No signal in PIM/Upstart

[chrisdias]

I'm trying to debug my noise problem.

Many of my outlets show no signal and no noise in UPStart when I go to Tools | Signal and Strength Meter. I won't see samples being taken either. Other times, I will see many samples being taken but no signal/noise.

On these outlets with no signal, I can usually "see" the one switch that appears to be on that phase. I can talk to it in setup mode, UPStart will recognize it when doing a Network scan. When connected to the switch, I can run a communication test and I see a strong signal with very little noise (Device | Edit menu i believe... the dialog with multiple tabs).

The other outlets (my noisy ones) typically show alot of noise and signal that alternates back and forth, every second or so. Red bar, green bar, red bar, etc.

Why would the PIM show no signal?

Why does the noisy line alternate back and forth between noise/signal?

Thanks!
Chris

 

[chrisdias]

bump... see if anyone has any ideas.

thx.

 

[BryanE]

bump... see if anyone has any ideas.

thx.

I'm still having this problem too. I thought it was a location based problem but I'm seeing this issue at other homes as well. Is UPB that susceptible to noise?

 

[Event5]

You might try a factory reset. 5 presses, 10 presses, 2 presses. This will usually clear any problems with the PIM.

Dave

 

[chrisdias]

bump... see if anyone has any ideas.

thx.

I'm still having this problem too. I thought it was a location based problem but I'm seeing this issue at other homes as well. Is UPB that susceptible to noise?

I just installed a phase coupler this morning (plug in version into a 220v outlet) and now i can "talk" across phases. I still have one phase with alot of noise on it, but if I use an outlet on the other phase I can talk to the units on the noisy one no problem. fortunately my OmniPro will plug into the quiet phase.

I still have the no signal issue in upstart, so maybe i will do another reset on it. it has been a while since i've done that and i dont remember if that specifically fixes that problem.

chris

 

[chrisdias]

bump... see if anyone has any ideas.

thx.

I'm still having this problem too. I thought it was a location based problem but I'm seeing this issue at other homes as well. Is UPB that susceptible to noise?

I just installed a phase coupler this morning (plug in version into a 220v outlet) and now i can "talk" across phases. I still have one phase with alot of noise on it, but if I use an outlet on the other phase I can talk to the units on the noisy one no problem. fortunately my OmniPro will plug into the quiet phase.

I still have the no signal issue in upstart, so maybe i will do another reset on it. it has been a while since i've done that and i dont remember if that specifically fixes that problem.

chris

Looks like my phase coupler doesnt do anything when the noise increases (seems to increase at night), and resetting the PIM didnt fix the "no noise/no signal" problem with the meter.

 

[ano]

bump... see if anyone has any ideas.

thx.

I'm still having this problem too. I thought it was a location based problem but I'm seeing this issue at other homes as well. Is UPB that susceptible to noise?

I just installed a phase coupler this morning (plug in version into a 220v outlet) and now i can "talk" across phases. I still have one phase with alot of noise on it, but if I use an outlet on the other phase I can talk to the units on the noisy one no problem. fortunately my OmniPro will plug into the quiet phase.

I still have the no signal issue in upstart, so maybe i will do another reset on it. it has been a while since i've done that and i dont remember if that specifically fixes that problem.

chris

Looks like my phase coupler doesnt do anything when the noise increases (seems to increase at night), and resetting the PIM didnt fix the "no noise/no signal" problem with the meter.

:wacko:

First, stop resetting the PIM. That isn't required. Do you have the USB PIM or serial? Next, UPB noise is pretty rare, and most cases, as long as your signal level is strong, noise doesn't really matter. In my house I have MANY electrical items, and I think I only have had UPB noise that prevented a transmission from triggering a switch from one microwave oven, and only because it was a Panasonic with a very strange design. so, unless your noise is quite high, forget about it for now.

Signal level is what is important and a 4 or 5 is usually enough.

Do you only have one breaker panel? Regular residential single family house in a residential neighborhood? (Appartments usually use 3-phase which is a different story.)

Next, if you use a phase coupler, is it inverting or non-inverting and what type? Dryer outlet plugin, wired-in, another type?
What are your lowest signal devices on the "same" phase and what signal levels? How about the "other" phase? There are many things you can do to debug your problem.

 

[ano]

bump... see if anyone has any ideas.

thx.

I'm still having this problem too. I thought it was a location based problem but I'm seeing this issue at other homes as well. Is UPB that susceptible to noise?

I just installed a phase coupler this morning (plug in version into a 220v outlet) and now i can "talk" across phases. I still have one phase with alot of noise on it, but if I use an outlet on the other phase I can talk to the units on the noisy one no problem. fortunately my OmniPro will plug into the quiet phase.

I still have the no signal issue in upstart, so maybe i will do another reset on it. it has been a while since i've done that and i dont remember if that specifically fixes that problem.

chris

Looks like my phase coupler doesnt do anything when the noise increases (seems to increase at night), and resetting the PIM didnt fix the "no noise/no signal" problem with the meter.

:wacko:

First, stop resetting the PIM. That isn't required. Do you have the USB PIM or serial? Next, UPB noise is pretty rare, and most cases, as long as your signal level is strong, noise doesn't really matter. In my house I have MANY electrical items, and I think I only have had UPB noise that prevented a transmission from triggering a switch from one microwave oven, and only because it was a Panasonic with a very strange design. so, unless your noise is quite high, forget about it for now.

Signal level is what is important and a 4 or 5 is usually enough.

Do you only have one breaker panel? Regular residential single family house in a residential neighborhood? (Appartments usually use 3-phase which is a different story.)

Next, if you use a phase coupler, is it inverting or non-inverting and what type? Dryer outlet plugin, wired-in, another type?
What are your lowest signal devices on the "same" phase and what signal levels? How about the "other" phase? There are many things you can do to debug your problem.