Remote Rig
RRC 1258 Support in English => General discussion forum => Topic started by: K4FWJ on 2016-10-17, 23:02:04
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If screenshots of my control and radio status settings are viewable I'd appreciate any comments that may lead to making corrections that would enable a connection. Some port info looks weird to me. My boxes worked fine for almost 2 years and suddenly no connection. Recently switched from a K3 to TS-480 but it worked fine after that until now. Basic connection from TS-480 head to RRC Control COM2. Control box on wifi with solid green led. RRC Nano still connects to RRC Radio box back home just fine. All I have done is change location (and ISP) of Control box. 73 de Art, K4FWJ
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It looks like the control RRC is not finding the radio side. I assume you are using the DDNS address
in the SIP contact field, but there may be a problem with that. To clarify, try the following trick: put the
radio's real IP number into the SIP contact field (47.204.226.139 on your status) and see if that works.
If so, then we have found the problem, then need to find the cause.
73,
Mitch DJ0QN / K7DX
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Thanks for the suggestion, Mitch. I just now replaced the DDNS url with the actual IP of 47.204.226.139 but still no connection between boxes. My home QTH was struck by lightning on 21 Sept. and much of my equipment was damaged. However, the RRC Radio box did work afterwards (until now maybe). I'm wondering if it's possible that the Radio box could now fail in such a way that it could somehow connect with RRC Nano but not the 1258 Control box. At the time of the lightning strike the Control box was not hooked up and wasn't present at that QTH anyway. Art
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Hi Art,
That is highly unlikely, so we will still need to use the process of elimination to find the problem, which
currently looks like it is at the control side.
I suggest that I test it from here. If you send the settings (HTML ok) to me at dj0qn (at) darc.de, I can
try it out from here to see if the radio RRC works with my RRC. Note that I have visitors from Germany
and am busy most of the time, but I can sneak it in sometime on Tuesday.
Does that sound like a plan?
73,
Mitch DJ0QN / K7DX
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Just made an amazing discovery. I never had cause to select Auto Connect. Decided I might as well try it: Promptly the white led on the aux/mic socket lit up continuously and there was a confirmation beep from the TS-480 head. The status indications show data transfer. However, when I press the "On" button on the TS-480 nothing happens whatsoever. I do hear faint, regular, clicks from its speaker. I checked continuity of the wires in the cable between the TS-480 head and the RRC a couple days ago. What could cause the TS-480 not to come completely alive now!? Art
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Auto connect should not be activated for TS-480. Im sure Mitch will help you to solve the problem
/mike
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In agree with Mike. Let's take this direct today and I will try it out from here.
Weird things happen here in Florida. My house's speaker system amplifier woke us up the
middle of the night with a loud buzzing noise. Must have been a power surge or something.
No wonder RRC's get screwed-up here. I will hold off building a station here ;)
73,
Mitch DJ0QN / K7DX
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Hello Mike - well I don't know what to think of the observations. You and Mitch are the experts - not me. Almost from the get-go my system has worked great for 2 years. Only now with an ongoing problem am I learning a little more about RRC function. Seems to me that the boxes connecting in Auto Connect mode only proves the router and its connection to the Internet are OK. It does not necessarily prove the Control box is capable of communicating with the TS-480. It also does not prove the new TS-480 continues to function properly. Having observed that the TS-480 does not join the now-established connection I have been trying to get either DXLab or HRD to join. I am using a good quality FTDI USB to serial adapter for that. But so far it's a no-go on a PC connection as well. In case the new Status info (with boxes connected) means anything, I will attach a screenshot of it. Thank you. Art
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Art,
If you want me to try it out, I will be around for about the next two hours.
73,
Mitch DJ0QN / K7DX
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Mitch, sorry we are unable to use Teamviewer until after your visitors leave - fully understandable.
For anyone following this thread - an update. With no connection to my TS-480 back home and my vacation half over I was willing to try anything. My TS-480 radio is accessible using RRC Nano using a wifi-only connection thru the same local router/ISP. And by Mitch from his entirely different QTH. Coupled with the fact that I also can't connect using (only) HRD or DXLab, my RRC Control box itself came under at least some suspicion. Therefore I ordered another Control box - same results with new box. That's basically where I at now.
You might think this failure to connect is related to the ISP and/or router I am using. Why else would Mitch be able to connect to my radio back home? But my RRC Nano working through this same local connection/router does connect and I can tune and change bands, etc. Also, if I select Auto Connect on my Control box then my two RRC boxes show connected and transferring. So how can the problem be ISP/router related?
I know these Remoterig systems can work. Mine did for two years. But I will never again go on vacation expecting to rely exclusively on a RRC-1258 for my Ham Radio fix. Art
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Hi
What happen when you press PWR ON ? does it even try to connect ?, Maybe the cable from the Control-panel to the RRC is defective ?. Is the red straps in correct position ?, They are only needed for the Mic but if they are in wrong position they can make a short circuit for the data lines. Is the baudrate set to 57600 ? and programmode =5 ? correct SIP-password no spaces in the end ?
73 de mike
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Mike, thanks for your ideas. The last time the PWR ON button worked was at a QTH I stopped at on the way to our ultimate destination. I turned off the equipment, put it in my trunk, came the rest of the way, and the PWR ON button has never tried again. In case the head to rrc cord has failed I ohmed it out. Found continuity between 5 of the 6 pins. Thought this was significant but looking at the clear plugs in a bright light showed both only had 5 wires in use. On the TS-480 schematic the non-connected pin is simply a second ground. There is a "U" wired on the back of the jack which apparently negates the need of a 2nd ground. Have ordered a new 6P6C cord anyway. The straps ought to be OK because the system worked fine until I disconnected it and brought it here to my ultimate destination. The COM0 baud is 57600, yes I'm using program mode 5, SIP PW is correct with no spaces, the boxes will Auto Connect. 73, Art
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When you press the PWR on button the control panel sends a data message which the Control-RRC recognize and initiate the SIP session. If two boxes do not react on the PWR ON message, it must be something wrong with either the panel or the cable. If the boxes connnect when you set them in "auto connect" it shows that the routers etc are working.
/mike
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Mike, roger your last. I hate think that the new TS-480 I bought especially for this vacation trip failed upon arrival. It was bad enough that a lightning strike took out my K3/P3 and lots of other stuff right before we left home. The new 6P6C cord should arrive in a couple days. But even if the TS-480 control head or cord has failed shouldn't HRD or Commander initiate the sip session? I am using a FTDI serial to usb adapter that has always worked fine in the past. Neither HRD or DXLab will read frequency. Art
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When using HRD you inititate the SIP session by pressing the "connect" button on the status page
/mike
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>>When using HRD you inititate the SIP session by pressing the "connect" button on the status page
Yes, and when I do that the adapter CTS, RTS, and DSR (only) LEDs immediately illuminate. However they stay lit with no pulsing and the TXD and RXD LEDs never indicate data flow at all.
My adapter: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AHYJWWG/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
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Still fighting this inability to connect RRC via TS-480 control head *or* with only HRD/DXLab. Has consumed an estimated 60-80 hours of my vacation now. Soon won't matter. At least on this trip.
Found it interesting that even during the 2 year period my RRC did work I never saw any of the Microbit virtual com ports in Device Manager. All I ever saw was the single entry: "USB Serial Port (COMxx)". Well, I recently discovered that the illusive Microbit ports can be made to show up in Device Manager if I leave the Set Up Manager cable plugged in. I had previously thought the cord ought to be unplugged once the two boxes were set up. Of course the appearance of these ports (see screenshot) hasn't changed a thing as far as my gaining a connection. Just interesting observations that might mean something worthy of comment by the experts. Art
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Yes, these are USB ports, so a USB cable must be plugged in to see them in Device Manager.
73,
Mitch DJ0QN / K7DX
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Plugging my USB-to-serial adapter into a USB port will not cause any of the the Microbit VCPs to appear. Plugging in the RRC cable to a USB does cause all the Microbit VCPs to appear. Is that normal?
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Yes, that is correct. Only the USB cable can use the virtual ports built into the RRC.
763,
Mitch DJ0QN / K7DX
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Can it possibly be the case that a USB to Serial converter on COM2 isn't even needed at all provided you leave the Setup Manager cable plugged in? Am I guilty of falling prey to the RTFM syndrome?
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That is correct, you can either use a serial cable (or USB adapter) for COM2, or else plug in
a USB cable and use the RRC's built-in serial port emulator. You need to however change the
menu selection for COM2 "use USB com port as COM2" to YES to use the emulation. The ports
otherwise will show in Windows Device Manager, but won't work.
And yes, it is an excellent example of RTFM ;)
73,
Mitch DJ0QN / K7DX
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Mitch, I was afraid of that (the RTFM). A most recent observation is interesting to me. Maybe it will be to someone else who may be following this thread. As previously noted my two boxes will connect and indicate SIP transfer if the Control box "Auto Connect" option is selected. Once in that mode the remote Radio box interface does begin to show an option box labeled "Disconnect". Each and every time I click (from N.C.) on that Disconnect option (in Florida) my TS-480 control head (in N.C.) sounds off a short beep. It is the same short beep that the control head would express when the system actually worked properly about 3 weeks ago, and it was turned on. Because the Control box Auto Connect option remains "on", clicking on the remote Disconnect button results in only a brief disconnect. Then the system resumes transferring. Repeated clicking on Disconnect results in a corresponding series of beeps.
The same day I made the above described observations I also had the opportunity to set up my Control box, TS-480 head, and laptop, at a completely different QTH in another state (Tenn.). I was careful to make sure I had a useable connection. I also had a brand new TS-480 to RRC 6-wire phone cord. Because my system hasn't, in any normal fashion, tried to work since I left Florida 3+ weeks ago, I was not to surprised that it didn't work in Tennessee either.
When I get back home I'll be anxious to connect the TS-480 head and radio together again. If proper operation is observed I will begin to seriously doubt that I'll ever see this TS-480 work with RRC again. At least Elecraft has informed me that my lightning damaged K3/P3 has been fixed. Since RRC did work quite well with the K3 for almost two years I will have to be satisfied to believe that such operation will resume. I will also have a little used TS-480 for sale. Art
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Latest (10/29/16): Have at last managed to acquire a PC connection by using (only) Control box's "Auto Connect" option. Works with both HRD and DXLab. Only works reliably using USB to serial adapter although it has been observed to connect and tune with Microbit's USB to mini-USB cord (different COM ports). Still no attempt of TS-480 head to evidence a normal turn on. Interestingly, the TS-480's radio sound does come through the TS-480's otherwise dead control head. Similarly, the RRC's keyer sound comes through the otherwise dead head. If I plug headphones directly into RRC all audio is on the left side. Once the same headphones are plugged into the TS-480 headphone jack then normal monaural audio is present in L and R sides of headphone - just observations.
The best observations are that with this PC software connection by way of the inappropriate "Auto Connect" mode I do see perfectly normal band and power level indications on the virtual 2K-FA panel. And of course there is normal receiver tuning and band activity sounds. I could probably make a Q when I elect to.
While the TS-480 is known to be a very reliable radio, searching the Internet on problems with its' head failing to turn on both head and body results in several such instances. Some relate to jitter changes, some relate to voltage differences between head and body, and some totally unexplained. Art
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When I returned home and connected the head to body this new TS-480 would not power up. I verified a good low-ohm continuity and correct indexing of all 6 wires within the cable. I'm told that the RRC boxes still should have connected when HRD was opened. This did not happen. A connection was only possible using Auto Connect mode. Then the remote radio would work normally.
The same set of RRC boxes were reconfigured to work with the repaired K3/K3-0/mini and normal operation resumed as prior to the lightning strike damage. Art