Zach Bolinger
DirecWay Troubleshooting Guide
Indications:
Check the System Status page for a high signal strength:
Then check the Transmission Info page for a high number of failed transmissions:
Ideally your transmission errors are close to zero. The system will function if the failed transmissions are as high as 10% of the successful transmissions. If you have a high signal strenth, then you know the dish is well pointed. If you still have high transmission errors and you have already tried force ranging, then you probably have a cabling problem
Details
Cabling problems can have many sources. The most common source on the CMC project is cheap materials used to make locally available cable. Good quality cable is made of materials that conduct the signal really well, shield out interference, and have a firm core to keep the distance between the layers of coax consistent. Cheap cable is a poor conductor in perfect condition and gets even worse with handling that makes the brittle outer layer break down. If it still conducts electricity, then the signal strength meter may still give a high reading even though a usable signal is not getting to the modem.
Another source of cabling problems is the terminations. If any of the shielding outer layers touch the center conductor, then the signal gets shorted out before it reaches the receiver. This can usually be identified by swapping send and receive cables at both ends. In this case, the receive signal will drop from acceptlible levels down to 10% or worse.
Finally, it might not be the cables themselves that are the culprit but rather where the cables are run. Cables should not run closely to sources of interference like engines or air conditioners. Good cables will shield out most of the interference, but it can still cause problems. Note that this type of interference will not lower the signal strength according to the modem. Signal strength is a measure of how much electricity the dish is collecting. It does not indicate that a clean, high quality signal is coming through. In fact, interference can sometimes make the signal strength look higher while making the signal unusable.
Resolution
If possible, bring the RTU close enough to the dish that you can use short, high quality, factory terminated cables to make the connection and see if it improves. If this troubleshooting step shows vast improvement, then you need to get higher quality cables and run them through a path that does not pass sources of interference.