MVP-8400 locking up daily?

vegastech

What would cause an 8400 to lock up every time my client uses it? Allegedly they need to pull the batteries EVERY time they use it, because the first time they pull it from the WDS and try to use it, it locks up. Once the batteries are pulled and replaced, the panel works fine for the timeframe they are using it, which is usually an hour. Is this something to do with the WDS, or the panel? I'm getting more info about "locking up", as it was a text I got a few hours ago. Thanks.

Hedberg

Could it be a wifi coverage problem? Perhaps when in the docking station they don't get good wifi coverage and when they remove it they just don't have the patience to wait long enough for it to connect. Premature battery pulling.

What I would want to know is what the wifi status in setup looks like when the panel is still docked. If there is no connection, can they get one by soft reboot rather than by pulling the batteries?

If there is a genuine problem, I might suspect that the access point is the culprit rather than the panel. Also, might disable encryption for a while to see if the problem went away.

Of course, I'm assuming this is a "recent" panel with a "g" card rather than one of the old "b" cards. We used to have connectivity problems with the old "b" panels, but in the last several years almost all the problems we have had with the 8400 panels have turned out to be something other than with the panels.

vegastech

Thanks for the reply! According to my client, the page flips don't even work when it locks up. The project consists of a very basic file, with page flips being button-driven, not programming/variable/feedback-driven. Also, the button press noise does not sound when this happens. I can say for sure that when docked, I have indeed seen that the wifi coverage is good - happy green light. Also, there is no encryption on the wifi. I will check the panel later today, as I don't recall if it has a G card or a B card. It's funny - of course this wasn't happening when I was there...I haven't heard of this type of problem before, so I was hoping to get some background on what might be happening before I send it in to AMX for an out of warranty repair.

vining

If you haven't already I would remove user pages in setup, reboot, update firmware and then reload the TP file, recalibrate the touch and see what that gets you. Might just need a kick in the a$$ with fresh files/firmware & a recal. The if it still acts up then ship it out.

DHawthorne

I've had them lock up on me once in a blue moon ... but I'm talking twice a year at most for a single panel, and even that, not recently.

Perhaps the circuit that switches over from dock power to battery has a glitch?

vegastech

I'm gonna be sending it in for repair next week, so I'll see what they say. I think u will also have them upgrade the CF card to the 1gb while it's in for service. Maybe then I can copy it's contents when I get it back...

TurnipTruck

Does it lock up only while on external power or when on battery?

Kenny

I had a similiar issue some years back. The problem was that the MVP would lose wifi connection and would keep retrying to connect for hours maybe days and would eventually lock up.
The fix was to put a the wireless router closer to the WDS.

John Nagy

Kenny wrote: »

I had a similiar issue some years back. The problem was that the MVP would lose wifi connection and would keep retrying to connect for hours maybe days and would eventually lock up.
The fix was to put a the wireless router closer to the WDS.

The scenario above used to be common and was also revised in firmware on the NetLinx. You would see a panel going on and offline repeatedly, and each time it did, eating a connection resource in the NetLinx. Theoretically, the NetLinx cleans up the unused connections and continues. When it happened fast enough, the NetLinx would run out of resources before it could release the dead ones. Then the resources were too low to allow cleanup. Oops. You would see in TELNET, the panel attempting to come on line and the NetLinx refusing the connection saying that panel was already online. This has been largely corrected by firmware that cleans faster, sooner. But the base issue remains one to avoid - see to it that the panels do not have to struggle to stay connected. You can see on/offline events on the panels in Telnet. Periodic offlines are normal as panels do memory cleanup too, and they last only seconds and usually aren't noticed, but if you see more than a few an hour, you should work on the WIFI.

vegastech

The panel was always sitting in a wds when they would go to use it, but typically they were ejecting it before selecting sources/etc. It would also lock up solely on batteries while sitting on the couch. I'll check the events in telnet when I get it back.

John Nagy

"LOCK UP" has many meanings to different people at different times. It makes diagnosis unreliable when you only assume you know what was meant. We have customers who report that the system is "locked up" when in fact their TIVO is on an unoccupied channel.

If the PANEL is "locked up", meaning it is no longer processing internally, and presumably the NetLinx is still ready and able to perform, but the panel isn't running... but might in fact still be connected with WIFI... Then then panel itself is the problem. Recognize this (rare) condition by noting that the panel no longer beeps when the screen is touched and won't let you into the setup pages with the hard buttons, meaning it doesn't even know you are there. It may also no longer light up when touched. True Panel lockup is rare, but if you find this set of conditions, look no further than the panel - it is internally responsible for the problem. A misbehaving program in the NetLinx typically won't make this occur. A bad WIFI environment won't make this occur. Test by substitution.

Often, the user will say the panel is "locked up" when it ceases to communicate with the NetLinx. In fact, the panel may be running fine, maybe still online, maybe still WIFI connected, maybe the NetLinx is no longer willing to talk to it. If the panel will beep, buttons appear to press, you can enter the setup pages, the PANEL is NOT "LOCKED UP".

If the panel is WIFI, see if WIFI is still connected. Your access point may be unavailable due to range or failure (it may be "locked up" and needs a power cycle to recover - if so, replace the Access Point with a better unit to prevent this from becoming a routine failure). If WIFI looks happy, do you have red or green CONNECTED indicator balls on the setup pages?

If GREEN, the panel still is attached to the NetLinx in some manner, meaning it is likely that there is no immediate Panel or WIFI issue, and the Netlinx must be ignoring the presses. Look to the NetLinx and the program there.

If RED (but WIFI is good), the NetLinx is unavailable to the Panel, either it is no longer running, or is refusing to allow the panel to come online. (This presumes that the same settings for connection, ID, network and all have not changed since they worked before.) See if the NETLINX is "locked up" by connecting to it with TELNET and seeing if it even lets you connect... and if so, see if the program is running, and what's up with connections.

If the balls are AMBER, the panel is complaining about the connection, and it may be WIFI or something at the NetLinx. Amber means you have SOME kind of connection going, but it isn't right.

vegastech

Thanks for everyone's feedback. As my previous post stated, the button presses would no longer beep and pages would not flip ( the panel page flips were not feedback-based), so I had leaned toward panel problems.

John Gonzales

We have a panel that loses calibration and the problem presents the same way. In other words, the user thinks they're hitting a button, but the calibration is so far gone that it's not registering correctly, not beeping, not responding. When it gets to that "locked up state" try the diagnostic of holding the down arrow and bottom left hard button down until you get to setup screen, then continue to hold it until you get to the calibration screen, then continue to hold it until you get to the diagnostic screen that shows the touchpanel tracking.
-John

John Nagy

John Gonzales wrote: »

We have a panel that loses calibration...

We've had exposure to many of these in our dealer base. It's the FLASH card. We've heard the theory that it seems that the older firmware design of the 8400 re-writes the calibration to the exact same spot in the FLASH memory until it burns out that spot. The only initial symptom is what you describe above, usually any reboot or reload of panel project, the calibration is gone, and can be reset but only while memory is live. The next symptom is when you upgrade firmware, it fails and cant boot (as the bad spot in the flash is now in part of the OS code).

Regardless of the theory, in practice, a new flash card ends the loss-of-calibration issue and/or the hang after new firmware.