BCD536HP USB Keeps Disconnecting

[WaveJam]

Hi all... I have my BCD536HP hooked up to a new Windows7 machine. I downloaded the new drivers for the 536HP and I use RadioFeed 2.7.

It appears from time to time the scanner USB serial connection drops dead. RadioFeed no longer sees the comm port and the alphatags stop working. I've also noted one or two times that I found the scanner mysteriously (out of the blue) sitting on the Mass Storage screen (no longer scanning). Not sure if the drivers are crashing and causing the scanner to go on/off line or what. If I unplug the USB from the computer, I hear a disconnect noise. When I plug it back in I hear a connect then the disconnect noise.

Just wanted to see if anyone else has been dealing with this.

 

[Meskoman]

In Windows Device Manager check your USB Root Hub Power Management. If the box is checked, uncheck it on all USB Root Hubs. Had a problem with USB ports and I unchecked them and it fixed my problem.

 

[JamesO]

^+1 this power saving feature is a PITA, both for USB and networking connections, I have to remember to uncheck this box all the time on all the systems I deal with.

 

[WaveJam]

In Windows Device Manager check your USB Root Hub Power Management. If the box is checked, uncheck it on all USB Root Hubs. Had a problem with USB ports and I unchecked them and it fixed my problem.

Awesome... Trying this now... Thank-you.

 

[WaveJam]

Unfortunately, this did not help my case. The scanner was happily scanning and broadcasting alphatags when I walked away. About an hour or two later when I came back, the scanner was stuck on the "Mass Storage" screen.

Any other tips anyone?

 

[JamesO]

Carefully check your Advance Power Settings and make sure the computer is not doing something funny even though you may have changed the USB power settings.

Toshiba, Sony and other computer manufacturers are FAMOUS for writing and installing their own power/energy saving software and I usually find it problematic, redundant and a resource hog.

The the other possibility is a power blip is causing this issue. Not sure if you have a UPS unit for this set up and if you may have been having ice or winds that could be causing power instability?

Make and model of computer?

Do you have a different computer you can try?

 

[ofd8001]

I unchecked the USB root hub boxes in the power management tab. I'm still getting that Serial Port to Mass Storage hiccup on my Dell computer when I'm running ARC 536 Virtual Control. It's not a persistent thing, rather it happens intermittently.

 

[WaveJam]

Carefully check your Advance Power Settings and make sure the computer is not doing something funny even though you may have changed the USB power settings.

I was pretty excited when Meskoman told me to check the power settings. Thought for sure that would be it. But yeah, I have gone through all the power settings and nothing else stands out.

Toshiba, Sony and other computer manufacturers are FAMOUS for writing and installing their own power/energy saving software and I usually find it problematic, redundant and a resource hog.

Can't stand when vendors do that. Grrr. I always format the drive of my PCs (or order them with no OS) and install nothing but fresh OS with only the needed vendor drivers.

The the other possibility is a power blip is causing this issue. Not sure if you have a UPS unit for this set up and if you may have been having ice or winds that could be causing power instability?

It sure does act like a power blip. Or some kind of physical disconnect. So, yes, both the PC and Scanner are on UPS's. My next thought was to replace the USB cable for two reasons: 1) I've heard others in these forums saying that the cable they got with the scanner does not work. And 2) I'm not pleased with the way the cable plugs into the front of the scanner. Kind of loose. So, I replaced it with a known good cable that fits snug.

Make and model of computer?

Its a Dell GX620 Tower

Do you have a different computer you can try?

I wish... But no... I also need to add that I run two feeds from this PC. I have been running two off this machine for a long time. I have had BCD996XT and a PRO-197 running in two instances of Scannercast for a year. Never any disconnect issues. Now, I'm running the BCD996XT and BCD536HP on two instances of RadioFeed. Only the 536HP is having this issue. The 996XT has been and still is rock solid with its USB. Same with the PRO-197 when I had it, no problems.

Oh, I've tried Scannercast and RadioFeed for both the 996XT and 536HP and still have the same probs. I made the switch to RadioFeed because it supports alphatags with the 536HP.

Thanks for the note!

 

[Mike_G_D]

WaveJam,

How are you connecting audio for streaming from the 536 while using the USB port? Some have noted odd grounding issues with the USB port while using the external speaker output for streaming audio.

-Mike

 

[SCPD]

Do you have Auto Shutoff on ?
on the Scanner go to setting and to Auto Shutoff and see if you have that on ?

 

[WaveJam]

How are you connecting audio for streaming from the 536 while using the USB port? Some have noted odd grounding issues with the USB port while using the external speaker output for streaming audio.

That's another thing for me to keep in mind. I basically ran the speaker with no ground wire. Sound seems great. But, you're right... That fix may be causing the disconnect issue.

<frustration mode = on> Ugh! <frustration mode = off>

 

[WaveJam]

Do you have Auto Shutoff on ?
on the Scanner go to setting and to Auto Shutoff and see if you have that on ?

Thanks... Wouldn't that shut the whole scanner off? Its not on.

 

[RF23]

Thanks... Wouldn't that shut the whole scanner off? Its not on.

Did you ever get a chance to try the "Ground Loop Isolator" between your scanner and the PC?

 

[WaveJam]

Did you ever get a chance to try the "Ground Loop Isolator" between your scanner and the PC?

I was following the thread on that for a little while. I'm one of the people hoping for a plug and play version of that, but everyone keeps talking about custom made solutions. Me + soldering iron = trouble. Has anyone figured out a safe plug and play gadget that I can buy?

 

[Mike_G_D]

That's another thing for me to keep in mind. I basically ran the speaker with no ground wire. Sound seems great. But, you're right... That fix may be causing the disconnect issue.

<frustration mode = on> Ugh! <frustration mode = off>

Yes, that may be a problem. If you study my thread at: http://forums.radioreference.com/un...er-connection-considerations-precautions.html you can read up on this.

Briefly, you should definitely not ground either the tip or ring of the external speaker jack as you would if you just directly connected it to a PC audio input. However, if you do only use the tip you should still connect the cable shield to the chassis of the radio using some case screw or other convenient case ground connection (even the antenna outer BNC ring if that works for you). So connect the center conductor of the connecting cable to the tip of the external speaker output and the shield of the cable NOT to the ring of that jack but instead to the case of the radio.

Now, depending on your PC audio connection, there may also be some DC on that line that really should be isolated from the radio's BTL audio amplifier output. An inline capacitor of around 10uF with the + side toward the PC connection would do this. Also a 1K resistor inline as well would probably be a good idea (to prevent loading down the PC output with the low output impedance and high level of the radio's external speaker output).

The other solution is using an isolation transformer. If you don't like tinkering and soldering or any form of electronic make-it-yourself-stuff then try the one that JamesO linked to in that thread in post number 29 of that thread. For convenience, I'll post the link here: Telco & Multimedia Ground Isolation Transformer - 3.5mm M/F - Computer Cable Store™. I think that by itself will do the trick without you having to touch a soldering iron or a component if those things make you queasy. You may still need to add a series resistor though if the level or loading issue comes up and you cannot compensate using the mixer input controls in the PC soundcard software.

It has been noted that there are interactions between the external speaker jack and the USB port when using the external speaker jack for connection to a PC on at least a couple of other threads which is why I brought this up.

Hope this helps!

-Mike

 

[WaveJam]

For convenience, I'll post the link here: Telco & Multimedia Ground Isolation Transformer - 3.5mm M/F - Computer Cable Store&#8482;. I think that by itself will do the trick without you having to touch a soldering iron or a component if those things make you queasy.

Thanks for the info Mike. I just ordered that transformer. Fingers crossed. Does it matter which side I plug the transformer into? The sound card side or the scanner?

 

[Mike_G_D]

Thanks for the info Mike. I just ordered that transformer. Fingers crossed. Does it matter which side I plug the transformer into? The sound card side or the scanner?

It may - it depends on the design. I would check the instructions (if any) that it comes with. For a pure 1:1 transformer component it wouldn't matter since the primary and secondary are the same - but, again, not sure exactly what is inside that particular unit. For a basic non-tapped 1:1 isolation transformer, one side would have its two leads connected to the speaker output jack tip and ring (one lead to tip and the other to ring) while the opposite side of the transformer has one lead connected to ground/cable shield and the other lead to the center conductor of the cable (this is the cable going to the PC audio input).

I'll see if I can find any data on that unit on the web.

For now, if you want to test if the USB issue is related to the speaker connection, try disconnecting the speaker connection and seeing if the USB setting stays stable over time relative to when you had the speaker output connected.

-Mike

 

[ofd8001]

Well, I'm still having the issue of jumping from Serial to Mass Storage. (I don't have any speakers connected.)

Right about the time I see this happening, I notice my mouse cursor going from the arrow pointer to the "moving circle" as if my computer was trying to start something.

 

[LIScanner101]

In case this hasn't been addressed can you please tell us if there is any timeout settings for your HDD or monitor? For.now I'd set everything to "never". Your pc may be going into sleep or hibernate mode.

 

[WaveJam]

The other solution is using an isolation transformer. If you don't like tinkering and soldering or any form of electronic make-it-yourself-stuff then try the one that JamesO linked to in that thread in post number 29 of that thread. For convenience, I'll post the link here: Telco & Multimedia Ground Isolation Transformer - 3.5mm M/F - Computer Cable Store&#8482;. I think that by itself will do the trick without you having to touch a soldering iron or a component if those things make you queasy.

Update. I recieved the cable mentioned above today and unfortunately three hours or so later, the same thing. The scanner was stuck on the mass storage screen. When it was scanning though, the sound was good and strong. So it fixes the low audio problem that some of us are having. But, there is still something kicking the scanner into mass storage mode. Surfing around the forums, I'm seeing that a few others are seeing the same issue. I think my title for this thread is misleading. I should have just named it "Scanner keeps kicking into mass storage mode". I really don't think this is a Windoze prob (as much as I'd like to blame Windoze) and I don't think the PC is at fault either. I swapped PCs today and still had the same results. Plus, my 996XT USB connection is solid as a rock. I could see this as a driver prob maybe. From what I've seen, this is only an issue for some of us using the scanner for a feed (hooked to a soundcard and not a speaker) and with alphatags running.

Thought for sure that cable was going to help.... Oh well, back to the drawing board...