Shimmer 3 - 7. Troubleshoot; Shimmer Wont Connect over Bluetooth

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Realtime Technologies Ltd Shimmer User Manual

7. Troubleshoot

Note: Further troubleshoot information pertaining to non-mainboard hardware and software can be

found in the additional User Guides/Manuals.

Shimmer Won't Connect over Bluetooth

 Verify that the Shimmer has been programmed with Bluetooth (BT)-enabled firmware (e.g.

LogAndStream).

 Verify Shimmer is within range of host side device and has a line of sight.

o Whilst the Shimmer BT radio has a range of 10m, the range of your host side BT

radio may vary and should be verified. Bluetooth communication doesn't necessarily

require line of sight; however, for initial connection, it is recommended.

 Verify that there are not any issues with a low or problematic battery.

o Place the Shimmer in a powered charging dock; if the cause of the connection issues

is the Shimmer battery, then placing the Shimmer in the dock should rectify the

issue.

 Make multiple connection attempts.

o Making multiple connection attempts may be required for the following reasons:

 Paging Inquiry - When the Shimmer is not connected the paging inquiry

window on the BT radio defaults to 320ms (out of 2.56s) so the Shimmer is

only 'listening' for a connection 12.5% of the time.

 FHS (frequency hopping synchronization) - When a BT slave successfully

connects or pairs with a BT master they synchronize their frequency hopping

pattern. If a master has not connected to a slave over a long period of time

then the frequency hopping pattern can become severely out of sync.

Variations in clock drift across Shimmers means that some Shimmers will

become out of sync more easily than others. Note that, once a connection is

made, the frequency pattern of the master and slave are, once again,

synchronised.

Shimmer Battery Performing Poorly

If you are achieving poorer performance from your battery than expected, it may be that your

battery has gone into a deep battery discharge state. To rectify this you should do the following:

 Install the sleep or blink firmware image. These firmware images are bundled with the

Consensys software application and can be found on the "Other" tab in the "Firmware

Selection" dialog.

 Charge unit for 6-7 hours (no longer). Remove from charger. Repeat charge for 6-7 hours.

 Install LogAndStream firmware and have a look at the battery voltage data to ensure that

the battery is fully charged.

 Plot the battery voltage data vs. time as this gives an insight into how rapidly the battery is

discharging.

If the battery is still faulty, please refer to the battery replacement information in Section 3.5.3 of

this document.

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