Connect REACH units (Rover and Base) with APC220

If none of that works then stop the base and stop the rover. Keep putty window open, and open another putty window and ssh into the base. Have the screen command running in both windows.
screen /dev/ttyMFD2 9600

if you type in one window, the characters should appear in the other window.
move your cursor to the other window, and type and the characters should appear in the first window. This exercise tells you that the radios are working properly.

Hi @bide

Do I have to start again for checking radios?

I tried all the methods but still no luck. Looks like my radios are not communicating each other. Im still getting garbage values when I use:

screen /dev/ttyMFD2 9600

I even kept my both antennas outside the window.

Most of the time, when I am doing this"

screen /dev/ttyMFD2 9600

then automatically gray bars getting disable/invisible.

And after sometime,

its says in putty:

root@reachrover:~# screen /dev/ttyMFD2 9600
[screen is terminating]

But only for few times, this method is happening:

And after that its getting terminate.

I think you missed the part where I said to stop the base and stop the rover and then run screen on both Reachs. If you did that, then it would not be terminating.

Why don’t you close the windows and reboot the Reachs, and start over with ReachView stopped. Then run the screen program again on both Reach and try typing in the windows again and see if you get any characters to display in the opposite window.

Yes I can do that.

192.168.1.44 (rover)
192.168.1.45 (base)

When I am typing one character in “base” then in “rover” its coming almost same time. But when I am typing in “rover”, then I have to press 3-5 times that one character to display on “base”.

I suppose the next step is to unplug the radios from the breadboards and swap them. Then try the same test to see if the problem follows the radio or not.

I swapped and characters displaying more slowly than before in both base and rover.

So let me assume that:

  • You can type characters and they appear on the other side. You can do this from base and from rover.

Now which is true:

  • You type 20 characters, but you get less than 20 characters on the other side.
  • You type 20 characters, and they all appear on the other side but they appear slowly.

How many characters appear per second when you type very fast?

This results:

Suppose I typed “Q” 10 times on each (rover and base) fast then its displaying 2-3 times on other sides

So it seems you have an interference problem. I get this with my RFD900 radios and I change something and try again:

  • make sure antenna connection is tight
  • rotate antenna to a different position (make them parallel to each other)
  • if that doesn’t work, then make the antennas perpendicular to each other (this should be a bad antenna orientation, but maybe you will get a good reflection off of a nearby surface)
  • move radios closer together or further apart
  • sometimes if they are hot and been running for a long time, just power off and let cool for a while.
  • make sure antennas are not near the data wires
  • shorten the data wires, or twist them together with the ground to reduce interference.

Something that you do will make the radios work good. Then start ReachView and try the procedure again.

I also heard that some 3dr radios have died prematurely. If no adjustment helps, then maybe you just need to try some new radios.

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Ok let me try those methods and will get back

Also, you are set to 9600 baud. This means the ideal speed is equivalent to 960 characters per second. When you are typing as fast as you can and all the characters are appearing instantly, then you have a good radio connection :slight_smile: