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Modero MVP-8400 wireless cards anyone?

bobbob Posts: 296
in AMX Technical Discussion
Guys, anyone of you have some wireless cards laying around and not used anymore, or from a broken panel? I am in desperate need for two, might even be the older b-cards. Highly appreciated.

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    bobbob Posts: 296
    Really nobody?
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    DHawthorneDHawthorne Posts: 4,584
    The only time I've ever ordered them is to upgrade an old one, and never did get spares. 8400's are, however, starting to reach the end of their life-cycle, and we are bound to start seeing some come in that the customer would rather upgrade than repair. I have one on my desk right now that is waiting whether the customer wants to do exactly that, and another at AMX with a hefty enough repair estimate that that customer might scrap it too. But both may still wind up in service, so still no spare card ... yet.
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    HedbergHedberg Posts: 671
    About a year ago, we had an 8400 returned after repair and it wouldn't work for more than a minute or so and then you had to reseat the batteries to get it to boot. We were in Dallas at the time and returned it to AMX and they said it was the wireless card causing the problem and they replaced it and the panel is still working today. About six months ago we had one for the same customer here in Houston with the same symptoms. At the time,
    AMX support said that there were exactly two cards remaining at AMX and that there wouldn't be any more. The customer elected to not fix that panel, opting instead for one of the execrable NXV-300 boxes. So, the G cards are not bullet proof, apparently can cause a panel to freeze, and won't be supported/replaceable by AMX. Anybody who has a working spare should probably hang on to it if supporting a client who is still using one of these panels. I doubt if there are going to be many on the ebay/other secondary market.

    I don't know what the design life anticipated by AMX for these panels was, but we have several customers who have invested quite a bit of money in AMX equipment who are not happy with the longevity actually realized. Perhaps the 9000 panels will provide longer service.

    When the Cre$tron TPMC-10 panels (the ones based on the View Sonic) started dying with unrechargeable batteries and Cre$tron didn't have a source for replacements, many AMX fans thought it was sort of funny. Not so much any more.
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    informelinformel Posts: 66
    MVP-8400 wireless card replacement

    I beleive the wireless card is a standart CF card and I am wondering if it could be replace by another make
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    HedbergHedberg Posts: 671
    informel wrote: »
    I beleive the wireless card is a standart CF card and I am wondering if it could be replace by another make

    look at this thread: http://www.amxforums.com/showthread.php?6976-Firmware-Version-2.86.50/page2 and the comment by G Smith of AMX Engineering. Apparently the cards were by Marvell and were custom for AMX. Probably firmware and drivers issues for other cards, but I don't know that for sure, of course.
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    gsmithgsmith Posts: 59
    Unfortunately it is true that the only cards that would work were the AMX B and G cards. There are issues with firmware drivers but there was a hardware issue also. If you recall, the G upgrade kit including an external antenna kit with instructions for installing the antenna inside of the 8400 chassis. This is because there were negative RF interactions with the card's built-in antenna and the ground plane of the 8400 circuit board. If you think about it, most compact flash WiFi cards were expected to extend out of the slot of a laptop, Palm, etc. and their antennas were designed accordingly. The manufacturer of the G card had to place the RF antenna connector in a certain location to accommodate the 8400 internals. They had to impedance match the antenna, etc. These cards are simply no longer available and even if you could find some other card with the same chipset, it wouldn't yield a satisfactory solution.
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    informelinformel Posts: 66
    MVP8400 wireless card
    gsmith wrote: »
    Unfortunately it is true that the only cards that would work were the AMX B and G cards. There are issues with firmware drivers but there was a hardware issue also. If you recall, the G upgrade kit including an external antenna kit with instructions for installing the antenna inside of the 8400 chassis. This is because there were negative RF interactions with the card's built-in antenna and the ground plane of the 8400 circuit board. If you think about it, most compact flash WiFi cards were expected to extend out of the slot of a laptop, Palm, etc. and their antennas were designed accordingly. The manufacturer of the G card had to place the RF antenna connector in a certain location to accommodate the 8400 internals. They had to impedance match the antenna, etc. These cards are simply no longer available and even if you could find some other card with the same chipset, it wouldn't yield a satisfactory solution.

    It also mean that if your wireless card fail on the MVP-8400, you have a brick.
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    viningvining Posts: 4,368
    informel wrote: »
    It also mean that if your wireless card fail on the MVP-8400, you have a brick.
    To think they're still available for purchase (limited quantities) at their original price while some parts required for service are no longer available. You would think that if they're still being sold they should be completely supported for the next 10 years, otherwise they should be sold clearly identified with limited support at a generous discount.

    I know some companies attempt to provide at least ten years of full support after a product hits its EOL and are no longer sold. Otherwise it sucks to be one of the last persons to buy one of these products.
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    yuriyuri Posts: 861
    I have two old ones that come from an upgrade to the newer G cards.
    It might be easier to see if AMX has some in stock :)
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