Alpha Station - Communication error

I do not unfortunately. The devices I have are just the PR55-17B and PR49-24C (Light Sensors).

Does your Ethernet modem have a sticker on the side of it with a serial number?

This is what you might be looking for:

image

Yes, this sticker was printed by our production computer which reads the data from the module and prints the label, our software also sets vital default parameters and only prints this sticker if the entire operation is successful. Most importantly, the module has been configured properly before installation into the modem, so you should not try to do any further recovery via software.

Next, please note the Wireless Module and Ethernet module are seated in two rows of pins for each module. If they were not seated properly, it will not work. Please remove these modules and reseat them into the main blue circuit board, checking that each pin is aligned properly with the pins on the removable module. Once reseated, please try Alpha Station again.

I was able to interface with the modem before today and when trying to use Alpha Console today I was getting the error as stated before.

I checked both the modules and they were seated properly onto the board. I did pull them off and installed them as you tested them anyways as a secondary check. When trying to connect to the Alpha Station it still gives me the error “Unable to Communicate with Modem”. Not sure what else I can do.

Is there a way to re-flash the Ethernet and XBee module?

I honestly do not believe there is anything at all wrong with the Ethernet module but you can update the firmware using the NCDConfigTool.

The NCDConfigTool has an upload firmware button which you use to upload the firmware files at the above GitHub repo.

That is fair about the Ethernet module but what about the XBee module? Like I have said before this was working a couple days ago but all of a sudden stopped.

The XBee module can be factory reset through the NCD Base Station. However the ideal way to reset the settings of the module or even update the firmware is using Digi’s XCTU software. Unfortunately it is not possible to connect XCTU to the module via a TCP socket, only through a Serial connection. This is why you would need the USB modem.

However there is one thing you can attempt that I honestly have not tried in the past. It is possible to use a Virtual Com Port driver to convert a TCP connection to a COM/Serial port. There are many TCP VCP drivers available for different operating systems. You could attempt to use one of those to create a COM/Serial port on your computer, then use the X-CTU software from Digi to change settings in the XBee module. The X-CTU software is available here:
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwixzpXq6d3xAhVPI6wKHQ4ICVUQtwIwAHoECAUQAw&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.digi.com%2Fproducts%2Fembedded-systems%2Fdigi-xbee%2Fdigi-xbee-tools%2Fxctu&usg=AOvVaw0gTMGS6uceFjfhODaJv36N

The alternative at this point would be to send the Ethernet modem back here for repair. To do that you can fill out an RMA here:
https://ncd.io/contact-us/product-returns/

I am having a similar problem here. I cannot communicate to the modem and have changed the baud rate to 9600 and performed recoverings. However I note that when I close AlphaStation the green led light is still on for the ethernet port. How can I make sure another app is not accessing the modem so it can be updated?