timid ezTracker

[jimmaplesong]

Hi Sander,

I'm hoping you can help me. I have a solution to my problem, I think, but I want to understand what I was seeing.

I'm using an ezTracker with a Lawmate standard 2.4GHz receiver and one of your power boxes.

If I plug everything together and power up, the ezTracker simply shows 'Immersion RC' but never gets any further. If I disconnect power to the Lawmate, then the ezTracker powers up normally. If I leave the lawmate powered up, and disconnect the audio in of the ezTracker, then the ezTracker also starts.

I realized one of my problems was I was using a 1/8" four-conductor AV cable from the power box directly to the ezTracker. When I broke out just the audio, and fed that to the ezTracker, then everything's working. (I don't have any transmitter on at any point in these tests.)

But what am I seeing when the ezTracker doesn't start all the way? Could it have to do with the ground from the power box A/V cable being vaguely related to the power ground going to the Lawmate, then coming back from the Lawmate's AV ground?

I think my problem is that the four-conductor a/v cable from the power box to the ezTracker was grounding the audio in on the ezTracker, and confusing it. And I think my solution is to make an audio cable with a 3-conductor plug at one end for the ezTracker, and 4-conductor at the other end for the powerBox.

Am I on the right track? Is there anything else I should keep an eye out for?

[jimmaplesong]

The problem was the audio cable. I took a headphone cable and a av cable and cut and soldered them so the left channel of the av goes to both channels of the audio plug. I haven't had any trouble since.