BARREL Iridium Modem Functional and Thermal Test Procedure

Transcription

1 BARREL FTP-103 BALLOON ARRAY FOR RBSP RELATIVISTIC ELECTRON LOSSES (BARREL) BARREL Iridium Modem Functional and Thermal Test Procedure Revision: Baseline Effective Date: March 24, 2011 National Aeronautics and Space Administration

2 Page 2 of 17 BARREL IRIDIUM MODEM FUNCTIONAL AND THERMAL TEST PROCEDURE Prepared By: March 10, 2011 David Smith, U. C. Santa Cruz, Co-Investigator Date Approval: March 14, 2011 Robyn Millan, Dartmouth College, Principal Investigator Date Concurrence: March 24, 2011 David McGaw, Dartmouth College, System Engineer Date March 14, 2011 Michael McCarthy, University of Washington, Co-Investigator Date

3 Page 3 of 17 CHANGE HISTORY LOG REVISION CHANGE DESCRIPTION/PAGES EFFECTED DATE APPROVAL

4 Page 4 of 17 TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS REQUIREMENTS: INTAKE PROCEDURE: CONFIGURATION PROCEDURE: LINK TEST PROCEDURE (TRANSMIT.EXE STILL RUNNING): THERMAL TEST APPENDIX A: MANUAL CONFIGURATION WITH HYPER-TERMINAL APPENDIX B: BARREL MODEM FUNCTIONAL TEST CHECKLIST APPENDIX C: BARREL MODEM THERMAL TEST CHECKLIST... 15

5 Page 5 of 17 Version REQUIREMENTS: - Iridium modem (A3LA-X or similar) to be tested - RF antenna cable and antenna with a good view of all four quadrants of the sky. - Data/power cable for modem with 9-pin and 25-pin connectors for data and two bare leads for 12V DC power and return; the latter are securely connected to two banana plugs. This is referred to below as Cable A. - Fluke 87 multimeter with 2 banana jacks (1 red, 1 black) Banana-plug cable (both ends) rated to 3 amps to connect the power supply to the Fluke ammeter; this is referred to as Cable B. - Computer with the program transmit.exe and bmoc.exe installed, including bmoc.uir and config.ini - 12V, 3A DC power supply with independent power strip. - Second (already qualified) modem, power/data cable, RF cable and antenna for link testing. - Thermal chamber. 2. INTAKE PROCEDURE: 1. Unpack modems, do a visual check for obvious defects. Initiate the acceptance test form. Open the SIM card chamber, insert SIM card, close chamber and screw tight to prevent moisture getting in during thermal testing. Record modem and SIM card information. 2. Connect the modem to the antenna cable (RF connector on one end of modem)** **Caution: Check the modem TNC connecter by making sure the fastening nut is tight before screwing to the antenna cable. If the coupling on the end of the cable doesn't turn very easily, remove and reseat it to try again. Do not force past any resistance while screwing it in, and do not finger tighten: as soon as the nut stops turning easily, the connection should be left alone. 3. Plug the serial cable 9-pin connector into a serial port on a computer running Windows XP. Set (or confirm) port settings as: baud, 8 data bits, No Parity,1 stop bit using Control panel-> system-> hardware-> ports. (NOTE: Modem should configure itself automatically to match the baud rate being sent). Record port No. being used. 4. Connect the modem to a 12V, 3A or higher DC power supply, with the power supply turned off: Connect negative (black) power lead on Cable A to power supply GND. Connect power cable positive lead (red) to Common port of the multimeter. Connect the red test lead (Cable B) with one end inserted into to the A/mA measurement port on the multimeter and the other end connected to the 12VDC

6 Page 6 of 17 power supply's positive port. 5. Connect the 25 pin D-sub connector at the other end of Cable A to the modem. Switch multimeter to A/mA, press Peak/Max/Min button. Turn on the 12V power supply to catch the power-up spike for the modem. Press Peak Max/Min (PMM) again, and it will display peak current. Record this value. Wait to see both the red and green LEDs light on at the side of the modem, red light for power, green light for signal. If either or both lights are not on, unplug the power cable and unscrew the antenna, put the modem aside and label it as a bad modem (acceptance test has failed). Be sure to power cycle the Fluke meter here to clear the memory of the current measurements. 3. CONFIGURATION PROCEDURE: In Windows, click transmit.exe icon to start the program. 1. Open the COM port by selecting appropriate port and pressing open port. If the SIM card is locked or you are in doubt, press UNLOCK to check SIM card status and unlock the SIM card automatically if necessary. The default unlock code is already entered, it is If a different code is needed then enter it in the SIM PIN box before pressing the UNLOCK button. 2. Select configuration for flight by pressing the FLIGHT button. Press the STATUS REPORT button and confirm the following settings for both non-volatile memory locations: AT&F0 OK AT&D2 OK AT&K0 OK ATE0 OK ATS0=1 OK ATV0 0 If the settings don't confirm, note the failure on the form, close transmit.exe, power cycle the modem, and restart the test. If it fails twice, note that as well and try manual configuration (see Appendix A). If this also fails, the modem has failed the acceptance test. Print a screenshot of the results of the STATUS REPORT button and include this with the ADP. 4. LINK TEST PROCEDURE (TRANSMIT.EXE STILL RUNNING): 1. Check signal strength. Toggle the on-screen switch labeled signal strength, and wait until the RSSI bars display a signal strength. Watch signal strength until a minute passes with strength values all equal to 4 or 5; record the approximate average strength during this minute, and also during the whole testing period. If ten minutes pass without a minute of good signal so defined, power off the modem, carefully unscrew and reconnect the RF cable to the modem, wait half an hour, power back on, and repeat the test. Repeat the half-hour wait and re-test

7 Page 7 of 17 once more if it fails the second time. After three failures, mark the modem as having failed the signal strength test. If two modems fail consecutively, recheck the antenna placement, reseat the RF cable on the antenna end, and try again. If multiple modems still fail, try replacing the RF cable and antenna. If they were at fault, failed modems can be retested. Record all re-testing procedures as comments on the functional test form. Two consecutive successful retests are required for a modem that has failed its signal strength test once. 2. Connect an already-tested modem and antenna to another serial port on the same computer to serve as the "ground segment". Save the serial port no. and the SIM card phone number for the flight modem in the config.ini file (used by bmoc.exe). 3. Click the bmoc.exe icon on the windows to start the program. Verify that the SIM card phone no., COM port no., and baud rate displayed at the top of the GUI are correct. 4. Click the Reset Modem button; wait until the message Reset Modem OK shows. 5. Click the Check Modem button; wait until the message Check Modem OK shows. These tests refer to the ground segment modem, not the flight modem being tested. 6. Switch multimeter to A/mA, press Max/Min/Avg button to start one current measurement, and press Peak Max/Min to start the other; both measurements will cover the period until each button is pressed again. 7. Call the FLIGHT modem using the bmoc.exe GUI by pressing the PLACE CALL button. It will take a while (~30s) to be connected, at which point both transmit.exe and bmoc.exe should show a green connection light, and the bmoc.exe GUI will show data coming in. Allow 10 attempts to get a connected call if the first few fail. Record the number of call attempts required. 8. Allow the test to run for at least two minutes collecting data. The fraction of data received is defined as the number of frames received by GSE divided by the number transmitted (displayed in transmit.exe), which must be at least 120. The modem passes its functional test if 90% of frames go through, or at least 108 Rx /120 Tx. Modems that fail the functional test at this point should be retested (see below). 9. The Min/max/average currents to the flight modem over the entire period since before the call was started can be measured by pressing Max/Min/Avg button again, three times, one for each value in that order. Record the Min and Avg values. Then press Peak Max/Min one more time to get the peak value (probably when the call first started), and record that Max value (not the one from the MMA measurement). Switch off multimeter and power supply after the measurement is done.

8 Page 8 of 17 Link test retesting (if link test failed at any point): Power off both modems, remove and reseat RF connectors, and power them on again, having waited at least 30 seconds since power-off. Recheck COM port numbers for both modems, re-configure them for their respective roles (ground and flight), and repeat the link test. If this doesn't work, test on an already qualified modem for debugging purposes. If it also fails, swap out the ground modem, antennas, and RF cables for spares, repeat the simpler measures above, until the modem known to be good can pass. Then re-test the flight modem undergoing qualification. Two consecutive successful cycles of the full sequence are required to pass after one fail. 5. THERMAL TEST The thermal test may be performed on a single modem or up to 3 modems at once, repeating the link test with each flight modem at each temperature extreme. The power supply and current setup is exactly the same as in the input test except that all three power cables are stacked into the 12V power supply at once, and the Fluke is swapped between modems as each is tested. You will need to swap out the "config.ini" program for the MOC program each time to match the phone number of the SIM card in the flight modem being tested. If three modems are in the oven at once, they must each have their own RF antenna and cable, since the chamber should not be opened when not at room temperature. When multiple modems are being tested, each data cable must be labeled on the end outside the chamber as to which modem it is connected to, before it is threaded through the chamber wall. 1) Perform a room-temperature link test and record the results on the thermal test sheet. 2) With modems powered off, raise thermal chamber to +60C with a ramp time not shorter than 40 minutes and not longer than 1 hour. Soak at this temperature for a time no shorter than 30 minutes and not longer than 1 hour. For each modem in turn, power it up, and follow the link test procedure, but leave the data connection running for 5 minutes before making the measurements of received frames and current. Record actual ramp and soak times in minutes and test temperature (Celsius), and the link-test results. 3) Power off all modems and ramp to -30C with a ramp time not shorter than 40 minutes and not longer than 1 hour. Soak at this temperature for a time no shorter than 30 minutes and not longer than 1 hour. For each modem in turn, power it up, and follow the link test procedure, recording the results. On the cold side of each cycle, skip the 5-minute wait for the modem to warm up. 4) Repeat steps 2 and 3 for three more hot/cold cycles.

9 Page 9 of 17 5) Ramp back up to room temperature, with a ramp time not shorter than 40 minutes and not longer than 1 hour. Soak at room temperature for a time no shorter than 30 minutes and not longer than 1 hour. Open the chamber door and do a final link test on each modem being tested.

10 Page 10 of APPENDIX A: MANUAL CONFIGURATION WITH HYPER-TERMINAL Open Hyperterminal (Start Menu-->All Programs --> Accessories --> Communications -- > Hyperterminal) to the COM port corresponding to the modem. The modem should respond to any baud rate, but its default is baud. When Hyperterminal is showing that it is connected you can type the command AT to the modem. It should respond with OK or 0 if it is already in flight mode. Note that all commands must be typed exactly as shown and that ENTER must be pressed after each command. Modem Configuration: Unlocking a new SIM card (optional): If a new DoD SIM card is used it may be locked. This can be checked by entering the command AT+CPIN? If the card is locked the response will be SIM PIN If the card is not locked it will issue the command SIM PIN2 If the card is locked the modem can be unlocked by entering AT+CPIN="1111" (4 digit PIN must be enclosed in quotes, and the factory default PIN is "1111"). After this step is done the PIN must be permanently deactivated by entering the command AT+CLCK="SC",0,"1111" At this point the SIM card should be fully unlocked and the modem should be registered on the Iridium network. Check this by entering AT+CREG? and the response should be 000,001. Any other response indicates a problem. At this point the remaining commands can be entered manually with hyperterminal or a modem configuration program can be used. The steps shown below are for hyperterminal. Ground: Step 1: Issue the command "AT&F0". This resets the modem to its factory default state. Step 2: Issue the command "AT&D2". This sets the modem to set DCD upon connection. Step 3: AT&W0 stores configuration into NVRAM profile 0 Step 4: AT&Y0 causes modem to power up into profile 0 The modem should be configured for ground operation. There is nothing more to do. Check this by entering the command AT&V Which will return a long string of modem settings and S register values. If the &D flag is equal to 3, the modem is set to flip the DCD bit upon connecting a call. This is all that is required.

11 Page 11 of 17 Flight: Step 1: Issue the command "AT&F0". This resets the modem to its factory default state. Step 2: Issue the command "ATS0=1". This sets the first S register, S0 = 1, meaning answer after one ring. Step 3. AT&D2 sets modem response to DTR signal Step 4. AT&K0 disables flow control Step 5. ATX0 stops chatter from the modem to the DPU Step 6. ATV0 makes modem status numeric rather than text Step 7. ATE0 turns off command echo Step 8. AT&W0 stores configuration into NVRAM profile 0 Step 9. AT&Y0 causes modem to power up into profile 0 The modem is now configured! This completes the Initial Configuration! Troubleshooting: If the modem does not communicate with the hyperterminal: 1. Make sure you have the right COM port. 2. Try power cycling the modem (pull the plug, wait 30 seconds, re-power). 3. Issue the command AT&F0 to reset to factory settings. If a new SIM card is used or if modem responds inappropriately to many commands, including AT+CSQ, it may not be registered on the network and/or the SIM card may be locked. Follow the instructions for unlocking a new SIM card. Low signal or lots of dropped calls: You can get a continuous indication of signal strength (RSSI), by issuing the command AT+CIER=1,1,1 The modem will then output a string indicating when the signal strength changes where CIEV=0,0 indicates no signal and CIEV=0,5 indicates a full signal. Turn off the RSSI monitoring when you are done by issuing the command AT+CIER=0,0,0 Description of Modem Commands: AT command). AT+CIER AT+CLCK - Gets the modem's attention (also used as a prefix for every other - Turns on or off Indicated error reporting (monitors Received Signal Strength Indicator RSSI continuously) - Activates or de-activates SIM PIN and PUK

12 Page 12 of 17 AT+CPIN AT+CREG AT+CSQ AT&D AT&E AT&K AT&V - Enters PIN on a locked SIM card - Checks modem registration on Network - Gets RSSI one time only - Sets response to DCD - Sets echo on or off - Sets flow control on or off - Outputs modem status For a more in-depth description of these and other commands, please see the "AT Command Reference" provided by NAL Research (on their website), from which most of this material is taken.

13 Page 13 of APPENDIX B: BARREL MODEM FUNCTIONAL TEST CHECKLIST BARREL MODEM FUNCTIONAL TEST CHECKLIST (EXAMPLE, PAGE 1) Intake procedure (A): Sequential modem number 1 Start date of test 03/01/11 Location of test UCSC Tested by Andrew Liang Modem Model No. A3LA-X Modem Serial No Test SIM card serial no Test SIM card phone no Visible defects (describe) No COM port assigned 7 Maximum current on turn-on (A) 2.1 Passed Intake (green+red lights) Yes Flight configuration (B): Flight Configuration set? Yes Status confirmed? Yes Passed on retest (details below)? --- COMMENTS ON (A) & (B):

14 Page 14 of 17 BARREL MODEM FUNCTIONAL TEST CHECKLIST (EXAMPLE, PAGE 2) Link test (C): Average signal strength 3.5 Average signal strength, best minute 4.5 Signal test duration, minutes 3 Passed signal test first time? Yes Passed on retest (details below)? --- Number of tries until good call 2 Frames transmitted/received 198/182 Min/Avg/Max Current(A) 0.1/0.6/1.7 COMMENTS ON (C): None

15 Page 15 of APPENDIX C: BARREL MODEM THERMAL TEST CHECKLIST BARREL MODEM THERMAL TEST EXAMPLE (PAGE 1) Temperature (Room), Ramp Time, Soak Time Not necessary if link test passed at 1. Average Signal Strength location within 1 week 3. Min/Avg/Max. Current (A) 4. Passed Functional Link Test Cycle #1 Temperature (Hot), Ramp Time, Soak Time 60.5 /45 /40 1. Average Signal Strength Min/Avg/Max. Current (A) 0.1/0.6/ Passed Functional Link Test yes Temperature (Cold), Ramp Time, Soak Time 1. Average Signal Strength 3. Min/Avg/Max. Current (A) 4. Passed Functional Link Test Cycle #2 Temperature (Hot), Ramp Time, Soak Time 1. Average Signal Strength 3. Min/Avg/Max. Current (A) 4. Passed Functional Link Test Temperature (Cold), Ramp Time, Soak Time 1. Average Signal Strength 3. Min/Avg/Max. Current (A) 4. Passed Functional Link Test Cycle #3 Temperature (Hot), Ramp Time, Soak Time 1. Average Signal Strength 3. Min/Avg/Max. Current (A)

16 Page 16 of 17 BARREL MODEM THERMAL TEST EXAMPLE (PAGE 2) Temperature (Room), Ramp Time, Soak Time Not necessary if link test passed at 5. Average Signal Strength location within 1 week 6. Number of Tries Until a Good Call 7. Min/Avg./Max. Current (A) 8. Passed Functional Link Test Cycle #1 Temperature (Hot), Ramp Time, Soak Time 60.5 /45 /40 5. Average Signal Strength Number of Tries Until a Good Call 3 7. Min/Avg./Max. Current (A) 0.1/0.6/ Passed Functional Link Test yes Temperature (Cold), Ramp Time, Soak Time 5. Average Signal Strength 6. Number of Tries Until a Good Call 7. Min/Avg./Max. Current (A) 8. Passed Functional Link Test Cycle #2 Temperature (Hot), Ramp Time, Soak Time 5. Average Signal Strength 6. Number of Tries Until a Good Call 7. Min/Avg./Max. Current (A) 8. Passed Functional Link Test Temperature (Cold), Ramp Time, Soak Time 5. Average Signal Strength 6. Number of Tries Until a Good Call 7. Min/Avg./Max. Current (A) 8. Passed Functional Link Test Cycle #3 Temperature (Hot), Ramp Time, Soak Time 4. Average Signal Strength 5. Number of Tries Until a Good Call 6. Min/Avg./Max. Current (A) 7. Passed Functional Link Test Temperature (Cold), Ramp Time, Soak Time

17 Page 17 of Average Signal Strength 3. Min/Avg./Max. Current (A) 4. Passed Functional Link Test Cycle #4 Temperature (Hot), Ramp Time, Soak Time 1. Average Signal Strength 3. Min/Avg./Max. Current (A) 4. Passed Functional Link Test Temperature (Cold), Ramp Time, Soak Time 1. Average Signal Strength 3. Min/Avg./Max. Current (A) 4. Passed Functional Link Test Temperature (Room), Ramp Time, Soak Time 1. Average Signal Strength 3. Min/Avg/Max. Current (A) 4. Passed Functional Link Test Comments: