4 === TeleFire Fails to Arm
6 If turning the TeleLCO key switch from "SAFE" to "ARM" does
7 not cause the selected TeleFire box to start flashing and
8 sounding its siren, the most likely cause is that the
9 TeleFire box was left with the local safe/arm switch in the
10 safe position. The Remote Arm LED on TeleLCO shows the state
11 of the safe/arm switch on the currently selected TeleFire box
12 and can be used to confirm this situation.
14 Note that in a cross-bank drag race configuration, any TeleFire
15 boxes involved in the drag race that are fully armed will
16 launch, while any TeleFire boxes involved in the drag race
17 that are not fully armed will not launch. Pay attention to
18 make sure all involved TeleFire boxes are flashing their
19 strobe lights and sounding their sirens before launch to
20 ensure all desired rockets will actually participate in such
23 === Radio Signal Strength
25 Each unit in the TeleLaunch system has a debugging feature
26 that can be used to view the actual received radio signal
27 strength of each packet. To use this feature, connect to the
28 desired unit (TeleLCO is probably the most useful place to
29 start) with a laptop and terminal program as explained in the
30 configuration section of the manual. Then, you can enable
31 debug tracing using 'D 1' command.
33 Debug mode is fairly chatty, but each time the TeleLCO unit
34 queries the currently selected TeleFire unit for igniter
35 status, the return packet will print out the RSSI value.
36 RSSI is "received signal strength indicated" and is expressed
37 in decibel units relative to a milliwatt, or "dBm".
39 Observing the RSSI is a great way to compare antennas, antenna
40 mounting arrangements, and so forth with more granularity than
41 provided by the red/amber/green operational LED indicators.
43 The system is good down to below -100dBm, and it takes about
44 6dB to double the range. So a reading of -80dBm means that you
45 could extend the distance between the units by a factor of
46 10 before losing the link. Note, however, that real world
47 range is affected by terrain, vegetation, etc. And you really
48 don't ever want to be operating close to the minimum signal
49 threshold! Keep the RF signal indicators green with good
50 antenna choices and installations for maximum satisfaction.