iRule - Page 268

Got my first feedback working with Directv. Although the feedback works great, there is a connection delay issue that I can't pinpoint. It is taking nearly 10 seconds to connect to the Directv gateway. The iRule app is kept open but when I put the iPad to sleep and then use the slide lock to regain access to iRule, the delay is unacceptable. I started creating the feedback from the beginning and then syncing after each step so that I could find where the bottleneck was coming from. It seems that the delay occurs when the first feedback is dragged onto a page. I currently have 3 feedbacks on one page and the connection delay is about 9-10 seconds. The more feedbacks I have and the more pages that have feedbacks, the slower the connection gets. At one point I had 3 feedbacks on one page and 4 more feedbacks on 2 other pages. The connection delay to the Directv gateway was unacceptable at about 15-20 seconds. I'm seriously considering removing feedbacks all together. My needs require instantaneous connection to all devices and I had that before I added feedbacks. Anybody else have this issue?

I have about 18 feedbacks in my directv panel. When i open the panel there is about a 5-10 second delay as all the channel feedbacks run.

Options:

1. Map your feedbacks to another directv receiver so the "in use" one stays freed up.

2. Put majority of feedbacks(like channel infos) on seperate page and set the entrance with the feedbacks to associate with that page only. This way those feedbacks only run when you swipe over to that page and not jam up the receiver all the time.

Thanks, but I'm not really concerned with the feedback delay itself. I have 1 entrance on my Directv panel and it's repeatable every 15 seconds. I can live with that. The issue I'm having is the connection time lag. For example, let's say I'm watching a recording on Directv and then it's time to fast forward through a commercial. When I turn my iPad on and slide lock to iRule, iRule takes a good 8-10 seconds to connect to the gateway. At this time, I only have 3 feedbacks on one page and 8-10 seconds is just unacceptable. The more feedbacks I add and the more pages I add feedbacks to, the worse it gets. Before I implemented feedbacks into my UI I was getting near instantaneous connection to gateways. I've completely removed the "get tuned query" entrance to see if that was the problem but it wasn't. Lots of users out there using Directv feedbacks, am I the only one having issues or do other users just find the delay acceptable?

I had the same problem. I even started a thread on the iRule support site but did not get a good solution.

What I did to avoid the delay is turn on "Prevent system lock" and "Dim screen on idle" in the iRule settings. Now, rather than the ipad having to wake up and reconnect, one tap on the screen returns it to normal brightness and begins working without delay. It does use more power but not as much as I expected. The only problems are if you leave it in iRule and go do something else it will stay awake and run down the battery, and if you switch out of iRule while the screen is dimmed it will stay that way in the new app.

Does anyone know if the iRule developers are considering development for Windows 8?

SC?

https://getsatisfaction.com/irule/topics/windows_8-1ao38e

I have 3 rs232 devices that I need to control. Is there "one" device that will allow me to do that with irule?

Thanks

Yes, Digi portserver. eBay for around $50.

I too am having this same issue, and came here to post the same question.. Just setup feedback on my DirecTV panels a few days ago. While I do think the feedback is really cool, I agree with you, the delay is unacceptable. Hope this can get fixed soon.

Great thanks. I notice that the inputs on this device are rj45s. On my devices all of the rs232 inputs are 9- pin, I believe. Are adapters easy to get?

No adaptors needed. Although they are RJ45 connectors, the protocol is still serial. RS232 ethernet cables are easy to find.

I think the cheapest solution is to add an adapter such as this to each device's DB9 connector, then just buy standard (and cheap) network cables.

The adapters can be wired any way you want (they are not wired up when you buy them), but you have to know the pinout of the Digiport connectors and wire accordingly, so it can be a little tricky.

John V, I discovered something last night that I find quite odd. Although the Directv gateway is the only device that contains feedbacks, it's the iTach gateway that is giving me the delay. If I remove the feedbacks from my Directv pages, I have instantaneous connection to the Directv gateway and the iTach gateway. However, when feedbacks are added to my Directv pages, the connection delay is on the iTach. I find this a little disturbing as there's never been any changes to my iTach.

Yes, I have noticed that as well. My AV receiver is connected to my iTach; DirecTV connected through my network gateway. I can't use the volume controls for my receiver, until after waiting 8 to 10 seconds for it to establish a connection. That makes it very inconvenient to have to wait that long, just to change the volume every time. I'm surprised not to here more people talking about this, as feedback has been available for a while now. Maybe it's something specific to our configuration....

I'm going to submit an email to iRule support.

Thanks for your help.

Did anything change with your wifi settings/connections on your ipads? I only use feedbacks on my android devices. But I have similar connection issues with an older ipod touch. It loses wifi connectivity very easily, and it also seems to turn off the wifi when it goes to sleep. When I turn it on, the wifi indicator waves at the top are not on, if I unlock it, and am in irule it takes a long time to establish connections with my itachs, but DTV connects nearly instantly. If I wait for the wifi waves to appear before unlocking it, it connects to all gateways instantly. I've just learned to hit the power button and wait a couple of seconds before unlocking to avoid the 10 second or more delay before itachs connect.

I don't have this issue with a newer ipod I have, it doesn't lose wifi connectivity nearly as often and connects from sleep to the wifi much more quickly.

Similar, but not exactly like yours. I'm not familiar with Android. Basically, if I add a feedback to a page, I get the delay. If I remove the feedback, I get my instant connection back. I'm still trying to figure out why my Directv feedbacks are affecting the connection speed to my IR gateway.

I was curious if you were saying the Digi Portserver's can be used directly with iRule, so I performed a little research and found a series of posts related to setting them up. It seems to be a better option than the used GC-100-12 I purchased or multiple iTach IP2SL devices, but is it as reliable? I saw one post where the user had to reboot the Digi Portserver several times per week, but that may have been an isolated incident caused by faulty hardware purchased used on ebay.

mborner:
In your last sentence you state that "RS232 ethernet cables are easy to find"; I have never heard of such cables, but maybe you place the period from the previous sentence in the wrong place?

Thanks.

Mark

Hi Mark, just do a search for "DB9 to RJ45 cable". I guess you could call them an adaptor but since you can get them in different lengths you wouldn't need anything between the cable and your device.

I have a used gc 100 and got it updated.It seems that my ipad mini seems to take a long time to connect with it vs the itach it is nearly instantaneous.Perhaps it is my network anybody else have that problem?

There's more than one way to do RS-232 over ethernet cables. For example, I don't believe the Digi PortServer uses the same standard as RS-232D. Do you know of a specific cable that's been tested with a PortServer?

The Monoprice adapters are a safe bet because they can be wired any way (and they're 60 cents each so you can buy a few extra). The PortServer RJ45 pinout is documented in the manual you can download from the Digi web site (www.digi.com).

i'm gonna say that was definitely an isolated incident. my ts16 is 100% reliable. i've not had to reboot it once (other than when power's gone out or i've moved it from one location to another) in the 9 months i've been using it.


if it saves anyone from having to reinvent the wheel...

the digi has TX on rj45 pin 4, RX on rj45 pin 5, and GND on rj45 pin 6. (note that in digi's published pinouts, these are listed as pins 5, 6, and 7. thats because the digi's ports are 10 pin. an 8 pin rj45 (eg. ethernet) makes contact with digi pins 2 - 9. so digi pin 5 = rj45 pin 4, and so on.)

and my rj45/db9 monoprice adapters were wired as follows:

rj45 pin wire color
1.............blue
2.............orange
3.............black
4.............red
5.............green
6.............yellow
7.............brown
8.............white

be aware though that i've read the pinouts on the monoprice adapters have been known to change from time to time. so you may still want to check at least a couple of them with a continuity tester or multimeter. i'd venture to guess that if you check two or three of them and they match mine, then the rest probably will too.

Awesome. Thanks for the tips. My portserver and monoprice adapters should ll be in next week.

mborner,
I'm also having delayed connection issues on my DTV page, I assumed it was my old iPad1 throwing a fit. Was going to debug this during the blizzard this weekend but glad to see someone else already did.

Question: How do you know that it's the iTach that's causing the delay when the DTV has feedbacks?
JClam

JClam, just open your gateway window (bottom right) and then send your iDevice to sleep. When you wake up your iPad, the gateway connection window remains open and you can physically see them connecting.

Here's en example on my iPhone.

Thanks, very cool...I didn't know you could do that.

So I tested my system last night and like yours my DirecTV HTTP gateway connection stays connected when I double click the home button and my iTach IR gateway disconnects and takes a while (10-15 secs) to reconnect when the page has DTV feedback on it. A page without DTV feedback acts the same EXCEPT the re-connection is almost instantaneous (1 sec).

But further testing shows that my Network gateways ALSO disconnect and take a while to reconnect when the page has DTV feedback. Below you can see the DTV is still connected, but the IP2IR is disconnected along with the 2 Network gateways for the Elite TV and SC-57.



And as before, for a page without DTV feedback the re-connection is almost instantaneous (1 sec).

So its not just an iTach issue, its other gateways as well. And its not the presence of any feedbacks, just the DTV feedbacks (I tested that as well).

Hopefully someone in iRule support will see our comments and escalate the review of this issue and get us an explanation and a fix. Hopefully all iRule gateways will eventually be able to act like the DTV HTTP gateway and stay connected when feedbacks are present...or if they do have to disconnect, they should re-connect faster despite the DTV feedbacks being present.

FYI, I've noticed that other equipment-specific remotes (iControlAV2 for example for my Elite SC-57 receiver) always stay connected under similar test conditions.

JClam

I set up my irule a while ago and haven't tinkered with it in a while. I just checked in this thread and noticed your colored device status. That's cool. Can someone point me to how to do that? I've tried searching the thread but can't find it.

In the bottom right hand corner of your device you will see a green (hopefully) gateway/device indicator. If you press the indicator the device drawer will come up showing the status of your gateways and devices. If you then double click the home button you can see live how the gateways/devices are affected (as above, some disconnect).
JClam