C200/C250 Series Lightbar Operation
Overview
The Gateways offer a Lightbar that can be used to assist in placing the external antenna in the optimum location to enhance the signal strength. The Lightbar provides a visual indication of the RSSI Signal Strength and is available on the newest models of the C120, C130, C200 and C250 Series units. This document describes how to use the Lightbar on the C200 Series units (C200, C201, C202 and C204) and C250 Series units (C250, C251, C252 and C254).
The lights shown when the Gateway is in operation are a snapshot of the last signal check. Signal strength is automatically checked at boot and before every new call is placed.
 |
Lights |
Signal Strength |
| One LED |
Poor |
| Two LEDs |
Fair |
| Three LEDs |
Good |
| Four LEDs |
Excellent |
| Top and Bottom LEDs flashing |
No Signal |
| Current signal strobing (on solid for 2 sec, strobe, on solid for 2 sec, strobe, in a continuing sequence) |
No PPP Connection. This is displayed when signal to the cell tower is available but the data connection through the cell network is not established. Confirm that the wireless account has been activated, and that the unit is configured to connect to the correct provider. |
| Four LEDs flashing rapidly |
Low cell modem memory detected |
| Note: |
The behavior of the Lightbar is dependnet on the cell modem's firmware level and the cell sevice provider. The following table lists the applicable behavor.
|
| Carrier |
Behavior |
Sixnet Software |
Cell Firmware |
| Sprint |
Updates when dialing |
All |
All |
| Verizon |
Updates when dialing |
V1.68 and below |
2.05v and below |
Updates when dialing, and every two seconds during a call
|
V1.70 and above |
2.13v and above |
| GSM |
Updates when dialing |
V1.68 and below |
6.41 and below |
| Updates when dialing, and every two seconds during a call |
V1.70 and above |
6.51 and above |
| Note: |
When a unit with older firmware or Sprint service is used, if a real-time measurement is required, an external dongle is required. The instructions for using the dongle are below. |
Dongle Operation
The dongle is a DB9-M loop back connector on pins 7 and 8. The dongle can be ordered from Sixnet (Part number c/lightbar) or fabricated locally. When the dongle is inserted, the LED display on the Lightbar will be updated in real-time. This procedure is normally used for initial placement of the unit.
To use the dongle, follow these procedures:
- Insert the dongle into the Console Port (ttyS0).
- Connect the Power Supply to an outlet and the unit.
- The Gateway will begin the boot process until it detects the dongle. At that point, the boot will be suspended and the real-time mode started.
- Try the antenna in various available places and angles until best signal strength is found. As the antenna is moved, the Lightbar will reflect the change in the signal reception.
- Once the antenna is satisfactorily placed, unplug the dongle to allow the boot process to resume.
- Once the boot is complete, the Gateway will be in normal operational mode.
| Note: |
The normal boot process is halted while the dongle is inserted. Gateway applications and wireless calls will not run in this mode. |
Signal Strength Commands
During normal operation, two commands are available through the Console/Telnet Command Line Interface or the web browser interface.
| Command |
Function |
| checksignal |
Updates the Lightbar in real-time. Warning: this command will terminate any active Wireless PPP connection. |
|
getsignal |
Displays a log of the last 10 to 15 signal checks. |
These commands are available through the Console/Telnet Command Line Interface and the Sixnet GAU GUI interface.
For Console access, please click here:
Hyperterm.pdf
For GAU access, please use click here:GAU c110/c200.pdf
Once you have accessed the GAU:
|
The normal boot process is halted while the dongle is inserted. Gateway applications and wireless calls will not run in this mode. |
|
Locate and click on Cell Modem Signal under the Cell header in the blue column on the left-hand side of the screen. |
|
Select Passive Check button to view most recent signal strength entries stored in the system log. It will not interrupt any PPP processes currently running. |
|
Select Direct Check button to query the modem directly to display the current signal strength. Direct Check will interrupt ALL ppp processes running and if you have access through a PPP interface and run a Direct Check the connection will be lost. |
Please email:
wireless.support@sixnet.com if you have any questions on the functions of the Lightbar.
Click here to go back to Wireless FAQ Overview Page |
