WiFly Serial Adapter Setup and Operation

K3iConnect is designed to work with Roving Networks WiFly Serial Adapter (Model RN-370M) operating in ad hoc mode. The WiFly Serial Adapter is also available from Mouser. Mouser part number 765-RN-370M.

Take the following steps to set up your WiFly Serial Adapter for use with K3iConnect:

1. Install two AAA batteries in the WiFly adapter. Rechargable batteries are best as the adapter uses up batteries rapidly. Expect up to 8 hours of use from a set of fully charged batteries.
2. Set switch 1 on the WiFly adapter to ON. This places the adapter in default hardware ad hoc network mode. This is the simplest approach to getting the WiFly adapter to work with K3iConnect.
3. Do not try to configure the WiFly adapter according to the user manual. K3iConnect is set to work with the WiFly adapter in default ad hoc mode. Just set switch 1 to ON.
4. Set the K3 to 9600 baud. The default WiFly serial port setting is 9600 baud, 8 bit, no parity.
5. Plug the WiFly adapter into the K3 RS232 port on the back of the K3.
6. Turn on the K3. The WiFly adapter should turn on automatically. If not, press the red button for one second.
7. Open the Settings app on your iPhone. Tap Wi-Fi. Under Choose a Network..., select WiFly-GSX-xx, which is the WiFly adapter. (xx is the last two bytes of the WiFly device MAC address. It is the last two digits of the device Serial number.)
8. Once associated with the ad hoc network, (since there is likely no active DHCP server) Auto-IP is used. This may take a couple of minutes to allocate an IP address for your iPhone. To work around this you can assign a static IP address in the iPhone network settings window in the Settings app. Tap the disclosure arrow to the right of WiFly-GSX-xx to open the WiFly network window. Take note of the IP Address (you may have to wait a couple of minutes for it to appear). Then tap Static and enter the IP Address (e.g. 169.254.129.90), and Subnet Mask (e.g. 255.255.0.0) you noted.
9. To test the WiFly adapter with your K3, open a Telnet client on your iPhone. Enter 169.254.1.1 for the IP Address and 2000 for the Port. These are the default WiFly ad hoc network settings. Tap Connect and the WiFly will respond with *HELLO*. At this point you can communicate with the K3 by sending it commands. For example, type ID;. The response should be ID017;. If you don't get a response, send ID; again until you do.
10. The Telnet client I use is Telnet Lite, Ver 1.5 from mochasoft.dk/iphone_telnet.htm. It is free.
11. You may want to change the WiFly default device UART to 38400 baud if you have a P3 connected to the K3. The P3 changes the K3 to 38400 baud automatically when connected to the RS232 port. You can plug the WiFly adapter into the P3 PC serial port. To change the WiFly UART to 38400 baud take the following steps: Open your Telnet client and connect to the WiFly (as above). When the WiFly responds with *HELLO* type $$$. The WiFly will respond with CMD. Type set uart baud 38400 and tap Enter. The WiFly will respond with OK. Type save and tap Enter. The WiFly will respond with OK. Type reboot and tap Enter. The WiFly will restart with the new baud setting.

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