USB UIRT INTERMITTENLY NOT RESPONDING

[Frank Mc Alinden]

Hi Jon
Im having the occassional issue with the usb uirt not responding when ir ir received...If i check the hardware settings it has been dropped off the usb devices..If i unplug the uirt and re insert it it comes back to life..Im not sure if its the external powered usb hub or the uirt thats causing this..Got any ideas on this one
Thanks
Frank

[jrhees]

Frank,

Some questions:

1. Have you tried it without the external hub (plugged directly into the PC)?

2. What sort of time frame (every few minutes, hours, days, etc.) does this happen?

3. Are you using external emitters?

4. What SW are you using (Girder, etc.)?

It is possible that the USB-UIRT has a problem, but I dould definitely try a different USB configuration first. Sometimes a low USB power supply can cause issues...

-Jon

[Frank Mc Alinden]

Hi Jon

1. Have you tried it without the external hub (plugged directly into the PC)?

No....havent i only have 2 available keyboard uses one and the usb hub is plugged into the other....I was going to purchase one that mounted in the pc but the guy in the shop stated it wouldnt help with my problem...

2. What sort of time frame (every few minutes, hours, days, etc.) does this happen?

It happens over days...this morning tried it and works fine...


3. Are you using external emitters?


The ir jack out drives my FirM Hardware via opto isolator......


4. What SW are you using (Girder, etc.)?

Im using xPL.....Is the plugin suppose to sent it stay awake messages every so often ???

[jrhees]

The plugin does not need to 'keep it awake'. If the device is disappearing from Device Manager than most likely there is a connection or electrical issue.

The first thing I would try is adjusting your USB connection setup.

Second thing to try would be unhooking the external emitter connection and see if the issue stabilizes. This *shouldn't* be an issue if the connection is truly opto-isolated, though. Sometime a ground bounce on the emitter wire can cause the PC->USB connection to be interrupted.

-Jon

[Frank Mc Alinden]

Hi Jon
What i have noticed is occasionly my adsl modem which is connected by usb (to the hub) drops out ...and when this happened last time xPL UIRT would not report ir signals....I unplugged the usb uirt and it must have be ok as the computer beeps as it does when devices go online / offline....So i restarted the xpl uirt plugin and all was ok....
Wonder if its the usb external power supply ....???

The ir out is definelty opto isolated so that should not be a problem..

Im beginning to think its something to do with the usb hub....
Frank

[rauscs]

I have been having a similar problem for a while, the USBUIRT stops responding, but the red receive light still flashes. In my case:

1. Have you tried it without the external hub (plugged directly into the PC)?
Yes - I have tried three flavors; unpowered hub, powered hub, and now directly into the Motherboard. It SEEMS to happen less now, but that is a very unscientific observation.

2. What sort of time frame (every few minutes, hours, days, etc.) does this happen?
Every few days

3. Are you using external emitters?
Yes, I have the external emitter port connected directly to a Buffalo (xantech compatible) amplified connecting block.

4. What SW are you using (Girder, etc.)?
Girder / Netremote / Homeseer
Girder Plug-in V2.6.9
Firmware 5.9
Windows Driver "FTDI 1.5.5.0"


There seems to be a commonality with this problem and external emitters - I have not tried to eliminate that from my setup.

Thanks! Steve

[Frank Mc Alinden]

Hi Steve
My Usb Uirt issue was being caused by my adsl modem which i had connected via usb...It would drop out and cause the Usb uirt to drop out as well as several serial / ethernet devices i have....I connected the adsl modem via the ethernet connection and have had no issues since...

HTH
Frank

[dt]

Periodically my USB-UIRT stops sending the channel change signals to my cable box (maybe once every 24-48 hours). This will happen after the system hasn't been touched for many hours, and after I had confirmed that it was working. Unplugging and replugging the USB-UIRT reestablishes the connection. Even when the connection is lost, the receiving led on the uirt still blinks when I operate the tv remote. Device manager reports that the uirt is operating normally.

Any ideas?

DT

[jrhees]

dt,

It could be a USB power supply issue (some USB power supplies are a little low). Do you have a powered USB hub laying around that you can try (in externally-powered mode)?

-Jon

[dt]

I don't have one, but they're not too expensive. I'll look for one and let you know if I still have problems.

Thanks for the reply
dt