[amsat-bb] Re: LVB Tracker

[Alan]

Thanks Mark for your info on the on the G5500 - I'll keep the LVB that runs
the G5500 on the 0.7 firmware.

100% of  my ground station equipment runs on one or more UPS so we don't be
the accidental fast cycle of OFF and back ON from power failures.


> -----Original Message-----
> From: Mark L. Hammond [mailto:marklhammond at gmail.com] 
> Sent: March 7, 2009 1:15 PM
> To: amsat-bb at amsat.org; Alan
> Subject: Re: LVB Tracker
> 
> Hi Alan,
> 
> I have a G-5500 and can confirm that with the 0.9 firmware I 
> see the same memory loss; it's always related to power on/off 
> cycling.  I keep it ON all the time now, but the main power 
> does go off/on now and then, so I have to recalibrate.
> 
> I don't recall ever having seen this running ver 0.7 on the G-5500.
> 
> 
> 
> 73,
> 
> Mark N8MH
> 
> 
> >Date: Fri, 6 Mar 2009 18:09:55 -0600
> >From: "Alan" <ve4yz at mts.net>
> >Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: LVB Tracker
> >To: <amsat-bb at amsat.org>
> >Message-ID: <6DF73413341840AAAFA485A2B25AC19D at athlon>
> >Content-Type: text/plain;       charset="us-ascii"
> >
> >The LVB Tracker is a great little box... I have 2 for 2 
> separate ground 
> >stations.  Both run on the USB.
> >
> >I can force the lost of memory on one of the LVB's if I switch the 
> >G5400B rotator controller off and on too fast.  If I leave 
> the G5400b 
> >off for about
> >10-15 seconds before turning it back on, the LVB will 
> usually not loose 
> >its mind.  I have 2 different G5400b control boxes and the 
> LVB reacts 
> >the same on both.  Eprom 0.9 but also had this problem with 0.7
> >
> >The second LVB is on a G5500 control box and does not 
> display this problem.
> >Eprom 0.7
> >
> >I have not switched the 2 LVB boxes to see if the problem is 
> related to 
> >the G5400 and not the G5500.
> >
> >So I am now very careful when turning it OFF and ON.   The 
> OFF/ON routine is
> >sometimes required when the  USB/Virtual Com Port goes brain 
> dead on my 
> >laptop and the VCOM port is lost.  Power OFF/ON causes XP to 
> refind the 
> >virtual comport.  The alternative is to unplug and replug 
> the USB cable 
> >to the LVB.  Either way the new virtual hardware ( comport ) 
> is found 
> >and my
> >SatPC32 runs normally.
> >
> >I also tend to avoid the eprom problem by leaving the G5400b 
> on all the 
> >time.
> >
> >The other issue I have with one of the LVB boxes is the poor 
> >ground/shielding of the control cable.  The elevation meter on the 
> >G5400b would not go to 0 degrees when the antenna was 
> horizontal.  This is after a
> >calibration 0 to 90.    Howard Long was super fast to come 
> back by email
> >with a solution to this problem saying it was an indication of poor
> >shielding or grounding on the cable.   I replaced the cable 
> with one with
> >more braid and foil and it improved somewhat.  When I run a 
> jumper wire 
> >from the chassis of the G5400b to the ground trace on the LVB PCB I 
> >then get the needle down to 0 degrees.  The LVB on the G5500 is OKAY 
> >out of the box and that is why I haven't flashed the eprom 
> from 0.7 to 
> >0.9
> >
> >73, Alan VE4YZ
> >EN19kw
> >AMSAT LM 2352
> 
> 
> Mark L. Hammond  [N8MH]
>