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Multiband Radio Configuration

Written by Sean C. | Jan 31, 2024 4:38:21 AM

Most newer Doodle Labs radios are multiband radios. In the software, each band is treated as a submodel, and switching bands is done by switching to a different submodel. Even the RM-2450 variants of the Mesh Rider radio support two submodels, the RM-2450-xxxx submodel, and the RM-2455-xxxx submodel (xxxx depends on the form factor). It is possible to switch to a different band through both the GUI and the CLI.

Band Switching using the GUI

Navigate to Network Configuration -> Wireless. Choose the desired operating band in the drop-down box at the top of the page and click Change.

Fig. 1 Wireless band selection for Helix models

It is also possible to perform a fast band switch through the Sense menu.

Band Switching using the CLI

You can SSH into the radio to get to it's command prompt. In order to execute a band switch through the CLI, you first need to know the submodel name. You can get a list of submodel names using the following command.

$ cat /usr/share/.doodlelabs/fes/$(fes_model.sh get parent)
sub_model0="RM-1675-2L-X"
sub_model1="RM-1815-2L-X"
sub_model2="RM-2065-2L-X"
sub_model3="RM-2245-2L-X"
sub_model4="RM-2350-2L-X"
sub_model5="RM-2455-2L-X"
sub_model6="RM-2450-2L-X"

You can then run the script /usr/share/simpleconfig/band_switching.sh <submodel>. For example, to switch to the 1815-MHz band, use the command

/usr/share/simpleconfig/band_switching.sh RM-1815-2L-X

Note that after switching bands, the radio will be in the default channel. If you have the messaging system set up, a better way to switch bands is detailed in the Sense guide. This will allow you to distribute band switching commands across the network.