HELP!!!

[Skogsgurra]

I never tried that subject line before. But I did add three exclamation marks for clarity and better understanding. Didn't I?

The problem:

Anyone seen a UUUUUUUUU task card for Dranetz?

Or, more realistic: How to proceed? The manual doesn't say.

I haven't used this one for more than fifteen years. A sudden need made me try a revival. And everything checks OK. Exept that I seem to have used that UUUUUUUU task card when I last used it. I can't be the first one to have this mystery. How did you fix it? Is there a hidden reset somewhere?


Gunnar Englund

http://www.gke.org

--------------------------------------
Half full - Half empty? I don't mind. It's what in it that counts.

 

[waross]

Do you have anything to save in memory after 15 years?
Else "Press any key to continue". grin
Seriously, I suspect that sometime in the past the unit was powered up without a task card and the uuuuuuuuu number was generated by default.
Seriously, maybe it's time to make the call:
Call
Dranetz-BMI Technical Support at
1-800-DRANTEC for further
assistance.

Bill
--------------------
"Why not the best?"
Jimmy Carter

 

[Skogsgurra]

Thanks Bill.

No, loosing anything in memory is not the problem. And I have tried talking to them. They didn't have the faintest. But were willing to sell me a new PQA. I have better devices than theirs now. Just wanted to put it on a long job and use newer devices on day-to-day things.

Gunnar Englund

http://www.gke.org

--------------------------------------
Half full - Half empty? I don't mind. It's what in it that counts.

 

[waross]

I'm guessing that "Press any key to continue" doesn't continue.

Bill
--------------------
"Why not the best?"
Jimmy Carter

 

[Skogsgurra]

It does. It switches off.
Next start checks everything OK again and then tells me about the U^8 again.

Gunnar Englund

http://www.gke.org

--------------------------------------
Half full - Half empty? I don't mind. It's what in it that counts.

 

[itsmoked]

What is the task card? Is it a USB stick or an SD card or something proprietary?

Keith Cress
kcress -

http://www.flaminsystems.com

 

[Skogsgurra]

Neither, Keith. It's a PCMCIA card. Copyright 1998. Made one or two years later, I think. It is probably the infamous Millennium Bug - the only case know to the world.

That card has a few MB on it. The SD has 64 G. Time flies..

Gunnar Englund

http://www.gke.org

--------------------------------------
Half full - Half empty? I don't mind. It's what in it that counts.

 

[itsmoked]

PCMCIA... Gawd. I had only one laptop that sported that disaster. It was for the 28kBAUD modem.

Can you pull that card then power it up?

If you can I'd do a factory reset. Then try the card again.

I kinda think that card is a STATIC memory card which, of course, needed a battery to keep it remembering. The battery died a decade ago and now the Dranetz is confused by what it's seeing. If it did have a battery, putting a new one in it might get things going again. It could write something into the memory then restart and not find it and -tilt-.



Keith Cress
kcress -

http://www.flaminsystems.com

 

[Skogsgurra]

Hmm.. Keth. It IS pulled in the picture.

And, yes. The battery, in the PQA looks like this:

And it is dead. Really, really dead. A stiff. A has-been battery. Longing for the fiords and all that.

Tell me about proper storage of devices with built-in batteries.

What bothers me is that the PQA refuses to accept the task card. It should. Even if it is new to it. That is the same situation that you have when inserting a new task card into a device that used another type before.

I think that I need someone that has been there and done that. Is there such a person? Anywhere?

Gunnar Englund

http://www.gke.org

--------------------------------------
Half full - Half empty? I don't mind. It's what in it that counts.

 

[Skogsgurra]

Nice and easy does it!

My trusted wife and assistant said: "You shall have more patience"

After ten tries, I thought that I had shown enough patience. "YOU show some patience!" I said and told her to cycle on/off until something better happened. "What shuold that be?" she asked.
I don't really know - perhaps something different. We'll take it from there"

She sat down and worked on it: ON/OFF/Restart for half an hour. "Is this something different?" she suddenly asked. YESS! The good old flash screen. I tried some basic functions. They were all there. Hooked it up to a DUT and got same readings on my scope as the PQA. It seems to be OK with the UUUUUUUU task card, which it still says that I used last time. This is what I got:

Scopix and Dranetz agree. The 4300 shows more details. Sure. But I don't really need that. So I am happy with the OX 7204. It is a lot more versatile. AND uses an SD card.

I think that I shall try and adjust backlight and date. Next week..


Gunnar Englund

http://www.gke.org

--------------------------------------
Half full - Half empty? I don't mind. It's what in it that counts.

 

[itsmoked]

Yay! Three cheers for the fair maiden.

Leave it on for a week.

Keith Cress
kcress -

http://www.flaminsystems.com

 

[catserveng]

You may also need to replace the CMOS battery, if it is dead can cause a boot problem according to the guy that helps me with my Dranetz issues,

He said three likely things,

Dead battery, apparently on the older platforms during boot the box seems to have problems deciding to complete the boot sequence or charge the battery.

CMOS battery, from personal experience makes it do all kinds of weird things.

Bad Task card, card may supply a correct number to box, but won't complete the boot up sequence. We'll see if we can find a spare card we know is good.
Hope that helps
MikeL.