WXWORX radar updates being skipped

[Doug Raflik]

WXWORX is supposed to be updating every 5 minutes, but mine will update at 10 and sometimes 15 minute intervals farily often. So it will go something like this... 5-5-10-5-10-10-5-15 5-5-

Is anyone else noticing this or is it limited to my unit?

Doug Raflik
[email protected]

 

[Dan Robinson]

I have noticed this too. It seems to be happening every 3 to 5 updates. In my case usually it is only one update that is skipped rather than two.

I originally thought that it might be momentary signal loss due to terrain/obstacles, but it happens in wide-open, flat places where there is nothing to block the signal.

When it happens, XMLink shows "Received: (Unknown)" three times in place of the usual "Received: (Radar), Received: (PType), Received: (Coverage)". So, the data is arriving, but is getting corrupted somewhere along the line so that the receiver doesn't recognize it.

 

[Mike Hollingshead]

Mine very very rarely misses an update.

 

[Jay Press]

Mine very very rarely misses an update.
[/b]

mine worx good. no skips

 

[Eric Whitehill]

Every once in a while I will notice this happen where it will miss an occasional update, however this is typically because the antenna isn't in a good position.

Do you have the antenna inside your vehicle or outside? Most times I have mine inside my vehicle, and I've found when I have it inside and I drive into a core or something I will occasionally lose an update or two.

Hope this helps,

-Eric

 

[Doug Raflik]

Alright. It must be where I have the antenna. This year I started keeping it on the dash because I didnt like that flimsy wire being routed through a door frame and where people were getting in and out. It seems to me that it worked fine when I started doing it. In fact I remember using my wxworx this way for 8 days on the plains with no problems. Hmmm. Maybe my window just got dirty.

Thanks for the help everyone.

Doug Raflik

 

[Jason McKittrick]

My unit has also been missing updates. It seems to me that it usually stops receiving when I am driving north ( antenna on the dash board and therefor no direct line to the satellite on the southern horizon) is it possible that this is the problem? Maybe someone that knows more about communications equipment could answer that.

 

[Sheila_Ward]

I started with the antenna on the dash. Most times it worked perfectly, but sometimes I experienced the lag in updates. I moved it outside to the roof and had no update issues after that.

 

[Dan Robinson]

I have my antenna on the roof of the car and it still does it. It didn't start until a few months ago. Not a huge problem though.

 

[fplowman]

My unit has also been missing updates. It seems to me that it usually stops receiving when I am driving north ( antenna on the dash board and therefor no direct line to the satellite on the southern horizon) is it possible that this is the problem? Maybe someone that knows more about communications equipment could answer that.
[/b]

Wow.. i never thought of that.

Here is what I have noticed.. And thus my Hypothesis for this issue.

If i dont have a "good lock" or "very good lock" connection i will get the other updates but the Radar file isnt loaded. The north south thing you mention makes alot of sense.. i notice when heading north ill go into a marginal or no signal sometimes.. And cant get the radar update file..

So when "good" or "very good" connection with the satellite will most always give me the radar file whereas anything less will not. I think this is the reasoning for folks and their dropped or skipped update. The radar file downloaded is obviously as i believe the largest data file associated with the software/hardware as again it will download other files in a "marginal locked" mode..

Hope all that rambling made sense.. lol B)

 

[Tony Phillips]

where do you get one of those radar sets?, as far as some of the units working while others are haveing problems could have a thing or two to do with your vehicle choise, if your vehicle is say, latemodel and you have the Onboard Nav system, it could be that your Nav signal is blocking the updates, or if you have Satellite radio that could cause an issue, the antenna uses your cars body as a "Base Point" and uses 3 axices to create a 'Fix' on where your at in relation to the sat uplink signal, atleast it works like this in C.B and UHF radios, not 100% on Sat though, could be the same, or it could be something as simple as you need a bigger antenna

 

[David Drummond]

where do you get one of those radar sets?, as far as some of the units working while others are haveing problems could have a thing or two to do with your vehicle choise, if your vehicle is say, latemodel and you have the Onboard Nav system, it could be that your Nav signal is blocking the updates, or if you have Satellite radio that could cause an issue, the antenna uses your cars body as a "Base Point" and uses 3 axices to create a 'Fix' on where your at in relation to the sat uplink signal, atleast it works like this in C.B and UHF radios, not 100% on Sat though, could be the same, or it could be something as simple as you need a bigger antenna

What??? GPS receiver antennas and WXWORX antennas and Satellite Radio antennas are PASSIVE receivers. CB and UHF radios are ACTIVE antennas. PASSIVE antennas are not going to interfere with one another unless one is in the direct line of site of the satellite for another antenna, which is highly unlikely given their size.

You can lay a WXWORX or Satellite radio antenna out on a bush outside your window and it still works as long as it can "see" the satellite.

 

[Tony Phillips]

as i said before i wasnt sure if the two of them worked the same or not, i've only worked with Active antennas before, my GPS antenna i know at times will not work if i use my CB with my amp on, or if i'm sitting on the side of the road with my cellphone, probibly has someting to do with the construction of my truck, its mounted to the shifter houseing (Auto Trans) and it's twards the center of the cab. as stated prior i dont claim to be a Communications expert, i was just trying to come up with some ideas, thanks for clarifying the difference between the two types, i was also suggesting that R.F and Electromagnetic interferiance could have something to do with your issues O.O

 

[David Drummond]

as i said before i wasnt sure if the two of them worked the same or not, i've only worked with Active antennas before, my GPS antenna i know at times will not work if i use my CB with my amp on,or if i'm sitting on the side of the road with my cellphone

That's your problem right there then, the CB, or more specificaly, the amplifier. If your running a linear amplifier on your CB I am guessing your running something more than the LEGAL output of 4 watts, which is blowing out your GPS signal, probably your cell signal, and various signals of anyone nearby you depending on just how many watts your blowing out of that thing.

Amplified CBs cause all sorts of havoc to various devices around them.

 

[Brett Adair]

As far as updates, I am not really having any problems. BUT, could someone post an up close shot of there WxWorx because I do not believe that my city streets actually installed. I'm not seeing many of them. Thanks.