I'm currently in Iraq on a survey, and am hoping someone can offer some advice on the troubles I'm having. I'm using a Trimble 5700 receiver with a TDL450H radio, and the receiver keeps shutting off completely after 2-60 minutes of starting the survey. For this project I can work in fast-static when I don't have a radio link (starting the base as RTK and Infill), but with the receiver shutting off completely and thus not logging static data... very frustrating when I'm hiking in the mountains and go out of radio range, only to return at the end of the day to discover the base has shut off at some point and I don't have the static base data I need.
I've tried numerous battery configurations: A fully charged 100Ah 12V to the radio (and thus powering the receiver through the Y cable), with two new and fully charged batteries in the receiver itself, and even an additional 12V battery into the available port on the receiver. I've monitored the voltage on the 12V battery as the radio is broadcasting, and it stays well above 12 volts (about 12.7V) as the receiver shuts off. I've tried every possibly combination of batteries, and have tried three different (two were brand new) Y cables for the radio-power-receiver link, have tried 3 different 5700s with various ports being used for the radio link, and for some reason the darn thing still shuts off after some amount of time.
I thought heat might be an issue as the temps have been near 50C, but this morning in camp I set everything up in the shade (only 38C), and the same thing happened. Even if the radio went down, yet the base still was recording static data, it would be huge towards not having to redo the day.
Any advice towards this problem would be very much appreciated, as I'm fully wanting to finish this project and get the heck outta here. Thanks!
> I thought heat might be an issue as the temps have been near 50C, but this morning in camp I set everything up in the shade (only 38C), and the same thing happened.
For what it's worth, the Trimble user guide for the 5700 states an operating temperature range of –40 °C to +65 °C.
Just a suggestion. Thorough cleaning of connections. A high R value in them will cause what you describe. Also, if INSIDE the receiver, there is a connection with a high R value, it can shut it down. The fix for this would be to open it up, and carefully jiggle those connections. A large buss plug in could be your culprit. What is funny, is that if you fix it this way, you probably won't know which connection was the culprit. Also, a thermometer in there to look for heat would be great. Like one of those laser dot thermometers, to look for a hot spot. An ideal way to do this would be to turn it on, and then begin monitoring for hot spots, as it runs. Finally open it up, and look still for hot spots.
It may or may not be your problem, but based on your symptoms, it is the direction I'd go. I don't know anything about that receiver, or if it is easy to open or not. Another solution would be to place a small solar powered fan on it, to keep it cool, until you get your project done.
Something like this: Solar Powered Fan on Ebay
Let us know how it all works out.
N
Is the base shutting off or is it just failing to record data? I had a problem with the SD cards on a Leica base failing to record data in the Oklahoma summer. Ordinary SD cards will fail to work below about 60F or above about 80F. Leica sells "military grade" SD cards for use at temperatures outside of this range. I figured it was just the Leicas salesman trying to justify $200 SD cards until I found out for myself the hard way.
Is the flash card full? We have to hold our mouth right to get the 5700 to crank and run. Sometimes, the lemo from the radio to the base will draw juice so it shuts everything down.
So, here is our procedure.
Set everything up.
Plug the radio into the deed cycle.
Do NOT connect the lemo from the radio to the base until the end.
Start the base station (RTK & INFILL).
Then connect the lemo between the two.
Then start the rover.
This has worked for us for a while. We had issues with our Trimmark III getting too hot and it would shut down. Finally burnt a board up and we had to get another one.
Make sure you're not trying to pump 35 watts from the TDL. Set it to 2 watts and see if that helps.
Only a suggestion but when I worked in Saudi, mind you this was before GPS back in the 1970's, we frequently began working an hour or two before sunrise, looking to finish collecting our data before 10:00 am when we would return to camp to siesta until things began to cool again in the late afternoon and then returning to work until late in the evening. Try testing this equipment out in the coolest hours of the day, yes, the wee early hours and see if anything changes. I'd first check all of the other suggestions but working in the coolest hours might be the solution if it's an overheating problem related to the radio or batteries.
Good luck and An'shalla you will find the solution.(;
Just because I'm paranoid, doesn't mean they aren't out to get me.
Thanks to everyone for all the suggestions. I'm not thinking temperatures are the issue, as I've tried numerous receivers (during the coolest parts of the day), and the results are still the same: the receiver doesn't just stop recording data, it shuts down completely. This in spite of having fully charged internal batteries, and an external 12V (in addition to the 12V for the TDL). For the happy factor of this survey, I certainly wish I could begin in the wee hours of the morning to beat the heat, but the camp I'm in has a no-go policy when it's still dark out.
I've also tried every possible start-up combination, connecting batteries and the radio link at different times in the process, and the receiver(s) still shut down after some length of time. I've thoroughly cleaned all the connections, to no avail. Broadcasting at 2 Watts doesn't make a difference either.
But the good new is that I found a 4th receiver to test, and it ran all of yesterday without shutting off. My guess is that perhaps there's a firmware issue with the first three 5700s I was testing? I'll investigate this a bit and get back if this turns out to be the case, but for now I'm happy enough to have a working system. Thanks again!
Glad you have found a working system.
I was wondering if "someone" was shutting down the base while you were away from it?
I wonder why you have been deployed to a remote location like this with 1990's technology. These units have to be at least 10 years old now. And no GLONASS. Really, there just has to be enough budget in a job like this to bear newer and more reliable equipment.
> I was wondering if "someone" was shutting down the base while you were away from it?
That was my first thought too.:-@