What Causes "Socket Failed" Messages?

[Jim Campi]

Same problem right now.

I am using an LS with internal gsm radio. I am connecting to the crtn (same system as Jim above).

On a rare day I will have flawless use of the system. Most days I will get a socket failure or invalid password.

I have never changed password and the system just seems to reconnect with proper credentials.

if staff wants to connect my serial no is 495. I will connect to rams. Let me know if you can support.

By the way, what seems to work for me is turn internal gsm radio off/on.

If that doesn’t work, changing to a new ref station and changing back.

connecting to my phone’s hotspot exacerbates the problem significantly.

thanks for any help you can provide.

 

[Tyler]

We've had "socket failed" issues as well. The most current issue involved the jetpack connecting to other devices before connecting to the base which would result in the socket failed message. Once I disconnected the other devices it would say "connected".

 

[Jim Campi]

One more quick point - as signal strength degrades (say 1 or 2 bars rather than 3 or 4) so does the frequency of errors.

When we made the change from from an analog to digital cellurar signals (2 + decades ago) I recall one of benefits being quality of the data was either there or not, we. With a voice call over an analog signal, the quality of the call degradedd with signal strength. Now that we have a digital signal call quality is near perfect to the point where the call drops. I was assuming the same occurreed with the correction data.

Perhaps one of you guys can correct me on this or explain why 2 bars results in so many more failures than a full signal???

 

[Matt Johnson]

Perhaps one of you guys can correct me on this or explain why 2 bars results in so many more failures than a full signal?

The weak signal results in interruptions of the communications channel.

 

[Jim Campi]

The weak signal results in interruptions of the communications channel.

Is that what causes the socket failure or credentials failue (password error)?

It would be very helpful to know this as I would not bother with network surveying if signal strength is poor.

This begs the question if amplifying the cell signal will help? I know this tech exists for those that live in an area where the signal is poor.

I looked into this at one time for another reason and there was a limitation that I don't fully recall. We may not be able to amplify the signal in open air because of the negative feedback.

 

[gstjohn]

I'm resurrecting this old thread, as I had a particularly unproductive day with intermittent problems with the dreaded "socket failed" RTK Status. I have a T3 base with a static ATT hotspot, and a LS+ with a verizon hotspot (my iphone) over TCP.
Matt Sibole has been very helpful helping me understand that "socket failed" can be a communication issue anywhere along the communication chain.
This is a highly urbanized area, so the network availability is good.
The base setup and was about 1/4 mile away from a sophisticated emergency response tower complex. My latest theory is that this is not a good spot and that there could be some intermittent communication jamming.
I am also switching my service so that both cards are on the same network. I ordered two cards (one static and the other dynamic) from DAC based upon multiple recommendations, super easy ($487.26 per year. I currently pay $35 per month with ATT for just the static hotspot.) I am going to stick with the static hotspot and the new SIM at the base because modifying the modem to accept a SIM card is a $3K upgrade.
At the rover, I'll put the dynamic SIM into the LS+ unit and take the iphone out of the loop. Matt suggested that matching the carriers and putting the rover sim into the internal slot will aid in reliability. Next time I will call him when I'm having the problems, so he can look at potential causes.
JAVAD is testing whether a new multi-carrier SIM card that DAC is rolling out is going to be compatible or not. If it ends up being compatible, the switch will be easy.
I wanted to pass on this information. My new goal is communication reliability. Theft prevention remains a top priority.
Let me know if you have any reliability tips of your own.

 

[Jim Campi]

I'm resurrecting this old thread, as I had a particularly unproductive day with intermittent problems with the dreaded "socket failed" RTK Status.

Hi, how many bars did you have on your hot spot (iphone)? I do almost all my work in unincorporated areas of the county. Signal quality can be great or quite poor. I don't even bother if I have 1 bar and 2 bars is questionable. This was with the LS and T2.

I just took possession of the T1+ and have not tried this system...

 

[gstjohn]

I use the T3/LS+ setup. I had 3-4 bars at the base and maybe 3 bars at the rover end. I'll keep the 2 bar threshold in mind. Thanks.
At one point the productivity was so bad that I got in the truck and went to the ridge because I thought the darn thing was stolen.
At the rover end, I'm going to put the new dynamic SIM in the LS+ itself based upon M.Sibole's recommendation.
In the future, I'm going to keep the base away from emergency communications sites and pay closer attention to cell coverage.
Its tough finding a spot in my area that has open skies, cell coverage, and is remote enough that it wont get stolen, but somewhat close to a highway. For theft prevention purposes, redundant GNSS is the way that every job starts. My strategy is to limit the amount of time that the total station out.

 

[Jim Frame]

Just checking in. This thread has gone in a different direction than originally, but I thought I'd provide an update anyway.

I'm still using the same equipment, including the JetPack, but nowadays when I get a Socket Failed message, I know to look at the connection profile and make sure it's on my JetPack/T2 setting. For some reason, mostly or always when first setting up, the connection profile gets switched to one that I never created. I've deleted it at least a couple of times, but it keeps reappearing, so now I just accept that it's going to haunt my machine and we coexist. Its name is the local IP address of something (T2?), it's a 192.xxx.xxx.xxx address. When I reset the profile to my JetPack/T2 profile, everything starts working. The problem is mysterious and annoying, but very manageable now that I know what to look for.

 

[gstjohn]

Thanks, Jim. The same happens to me where the connection profile defaults to an IP address. I set it initially to my TCP profile, and it'll stay that way.
I'm going to avoid my setup near the Grizzly Peak communications tower. I'm pretty sure about every signal possible is blasting out of that location.