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 === Radio Signal Strength
16 Each unit in the TeleLaunch system has a debugging feature
17 that can be used to view the actual received radio signal
18 strength of each packet. To use this feature, connect to the
19 desired unit (TeleLCO is probably the most useful place to
20 start) with a laptop and terminal program as explained in the
21 configuration section of the manual. Then, you can enable
22 debug tracing using 'D 1' command.
24 Debug mode is fairly chatty, but each time the TeleLCO unit
25 queries the currently selected TeleFire unit for igniter
26 status, the return packet will print out the RSSI value.
27 RSSI is "received signal strength indicated" and is expressed
28 in decibel units relative to a milliwatt, or "dBm".
30 Observing the RSSI is a great way to compare antennas, antenna
31 mounting arrangements, and so forth with more granularity than
32 provided by the red/amber/green operational LED indicators.
34 The system is good down to below -100dBm, and it takes about
35 6dB to double the range. So a reading of -80dBm means that you
36 could extend the distance between the units by a factor of
37 10 before losing the link. Note, however, that real world
38 range is affected by terrain, vegetation, etc. And you really
39 don't ever want to be operating close to the minimum signal
40 threshold! Keep the RF signal indicators green with good
41 antenna choices and installations for maximum satisfaction.