ProTrack & Interface

[rmsmith 1]

I'm not having any luck with 8-N-1:9600 on port1; what settings do you folks use?

[AndyMan 7]

I don't have any problems with N81, No flow control.

_Am

__

You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

[rmsmith 1]

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I don't have any problems with N81, No flow control.

OK, I then probably have a defective IR-LED or CCD. Time to test L&B's support!

[skycat 0]

have you used that serial interface before? Derek ran into the problem where it was turned off in his bios, to fix it you have to get it to kick out of the normal boot up to give you the system info and turn it on there.

Fly it like you stole it!

[rmsmith 1]

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have you used that serial interface before?

The serial port is operational, and I can communicate with my HP-48GX calculator using kermit with a cable.

[BadDog 0]

Check the other ports, and see if another program has the port locked (if I recall correctly, under ME I had to exit Hotsync in order to free up the port for JumpTrack). I'm running off port 3 now, under XP Pro, with no problem.

[rmsmith 1]

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Check the other ports...

I only have one 9-pin serial port. Thanks!

[kbell 0]

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I'm not having any luck with 8-N-1:9600 on port1; what settings do you folks use?

I don't have my own machine handy to check, but I believe the Protrack transmits at n-8-1 19,200 bps
Kevin

[rmsmith 1]

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I don't have my own machine handy to check, but I believe the Protrack transmits at n-8-1 19,200 bps.

I just tried that right now, nothing.

[cpoxon 0]

At what point is it failing? When you hit the "Connect" button in the "Receive Data" dialog are you getting the "The communication port has been successfully opened. Waiting for data"? If not, as BadDog said, you may have a process that is holding that COM port that you may need to kill first.

Is it occuring in the transfer stage? The positioning of the ProTrack in the cradle can be quite precise sometimes. Place the unit in the cradle and hold it so that you have a couple of fingers either side to make sure the edges are perfectly aligned. If they are, then try offsetting slightly. Keep trying, it should work. It's a bit of a pain because you have to wait for all 16k to be transferred but I've had experience of quite a few cradles and whilst some have been difficult I've not seen one that never worked.

Perhaps it is the diode on the ProTrack? The CCD in Sony cameras is sensitive to IR, moreso when in NightShot mode. Initiate the data transfer with the unit out of the cradle and look at the diode through the viewfinder of a Sony camcorder. Can you see the flashing? Alternatively, do you know of anyone else with an interface that you can test on your machine.

Finally, I use 8-N-1:19200.

[rmsmith 1]

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At what point is it failing? When you hit the "Connect" button in the "Receive Data" dialog are you getting the "The communication port has been successfully opened. Waiting for data"?

Yes, it does say, "The communication port has been successfully opened. Waiting for data", and the red LED on the back of the Interface activates.

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Is it occuring in the transfer stage? The positioning of the ProTrack in the cradle can be quite precise sometimes. Place the unit in the cradle and hold it so that you have a couple of fingers either side to make sure the edges are perfectly aligned. If they are, then try offsetting slightly. Keep trying, it should work. It's a bit of a pain because you have to wait for all 16k to be transferred but I've had experience of quite a few cradles and whilst some have been difficult I've not seen one that never worked.

Nothing happens when I press the "set" button while in the PC mode on the ProTrack, but the ProTrack begins counting upward.

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Perhaps it is the diode on the ProTrack? The CCD in Sony cameras is sensitive to IR, moreso when in NightShot mode. Initiate the data transfer with the unit out of the cradle and look at the diode through the viewfinder of a Sony camcorder. Can you see the flashing? Alternatively, do you know of anyone else with an interface that you can test on your machine.

I received an e-mail from Steffen Kristensen at L&B, and he said that they have never seen a bad IR-LED yet, but they have seen bad Interface units. He is having a new one sent free of charge.

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Finally, I use 8-N-1:19200.

OK, thanks for your help. I'll post the results of this issue when the new Interface arrives!

[rmsmith 1]

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I received an e-mail from Steffen Kristensen at L&B, and he said that they have never seen a bad IR-LED yet, but they have seen bad Interface units. He is having a new one sent free of charge.

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Finally, I use 8-N-1:19200.

OK, thanks for your help. I'll post the results of this issue when the new Interface arrives!

Hello All,

Steffen finally returned home from Florida, and he sent me a replacement Interface unit, and everything works fine now. He also added some extra goodies too: an extra-large tee-shirt, an embroidered logo patch, some logo stickers, and two sets of batteries for the ProTrack audible. How's that for service?

[cpoxon 0]

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Steffen finally returned home from Florida, and he sent me a replacement Interface unit, and everything works fine now. He also added some extra goodies too: an extra-large tee-shirt, an embroidered logo patch, some logo stickers, and two sets of batteries for the ProTrack audible.

Nice.

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How's that for service?

From L&B? Typical! :-)

[iam 0]

I sent the following email twice to L&B in December 2002, as yet i'm still waiting on a reply.

"Is it possible to record CReW jumps with the pro-track. I do quite a few crew jumps each year which are not being logged by the pro-track. If it cannot log these jumps, is there any manual method of altering the pro-track to add these jumps so as my pro-track and paper logbook have the same amount of jump numbers."

Can anyone here help?

Thanks Ian

"Don't ever knock on deaths door, just ring the bell and run away - it really pisses him off"

[PhreeZone 15]

Yes, its possible to manually add the jumps. But it takes a 5 second freefall to make the protrack realise that you left the airplane.

The user manual shows how to increase your jumps logged.

Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

Parachutemanuals.com

[cpoxon 0]

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But it takes a 5 second freefall to make the protrack realise that you left the airplane.

Actually, it's "more than 7 seconds" i.e. 8.

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The user manual shows how to increase your jumps logged.

Yes, it's on page 18 of the ProTrack manual under Setting the Logbook Totals. You do as you would for setting your jump numbers when you first got your ProTrack. In the Mode selector, page by pressing the Mode button until you reach the Logbook (Totals) page.

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Press and release the Set button three times, and wait. After a few seconds the display changes and Jump No. starts flashing.

The SET button now operates as follows:

When SET is pressed and held, the numbers count up. To change direction of counting, release SET and press hold again.

1. Press SET to count to accumulated number of jumps.

2. Press MODE, then SET to count to accumulated hours of freefall

3. Press MODE, then SET to count to accumulated minutes of freefall

4. Press MODE, then SET to count to accumulated seconds of freefall

[iam 0]

Thanks Craig, i'll give it a try next time.


Ian

"Don't ever knock on deaths door, just ring the bell and run away - it really pisses him off"

[Faber 0]

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How's that for service?

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From L&B? Typical! :-)

Ill seccond that,they really have a super service
But then again,they are frome Denmark,what would you expect

Stay safe
Stefan Faber