXD RXD­4 NC NC TXD+
5 GND GND GND
6 NC NC +5 VDC (input)
7 RTS CTS RXD+
8 CTS RTS TXD­9 4-12VDC 4-12VDC NC

NOTE: The RS422 interface uses the MAX490 transceiver. This device is
designed to operate with input voltage range of 4.75 to 5.25 VDC.

RXD+ and TXD+ each have a 4.7K pull up to 5VDC.
RXD- and TXD- each have a 4.7K pull down to GND.

NOTE: The RS232 interface uses the SIPEX SP3232ECA chip with capacitor
switch to generate the + and – signals and thus is not driving the full RS232
voltages. Devices stealing power from the RS232 pins may not have enough
voltage.

Null modem and Flow control Jumpers

The WiFly Serial Adapter 370M serial interface can be configured to enable flow
control and null modem signaling. The Jumper block is accessed by removing
the battery cover from the WiFly serial adapter.

WARNING: flow control signals are NOT RS232 signaling tolerant. If these are
enabled with the jumper do not exceed 3.3 VDC or permanent damage can
occur.

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RN-370F

Female DB9

RN-374M
Male DB9

Low Power Mode

The "user" config file is created using the "save user" command which saves
the current configuration settings.

Even if there is a “user” config file arming and toggling this switch seven (7)
times will override the “user” settings and restore the wifly module to the
factory hardcoded defaults. This is a bypass mechanism in case a bad
configuration is saved into the “user” file.

Switch 2 – Sensor pin 2

Currently not used

Switch 3 – Sensor pin 3

Currently not used

Switch 4 – Sensor pin 7

Currently not used

WiFi Connections

The WiFi serial adapter is used to create a WiFi connection to a variety of
application, some examples are:

• Remote environmental sensors

• Linking mobile devices like GPS and light sensors

• Automotive diagnostics

• Industrial equipment monitoring and control

The WiFly Serial adapater can be configured in a Point to point (Adhoc) or
Infrastructure Networking setup. In the point to point setup the WiFly serial

adapter is connected via adhoc to an iPhone, Smartphone or laptop computer to
download the data or control a remote device through the serial interface.

With the Network setup the WiFly Serial Adapter associates with an access point
and is reachable from any machine on the LAN. You can extend this access to
anywhere on the internet by using Dynamic DNS. The Network setup is useful
when the WiFly serial adapter is making connections to a server and uploading
data.

Creating a Point to Point setup

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