51 lines
2.3 KiB
HTML
51 lines
2.3 KiB
HTML
[appendix]
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== Troubleshooting
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=== TeleFire Fails to Arm
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If turning the TeleLCO key switch from "SAFE" to "ARM" does
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not cause the selected TeleFire box to start flashing and
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sounding its siren, the most likely cause is that the
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TeleFire box was left with the local safe/arm switch in the
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safe position. The Remote Arm LED on TeleLCO shows the state
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of the safe/arm switch on the currently selected TeleFire box
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and can be used to confirm this situation.
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Note that in a cross-bank drag race configuration, any TeleFire
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boxes involved in the drag race that are fully armed will
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launch, while any TeleFire boxes involved in the drag race
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that are not fully armed will not launch. Pay attention to
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make sure all involved TeleFire boxes are flashing their
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strobe lights and sounding their sirens before launch to
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ensure all desired rockets will actually participate in such
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a drag race.
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=== Radio Signal Strength
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Each unit in the TeleLaunch system has a debugging feature
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that can be used to view the actual received radio signal
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strength of each packet. To use this feature, connect to the
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desired unit (TeleLCO is probably the most useful place to
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start) with a laptop and terminal program as explained in the
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configuration section of the manual. Then, you can enable
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debug tracing using 'D 1' command.
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Debug mode is fairly chatty, but each time the TeleLCO unit
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queries the currently selected TeleFire unit for igniter
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status, the return packet will print out the RSSI value.
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RSSI is "received signal strength indicated" and is expressed
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in decibel units relative to a milliwatt, or "dBm".
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Observing the RSSI is a great way to compare antennas, antenna
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mounting arrangements, and so forth with more granularity than
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provided by the red/amber/green operational LED indicators.
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The system is good down to below -100dBm, and it takes about
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6dB to double the range. So a reading of -80dBm means that you
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could extend the distance between the units by a factor of
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10 before losing the link. Note, however, that real world
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range is affected by terrain, vegetation, etc. And you really
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don't ever want to be operating close to the minimum signal
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threshold! Keep the RF signal indicators green with good
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antenna choices and installations for maximum satisfaction.
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