Frequently Asked Questions

This describes activation use the command line via a local telnet session or console session via the modem serial interface.

Activation via the command line interface is supported only on Sierra Wireless AC595, AC597 Express Card, AC597/8 USB and AC580 data devices with the TruInstall feature disabled. For all other devices, activate the device using a laptop.

There are two methods, OTASP is a single command entry and the simplest, if OTASP does not work follow the Manual Activation instructions.

The modem accepts DC power, voltage range from 9 to 36 Volts, a car typically outputs 12-14 Volts. An AC to DC adaptor can also be used to supply power from a 110 Volt AC system, Cypress sells an accessory wall adaptor.

The power cable has three wires:

• Red: +V DC supply (+9 to +36VDC)
• Black: 0V return(chassis ground)
• White: Standby (+V for operation, Off for standby)

5 Amp “slow-blow” fuse is recommended in the +V supply line. The white operate/standby wire can be connected to a switch, for example, the accessory position on a vehicle ignition switch. This is useful if you want the modem to shutdown when the vehicle ignition is switched off and will prevent the battery from being drained. To bypass any ignition sensing simply connect the white wire to the red wire.

A Chameleon Modem can be configured to send an email to an email address with report messages such as modem status, or GPS coordinates when the power on the modem is switched off and back on.

Configuring the modem:

cmd pupcond 1 1 (sets the pup (power up) condition 1 to be enabled, you can have up to 8 conditions.

cmd pupreport 1 555 (tells the modem to use report 555 as the report to use when pupcond 1 is triggered, report 555 can be any report from 1 to 999)

cmd reptype 555 0 6 (tells the modem to use email as the method of sending the power up report)

cmd repaddmes 555 82 (adds the NMEA $GPRMC message to the report number 555)

cmd emailsrv xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx (configures the modem to use email server, xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx, note you will need an email server that will allow you to route messages from the wireless data modem)

cmd repemail 555 youremail@… (tells the modem to send the contents of report 555 to the specified email address)

cmd save (saves the above configuration)

In order for the modem and Ethernet devices connected to the modem to be remotely accessible from the Internet, the modem's phone card must be assigned a public IP address by the wireless carrier network. Remote access to the modem from the Internet is not possible when the carrier assigns it with a private IP address.

Once you have verified that your modem has a public IP address, you will need to configure the modem's port forwarding feature. Port Forwarding is used to route incoming packets from the wireless network to a device connected on the LAN. Incoming packets sent to the CTM-15X’s wireless network IP address and port will be routed to the selected LAN device.

One may have an Ethernet-enabled data logger with its own Telnet server on TCP port 23 and Web server on TCP port 80. You can configure the modem's port forwarding feature using the following steps:

Step 1. Configure the IP address settings of the Ethernet device
Set the Ethernet device either to:

• obtain an dynamic IP address from the modem via DHCP, OR
• use static IP address of 192.168.1.20 with default gateway 192.168.1.1.

Step 2. Connect a PC to the modem and configure the port forwarding
You can configure the modem using a PC via Telnet/serial port or via the Advanced page of the modem's embedded Web server:

Telnet/serial port commands:

Advanced web page settings:

• Enable Remote Web Configuration: checked
• Enable Remote Telnet Configuration: checked
• Enter Port External: 23, Port Local: 23, TCP: checked, UDP: unchecked, IP: 192.168.1.20, Enabled: checked
• Enter Port External: 80, Port Local: 80, TCP: checked, UDP: unchecked, IP: 192.168.1.20, Enabled: checked
• Enter Port External: 2323, Port Local: 23, TCP: checked, UDP: unchecked, IP: 192.168.1.1, Enabled: checked
• Enter Port External: 8080, Port Local: 80, TCP: checked, UDP: unchecked, IP: 192.168.1.1, Enabled: checked
• Click Submit

The modem's IP address on the LAN is 192.168.1.1, by default. In the above example, the default remote configuration servers of the modem have been moved to arbitrary external ports, 2323 for Telnet and 8080 for Web. This ensures that the modem can still be remotely configured even though its Telnet and Web servers are no longer at the default ports for Telnet (TCP port 23) and Web (TCP port 80).

Step 3. Connect the Ethernet-enabled device to the modem
You should now be able to remotely connect to the Ethernet-enabled device by using the modem's IP address and either TCP port 23 for Telnet access or TCP port 80 for Web access.

If your modem is assigned a dynamic IP by the carrier, consider enabling the modem's remote reporting feature or the modem's dynamic DNS feature to ensure you always know the modem's IP address even when changes.

The commands via SMS feature is supported only on CTM-15X Modems installed with Sierra Wireless cards and running firmware release R1.2.0. This feature is built into the firmware and no additional modem configuration is required to enable commands via SMS.

CTM-15X commands may be issued via a SMS text message sent from a mobile phone or from a cell phone carrier’s web site for execution on the CTM-15X Modem upon receiving the SMS message. One or more commands may be included in the body of a SMS text message up to a maximum message size of 166 characters. The destination of such a SMS message is the phone number of the modem, which may be obtained by entering cmd dir from a Telnet or serial port console session.

Message format for CTM-15X commands via SMS:
NNNN:<command> <parameters> … NNNN:<command> <parameters> … (up to 166 characters)

Where:
NNNN is the last 4 digits of the modem's ESN
<command> is the command to be executed. cmd should not be included in <command> and commands do not have to be separated by a linefeed (<CR><LF>)
<parameters> are the parameters for each command

Example: If the last 4 digits of the modem’s ESN are 1234

Two commands separated by a space in SMS message
Three commands separated by <CR><LF> for each line of the SMS message:

Yes, by setting cmd iocond with the correct parameters the modem can send a message, email or SMS when the device IP address changes. This can be useful in situations where the IP addresses are dynamic and change without notice. If you need to access the modem remotely, you will need to know the current IP address.

Example: will send report #4 whenever the IP address of the modem changes.

1. Define the IP address and port you want the GPS reports sent to:
cmd gpsremip 1 XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX where the IP address of the monitoring server.
cmd gpsremport 1 YYYY where the PORT is the listening port on the monitoring server.

2. Define the condition that a GPS report will be triggered:
cmd gpscond 1 1 30, there are many options, but this setting triggers a report to be generated every 30 seconds, see gpscond for a full description.

3. Define the report configuration:
cmd gpsrep 1 0 3, this will send the report over the wireless link, using UDP protocol.

4. Define the messages that will form the body of the report.
cmd gpsaddmes 1 3 80 82, adds 3 messages to the report, 3= modem ID, 80= NMEA $GPGGA, 82= NMEA $GPRMC

5. Save your configuration.
cmd save

The above configuration assumes, that the IP address and PORT of the monitoring server is known. Firewall settings may have to be changed on the monitoring server in order to allow data packets to be received. Above configuration uses report (1) of 8 available GPS reports. 33 different messages types are available for report, see CTM messages for the complete description.

Reports that are available remotely via the wireless link are also available locally via, the serial port interface and/or the local Ethernet connection.

cmd gpsrep 1 1 3 will configure the report to be sent to the local serial port AND wirelessly using UDP format.

cmd gpsrep 1 5 3 will configure the report to be sent to the local ethernet port in a TCP packet AND wirelessly using the UDP format.

Store and Forward (SNF) should be enabled in areas where there are gaps in cellular coverage. SNF will detect out of coverage conditions and store the report data in non-volatile memory until coverage resumes, at which point the stored data will be forwarded.

gpsrep 1 0 3 1 will store report #1 data in memory if an out of coverage condition is detected.

cmd snfdelay 30 waits 30 seconds after the modem regains coverage before forwarding stored data packets.

In most cases when the modem is configured for automatic operation (cmd mode 2), the modem will remain connected to the network, and if disconnected will reconnect automatically. In some cases, extra steps need to be taken to ensure network connectivity.

The netwd command will monitor incoming data packets and will reconnect if a user configurable interval expires without detecting network traffic. This command is typically used in conjunction with the ping command.

cmd netwd 10 6 looks for incoming traffic from the network at 10 second intervals. If no data traffic is detected for 6 consecutive intervals 6 x 10 = 60 sec. the command will disconnect and reconnect to the network. If a reconnect does not resolve the issue (approx 10 seconds reconnect time), the command will cycle the modem power completely (approx 50 seconds reconnect time) after an additional 6 intervals of no data.

ping 10 www.google.com ping the URL www.google.com every 10 seconds, this command generates incoming data packets that the netwd command is looking for.

cmd save saves above settings.

Note: configuring the modem for these commands will increase overall data transfer volume which could have an affect on the selected rate plan, and associated costs.