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 |
JBM
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 JBM (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 JBM GAU GUI interface.
For Console
access, please use these Log In instructions.
For GAU access,
please use these Log In instructions.
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 contact
us if you have any questions on the functions of the Lightbar.
|
