Wireless Introduction. A good friend and former work associate told me the frequency is like a flashlight beam. Any thing that gets in front of the Mic & Trigger Pods and the Trap House Pod will distort the signal. Canterbury' s literature says do not put anything in front of the Pods that would block the signal. Oh, I had one club that color coridinated the traphouse dark green to include the Blast Shield on the Trap House. Remember, line of sight. Another thing I have customers do is make sure the Mic Post Mounting bracket is primarily facing the shooter. Then put the Mic Pod in with the lights facing the shooter but the entire back end of the Pod facing the Trap House. Wireless will last FOREVER. They can't swim and are highly susseptable to coroded batteries. Cables after 5 or 6 years of heavy use may need to be repaired or replaced. Dont give up! If you having trouble call me. 720-319-4686. Even on a weekend. If I can answer my phone, I will!
New Problem: Problems with any or all wireless throwing or not throwing birds. Customers have installed some sort of wireless devices, Cameras, Card Readers, Security System etc. I no longer send out new or used systems with the Canterbury default Freq of 0,1. All my systems either new or old go out with 5.1. Second Trap 6,1 7,1 8,1 etc.
Problem: Sporadically no bird on ONE particular station!
Wired or Wireless System: System has worked for years and now the customer complains that shooters are calling and no bird on one particular station! Sometimes it works and then it doesn't!
Fix : Fix: Usually the problem is either the Cable or the Mic! 1st take a look at the pins in the Mic. Take a small knife or screwdriver blade and spread the pins. Be careful not to spread too far or one side or the other will break. Typically the customer thinks it must be the batteries even though the low battery indicator is not on. After 3 to 6 years of continuous use and abuse usually the problem is in the cable. Works now but in an hour or tomorrow it doesn't. The cable is going open on one side and then when moved it goes back normal. It can be a Mic. So the easiest first thing to do is replace the Mic with a known good Mic. If the problem persists it is then down to the Cable or the internal board. Usually not the board. Remove the cable making sure you replace the void sticker or a piece of tape to replace it. The void sticker actually has a more important function other that security. It holds the ribbon cable in and keeps it from being pinched by a zealous battery replacement person that thinks there is something wrong with the case not going back on and then forces it together thus pinching the cable and causing damage to the keyboard. Once you remove the cable it can be tested by 2 people. One using an ohm meter and the other twisting and moving the cable to see is the meter changes. You can call Jim 720-319-4686 if you need help with testing. Or send the Cable to RMCS for testing or purchase the EASY TEST BOX used for such testing.
Problem: Sporadically no bird call from VARIOUS stations!
Wireless System: Customer indicating not getting calls sporadically Works and then doesn't on various stations! Problem keeps moving!
The problem kept moving around from station to station. Initial info from customer indicated club had not made any changes. No additional electronic devices added in the immediate area.
After a week of changing various items and checking options it was determined the customer had indeed added a new security system that was in the 2.4 ghz range similar to the frequency used by Canterbury Wireless. Fix: Changed the frequencies on 2 systems to 5.0 and 6.0
Problem: Windmilling
Wired or Wireless System: Windmilling/Multiple birds going out without calling for a bird!
How we can find what’s causing the windmilling. If the system is a wired or wireless system and with nothing connected other than the power supply in the trap house and you hear a clicking sound continuously from the grey box then the problem is in the box. If the wires to the powersupply from the wired or wired controller have been cut and you spliced them back and now you have windmilling, you reversed the 2 leads. Reverse them again and problem should go away if not Call Rocky Mountain for further assistance. 720-319-4686 (Any Time during normal waking hours 8A.M. -11:30 P.M. MST)
Wireless Trouble shooting proceedure:
1. If your wireless trigger/scorekeeper unit is not functioning properly or you can't turn it off then the problem is probably there in that device. Take one of the batteries out of the trigger unit and the windmilling should stop. Usually it is not the board but the membrane keyboard. If that doesn't find determine your problem then follow the next procedure.
1a. You need 2 people. One in trap house and one outside both with telephone or Walkie Talkie communication.
2. Disconnect the plug that comes out of the Canterbury grey box and plugs into the trap machine. That way we are not wasting birds! The person in the bunker is listening for the clicking sound which is a relay inside the box. Every time the relay clicks in a normal situation a bird is thrown. The person outside is turning different devises on one at a time. Just like a normal situation before a normal shoot.
3. Plug in the the unit that sits on the outside of the trap behind the clear blast shield. Then the mics one at a time and finally the trigger/ scorekeeper unit.
4. If the person in the trap house hears the relay clicking after any one of those turn on then we have found our culprit. Then we just have to determine if it’s the cable, membrane keyboard or the board causing the problem. Fix: Replacing each one of the items with a known good one and then watching for the result will eventually determine the culpret. Usually its the Keypad.