UHF blowing fuse, and Ozi explorer help needed
Submitted: Wednesday, Feb 01, 2006 at 01:57
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Jeepster-WA
I have finally got the UHF in and now when I hit the transmit button the fuse blows, I believe that this is related to the conection of the coax cable to the set? Also when using OZIexplorer I may have a problem with the serial port to USB adapter, the same problem has now occurred with two diferent laptops. When I load the drivers for the adapter and then run the oziexplorer it works fine as intended, but when I close it all down and fire it up again, as soon as I hit start nmea communication with GPS windows closes the program down and creates an error report. Any guru's out here know about problems with serial port/USB adapters affecting windows?? Only one week before we take off across the Nullabor on the big trip and I need to get these bugs out. Any help would be appreciated, I posted this problem about two weeks ago when I thought it was the oziexplorer but it appears to be the USB adapter.
Cheers
Jeepster
Reply By: V8 Troopie - Wednesday, Feb 01, 2006 at 02:12
Wednesday, Feb 01, 2006 at 02:12
Re your fuse blowing - is it the coprrect size ? (sorry, had to ask that first)
You may have a badly terminated antenna cable where some of the shield strands short to the centre connector.
Re your serial to USB adapter, on my laptop it matters into which USB port I plug the adaptor. If its different than the port I usually use then I have to go first into devices and see where the adaptor shows up and then set to this port # in the Ozi settings.
good luck
Klaus
AnswerID:
152213
Follow Up By: Jeepster-WA - Wednesday, Feb 01, 2006 at 02:37
Wednesday, Feb 01, 2006 at 02:37
Klaus, thanks for the
feedback I think you are right about the shield strands, I will have another go at it. And yes the fuse is the corect one 2amp as per the book. I have set the port to the correct configuration, and it was done on both laptops, I believe it is the USB adapter. What brand of adapter have you got.
Regards
Jeepster
FollowupID:
405859
Follow Up By: V8 Troopie - Wednesday, Feb 01, 2006 at 02:49
Wednesday, Feb 01, 2006 at 02:49
Jeepster, the adapter I have is called UC-232A. Got it from Arrow computers in
Perth, about 2 years ago. I vaguely remember there was some problem installing the software for it but the 'guru' at work fixed that and it's been working faultlessly ever since.
Klaus
FollowupID:
405860
Follow Up By: Jeepster-WA - Wednesday, Feb 01, 2006 at 13:10
Wednesday, Feb 01, 2006 at 13:10
Hi Klaus, just been to Arrow and they don't have any adapters but the fella there said try the internet, the supplier may have a software patch
cheers
Jeepster
FollowupID:
405915
Reply By: Michael Carey - Wednesday, Feb 01, 2006 at 08:09
Wednesday, Feb 01, 2006 at 08:09
I've found many problems with USB/serial adapters.
First is that Windows XP will assign a different Com Port Number to most adapters (if not all!) if they are plugged into a different USB port on the laptop. When you get it going you MUST plug the adapter into the same USB port each time.
Second is trying to use Ozi (or other programs) that need the Com Port without plugging the adapter in. I haven't done any experiments with Oziexplorer and USB/serial adapters but I know from experience with TMQ C-Plot software that if the program starts and the Com Port isn't there, it un-selects the Com Port in the configuration and even after you re-insert the adapter, you have to manually re-configure the NMEA settings.
This is why I bought a Toshiba Tecra A3X recently, it has a built in COM port (many Toshiba models are now including COM ports again!)
Friggin' computers, you think a 4WD is a harsh environment? Imagine how long a computer would last on a fishing boat. Vibration, salt air being drawn through the internals, dodgey 240V power... and the list goes on... Barely a week goes past before a fisherman rings me up with a computer related problem...
If there is a problem with the antenna or coaxial cable, the UHF can draw more current on transmit and blow the fuse,
check for a short/open circuit on the cable.
AnswerID:
152220
Reply By: Member - Jack - Wednesday, Feb 01, 2006 at 08:22
Wednesday, Feb 01, 2006 at 08:22
I had a problem with my Serial -> USB port adaptor last weekend trying to hook my GPS up to the new Dell laptop. I bought the adaptor from Oziexplore (I think).
1. Start the computer up with the USB plugged in, but not with the GPS switched on.
2. Then connect/turn on the GPS.
My problem was that the mouse cursor ran all over the screen, opening windows like a madman (mad mouse???).
I also went to the Oziexplorer website and downloaded a program called GPSPortchecker.exe and ran that, which then gave me the correct port/baud rate configuration to set my computer up on. Ran that, reconfigured the Oziexplorer settings and now it works like a dream.
Hope this helps you.
Jack
AnswerID:
152222
Follow Up By: Member - Jack - Wednesday, Feb 01, 2006 at 08:27
Wednesday, Feb 01, 2006 at 08:27
Ooops .. forgot to add that Oziexplorer has a pretty good "Support" page which deals with this sort of problem, if you haven't been there yet.
Jack
FollowupID:
405888
Follow Up By: ro-dah-o (WA) - Wednesday, Feb 01, 2006 at 10:43
Wednesday, Feb 01, 2006 at 10:43
Ive had the same prob, found that if you start oziexplorer first, then turn the GPS on all is fine.
frustrated me at first too
FollowupID:
405895
Follow Up By: Member - John (Vic) - Wednesday, Feb 01, 2006 at 12:35
Wednesday, Feb 01, 2006 at 12:35
Have the same issue with my GPS, Start the lap top first then turn on the GPS.
It appears that Windows thinks the GPS is a mouse on start up and sends it running. LOL.
FollowupID:
405908
Reply By: knight44 - Wednesday, Feb 01, 2006 at 10:27
Reply By: HJ60-2H - Wednesday, Feb 01, 2006 at 11:40
Wednesday, Feb 01, 2006 at 11:40
I had a similar fuse problem with a radio I installed. Turned out the the wiring to the radio was underrated. I changed the wiring for a thicker version and the fuse then behaved itself.
AnswerID:
152253
Reply By: Mulga Bill - Wednesday, Feb 01, 2006 at 11:46
Wednesday, Feb 01, 2006 at 11:46
You can
check the insulation of the coax setup with a meter to rule out any shorts - far as I know you are in danger of stuffing up the innards of the UHF - the surging of power levels in excess of that required may blow the fuse, but also be cooking a component. In the case of new units, retailers in radios generally specifically warn clients about this aspect of self installation ..... warranties are voided in such cases.
AnswerID:
152254
Reply By: Jeepster-WA - Wednesday, Feb 01, 2006 at 13:13
Wednesday, Feb 01, 2006 at 13:13
Thanks for all the help guys, I will keep trying
cheers
Jeepster
AnswerID:
152262
Reply By: thomjor - Thursday, Feb 02, 2006 at 09:22
Thursday, Feb 02, 2006 at 09:22
If your fuse continues to blow you may have shorted out the reverse polarity diode in the uhf. This can be done very easily when installing electrical wiring. Don't keep replacing your fuses especially with heavier ones as I have seen some people do & end up with a major job on the uhf instead of just the diode.
AnswerID:
152457