Hi,
On 08/08/2015 07:05 PM, Bob Camp wrote:
Hi
A factory reset will not brick the unit.
Either:
1) Your TBolt is blown
2) The cable has an issue
3) The antenna has an issue.
I've seen them all over the years, so neither is necessarily the most
likely. I'd also add:
4) Power-issue
5) Serial cable problem
For this case 1-3 should be your culprit.
Oh, do remember that engineers invent the most complex scenarios of what
the failure mode is, but fail to identify the simple ones such as power,
cables and connectors failing.
For troubleshooting this sort of thing, multiples of each are a
handy thing to have. Baring that:
0) Put a DVM on the coax and see if you have bias to the antenna
1) Hook up a TDR to the cable and ring it out both with a load and a short on
the end.
2) Put the antenna on a *very good* spectrum analyzer and look at what is
coming out.
3) Grab a signal generator that will simulate a GPS constellation and drive the
TBolt with that.
Since nobody (other than Magnus) ever has the sort of gear for 1-3, and it’s
all pricey stuff
TDR is a nifty tool for this sort of thing so 1) is nice, but it won't
really help you and you will have to know what to expect from a
unpowered LNA. Spectrum analyzer will not directly help you since the
satellite signal spectrum is below the noise-floor, but you *might* see
the amplified noise as shaped by the LNA pre-filtering, which is
hopefully SAW filtered, so 2 is doable but tricky to interpret for the
novice. If you have a constellation simulator lying around, it will help
you to see if the receiver is working at all, but even I don't have that...
Having a VNA helps, and the nifty TinyVNA for instance will be quite
useful. Similar to the TDR, it sends a signal up the wire and analyze
the response, but in frequency plane rather than time-plane. Again, some
experience is required but this is a good time to learn.
the simple answer is:
1) The antenna is probably the cheapest part of the setup. I’d swap it out
first.
2) The cable is cheap but a pain to run, is it #2 or #3.
3) Hook up another timing receiver to the cable. There are lots of them out
there in the $100 to $150 range.
TBolts do die. My experience is that roughly 1 or 2 in 50 show up with a fatal
issue. Another 1 or 2 show up
with a (correctable) minor problem. I have had one drop dead after running for
a while.
I would grab an antenna, toss it out a window and see if I get anything.
It is always handy to have additional antennas and cables around, and
for checking things to be operational, only modest requirements in type
and position is needed.
Similarly, having another GPS receiver to see if I get any form of
signal is a great tool.
Just taking the time to do quick and dirty tests helps. I've found that
I made stupid mistakes, so just doing a round of quick reality checks
have been important hints to find errors.
Cheers,
Magnus
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