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Author Topic: Help please..  (Read 6159 times)

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bratters

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Help please..
« on: January 27, 2009, 03:20:53 PM »
Just installed my brand new RB fresh out of the box (replacement for my earlier one)
Got everything up and running but the signal suddenly stops and the blue light on the box flashes only intermittently or stops altogether.

Have tried alternative USB leads and combinations of iPC inputs but to no avail.

Re boot: Yellow light comes on, then after due consideration blue light comes on slow flash, then (maybe) everything buts into life then abruptly stops. Blue light resumes steady intermittent flash.

What's up chaps?

dudbaker

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Re: Help please..
« Reply #1 on: January 27, 2009, 03:46:48 PM »
Just diconnected my antenna and have blue slow flash. 

Dudley
Dudley Baker
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Valiant, Victor, Shackelton, Canberra, VC10, Tornado Typhoon 737 747 A320 A300 Engineer.

Bat 21

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Re: Help please..
« Reply #2 on: January 27, 2009, 05:41:14 PM »
Check everything is screwed in tight at both ends of the Antena cable

i.e. the antena is all the way in to its base, and the thing that caused me this sort of problem was at the other end where the antena cable goes into the radar box  - make sure that is fairly tight - try jiggling it to see if reception improves .


Terry

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Re: Help please..
« Reply #3 on: January 27, 2009, 06:17:59 PM »
Hi there,
            Don`t over tighten the SMA connector to the RB or you could cause damage.Some of the other users on the forum have had similar problems with the supplied antenna cable where the cable is not making enough contact and weird things happen,and as we all do we think the worst.Have you got another antenna or know someone who could put their antenna on your RB and by process of elimination determine if it is the supplied antenna.


                                Regards Terry.

Rural Outpost

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Re: Help please..
« Reply #4 on: January 27, 2009, 06:19:05 PM »
Hi,

Hopefully once you have checked everything is screwed in the box works properly. However, there could possibly a fault. I had the same problem and found I had a faulty aerial lead, with the wire being loose at the end that goes into the box. I sent the aerial lead off and it was fixed by Airnav. I  then found I was still receiving messages intermittently. I then returned the box and aerial and it was identified that there was also a fault with the box. Both were fixed very quickly, returned in about 5 days each time. I don't know how common these faults are ?

Regards
Rural Outpost
N.Dorset

bratters

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Re: Help please..
« Reply #5 on: January 27, 2009, 07:45:59 PM »
Thanks for your replies and suggestions. Having already run a box for a three months I tried the usual suspects and seem to have narrowed it down to the USB feed.

Rural outpost, I also had aerial input trouble with the previous box. After playing around with radio for some 20 years now, I personally would prefer a BNC connector on the box - far more robust than the SMA. However elsewhere on the forum Airnav have put their reasons for choosing SMA and who I am to argue.
The SMA connection could be strengthened though (very inexpensively) by fixing it firmly to the box wall - couple of nuts would do it.

Anyway, in this instance the culprit seems to have been the USB feed. Maybe some incompatibility with my extension USB leads but plugging the RB supplied feed directly into the PC seems to have resolved the intermittent operation.

RB has now been running for one hour uninterrupted and I must say the results in numbers of flights have been better than I have seen before.

Thanks again for help and let's hope it's all settled!!!

CoastGuardJon

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Re: Help please..
« Reply #6 on: January 27, 2009, 08:26:06 PM »
The SMA connection could be strengthened though (very inexpensively) by fixing it firmly to the box wall - couple of nuts would do it.

Anyway, in this instance the culprit seems to have been the USB feed. Maybe some incompatibility with my extension USB leads but plugging the RB supplied feed directly into the PC seems to have resolved the intermittent operation.

Hi bratters, there's plenty of nuts in here!   How many/what length of USB extensions were you running, and was there a booster in use?
ANRB :  AOR AR8000 : Icom R-7000 : Icom IC-R9000 : JRC NRD-545 : OptoElectronics Digital Scout and OptoLinx Interface; Realistic Pro-2005 : UBC 800XLT - listed in alphabetical order, not cost, preference, performance or entertainment value!

bratters

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Re: Help please..
« Reply #7 on: January 27, 2009, 09:17:33 PM »
Hi again CGJ - I used one extension at 1.25mtr and another at 60cm plus the RB supplied lead - something over couple of metres in total. No booster.

It worked OK with my previous box but this new box (firmware v 02 as opposed to v 01) didn't want to know.

So now I'm using just the supplied feed but the current reception is unsurpassed. Spectacular for me in fact - 2115 hrs and 40 active flights on a 10 second time-out!

Concidence? I wonder.

AirNav Support

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Re: Help please..
« Reply #8 on: January 27, 2009, 10:12:28 PM »
Those USB extensions can get affected by interference from other electronic devices which can cause issues. Glad you sorted it out.
Contact Customer/Technical support via:
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CoastGuardJon

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Re: Help please..
« Reply #9 on: January 27, 2009, 10:21:20 PM »
Those USB extensions can get affected by interference from other electronic devices which can cause issues. Glad you sorted it out.

Am I right in thinking that over a certain length will also cause problems?
ANRB :  AOR AR8000 : Icom R-7000 : Icom IC-R9000 : JRC NRD-545 : OptoElectronics Digital Scout and OptoLinx Interface; Realistic Pro-2005 : UBC 800XLT - listed in alphabetical order, not cost, preference, performance or entertainment value!

AirNav Support

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Re: Help please..
« Reply #10 on: January 27, 2009, 11:04:10 PM »
Yes :)
Contact Customer/Technical support via:
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bratters

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Re: Help please..
« Reply #11 on: January 28, 2009, 08:09:26 AM »
Coastguardjohn and any other interested members - look at this......

It is 0730 and pouring with rain, reception is down and yet I have currently on my flights screen over 60 flights on a 10 second time out - this is more than I have been able to get at Peak Times in the past. A comparable figure yesterday for the same time with better conditions would be 25.

So a massive improvement which begs a big question - what's changed?

Well, firstly new hardware with a v2 box and a slightly different aerial - seems to have a smaller magnetic base (or a touch larger plate) and is slightly bent because of the way it was packed. It may have been that my older box was malfunctioning from day one but I doubt that - the problem I had with the aerial input was sudden and terminal. So is the 2009 v2 box more sensitive?

I assume the software is the same? I can't see anything different on screen. The position of the aerial is the same with no extension cabling and the radar box is sited in more or less the same place

The big change seems to be that the new box will not operate with ANY of my USB extensions, either singly or in combination, whereas the old one would.  However by using purely the supplied USB lead, the results are simply stunning.

Considering the comments by Airnav Support (above) and my own experiences this would seem to suggest that the performance is VERY SENSITIVE to the the length (and siting?) of the USB cable. We know about aerial signal losses but this is NOT a factor here.

Propogation conditions could of course play a part - unlikely but if this turns out to be the case, I will post accordingly.

Conclusion? for me a clean, clinical and unenhanced out-of-the-box set up has to be the way to go. Certainly performance in this basic way far exceeds anything I achieved by going higher, longer, further etc.. I have my fingers crossed and am changing nothing!!!

I hope this helps.

[Still think you need to re-spec. the aerial connector Airnav :)]
« Last Edit: January 28, 2009, 08:16:19 AM by bratters »

AirNav Support

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Re: Help please..
« Reply #12 on: January 28, 2009, 09:02:11 AM »
Extending your USB cable it is well known that after certain length you will reach a position where packets are lost disconnections occur. This is usually why you never see products with a longer USB cable than 1.5 metres.

The 2009 boxed version includes the same hardware as before so the senstivity would be the same but glad to see your getiting great results.
Contact Customer/Technical support via:
http://www.airnavsystems.com/contact.html
[email protected]