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Topic:
TPMC-8x Wifi fail.
This thread has 7 replies. Displaying all posts.
Post 1 made on Sunday June 17, 2012 at 11:12
Deepseadata
Long Time Member
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Hi everyone,

I've got 22 TPMC-8x's on my network and some of them keep falling off the wifi. Even if we leave them on the dock they often (not all the time) have no response to any buttons unless we do a cold reboot... lame.

I'm going to ask some stupid questions now...

What OS are these Crestron remotes running? I thought I saw something about Windows CE. It seems like the remotes boot an OS which boots an application that loads the project.

The reason I'm asking is because I'd like to tell it to NEVER turn off the wifi interface. I'd rather run the battery down than have my guests throwing remotes because they've paid $500k for a system that pisses them off.

The config menu in Crestron's application doesn't give me any power saving options. Is there any way to get to the OS and fiddle with it there?

Thanks!
60% of the time I'm wrong all the time.
Post 2 made on Sunday June 17, 2012 at 13:42
tweeterguy
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7,713
The WiFi stability on the TPMC's can be horrible and the range is stated at about 30' given the best environments. A ship is not one of those best environments. How is your wifi network setup? Do you have dedicated WAP's for each 8X? Are the WAP's for the control system on a separate VLAN from the other networks? Have you tried shorter SSID and turning security off for the problematic 8X's? What brand and model WAP's and how far are they from the 8X's intended area of usage? What firmware version are you running on the 8X? And last but not least what WiFi standard are the WAP's on?

If you have a system that large on a ship that was only 500k it sounds like you may have been undersold on the network side of things. That's a huge system and the network alone could easily be in the high 5 to 6 figure range.

Last edited by tweeterguy on June 17, 2012 13:49.
OP | Post 3 made on Sunday June 17, 2012 at 17:23
Deepseadata
Long Time Member
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Thanks for the great questions, Tweet!

I said 500k because I didn't want it to sound padded. I bet it was €1m to be honest.

Most remotes have a Strix Systems WAP within 30' from them at all times. There are a couple remotes with docks about 10' apart. One remote is for that room and the other remote is for the aft deck. The aft deck has a WAP out there, too. They never go further than 30' from a WAP.

I have a couple cabins with their own WAP never further than 15' and they freeze up, too.

The 8x's are on their own VLAN and SSID with no authentication and WEP encryption. When the signal isn't reporting 0% it's usually no less than high 70's and often 90%.

Firmware 1.00.01.29

Once the remote is connected it's usually pretty decent. But when nobody has touched it for a while (20 minutes or so) I get the call, "remote's frozen again." I start a ping and sure enough.. it's dropped off the network.

I go up there and try a warm boot.. nothing. The only thing that cures it is a coldy.

Is there anywhere in the OS or firmware where I can tell it to NEVER turn off the wifi interface?
60% of the time I'm wrong all the time.
Post 4 made on Sunday June 17, 2012 at 18:36
tweeterguy
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Sounds like the locations aren't the issue then. Although I'm not familiar with those WAPs and how reliable they are at maintaining a connection. As mentioned before the 8X is notorious for having wifi and connectivity issues. It's really a bad design unfortunately.

Couple of things. You're not on the latest firmware of .69. You're about 4 or 5 revisions behind. There is also a wifi hot fix for the 8X but you need to ensure which wifi version you have...Atheros or I believe the other was Intel. Don't apply the hot fix unless you're sure. There's also a setting on the 8X that allows you to toggle something to the effect of 'allow windows to manage the wifi' or something like that. Don't have one in front of me. The 8X has been disco for a while with a newer and slightly more reliable wifi version 8X-GA. That may solve some of your problems. Are these panels wifi only or do you have hard Ethernet to the dock as well? I know some had problems switching between the two and would require a reboot.

I would start with the firmware update and if that's not sufficient contact TS for advice on the hot fix, repair or upgrade to 8X-GA. Obviously newer panels or iPads will be more reliable but at qty 22 plus all the programming it's going to be $$$$.
Post 5 made on Sunday June 17, 2012 at 18:48
tweeterguy
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Sorry just realized I neglected to answer your question about the power. If you set the power off to value of 0 that will enable the radio to remain on at all times. If its set to some other value when that time has elapsed the radio will shut down and require a reconnect to the WAP. You can try this however battery time will suffer.
OP | Post 6 made on Monday June 18, 2012 at 09:33
Deepseadata
Long Time Member
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Thanks Tweeterdude!

I'll take all your advice into consideration.

You've been very helpful.
60% of the time I'm wrong all the time.
Post 7 made on Monday June 18, 2012 at 16:35
tweeterguy
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Please report back if anything cures the issue. We have a couple stragglers left in the field that just won't die or are allowed to be upgraded.
Post 8 made on Tuesday June 19, 2012 at 12:35
Tom Luczywo
Founding Member
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November 2001
115
Do you have a network document detailing your entire network setup that includes floorplan layout and WiFi channel setup of each WAP?  This kind of behavior usually reflects interference issues.  Have you used WiFi tools such as WiSpy or Ekahau (Site Survey and Heatmapper) to assess the environment?
With 22 of them and numerous WAP's, Interference must be taken into serious consideration.


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