Pentair MobileTouch Data Retrieval

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R

rmf-nh

0
May 6, 2009
4
My MobileTouch 2 just decided not to work:

- Seems to light up.
- The buttons LIGHT and automatically light when the program is running.
- Any attempt to get any data from the main controller complains that it can't communicate
- Was able to resync without issue. Still no change.
- The transmitter board has power and one of the lights flashes regularly
- Wiring is fine. Double checked.

I suppose it could be the transceiver board. Wondering if folks have seen this before?

I'm just fascinated that the lights light up. I'm thinking: Can it sort-of-talk to the main controller? Or is it just running the program locally?

-Rob
 
Hey Rob,
The MobileTouch 2 does have it's own copy of the program... but do you mean the LEDs still light on the MobileTouch2 when the a feature turns on at the outdoor controller, or are you pressing a MobileTouch2 button and seeing and LED light up? Does the Mobiletouch change if you press a button on the outdoor controller?

These are the typical issues that can cause communication errors:
- your mobiletouch2 and outdoor transceiver addresses might not be locked - is this what you meant by "was able to re-sync"? (redo steps on page 4 in the mobiletouch setup guide "Setting up the MobileTouch Wireless Controller")
- another controller is interfering with the communication bus... unplug anything else that's connected to the comm port(s) on your outdoor controller and see if your mobiletouch2 works. only connect the transceiver while you're redoing the mobiletouch2 address
- data lines not connected... you said the wiring is fine, i assume you meant that the yel/grn data lines from the outdoor controller to transceiver tested ok?
- the transceiver board itself is bad... what LED is flashing on the transceiver?

Good luck!
Tom
 
Tom,

- Right! The MobileTouch lights up on its own indicating the status of what is going on with the system. When I press buttons on the wired controller, the MobileTouch "sees it".

- The MobileTouch buttons don't do anything. And it fails to "retrieve" anytime it needs to.

- I did the page 4 instructions. It didn't change anything!

- The transceiver board has the power solid and the left led flashes at some interval.

(didn't try unwiring everything else but the mobile touch. I have a 4-speed pump and intellichlor and the other (wired) controller. All seem to be happily working! So, unsure
how that would help.)

-Rob
 
Tom,

- Yes. The MobileTouch follows/sees what is happening on the outdoor (wired) controller. But, pressing buttons or anything else on the MobileTouch does nothing or results in the "can't retrieve data" response.

- The wiring yellow/green all looks good.

- Transceiver board has solid power and left light blinks regularly.

- Haven't unwired everything.. I have the wired controller, a 4speed pump and intellichlor, in addition to the mobile touch.

-Rob
 
Hey Rob,
The fact that your mobile touch can see changes made on the outdoor controller makes me think that the mobile touch can receive but not transmit (or that the outdoor transceiver can transmit but not receive). The "can't retrieve data error" leans me toward the outdoor transceiver not being able to receive (but the error could have occurred simply because the button commands couldn't be sent).

The fact that you're getting the "can't retrieve data" error also tells that the buttons are physically functioning (they're on a separate board in the mobile touch 2). When you pressed the button the controller tried to talk to the outdoor unit, so we know the button works.

The comm port is an rs485 bus with each device (mobile touch, indoor controller, pump, is10 spa remote etc) having it's own driver to send/receive. rs485 needs both data lines to send or receive - so the fact that you're getting some communication is a good sign.

Unplugging all other comm port items would just be an additional test... I try to isolate the suspected bad component - which is the mobile touch in your case - so I'd unplug everything except the mobile touch and see if the outdoor controller then responds to mobile touch button presses. The reason for doing this is that another device can load the rs485 bus and disrupt all communication.

**Disconnect power before you unplug any comm port connectors or unscrew any wires from any terminal blocks**

The rf-link is of course separate from the rs485 bus and is the other piece in the puzzle. The mobile touch 2 is still basically a wired indoor controller with a 900mhz transceiver slapped onto it, and either the mobile touch or the outdoor transceiver could be faulty - or experiencing interference from something else. I'm assuming you've tried running these tests with the units in close proximity to each other? Is your transceiver board a 520946, with 3 LEDs... left is rs485, middle is rf link, and power is on the right?
 
PROBLEM FIXED.

I ended up powering everything down. Removing the connection for the wired console. Bringing the power back up.

MAGICALLY... the mobile touch started fully working!

Powered it back down again, powered it up with the wired console connected.

NOW both work fine.

Bizarre! Looks like I needed a "reboot" for some reason. Or maybe my touching the wires got a better connection?

-Rob




ogdento said:
Hey Rob,
The fact that your mobile touch can see changes made on the outdoor controller makes me think that the mobile touch can receive but not transmit (or that the outdoor transceiver can transmit but not receive). The "can't retrieve data error" leans me toward the outdoor transceiver not being able to receive (but the error could have occurred simply because the button commands couldn't be sent).

The fact that you're getting the "can't retrieve data" error also tells that the buttons are physically functioning (they're on a separate board in the mobile touch 2). When you pressed the button the controller tried to talk to the outdoor unit, so we know the button works.

The comm port is an rs485 bus with each device (mobile touch, indoor controller, pump, is10 spa remote etc) having it's own driver to send/receive. rs485 needs both data lines to send or receive - so the fact that you're getting some communication is a good sign.

Unplugging all other comm port items would just be an additional test... I try to isolate the suspected bad component - which is the mobile touch in your case - so I'd unplug everything except the mobile touch and see if the outdoor controller then responds to mobile touch button presses. The reason for doing this is that another device can load the rs485 bus and disrupt all communication.

**Disconnect power before you unplug any comm port connectors or unscrew any wires from any terminal blocks**

The rf-link is of course separate from the rs485 bus and is the other piece in the puzzle. The mobile touch 2 is still basically a wired indoor controller with a 900mhz transceiver slapped onto it, and either the mobile touch or the outdoor transceiver could be faulty - or experiencing interference from something else. I'm assuming you've tried running these tests with the units in close proximity to each other? Is your transceiver board a 520946, with 3 LEDs... left is rs485, middle is rf link, and power is on the right?
Click to expand...
 
Hey that's great, I wonder if maybe the connections weren't all that clean or something?? Glad you've got it back!

Tom
 
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