I realize this system is old now but has or is anyone else using it and having radio problems? I have had fits the last 2 days with it and now am going to go with a new cable to see if that fixes it. I hope that fixes the problem. Just wanting to know if there are others who have had radio problems is the main reason for the rant??
I learned a hard lesson two months ago...Make sure your radio firmware is up to current, know how to change channels when you get stomped on, and make sure your settings for rover and base sensitivity are correct. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing, and I knew damned little....
Robert,
Any and all help here is appreciated as I have talked with tech support and all seems to be working except for the cable. It is really hard to talk to someone on the phone when the problem is here and they are there. I get a little frustrated a little too quickly I am sure but the help seems to be no help if you know what I mean from tech support.
Just a few tips:
Know what frequencies are programmed in your radios. Be prepared to change channels. Be familiar with your radio settings.
Carry a scanner. Just because you are in the middle of nowhere that does not mean there is not somebody just like you wanting to use that radio frequency.
Carry spare cables for everything. It was a lesson I learned with my first data collector and learned again with every electronic gadget purchased since.
Keep hardware, firmware, and software current. Much of this stuff has a maintenance program described in the manual. I know... Read it anyway. Do it anyway. Or don't. It's your money.
Nobody calls tech support when they are having a good day. We really want to crawl through the phone line to make it better but that just can't happen. Any suggestions?
If there was ever a high tech gadget built that would never break it was not purchased by me. I always say my stuff runs on smoke. I know this because when the smoke comes out it quits running.
Are you using PDL's or RFM96?
If you are using PDL's here are some settings you may want to check using the PDL Config software (your dealer should have it so you may try having him check the radios).
NOTE: These settings are from an old version of the firmware, you may not be able to change some of the settings listed below.
ROVER:
PDL Firmware version 1.02 (from Identification tab)
Under Radio Link tab,
Channel Select: manual
Link Rate: 9600
Modulation Type: GMSK
Digisquelch: High
Transmit retires 3
Tx ACK Timeout 0.1
Forward Error Correction: on
Scrambling: on
CSMA Monitor: on
Local Address: 0
Remote Address: 255
Under Serial Interface tab,
Baud Rate: 9600, Parity: None
Protocol Mode: Transparent w/EOT Timeout
EOT Count: 5
Repeater: no
Digipeater Delay: 0.00
BASE:
PDL Firmware version 1.00 (or higher) (from Identification tab)
Under Radio Link tab,
Channel Select: manual
Link Rate: 9600
Modulation Type: GMSK
Digisquelch: Low
Transmit retires 0
Tx ACK Timeout 0.1
Forward Error Correction: on
Scrambling: on
CSMA Monitor: on
Local Address: 0
Remote Address: 255
Under Serial Interface tab,
Baud Rate: 9600, Parity: None
Protocol Mode: Transparent w/EOT Timeout
EOT Count: 10
Repeater: no
Digipeater Delay: 0.00
Hope this helps
Oh yeah you may also try getting your own frequencies.
Modified By Ed Castelan on 1/16/2002 at 9:06 AM
I might be able to help, I do operated Pacific Crest Radios and Z-Surveyors,
Currently NO problems. It took a while to iron out all the Bugs in 1997. Describe the symptoms.
E-mail might be better
Brady
I know this is a little late, but oh well.
About a year ago I kept having radio problems. (It would just stop working all together) I kept sending in the unit for repairs and when I would get it back it would work for about a day. (They claimed that they checked it out and ran their tests on the radio and that it checked out with no problems.)
This went on for abouot six months before I convinced Pacific Crest that the internal circuit board was messed up, and they replaced the entire radio.
Everything works great now.