Radar Box Stopped processing signal

[GreekSpy2001]

Have been running my RB for about 3 months with no problems.  However just now the RB stopped processing the signal. The Pwr and USB lights were on but not the signal.  After swapping aerials, iIt turns out I had to power cycle the RB by removing the USB cable. 

Is this a common or just a glitch?

Thanks

Graham

[AirNav Support]

Must have been a glitch, if its been running for 3 months in a row.

[QF1]

I am having the same problem and I have only had unit for a couple of days.  I must say that as an SBS user as well I am finding more bugs in the AirNav software and it seems  lot less stable than SBS.  I will persevere over the weekend.  I love the filters and the network, but I am afraid the rest of the software is not impressing me as yet.

Cheers
M

[JRS98]

I've had my RB for 3 weeks and it looks like I'll probably be sending it in for repair or replacement. There seems to be quite a bit of complaints/problems with the RB in these forums. There is a lot I like about it, and I don't really regret the purchase but it is very frustrating.

[QF1]

I agree JRS.  There are some very good aspects to the RB, but I have not heard of as many hardware problems with the SBS.  Mine has worked without fail for more than 3 yrs, so disappointed that my new RB is proving unreliable from Day 1.

[Allocator]

I got my RadarBox in June 2007 and it hasn't missed a beat in that time even using it on 4 different computers at a number of different locations including portable when I've been out and about.  Sure, every now and then I get a glitch when I'm running a whole load of stuff on the PC, but then that happens with most of the software I run - Windows XP is fairly stable, but it's not foolproof!

My SBS-1 used to disconnect itself quite often for no reason at all and this was a fairly common problem seen by others.  I would come back to it and all the aircraft contacts including those in the list would have disappeared.  The only way around that was a PC shutdown and restart.  I think that the majority of problems that people have with RadarBox are almost certainly down to the PC rather than the RB software/hardware as if there was a problem, I'm sure I would have seen it more as a common issue on the different PC's I've used.

Certainly, there was a "misinformation" campaign by the "other side" that attempted to put people off RB by saying that the software was unstable.  This campaign didn't get anywhere as it just wasn't factually true.  There have been very occasional hardware issues, as there have been with the SBS-1, but as AirNav are offering a 2 year no quibble guarantee (as long as you don't take the box apart) then even this isn't a problem.

[tarbat]

QF1, are you running the latest 2009 version of the software?

I have to say that mine has been totally stable since the 2009 version of Radarbox.  I typically leave it running for days without shutting down, and never see these problems.  I'm not saying these problems don't exist, but it appears to only affect some users, so it might be useful if you could establish a common cause - something else running on the PC?  For example, are you running AVG anti-virus, which seems to cause some problems.

QF1, aren't you running Radarbox on a Mac using VMware Fusion - maybe that's part of the cause?

[Blackthorn]

After using both products the radarbox is much better in my opinion, also we discuss issues more openly in the forum and generally people only tend to post if they have an issue.

I have heard that the radarbox has a sensitive front end and static can be an issue but I believe they have made a modification to protect static from frying the box? I may be wrong.

My issues have generally been PC generated and I cannot say for sure the menu lockup I have is down to the software or my PC.

[QF1]

Hi Tarbat

I am using on MAc with VMware but also on a notebook with Vista.  I realise that it may be computer related rather than RB, but have not had problems with SBS on either machine.  I also realise that there may be a fault with my RB, so will persevere as any new device takes time to get used to and I need to make sure all settings are right.

Thanks for your help.

[tarbat]

Just to be absolutely sure QF1, are you running the latest 2009 version of the software?

I guess SBS-1/Basestation is less likely to have problems, since it's a much less complex piece of software compared to Radarbox.  Certainly in earlier versions of RB, there were problems with it stopping processing, menus locking, etc.  The 2009 version introduced multi-threading (among other things) which appeared to solve all these problems.

[QF1]

Hi Tarbat

Yes, using 2009 software - at least that's what the box says - brand new unit!

[Tailwinds]

Does it actually say Airnav RadarBox 2009 in the top left hand corner when you start the application?

[JRS98]

The latest version is still a little sluggish. It's not as bad as the previous version, which was real bad, but 2009 is still a little slow. It's not a computer problem either as I don't have any trouble with other programs running slow. I don't even have the internet on while running RB anymore so that does help.

Of course I'm having a problem right now that will probably lead to me sending in to be looked at. I would call having to pay to ship it to the UK a problem, even with a 2 year warranty.

[Allocator]

It's not a computer problem either as I don't have any trouble with other programs running slow. I don't even have the internet on while running RB anymore so that does help.

It should make no difference at all with regard to speed being connected to the Internet unless you have problems with the speed of your Internet connection.  When I've run RB using a mobile broadband connection (Orange 3G USB mobile phone stick) and the connection was only "G" - dial-up speed - then RB did slow down whilst it was waiting for the Network data download.  With 3G speeds or hard wired connection then it makes no difference if you are connected to the Internet or not.  You are obviously having a software problem on your PC but this doesn't mean that it's the RB software that is causing it :-)

Having to ship back to the UK is a problem if that's what you have to do.  Have you been in touch direct with [email protected] to seek advice?  Have you tried RB on another PC?  Is RB slow after you have rebooted your PC, or does it become slow after a period of time?  When you look at the windows task manager (Ctrl+Alt+Del) what other processes have you got running and what is the CPU loading for RB compared to the other processes?

[JRS98]

Allocator,

The latest version isn't too bad really. There is some slowness at times mainly when clicking on menus and viewing/editing the database. RB is is definitely slower while connected to the internet (High Speed). I thought I read before that the GAS/Servers area always running in the background so I always figured that was the reason for any slowness. I will say that although I do enjoy RB I do think the software is suspect.

I have been in touch with support and they gave me the address to send it in to have it fixed or replaced. They didn't give me any idea what could be wrong with it, I guess they'll have to just check it out. I'll give it some time to see if the problem persists before I send it in though.