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Introduction

Today's engineers are faced with many choices when designing communication networks for SCADA application. The myriad of competing radio products with different radio technology makes the choice even more difficult. FreeWaveâ products offer many advantages over the other competitors by significantly improving the radio performance, reducing the complexity of network configuration and installation as well as reducing total cost of engineering. Understanding these advantages will enable you to differentiate FreeWaveâ products from the competitors and allow you to design the most cost effective solution for your customers.

Operation Advantages

1. No license required
FreeWave900MHz and 2.4GHz spread spectrum radio operates in the license free ISM band. As such, the radio can be operated without any license in the USA, Canada and many countries throughout the world. This is a major advantage over licensed radio networks. There is no installation delay in trying to obtain the approval of any license and there are no recurring fees to pay for any license. In many situations, it is not even possible to obtain a license as all available frequency bands have been assigned in that region.

2. No recurring fees
Subscriber based communication networks like telephone-leased line, satellite terminals and cellular phone sets have recurring monthly fees. In addition, some of these services come with a very high initial installation charges. Other than the small electricity supply cost, FreeWaveâ have no recurring fees.

3. Dedicated network availability
FreeWaveradio networks are fully dedicated to your usage. There is no sharing of capacity and you do not rely on the quality of the network availability maintained by a third party. All data transmission is transacted within your own closed loop network. There is no traffic overlap from other installation of FreeWaveâ by another user as each has a unique address coding that identifies them apart. Subscriber based service like cellular phone cannot guarantee that service will always be available.

4. Integrated hardware package with FCC certification
FreeWaveradio comes in an integrated package that consists of the radio transceiver and data modem. There is no additional component required for data communication. The radio modem is available in weatherproof enclosure or as a one-piece OEM circuit board that can be readily installed into existing equipment rack space or cabinet. The radio comes with FCC and Canadian DOC certification and type acceptance. No additional RF certification is required. The one-piece OEM circuit board comes with UL Class 1 Division 2 certification.

Technical Advantages

1. Frequency hopping spread spectrum technology
Frequency hopping technology offers superior performance over direct sequence radio system in its ability to operate in the presence of strong noise and interference as well as reduced detection by eavesdrops scanning. A narrow band front-end proprietary filtering technique employed on FreeWaveâ radio provides superior receiver sensitivity. This translates into outstanding operating range and reduces susceptibility to noise and interference.

2. Full band frequency hopping
The proprietary hoping algorithm employed by FreeWave utilizes the entire available frequency bandwidth of 230 kHz. This is divided into 80 discrete frequency channels for hopping. The transceiver changes the channel frequency 100 times per second at a pseudo random pattern. If noise or interference prohibits the successful transmission of a packet of data, the information is instantly retransmitted with other different channels. Retransmission is transparent to the data terminal unit. This provides superior performance in the presence of interference, and multipath fading. 105 users definable hopping pattern allow parallel operation of many FreeWaveâ in close vicinity without self-interference. User selectable controls are frequency band, hopping pattern, frequency offset and frequency steps.

3. 115.2 kbps data rate
FreeWaveâ transceiver modem supports RS-232 data rates from 153.6 kbps to 115.2 kbps. The transmission at 115.2 kbps is sustainable at full speed even when interference requires retransmission of 25% of the time. With repeater-equipped network, the effective rate will be 57.6 kbps.

4. Maximum 440 mW output
The maximum output power from the radio transmitter is 440 mW. This ensure safe working environment for personal in regard to radio emission hazard. The output power can be adjusted with steps of 100 mW to allow good radio range profile control and network design.

5. -110 dBm receiver sensitivity
FreeWaveâ transceiver supports a front-end sensitivity of -110 dBm at 230 kHz RF bandwidth. The raw bit error rate is 10-6 at -108dBm and 10-4 at -110dBm. Other spread spectrum radio may offer similar sensitivity but at a much narrower bandwidth. This will result in much lower data throughput when interference is present. Direct sequence spread spectrum transceiver may offer similar bandwidth and throughput but at a reduced sensitivity and thus reduce operation range.

6. 137 dB system gain and operation range
FreeWave radio system has a 137 dB of radio gain, which gives good tolerance for fade margin and operation range. The typical line of sight operating range for the radio is 20 miles (32 km) point to point.

7. Common hardware
Any FreeWave radio modem can be configured to be a master, slave, repeater or slave/repeater base station in a point-to-point or multipoint network. Other available functions allow any FreeWaveÒ modem to be configured to function as a dial up modem supporting standard AT command set.

8. Single radio repeater
A single FreeWave radio can be configured to be function as a store and forward repeater. This eliminates the need to use two radios back to back to provide the repeater function. Repeater may also be configured as a repeater/slave, which has a DTE connected to its RS-232 port.

9. Upward compatibility
The first FreeWave radio built is still network compatible with products today. Installed networks can be easily expanded without replacing previously installed radios. As improvements are made, firmware upgrades are provided at no charge and can be e-mailed and easily installed by your customer in the field without removing the equipment.

10. 100% temperature tested
Every FreeWaveÒ product is built and tested in FreeWave Technologies Ltd. world-class facility in Boulder, Colorado USA, to operate over the temperature range of -40oC to +75oC at full performance.

11. Rugged weatherproof version
FreeWaveÒ radio modems are available in special weatherproof packages. All the cable connector joints are specially constructed to ensure waterproof function.

12. 9.5, 12 and 30 VDC power option
The radio package is available in 9.5, 12 and 30 VDC operation. Power safe feature allows the radio to go into low consumption mode (5 mA) to conserve energy while still maintaining full alert to transmit/receive any data that is designated for it. A unit will wakes up, synchronizes with the network and accept data in less than 150 microseconds.

13. Single board version
FreeWave radio modems are available as OEM board level modules. The PCB measures 2.5 inches x 5 inches x 0.7 inch in dimension. It provides the same feature and performance as the packaged units except on weatherproofing function. The board comes with FCC Part 15 certification and Industry Canada certification. Both RS-232 and TTL electrical logic level are supported. A UL Class 1 Division 2 certification is also available.

14. No external software required
No external software is required to configure FreeWave radio modem. The same RS-232 port is used for simple Hyper terminal command available through all Windows 95/98/Me/2000/XP operation system. The instruction menu is simple text based selector.

15. Protocol transparent
FreeWave radio modem support transparent serial data send through (the radio function as a null modem). The DTE/DTU does not see any change in the data they are receiving.

16. Built in diagnostic function
The radio modem has built in diagnostics functions to measure noise level, signal strength; percent receive rate and operating temperature. These values are accessible via the Hyper terminal menu.

17. Network Diagnostic Software
FreeWave offers a free software, which allow remote monitoring, and configuration of all network radio from the master station. This will greatly simplify routine maintenance and trouble shooting task.

18. Reliable error free communication
The transceiver uses a 32 bits CRC with acknowledgement and automatic retransmission to insure that each packet of data is delivered successfully. This function operates transparently to the DTE and DTU.

19. Front panel LED indicators
The front panel LED indicators present basic information about the status of the radio modem operation. There are four states representation with the 3 LED color lights;
· Unit Powered,
· Repeater & Slave connected to Master with no data transmission,
· Repeater & Slave connected to Master with Master sending data to Slave
· Repeater & Slave connected to Master with Slave sending data to Master.

20. Two years warranty
FreeWave products are provided with a two years warranty against defects in materials and workmanship. Out of warranty repairs are provided at prevailing service department rates to a maximum charge of USD200 per incident, which covers the replacement of transceiver board.

21. Free firmware update
FreeWave Technologies Ltd. periodically releases new version of firmware to add new features or to improve the performance of its products. These upgrades are available at no cost and can be installed by the end user in the field without removing the unit. The firmware is easily uploaded via the RS-232 port with a Hyper terminal accessing the built in menu.

Radio Network Design Note

Note: FreeWaveÒ has also available radio modem with license band operation in the 138MHz (military use only), 225-400MHz (military use only) and 1.4GHz bands. The deployment of these products will require application of radio license from your country telecommunication governing authority.

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