Fig. 5.6: Antenna connector TNC

An antenna can connect to RipEX via TNC female 50Ω connector.

A model with two antenna connectors can be supplied to order, in which the Rx and Tx antennas are separate. This model is typically used on communication towers where one Rx and one Tx antennas are common for most devices.

See Section 5.5, “Model offerings”.

	Note
	Frequency split (different Rx and Tx frequency) is independent from the presence of two antenna connectors. It can be set even on standard RipEX with one antenna connector.

	Warning – hazardous locations
	Antenna has to be installed outside of the hazardous zone.

Fig. 5.7: Separated Rx and Tx antennas

Warning: RipEX radio modem may be damaged when operated without an antenna or a dummy load.

	Important
	Coaxial overvoltage protection – antenna feeder should be secured with surge protection (lightning arrestor). We recommend to use DC block type surge protection, which can be found on RACOM’s website. If any other type of surge protection is desired, we recommend to consult it with our technical support.

This rugged connector connects to a power supply and it contains control signals. A Plug with screw-terminals and retaining screws for power and control connector is supplied with each RipEX. It is Tyco 7 pin terminal block plug, part No. 1776192-7, contact pitch 3.81 mm. The connector is designed for electric wires with a cross section of 0.5 to 1.5 mm². Strip the wire leads to 6 mm (1/4 inch). Isolated cables should receive PKC 108 or less end sleeves before they are inserted in the clip. Insert the cables in the wire ports, tightening securely.

Pins 3 and 7, 4 and 6 are connected internally.

	Warning – hazardous locations
	The unit must be powered with an intrinsic save power source for use in hazardous locations.

Fig. 5.8: Supply connector

Fig. 5.9: Power and Control – cable plug

SLEEP INPUT SLEEP INPUT is the digital input for activating the Sleep mode. When this pin is grounded (for example when connected to pin 3), the RipEX switches into the Sleep mode. Using Power management (Advanced Config.), the Entering the Sleep mode can be delayed by a set time. Disconnecting SLEEP INPUT from GND (-) ends the Sleep mode. Note that RipEX takes 48 seconds to wake up from the Sleep mode. SLEEP INPUT can be also used for the wake-up from the Save state. For details see chapter (Advanced Config., Power management)

HW ALARM INPUT HW ALARM INPUT is a digital input. If grounded (e.g. by connecting to PIN 3), an external alarm is triggered. This alarm can be used for example to transmit information using SNMP Notification, informing for instance about a power outage or RTU problem. For details about Alarm management see chapter Advanced Configuration.

HW ALARM OUTPUT HW ALARM OUTPUT is a digital output. It can be activated in Alarm management settings, chapter Advanced Configuration. It may be used for instance to inform the connected RTU about a RipEX alarm or about the Unit ready status. If an alarm is triggered, HW ALARM OUTPUT is internally connected to GND. If the external device requires connection to positive terminal of the power supply, PIN 4 should be used.

POWER

The POWER pins labelled + and – serve to connect a power supply 10–30 VDC. The requirements for a power supply are defined in Section 5.4, “Technical specification”.

Standard RJ45 connector for Ethernet connection. RipEX has 10/100 BaseT Auto MDI/MDIX interface so it can connect to 10 Mbps or 100 Mbps Ethernet network. The speed can be selected manually or recognised automatically by RipEX. RipEX is provided with Auto MDI/MDIX function which allows it to connect over both standard and cross cables, adapting itself automatically.
 

RipEX provides two serial interfaces COM1 and COM2 terminated by DSUB9F connectors. COM1 is always RS232, COM2 can be configured as RS232 or RS485 (more in Adv. Conf., COM).

RipEX‘s RS232 is a hard-wired DCE (Data Communication Equipment) device. Equipment connected to the RipEX’s serial ports should be DTE (Data Terminal Equipment) and a straight-through cable should be used. If a DCE device is connected to the RipEX‘s serial ports, a null modem adapter or cross cable has to be used.
 

RipEX keeps pin 6 DSR at the level of 1 by RS232 standard permanently….

RipEX uses USB 1.1, Host A interface. USB interface is wired as standard:
 

The USB interface is designed for the connection to an – external ETH/USB adapter or a Wifi adapter. They are optional accessories to RipEX, for more details see Section 4.3, “Connecting RipEX to a programming PC”. The adapters are used for service access to RipEX’s web configuration interface.

The USB interface can also be used for an external flash disc connection, which has been specifically designed to simplify complex maintenance tasks, so that these tasks can be performed by unqualified personnel in the field by simple plugging-in an USB stick and waiting until a LED flashes.

The USB connector also provides power supply (5 V/ 0.5 A). It can be used to temporarily power a connected device, for instance a telephone. The USB connector should not be used as permanent source of power supply.

	Note – hazardous locations
	Only USB equipments dedicated for hazardous locations shall remain connected permanently.

5.2.5.1. External USB flash disc

An external USB flash disc can be used for firmware upgrade, SW keys upload, configuration backup and restore, ssl certificate and ssh keys upload and tech-support package download. Any common USB stick with several megabytes of free space can be used for these tasks.

	Note
	The flash disc has to contain the FAT32 file system (the most common one at the time of writing). Any other file system will be simply ignored by the RipEX. When in doubt, consult your IT expert.

Once the RipEX recognizes a flash disc inserted into the USB interface, the status LED starts blinking slowly, alternating red and green colors. That indicates the start of the upload/download of files. The LED flashing may change during the process, the successful completion of the recording is indicated by fast alternating green and red flashes (about 3 times per second). Note that it may take up to 10 minutes (when an FW upgrade is performed).

	Warning
	NEVER unplug the USB disc before the proper (fast) flashing of the status LED starts! You may damage your disc otherwise.

Following a successful detection of a USB flash disc, the RipEX writes the tech-support package, log files and the configuration text file to it. Then the README.txt file, which contains all the necessary information on the structure and names of files and directories, is written into the root directory of the disc. Please follow the detailed instructions in that file, or read it below:

Required FLASH structure:

• for single radiomodem upgrade:

  /ra1-RACOM-<VERSION>.cpio	firmware package(s), newest version is used
  /swkey/	directory with SW keys
  *_<SERNO>_*.txt	SW key(s)
  /config.txt	new configuration in text form
  /web.pem	new Web certificate (complete or first part)
  /web.key	second part of Web certificate (if necessary)
  /admin.pub	new CLI key
  /rmtaccess.key	new remote access key

• for upgrade of multiple radiomodems:

  /ra1-RACOM-<VERSION>.cpio	firmware package, newest version is used
  /swkey/	directory with SW keys
  *_<SERNO>_*.txt	SW key(s)
  /cnf/	directory with new configurations
  <SERNO>_*_config.txt	new configuration(s) in text form
  /web.pem	new Web certificate (complete or first part)
  /web.key	second part of Web certificate (if necessary)
  /admin.pub	new CLI key
  /rmtaccess.key	new remote access key

All files/directories are optional, depending on the scope of upgrade. If no files are present, only data gathering will be performed.

	Note
	Whenever an FW file (.cpio) is found in the root directory of the disc, the upgrade is executed automatically, regardless of the version of the currently active FW. If more than one FW file is found, the latest version is used. Remember to remove the FW files from the disk root when you do not intend to perform an upgrade. The same principles apply to a configuration update from the disc.

Created files:

/RipEX_README.txt	README file
/cnf_archive/	directory with archived configurations
<SERNO>_<NAME>_config.txt	archived configuration(s) in text form
/logs/	directory with log files
log_<SERNO>.txt	log file(s)
/tech_support/	directory with technical support packages
<SERNO>_<NAME>_tsupport.tgz	technical support package(s)

Fig. 5.10: GPS Connector SMA

RipEX.can be equipped with an internal GPS, see Section 5.5, “Model offerings”. The GPS module is used for time synchronisation of the NTP server inside RipEX. See Adv. Conf., Time for more. In this case the front panel contains a SMA female 50 ohm connector for connecting the GPS antenna.

Fig. 5.11: Reset button

A reset button is situated on the underside of each RipEX unit. The button support multiple functions. Each function is activated dependant on how long the reset button is depressed. The “Physical security” parameter in Settings/Device/Management menu dictates the behavior features available when depressing the button.
 

Physical security = Off:
When button is depressed

Physical security = On:
When button is depressed

Default access settings:

	Note
	To reset the RipEX only use the RESET button as described above or use the button in RipEX’s web configuration, see Adv. Conf., Maintenance. Never use a power cycling (disconnecting and reconnecting power supply) to reset it. While power cycle resets, or rather reboots the RipEX, its software will not terminate correctly resulting in logs, statistics and graphs not being saved properly.

The very first parameter which is often required for consideration is the receiver sensitivity. Anyone interested in the wireless data transmission probably aware what this parameter means, but we should regard it simultaneously in its relation to other receiver parameters, especially blocking and desensitization. Today’s wireless communication arena tends to be overcrowded and a modern radio modem, which is demanded to compete with others in that environment, should have good dynamic range that is defined by the parameters listed above. Receiver of a radio modem, which is designed purely for optimum sensitivity, will not be able to give proper performance. However, the main receiver parameters determining its dynamic range go against each other and a clear trade-off between the sensitivity and the blocking is therefore an essential assumption. Then, from the viewpoint of a logical comparison, the consequence of better receiver sensitivity can be easily seen – a lower power level of the blocking and degradation parameters generally.

Blocking or desensitization values were determined according to the standards EN 302 561 V1.2.1 for 50 kHz channel, EN 300 113-1 V1.7.1 for 25 and 12.5 kHz channels, and ETSI 301 166-1 V1.3.2 for channel 6.25 kHz.

Note

All the Sensitivities above are guaranteed ones, i.e. every single unit has got typically even better values for 0–4 dB. BER (Bit Error Rate) is calculated from PER (Packet Error Rate) when packet size was 60 Bytes. All the values above are guaranteed for temperatures from -30 to +60 °C (-22 to +140 °F) and for all frequency channels. The RipEX spurious response rejection is defined as “better than 70 dB”, where 70 dB is the limit defined by ETSI EN 300 113. We confirm that the real measured values of this parameter are better than 75 dB. The radio circuits in RipEX were designed to provide protection from the output of the power amplifier and no oscillation, no damage into infinite VSWR at any phase angle occurs. OBW 99% (Occupied BandWidth) – the bandwidth containing 99% of the total integrated power of the transmitted spectrum, centered on the assigned channel frequency. “26 dB Bandwidth” – the bandwidth where, beyond its lower and upper limits, any discrete spectrum component or the power spectral density is attenuated by at least 26 dB, relative to a given and predetermined zero dB level. Please contact RACOM for current status of official test reports for CE, FCC and other standards for different models (frequencies) and different channel spacings. “Unlimited 50 kHz” channel mask is slightly wider than the relevant CE or FCC requirements, ” Narrow 25 kHz” is slightly narrower than the relevant CE requirement. If necessary contact RACOM for more details.

Standard RipEX package in paper box contents:

Accessories

Power supplies
PWS-AC/DC-AD-155A – Power supply with back-up 90–260 VAC/13.8 VDC/150 W
PWS-AC/DC-DR-75-12 – Power supply 85–264 VAC/12 VDC/75 W DIN
PWS-AC/DC-MS2000/12 – Power supply with back-up 230 VAC/13.8 VDC/70 W
BAT-12V/5Ah – Battery 12 V, 5.0 Ah (for RipEX_DEMO_CASE)
BAT-12V/7.2Ah – Battery 12 V, 7.2 Ah (for RipEX-HSB)

Holders
RipEX_F_BRACKET – Flat-bracket, for flat mounting
RipEX_L_BRACKET – L-bracket, for vertical mounting

19‘ rack mounting
RipEX_D_RACK_230 – 19″ rack shelf double, incl. 2× PS 100–256 VAC / 24 VDC
RipEX_D_RACK_48 – 19″ rack shelf double, incl. 2× PS 48 VDC / 24 VDC
RipEX_S_RACK_MS – 19″ rack shelf single, incl. MS2000/12 + AKU 7.2 Ah
RipEX_S_RACK_230 – 19″ rack shelf single, incl. PS 100–256 VAC / 24 VDC
RipEX_S_RACK_48 – 19″ rack shelf single, incl. PS 48 VDC / 24 VDC

Others
RipEX_X5 – ETH/USB adapter
RipEX_W1 – Wifi adapter
RipEX_DEMO_CASE – Demo case (without radio modems)
RipEX_DUMMYLOAD – Dummy load antenna
RipEX_C_NM_50 – Feedline cable, RG58, 50 cm, TNC Male – N Male
OTH-VHF50HN – Coaxial overvoltage protection 100–512 MHz, N female/N female
RipEX-HS – 19″ Hot Standby chassis, RipEX units excl., pow. supplies incl. (has got its own ordering codes, see RipEX-HS User manual)
RipEX-HSB – 19″ Battery pack chassis for RipEX-HS, batteries excl.