apache-labs.com

So,

1.6b indicated a PA FAULT (Power Amplifier Overdrive) and started beeping at me, the only way i could clear this fault was to power cycle the radio. Is this intentional? The fault was still displayed when I want back to RX.

I would expect an error message to timeout when no longer applicable.

FWIW the indicated voltage is 50.2, the current 0, the input from my PSU is a stable 13,8v.

Simon,

I have not looked at the code, and don't have an 8000, but from the reports of others it would appear that the LCD microprocessor is responsible for detecting faults associated with overcurrent, overvoltage and VSWR coming from the 50V amplifier board, and that any such fault requires the operator to manually reset the radio.

I agree, this is probably not the best approach. The faults should time-out, or there should be a GUI feature that allows remote reset. This effectively disqualifies the 8000 for use in remote operations.

73,

Scott

w-u-2-o wrote:Simon,

I have not looked at the code, and don't have an 8000, but from the reports of others it would appear that the LCD microprocessor is responsible for detecting faults associated with overcurrent, overvoltage and VSWR coming from the 50V amplifier board, and that any such fault requires the operator to manually reset the radio.

I agree, this is probably not the best approach. The faults should time-out, or there should be a GUI feature that allows remote reset. This effectively disqualifies the 8000 for use in remote operations.

73,

Scott

In this case there was no signal sent, so this is a bug. Somewhere we need a forum to discuss the LCD firmware development and associated issues rather than a thread in a general firmware forum.

Be aware, too, that the display logic seems to have some state persistence that survives a power off/on cycle of the 8000's power button.

I ran into a spurious over-current fault the other day. On power-up, it beeped and complained that the 50V supply had excessive current (or something to that effect). The fault could not be cured by a power off/on cycle using the main power button on the unit. After trying three times, and fearing something had gone horribly wrong with my brand new radio, I tried cutting the power at the power supply, waiting a bit and turning it all back on. Problem solved.

W2PA wrote:Be aware, too, that the display logic seems to have some state persistence that survives a power off/on cycle of the 8000's power button.

I ran into a spurious over-current fault the other day. On power-up, it beeped and complained that the 50V supply had excessive current (or something to that effect). The fault could not be cured by a power off/on cycle using the main power button on the unit. After trying three times, and fearing something had gone horribly wrong with my brand new radio, I tried cutting the power at the power supply, waiting a bit and turning it all back on. Problem solved.

Chris - interesting. reading the spec of the PA device I see it's bomb-proof, in a few weeks I'll look at the Arduino code, fortunately the code's in a language I understand.

Power supply related posts moved to the original 8000 power supply thread here:

viewtopic.php?f=17&t=2357&p=2554#p2554

Thanks,

Scott

Scott is referring to a possible cause of an LCD Fault that may be attributed in part to the display firmware and also power supply behavior. If you are getting recurring faults labeled "50V SUPPLY IDLE CURRENT EXCEED", then check out that thread before tearing hair out:

viewtopic.php?f=17&t=2357&p=2554#p2546