Hi, I am using XTend-PKG 900 MHz RS-232/485 RF Modem to communicate with multiple Ag Barns Alarm system . Using Yaggie antennas from barns and omni antenna on central unit . This system has worked virtually without fail for 15 years. Lately we have been having intermittent problems . System throws communication alarms . Up to a couple hundred a day. We have changed reciever, cable , and antenna . No change . 4 different sites from 1/2 to 3 miles are on this system. We even had one site 8 miles away on this system . It also worked, but we discontinued that site. We started having problems with communication about 3 weeks ago. It seems to get worse on weekends. Can anyone advice on how to troubleshoot this problem?
Hello bgelectricplumbing,
You mention that the system is throwing out communication alarms, are there are any codes associated with the alarms that might give some insight as to what is causing the communication errors? If it’s been happening for 3 weeks, then it definitely seems like there is something wrong with it and it’s not an environmental anomaly. I personally am not familiar with a system like this, however I do have the following considerations:
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You mention that there are 4 separate sites. Are all 4 of the sites affected by the communication error? If so, then check to see if there is a pattern in which one site triggers the error first and the rest follow once triggered.
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If all sites are having the communication error and there does not seem to be a pattern, then it would most likely be an issue with the central site. Is the data from the communications being stored anywhere? If so, then you might be running into memory space constraints (especially if it’s been running for 15 years) in which whatever you’re writing to cannot dump the information as fast as it’s being written to.
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The issue with it getting worse on weekends might be important, but it could always be a coincidence as well. Is there a process that causes someone to be more tentative to the system during the week that is not happening during the weekend? If so, then explore whatever that process is, as it could be part of the root cause (even if it’s something as simple as someone fidgeting with wires which might be temporarily fixing the issue without realizing it.) Note that if you do manual memory dumping during the week, but not on the weekend then it could be the issue outlined in number 2. We humans do tend to see patterns where there is none as well though. Keep this in mind as there may not actually be a reason that it’s happening more on the weekends and it’s just a coincidence.
If you have more information, we might be able to provide further assistance, but unfortunately because I’m not familiar with this myself I can really only suggest trying the provided troubleshooting steps.
Regards,
Klint
Has the environment around the site changed? New Housing Development, smart meters, water meters, lorwan devices, zigbee, etc? 900 Mhz is a shared band.
Regards,