Hello, we have (3) MirCR2x_KIT that stopped communicating. Removed power from both ends, changed from beacon to smart mode and smart mode to beacon mode but not getting flashing busy light and remote devices are not turning on.
They are working until electrician cut power to them. How do i get them to reconnect (in use for community water system).
mircr2x pr60-15 & mircc2 pr60-10
Hi,
The only requirement to get a working pair of MirC boards to connect is to power them back up. Is this a Wireless, RS-232, or Ethernet pair?
For a power event you would want to check the power supplies. Its unusual for the power supplies to all go out at the same time, but if there are high power motors on the same circuit that had their power shut off then it could create a large power spike. Generally a power supply will stop the voltage spike from coming into the board and causing damage, but not always. If shutting off power somehow caused a voltage spike on the contact closure wires then it can also cause damage.
I would recommend testing them on a bench with a tested 12VDC power supply. Power up both boards on a non-conductive surface and close the contact on the input for the transmitter board using a simple wire or push button. If the two parts of the married pair cannot communicate on the bench then I would recommend an RMA for evaluation and repair: Log In ‹ NCD.io — WordPress
Jacob, it is the wireless pair.
in the current configuration it is not possible for a power cycle to voltage spike the contact closures. i will pull the pairs and bench test - thank you.
also noticed that on #2 & #3 the contact closure will turn the busy light on but it never flashes. on #1, the busy light does not change - stays off.
Since this system now needs to report status for monitoring we are also looking at test running the MirXR2x_KIT.
hello. just bench tested the three that are not working.
pair #1 ‐ contact open: busy & ready & r1 on;
- contact closed: ready on, busy off, r1 - off, no communication between pairs
pair#2 - contact open: busy - on, ready - off & r2 - on;
- contact closed: ready on, busy on, r2 - on, no communication between pairs
pair#3 - contact open: busy - on, ready - off & r2 & r1 - on;
- contact closed: ready off, busy - on, r2 & r1 - on, no communication between pairs
smart or beacon mode made no difference
bench tested pairs on table next to each other
Understood, if they’re on a bench and not communicating with each other make sure they’re at least 6 inches apart although 12+ inches is preferable. If you’re still seeing the issue I would have to recommend an RMA for us to evaluate the boards at our facility: Log In ‹ NCD.io — WordPress
…the transmitters were 3’ away from their paired receivers.
will start RMA - thank you.
last question: while examining the boards noticed on the transmitters two of the XBee the sockets were partially melted and the other had burn marks by the capacitor (the receivers look normal)
The transmitters are being powered by a Rhino PS12-075D (75W) that was installed with the MirCR2x_KITs and has not been modified since. Is it possible that cycling the circuit breaker could do this since that is the only thing that was done by the electrician prior to this outage issue presenting?
Ordered the MirX and would like to prevent this from reoccurring.
thanks.
It would be unusual for a power surge to get through a power supply like that without also frying the power supply as its a switching power supply. At least I have never seen something like that happen although its always possible.
I’m going to assume that the breaker switch also disconnected power to inductive devices nearby.
Throwing a disconnect or disconnecting power to circuits being used by an inductive load or multiple inductive loads can cause a quite a few issues electrically so its difficult to pinpoint exactly which one is the culprit.
On the input side if the EMI field from the dissolution of the EM field of the motor is near the wires this can energize the wires pushing them over the 5V tolerance they have. This can be caused by proximity to the motor itself or the power lines running to the motor.
The outside metal of the Antenna connector on the wireless module acts as a ground for the wireless module. If this enclosure is nearby or grounded to the same ground as the inductive load this can momentarily shift the potential of ground on the enclosure. If the antenna is grounded to this enclosure this can create a ground differential.
There’s also the potential for an RF overload, but the board would need to be mounted near the circuit breaker and the disconnect would have to have output a massive RF blast for this to be the issue. This one is just theoretical as I’ve never actually seen this happen. If there was no arcing when the breaker was flipped this wouldn’t be the issue.
…the breaker switch does also open the coil of the contactor for well pump that is approximately 30’ away and 300’ deep.
…the grounds are the same - so i will isolate them.
The Rhino PS12-075D (75W) is the power supply currently being used, is there a better option other than using (3) 12 Volt 1.25 Amp Regulated Switcher Supply?
thanks.
No the power supply you have should be perfectly fine assuming that its outputting the 12VDC, but even its max voltage of 14VDC shouldn’t cause damage to the board. Most customers use a cheaper power supply. Any regulated switching power supply running 12VDC @ 150mA for transmitter and 12VDC @ 150 + (number_of_relays * mA draw of the chosen relay)mA for the receiver with the relays will do the job. For MirX its the same as the receiver of the MirC on both sides (150mA + current draw of the relays).
To check the current draw of the relays you can find the datasheets for our relays at: Mechanical Relay Types - NCD.io and look for the current draw of the 12VDC coil version or let me know which specific relay you’re using and I can get you the mA draw for that relay.