2017-10-10, 12:55 PM
(2017-10-10, 10:37 AM)ElbeTaxi Wrote: Now, after some testing and plugging/unplugging, restarting and so on.. the sensors disappeared from the sensor ID list in the add 1W Dialog. They are not longer recognized.
So all gets worse, and i give up.
If a sensor ID doesn't show on the list, it means that it isn't recognized by the system any more. It is not an open plotter issue. I have had two issues that took me quite some time to sort out. Both issues are/were related to bad connections.
My 1W system is implemented with CAT5 cable and splitters off the main trunk line. I use ethernet cable cable sections to go between splitters and each sensor plugs into the splitter with the same connectors (8 conductor RJ45 connectors).
It turns out (and I still have a hard time believing it) that the cheap splitters I was using are causing issues. There are no active components in these splitters yet the sensors would sometimes be there and sometimes not. I ended up tossing all my cheap splitters that cost me somewhere around $0.50 each and replaced them with splitters around $2 each. I also made some of my own splitters. It was a very frustrating issue to trouble shoot because the same splitter might work one day but not the next.
The magic answer - apparently a splitter that has all three locking tabs on the RJ45 connectors on the same side are good splitters. These splitters are generally based on a little PCB inside the housing with three standard sockets soldered to the PCB.
I still have occasions when the whole system goes down and I end up wiggling all connections to the PI which fixes things. I have not been able to locate the bad connection on the PI.
I found choosing a key a bit non-intuitive but once I realized how things were set up, everything worked well.