Introduction
The purpose of this manual is to educate users on the functionality and use of the 4 channel Wireless 4-20mA Mirror Pro product. Please contact us with any questions you may have on the use of this product.
Power Requirements
These products are sold with optional power supplies which are recommended for use with the product. If you must supply your own power supply to the devices then a regulated 9-32VDC power supply source capable of supplying a minimum of 2.4 watts. Power may be connected through labeled 2.1 mm barrel connector(center pin positive) or through screw terminals.
Wireless Range
The 900 mHz wireless modules installed in this product have a rated range from the manufacturer of 1000 feet for indoor/urban applications or 2 miles for outdoor clear line of site applications. This rating is based on the Antennas NCD includes with every product. Higher gain antennas may be sourced from 3rd party suppliers to significantly increase the range of these products. NCD cannot supply technical support for range increase over antennas provided by third party suppliers nor can we make an specific recommendations as to where to source these antennas. We can however tell you that the connection to the wireless module is an RP-SMA style connector, the wireless module operates at 900 mHz, the transmit power is 24dBm (250 mW), and the receive sensitivity is -101 dBm. This as well as additional information on these wireless modules can be obtained from the manufacturer here.
Device Status Color Changing LED
These devices have a status RGB LED visible from outside the enclosure which allows the user to monitor the status of the device and determine what is wrong if an error is present. This RGB LED is located on the top of the Enclosure where the product branding is present which makes it visible in most mounting orientations.
Device status is indicated by LED color as well as flashing intervals. The LED will flash in short intervals separated by a long pause. The number of flashes between long pauses can indicate different information. Here is a list LED Flashs and their meaning:
Green Flashes
- Green LED flashes indicate that the Unit is in normal operation, and has valid communication with it’s mating device. The number of Flashes between long pauses indicates the connected signal strength with 5 flashes being a flawless connection to 1 flash being a poor connection.
1 Red Flash
- This indicates that the devices is not able to communicate with the Wireless module. This can be due to damage to the Wireless module or bad seating of the module. Contact support if this occurs.
2 Red Flashes
- This indicates an issue with either the ADC or DAC IC on the board used to monitor analog input signals on the Mirror Sender unit or to generate analog output signals on the Mirror Receiver unit. Contact support if this occurs. Contact support if this occurs.
3 Red Flashes
- This indicates the device is not able to communicate with it’s mating unit. If this happens it is recommended to bring both units within 10 ft of each other(not closer than 5 ft). Make sure antennas are properly connected and both boards have adequate power supplied to them. Many times this is caused by a communication range deficiency. Try mounting antennas higher or in a more desirable location, or consider sourcing higher power antennas from a 3rd party supplier.
Solid Blue
- This indicates the unit is in configuration mode. In this mode the device will broadcast a network SSID and will accept WiFi client connections. Over this WiFi connection the Device serves a configuration web interface allowing the user to modify device configuration and view status information on the device.
Configuration Mode
Configuration Mode allows the user to modify device configuration and also monitor device status through a built in web interface.
To Enter configuration mode simply power on the device, then press and release the CFG mode button located on the side of the enclosure, it is recommended to use a wire, paper clip, or pencil/pen to press the CFG button since it is not possible to press using a finger.
Once in Configuration mode the Status LED will turn solid Blue. At this time the device will appear as a WiFi Access point. Simply connect your computer, smart phone or tablet to this WiFi Network. The default WiFi network password for this network will be NCDBeast Many computing devices will automatically open a web browser displaying the device’s Web UI. If your device does not automatically open a web browser once connected to the network then manually open your web browser and enter 172.217.28.1
Functionality of this will be discussed in the WEB UI section of this guide.
WEB UI 4-20mA Input Mirror Transmitter Device
For security purposes the WEB UI is only available to the user when the device is in Configuration mode. For more information on entering Configuration mode and accessing this web interface see the Configuration Mode section of this guide.
Web Interface Device Configuration(4-20mA Input Mirror Transmitter)
Settings for the Transmitter may be configured through the device’s web interface. Here we will discuss those configuration settings and what they mean.
Destination Address
- This should be set to the Serial Number address of the receiver board. The format should be something like 00:13:A2:00:01:02:03:04
Transmit Interval(milliseconds)
- It is preferable to minimize the amount of wireless transmissions sent by these devices. If several pairs are installed in a location the 900mhz band can become congested. Transmit Interval specifies the interval what which the input board MUST transmit it’s input status to the receiver. This updates the receiver on the status of the channels and also lets the receiver know that the transmitter is still powered up and has a valid connection. This setting should be at least 500 milliseconds shorter than the Timeout setting on the 4-20mA Output Mirror Receiver device.
Change Threshold(milliamps)
- Each time the 4-20mA Input Mirror Transmitter board transmits the status of it’s inputs to the receiver that input status is stored in memory. Each CPU cycle the device will read the status of it’s inputs and compare it’s current status with the last transmitted status. If that difference exceeds this Change Threshold parameter then a transmission will be sent to the receiver. This means less wireless traffic since duplicate input status readings will not be sent unless the Transmit Interval requires a transmission.
Node ID
- This setting can be largely ignored. It was added in order to follow protocols with our Enterprise series devices in case it is required at a later date.
Web Interface Device Status(4-20mA Input Mirror Transmitter)
RSSI
- This is the current wireless connection strength by % with the mating unit 100 being a perfect connection, 0 being no connection.
Channel 1
- This is the current status of input 1 in mA. This depicts the current signal applied to input 1.
Channel 2
- This is the current status of input 2 in mA. This depicts the current signal applied to input 2.
Channel 3
- This is the current status of input 3 in mA. This depicts the current signal applied to input 3.
Channel 4
- This is the current status of input 3 in mA. This depicts the current signal applied to input 4.
Web Interface Device Calibration(4-20mA Input Mirror Transmitter)
Channels should only be calibrated if necessary. Devices are factory calibrated here prior to shipping and should be very accurate out of the box. To calibrate channels the user must apply a known 4-20mA signal to an input, then enter the applied signal in mA in the channel configuration text box, wait for the status reading to reflect the signal has been applied, then click the Configure button for that channel.
Calibrate Channel 1
- Enter applied signal value in mA for input 1 into the text box, wait for input status to reflect the signal is applied, then click Calibrate.
Calibrate Channel 2
- Enter applied signal value in mA for input 2 into the text box, wait for input status to reflect the signal is applied, then click Calibrate.
Calibrate Channel 3
- Enter applied signal value in mA for input 3 into the text box, wait for input status to reflect the signal is applied, then click Calibrate.
Calibrate Channel 4
- Enter applied signal value in mA for input 4 into the text box, wait for input status to reflect the signal is applied, then click Calibrate.
WEB UI 4-20mA Output Mirror Transmitter Device
For security purposes the WEB UI is only available to the user when the device is in Configuration mode. For more information on entering Configuration mode and accessing this web interface see the Configuration Mode section of this guide.
Web Interface Device Configuration(4-20mA Output Mirror Receiver)
Settings for the Receiver may be configured through the device’s web interface. Here we will discuss those configuration settings and what they mean.
Destination Address
- This should be set to the Serial Number address of the transmitter board. The format should be something like 00:13:A2:00:01:02:03:04
Timeout(milliseconds)
- This parameter determines the amount of time after which the receiver should assume it no longer has connection to the transmitter board. If the receiver does not receive a transmission from the transmitter after this amount of time it will determine it no long has connection. This should be set to a minimum of 500 milliseconds longer than the transmitter device’s Transmit Interval setting.
Mode
- This setting determines how the 4-20mA output Receiver should deal with a loss of connection with the mating device. Currently there are 2 possible modes( 0 and 1). In mode 0 the receiver will set all channel outputs to 0 mA in the event of loss of communications with the transmitter. In mode 1 the receiver will maintain it’s current channel mA output until it receives a new transmission from the transmitter.
Web Interface Device Status(4-20mA Output Mirror Receiver)
RSSI
- This is the current wireless connection strength by % with the mating unit 100 being a perfect connection, 0 being no connection.
Channel 1
- This is the current status of output 1 in mA.
Channel 2
- This is the current status of output 2 in mA.
Channel 3
- This is the current status of output 3 in mA.
Channel 4
- This is the current status of output 3 in mA.
Web Interface Device Calibration(4-20mA Output Mirror Receivers)
Channels should only be calibrated if necessary. Devices are factory calibrated here prior to shipping and should be very accurate out of the box. To calibrate channels the user must monitor the 4-20mA signal output by the channel, then enter the monitored signal in mA in the channel configuration text box, then click the Configure button for that channel.
Calibrate Channel 1
- Enter monitored signal value in mA for output channel 1 into the text box, then click Calibrate.
Calibrate Channel 2
- Enter monitored signal value in mA for output channel 2 into the text box, then click Calibrate.
Calibrate Channel 3
- Enter monitored signal value in mA for output channel 3 into the text box, then click Calibrate.
Calibrate Channel 4
- Enter monitored signal value in mA for output channel 4 into the text box, then click Calibrate.
Factory Reset
When deemed necessary it is possible to factory reset both Mirror Transmitters and Mirror Receivers individually. This will reset all settings including calibration and destination addresses to factory defaults. Note that the factory default for destination address is 00:00:00:00:00:FF:FF which is a broadcast address so it will be necessary to reenter destination address after a factory reset.
To perform a factory reset first enter Configuration mode as described in the Configuration Mode Section of this manual. Once in Configuration mode press and hold the CFG button on the side of the enclosure until the Status LED begins flashing random colors. Once the Status LED is flashing random colors release the CFG button. The device will not be in Factory state.