G-Link2™ -LXRS® Versatile, Ruggedized Four-channel Analog Sensor Node

In general 802.15.4 and WiFi (802.11) coexsist without much interference to either type of signal.  However, physical placement of wireless routers and WSDA -base stations may require the selection of "prefered" channels.   There are only two (2) 802.15.4 channels where WiFi DOESN’T share the same frequency, 15 and 20.

Typically, Wifi APs default to channel 6.

*note: channel 25 and 26 are not available with current Lord Microstrain wireless technology

The % bandwidth has to do with how many nodes/channels you can use at one time.  When setting up a Synchronized Sampling network, SensorConnect will interrogate each node and assign transmission slots for them to send data to the base station.  This is designed to keep the nodes from broadcasting at the same time and causing data loss.  The more channels, and higher sample rate of a node will require more transmission slots, thus higher % of available bandwidth used.

The most common cause of this issue is that the customer connects the WSDA directly to the PC via the ethernet cable without setting the WSDA -1000 up for Static IP first.  If you refer to page 3 of the quick start guide http://files.microstrain.com/WSDA-1500_QSG_(8501-0057).pdf

To connect to the gateway Control Panel through Live Connect™ an initial connection to a DHCP enabled network is required.

1. Connect the host computer and gateway to the DHCP network, and apply power to the gateway.

Verify the gateway status indicator shows that it is on and has completed the boot up process.

This means that the WSDA and the computer needs to be connected to a device (like a router) that will assign an IP address to it.  Once this is done the user will be able to log into the WSDA web control panel (using the router assigned IP), and change the network mode to Static IP in the configuration screen.  They would then need to change the network card of the computer to a complementing Static IP.  After this is done the user should be able directly connect the WSDA to a computer.

Excel displays our time stamp incorrectly.  If you were to open the data file in Notepad you would see the correct time format. 

To correct the data in Excel, Highlight all of column A, right click on the highlighted region and select Format Cells.  Under the Number tab select Custom, Scroll to the bottom of the list that appears and select “m/d/yyyy h:mm”.  You will need to add “:ss.000” to the end of this, so it looks like this “m/d/yyyy h:mm:ss.000” .  Setting the cells to this will give you the highest resolution that Excel can show.

We use Universal Coordinated Time (UTC) to collect data on all of our devices.  There is no provision to set the time to a local time zone. 

In Node Commander software, on the analog pairing screen, there is a check box for "Float". What is the function of this check box?

If the node is configured to send data to the base station in floating point mode, you need to enable this checkbox and set the 0-3 volt scaling.

The WSDA-RGD (with internal GX3 inertial sensor) is configured to produce the following messages on startup.

GPS Data (1 Hz):

• UTC Time
• LLH Position
• NED Velocity

AHRS Data (100 Hz):

• Euler Angles

From this output the WSDA logs:

GPS (1 Hz):

• latitude
• longitude
• height above ellipsoid
• height above MSL
• horizontal accuracy
• vertical accuracy
• speed

AHRS (100 Hz):

• roll
• pitch
• yaw

The WSDA-RGD does not log any data until it gets a valid time, if it is set to get time from GPS only it will not log any output from the GX3 until the UTC timestamp from the GX3 is valid, even though the GX3 is producing valid AHRS data.

This data is not user configurable and is not available as a live stream through LiveConnect.

As a general rule, you can calculate the battery life of a wireless node by dividing the amp hours of charge on the battery by the amps consumed during sampling.

Using the V-Link-LXRS as an example, we read in the data sheet (http://files.microstrain.com/V-Link_LXRS_datasheet.pdf) that the internal rechargeable battery has a nominal charge of 650 mAh (milliamp hours).  We next go to the V-Link-LXRS power profile (http://files.microstrain.com/V-Link-LXRS-Power-Profile.pdf) and we read that the V-Link-LXRS consumes 12.816 mA when sampling a 350 ohm strain gauge on 1 channel at 128 Hz.  By dividing 650 mAh by 12.816 mA, we find that the battery will last approximately 50 hours before needing recharge.

Yes!

However, new LXRS functions such as synchronized sampling, beaconing, etc. will not be available for your older node.

All LORD MicroStrain wireless sensor nodes, wireless base stations, and wireless sensor data aggregators are shipped from the factory with their radio frequency set to channel 15 (2.425 GHz).

This channel setting was established during 2012.

Previously all wireless products were set to channel 25 (2.475 GHz).

With the introduction of our LXRS radio technology, and its accompanying increase in radio strength and signal distance, the channel 25 radio frequency (2.475 GHz) and the channel 26 radio frequency (2.480 GHz) created harmonics on the edge of the Zigbee band that precludes their use.

All wireless products, both older and new, continue to support 14 channels running from channel 11 to channel 24.

All LORD MicroStrain wireless sensor nodes, wireless base stations, and wireless sensor data aggregators are shipped from the factory with their radio frequency set to channel 15 (2.425 GHz).

This channel setting was established during 2012.

Previously all wireless products were set to channel 25 (2.475 GHz).

With the introduction of our LXRS radio technology, and its accompanying increase in radio strength and signal distance, the channel 25 radio frequency (2.475 GHz) and the channel 26 radio frequency (2.480 GHz) created harmonics on the edge of the Zigbee band that precludes their use.

All wireless products, both older and new, continue to support 14 channels running from channel 11 to channel 24.

All LORD MicroStrain wireless sensor nodes, wireless base stations, and wireless sensor data aggregators are shipped from the factory with their radio frequency set to channel 15 (2.425 GHz).

This channel setting was established during 2012.

Previously all wireless products were set to channel 25 (2.475 GHz).

With the introduction of our LXRS radio technology, and its accompanying increase in radio strength and signal distance, the channel 25 radio frequency (2.475 GHz) and the channel 26 radio frequency (2.480 GHz) created harmonics on the edge of the Zigbee band that precludes their use.

All wireless products, both older and new, continue to support 14 channels running from channel 11 to channel 24.

All LORD MicroStrain wireless sensor nodes, wireless base stations, and wireless sensor data aggregators are shipped from the factory with their radio frequency set to channel 15 (2.425 GHz).

This channel setting was established during 2012.

Previously all wireless products were set to channel 25 (2.475 GHz).

If you are mixing new nodes and base stations with older nodes and base stations, please be cognizant of these different channel settings.

The Node Discovery function of Node Commander will help you sort out which nodes are on what channels; Node Discovery is channel independent and allows the base station to communicate with any node, no matter what channel it is on

Sampling methods such as synchronized sampling, low duty cycle, network broadcast, etc. require that all nodes are on the same frequency so you will want to insure that you have adjusted the channels settings of the nodes to suit.

All LORD MicroStrain wireless sensor nodes, wireless base stations, and wireless sensor data aggregators are shipped from the factory with their radio frequency set to channel 15 (2.425 GHz).

This channel setting was established during 2012.

Previously all wireless products were set to channel 25 (2.475 GHz).

If you are mixing new nodes and base stations with older nodes and base stations, please be cognizant of these different channel settings.

The Node Discovery function of Node Commander will help you sort out which nodes are on what channels; Node Discovery is channel independent and allows the base station to communicate with any node, no matter what channel it is on

Sampling methods such as synchronized sampling, low duty cycle, network broadcast, etc. require that all nodes are on the same frequency so you will want to insure that you have adjusted the channels settings of the nodes to suit.

All LORD MicroStrain wireless sensor nodes, wireless base stations, and wireless sensor data aggregators are shipped from the factory with their radio frequency set to channel 15 (2.425 GHz).

This channel setting was established during 2012.

Previously all wireless products were set to channel 25 (2.475 GHz).

If you are mixing new nodes and base stations with older nodes and base stations, please be cognizant of these different channel settings.

The Node Discovery function of Node Commander will help you sort out which nodes are on what channels; Node Discovery is channel independent and allows the base station to communicate with any node, no matter what channel it is on

Sampling methods such as synchronized sampling, low duty cycle, network broadcast, etc. require that all nodes are on the same frequency so you will want to insure that you have adjusted the channels settings of the nodes to suit.

The internal power switch allows the wireless node to use external power from batteries or other sources. Here is a link to a detailed technical note: http://files.microstrain.com/8401-0004-Using-External-Power-With-Wireless-Sensor-Nodes.pdf