Messages

1

Hardware, Cabling, Installations / Re: Failure to Boot using 12vdc Power - Possible Cause and Solution

« on: 2024-05-12, 23:17:16 »

Well, not so fast.  After several days of behaving normally, this control RRC is back to its old tricks.  It was working fine, controlling the remote Kenwood TM-V71A and providing good two-way audio.  But after cycling power to the RRC it will not boot up.   On another good control RRC at power-up, I see a brief flash of the green power LED followed by a steady red and yellow LED on the mic connector for a few seconds.  Then the red and yellow extinguish and the green begins blinking until a TCP/IP connection is made.  On the problem unit, I see no flash of the green LED and the red and yellow illuminate immediately and simply stay that way.

Another observation:  If I power the RRC from the USB connector with 12v disconnected, the unit appears to boot up.  Red and yellow LED's extinguish after a few seconds and the green LED blinks fast, per the manual.  While in this state, if I then apply 12v power with the USB still connected, the red and yellow LED's turn on again, after a few seconds extinguish and the green LED blinks at a slower rate typical of waiting for a TCP/IP connection.  If I then remove the USB connector with the 12v still applied, the RRC seems to stay as it was in a normal state, with the red and yellow off and the green blinking slowly and turning steady on once a TCP/IP connection is made.   I can access the RRC over my web browser and all the configuration setup looks fine.  Interestingly, I can command "Restart Device" from the browser window and the RRC does successfully boot back up.  Once in this state, the control RRC works fine with it's radio partner RRC and a Kenwood TM-V71A. 

If I then drop the 12 v power, wait a bit and reapply 12v, the RRC goes back to a steady ON red and yellow with no green LED and I lose the TCP/IP connection.

If I reverse the whole sequence and apply 12v first followed by connecting the USB, the RRC stays locked with red and yellow on continuously plus no TCP/IP connectivity.

Tried several different 12v power sources with no change.  This problem looks like some sort of hardware-firmware timing issue.

Anyone see this behavior before and have a fix?  I have not tried reloading firmware yet.  It RRC already had v2.95 loaded out of the box.

tnx

N3AE

2

Hardware, Cabling, Installations / Failure to Boot using 12vdc Power - Possible Cause and Solution

« on: 2024-05-09, 22:10:00 »

Just wanted to share what I found during some troubleshooting today.   I have a Control RCC, s/n 13824, that experienced difficulties booting when power was supplied through the 12vdc coaxial plug.  Initially it was fine but on a subsequent power-ups it failed.   Symptoms included no Green power LED with a steady Red and Yellow LED (above Mic connector), plus no ability to link to the internal web server. 

I discovered that the 12v jack on the PWB was mounted slightly askew such that the outer ring (negative) of the 12V coaxial power plus could/would contact the side of the chassis hole when inserted into the jack.  Looking at the PWB traces, it appears that the 12v negative is not necessarily connected directly to chassis but, like the positive supply, runs through an inductor in what amounts to a pi EMI filter.  So my assumption is that direct contact from the 12v negative to the chassis is not intended and causes issues.

Rather than mess with the jack on the PWB, I used a tapered reamer to slightly enlarge the chassis hole.  That solved the problem.

When assembled, you should see the 12v coaxial jack's plastic continuously around the circumference of the chassis hole and well centered in the hole.  If it's not, chances are that the outer ring of the coaxial plug will be in contact with the chassis even though the plug "feels" fully inserted.

We have a number of RRC-1258 MKII's running in our RACES setup and they have been very reliable.  Not a single glitch since being powered up in the fall of 2021.  This one had not been powered up since it was purchased.

3

General discussion forum / Re: Memory Programming with RemoteRig Separating Panel and Deck of TM-V71A

« on: 2023-07-15, 17:24:50 »

To help others that may have the same question, here's the answer.

We were able to reprogram TM-V71 radios with their front panels separated from the RF deck by RemoteRig.   No issues or surprises.  Used RT Systems software.  Two of the radios had their RemoteRigs connected by dedicated CAT6 cable (no network) and another two were connected through a LAN (not hooked to the Internet) that serves a number of county tower sites.  For us, the LAN was set up as E-Pipes between the sites.  In our case, between our EOC and a tower shelter about 3 miles away.

4

General discussion forum / Memory Programming with RemoteRig Separating Panel and Deck of TM-V71A

« on: 2023-04-03, 19:57:41 »

Looking for advice and experience with re-programming memory channels in a Kenwood  TM-V71A with the front panel, separated from the RF deck but connected via RemoteRig. 

For starters, I'm not sure if the channel memory (and other config memories) are stored in the front panel or the RF deck of the V71A.  When the front panel is directly connected to the RF deck (no RemoteRig) it's just a matter of connecting the PC to the connector on the back of the RF deck and using Kenwood's software, RT Systems or Chirp to update the memory.  Is the same true if the front panel is separated (and in a remote location) using RemoteRig?  I assume that as long as the radio is turned on via the front panel, I can go to the RF deck and proceed as if there was no RemoteRig connection.   In my situation it would be difficult to re-attach the front panel(s) ... multiple radios involved supporting our RACES setup at an EOC with the RF decks in a remote tower shelter.

tnx

N3AE

5

Hardware, Cabling, Installations / Re: Control-RCC Audio Output with Dual RX Turned Off

« on: 2021-03-01, 23:14:52 »

Thanks Mike!

N3AE

6

Hardware, Cabling, Installations / Control-RCC Audio Output with Dual RX Turned Off

« on: 2021-02-28, 22:32:37 »

If I have Dual RX set to off and plug a stereo headset into the Control-RRC, will I hear audio in just one ear or both ears?   

Stated another way, if the radio's mono speaker output is connected between the Radio-RCC tip and ground using a mono 3.5 mm cable, and with Dual RX off, will the Control-RRC output audio on BOTH the tip and ring?   

Not well explained in the manual as far as I can tell and the schematic on page 235 is a bit confusing regarding P5.  Couldn't find anything relating to my question in the forum posts.

A second question.... if a mono headphone or speaker is plugged into the Control-RRC SP jack, will that damage the Control-RRC since the mono 3.5 mm male plug essentially shorts ring to ground?   

A third question ... if the answer to my first question is no (Control-RRC outputs to only one ear of a stereo headset), can an adapter that shorts tip to ring be used or must tip and ring be combined through some resistors to protect the Control-RRC from damage?

tnx

N3AE

7

Configuration of Routers, Firewalls, etc / Re: More than One RCC Set on Network

« on: 2021-01-16, 03:19:30 »

Mitch,

Sorry, my lack of network experience is showing in my choice of terminology.   

Yes, both EOCs and the tower shelter some miles away are all on the same LAN, but that LAN is totally isolated from the public internet.  That's what I meant by saying it's an isolated network ...no tie to the public internet.   As I understand it, the LAN in question is implemented with fiber optics backed up by microwave.  It interconnects the several county tower shelters and the EOC's.

tnx

Shawn - N3AE

8

Configuration of Routers, Firewalls, etc / Re: More than One RCC Set on Network

« on: 2021-01-15, 23:01:17 »

Thanks Mitch,

Follow-up question.   If each RemoteRig set had different unique static IP addresses, would we still have to fuss with the UDP port numbers and make them different?

Also, regarding the backup EOC, we will have a separate set of control RCC's there.  So the challenge is connecting to a radio RCC from one or the other of two control RCC's at different locations without physically changing anything at the radio RCC's.  Not sure how changing ports can solve that problem but I'm probably missing something.

9

Configuration of Routers, Firewalls, etc / More than One RCC Set on Network

« on: 2021-01-15, 02:16:24 »

Hello RemoteRig Experts

I'm working with our county government to upgrade our RACES system.  We are going to use RemoteRig sets to connect two Kenwood TM-V71 front panels in our EOC to the two V71 RF decks in a tower shelter about 5 miles away.  One radio for voice, the other radio for packet/digital. The EOC is connected to the tower shelter using an isolated wide area network (no Internet connection).

We've asked for unique static IP's on the WAN for each of the two RCC sets.

My question ....

The RCC manual, page 62, states that "Under advanced settings it is possible to change the default port numbers used by the RRC. It can be necessary if there are more than one RRC on your LAN."

So would we need to use different port numbers with our two RCC sets on the same LAN, even if they have unique IP addresses? 

I'm not a network engineer and admit to a serious lack of knowledge in that area which I'd like to remedy if anyone can recommend a good book.


A secondary question....

We have a backup EOC in a different location also on the same isolated WAN.  The setup there will be identical to the primary EOC.  What's the best way to "switch" the radio RCC's from one EOC to the other remotely?   Managed switch? 

tnx

N3AE

10

Hardware, Cabling, Installations / Mystery Clips

« on: 2021-01-05, 22:28:35 »

Just got a set of RCC 1258's.  Included in the box are four black U-shaped spring steel clips and four (wood ?) screws, packaged in two small plastic bags.   I can't find any mention of these clips in the RCC manual.  My first guess is that they are for securing the RCC units to a shelf but don't see how they would accomplish this.  Anyone know what these clips are for?  What do folks use to secure the RCC units to a shelf or desktop?

11

General discussion forum / Re: Using COM1 to Communicate with a TNC

« on: 2017-07-02, 21:02:00 »

OK.  Responding to my own post.  Right now I'm feeling pretty dumb, but I got it working.  Here's the details if it helps anyone else.  The last step (7) is the one that has me feeling dumb.

1.  Use serial port Mode 3, character timeout.
2.  RemoteRig serial setup has RTS/CTS ON (but not sure if this is essential)
3.  Using 4800 baud rate.  Will try a higher rate later.
4.  Data bits, stop bits and parity to match the TNC (8, 1, no parity)
5.  Null modem cable between the TNC and the RemoteRig terminal at radio RF deck side
6.  Straight RS-232 cable and serial to USB dongle on front panel side to my laptop.
7.  Turn the radio ON.  Yes...even though RemoteRig was powered on both sides, you apparently have to turn the radio on via the front panel before the RemoteRig COM1 comes alive.  Didn't see that in the documentation.

Radio:  TM-V71A
TNC:  Old TAPR TNC-2 clone with RS-232 interface.

Successfully ran straight AX-25 packet as well as sending a message via a Winlink 2000 2M gateway.

73
N3AE

12

General discussion forum / Using COM1 to Communicate with a TNC

« on: 2017-07-02, 19:22:02 »

Hello,

I'm trying to set up RemoteRig's COM1 port to communicate with a TNC located with the radio RF deck.  I've tried serial port modes 1 and 3 without success.  I'm not even sure if the RemoteRig COM1 connectors are DTE or DCE.  Null modem cable needed at one or both ends? 

Would appreciate help from anyone who has successfully used RemoteRig to communicate with a RS-232 TNC located at the radio RF deck side of the system.

The radio is  Kenwood TM-V71A and is working fine with RemoteRig.

Thanks
Shawn
N3AE

13

General discussion forum / Re: TM-V71A with RC-D710 Panel

« on: 2017-06-24, 03:50:42 »

Oh well.  No responses in about a month.  Guess no one has tried this combination with RemoteRig.

N3AE

14

General discussion forum / Re: RRC-1258MkIIs V7 with TM-V71A - Front panel will not turn on

« on: 2017-06-24, 03:47:37 »

Well, setting Program Mode 5 did the trick.  That and setting a SIP password which seemed to be required before the units would talk to each other.   The Remote Rig pair worked just fine with the TM-V71A, either connected directly by a CAT5 cable or connected through my LAN.

Thanks for the help guys.

Shawn
N3AE

 

15

General discussion forum / Re: RRC-1258MkIIs V7 with TM-V71A - Front panel will not turn on

« on: 2017-06-13, 13:56:27 »

Thanks Mike.  I'll give that a try.  Did not realize the 8v is switched.

N3AE