Please Help - KR1 Reboot / Disconnect Issue

lordmoto68 · EVDO User Joined: 10 Dec 2006 Posts: 59

Please Help ... EVDO Newbie and I am out of ideas

Purchased my setup from the local Alltel dealer (first mistake)

KPC650 (Alltel Passport)
KR1 (RK1006 updated to RK1008)

Primary broadband connection for 2 desktops (ethernet) and laptop upstairs (802.11)

Had disconnect and reboot issues from the beginning (assumed poor signal)

Purchased antennas from booster-antenna.com

Arc Freedom (little tombstone)
Wilson Trucker (bigger is better)

Signal is now up to 7/10 on KR1 with Wilson trucker and does not move

Continued to have random disconnects and reboots (several times daily)

Disabled UPnP on KR1
Disabled WLAN on KR1

Problems greatly decreased after disabling WLAN (2-3 days between issues)

Kyocera Tech Support recommended exchanging KR1

New KR1 (same config as above) SAME PROBLEM !!!

Alltel and Kyocera Tech Support have been less than helpful in this matter

I have seen several older threads in this forum about similar issues, but no solutions

Am I doing something wrong ? What am I missing ?

Any information would be greatly appreciated ...

Scott · Posted: Thu Dec 21, 2006 12:34 pm Post subject:

You're not doing anything wrong. To the contrary, you're doing everything right.

We have sold a lot of routers (not just KR1's) and we have seen this from time to time when customers are using Alltel and their KPC650 with routers.

In your case, disabling Wi-Fi on the KR1 and using another WAP to get Wi-Fi service back may be the only way you will see stability.

A different router may work as well.

lordmoto68 · EVDO User Joined: 10 Dec 2006 Posts: 59

Thank you for the prompt reply Scott ... Good to know I am not a complete moron.

Unfortunately, Sprint and Verizon are not in my area yet, so stuck with Alltel for now.

Seems odd that the KR1 would get confused with its own WLAN signal, so am I looking at a KPC650 problem now ?

What is the difference between the Alltel KPC650 and the Sprint and Verizon versions ?

Also, please understand that even with the WLAN turned off the KR1 still reboots occasionally which is very annoying.

In doing research here and elsewhere it did not appear that any other routers support the Alltel KPC650 Combo ... Any suggestions ?

My next idea is to turn the WLAN back on and reduce the gain on the antenna in the KR1

My 2 week trial period expires today, so I have 2 years to make this work.

Bigdave · EVDO Addict Joined: 08 Nov 2006 Posts: 1068

Go back to Alltel before the day ends!! Exchange the card you have for their PC5740 card. I use it with the KR1 and rarely EVER have it reset and I keep it on 24/7. It's a problem with leakage or something that is discussed in several places on this forum. The only problem with the PC5740 is that it's the only card made that has no way of attaching an external antenna. Other than that and the fact that there will soon be a Rev A card available that's your choice at this point.

lordmoto68 · EVDO User Joined: 10 Dec 2006 Posts: 59

Unfortunately, my location requires an antenna to get acceptable signal as I am VERY rural

Another indication that the KPC650 could be my problem ???

That is a different 800 number to harass Smile

Mackieman · EVDO Junkie Joined: 31 Oct 2005 Posts: 453

I think it may be possible that you are suffering from signal fade. As noted in other threads, KR1 has a connection verification mechanism that uses ping requests to verify that a connection is present. If you're consistently in low or no coverage, this may cause KR1 to appear to have malfunctioned.

What is happening, I think, is KR1 is attempting to verify the connection while your card is in a period of low to no connectivity but is still actually connected. This causes KR1 to believe it is disconnected and begin its reconnection process. This involves dropping the interface between KR1 and the card and rebuilding it, then dialing the connection again. This confusion between KR1 and the actual connection status of the card leads to the eventual powercycle of the router to recover and extended periods of perceived downtime.

The only way I know of to overcome this is to acquire a better signal for your EVDO device. The connection verification mechanism works great for its intended use but does have this side effect when used consistently in low signal environments.

lordmoto68 · EVDO User Joined: 10 Dec 2006 Posts: 59

Initial thought was signal (based on other threads in this forum), thus the addition of an external antenna (Wilson Trucker)

Currently have quite consistent reception (7/10 on KR1) with antenna up

Daily speed testing has confirmed 500k d/l and 100k u/l (EVDO speed)

Don't understand how the WLAN could interfere with the card ... aren't they different freq ?

Still playing with the WLAN gain in the KR1 software, but OFF seems to be the prefered setting atm Sad

thx fer all the input ... this forum really helps

lordmoto68 · EVDO User Joined: 10 Dec 2006 Posts: 59

Sorry for the double post tonight, but poking around in the forums ...

http://www.evdoforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=3460

SAME ISSUE !!!

$299 and I gotta wrap it in tinfoil to make it work ?!?!?!?!

Has anyone compiled a list of serial numbers on the offending KR1's ???

Mine are :

S/N B2DS168007568 (old)
S/N B2DS168004115 (new)

lordmoto68 · EVDO User Joined: 10 Dec 2006 Posts: 59

Didn't make a tinfoil hat, but did manage to find the sweet spot on the antenna gain setting ... 12 hours online yesterday and no reboots Smile

Currently writing this post downstairs plugged in while momma is upstairs streaming music on the wireless !!!

Will followup with another post once all the settings are tweaked ...

binarypower · EVDO Newbie Joined: 27 Dec 2006 Posts: 1

I am the Alltel Data Support guy you spoke with on 12-27. Sorry about the domain/workgroup thing.

I wanted to post my fix on here to get feedback from the community (regular reader, non contributor) and see if it should help.

This is my reccomendation to find out if this is an issue with the KPC650 and the KR1:

Unplug the aircard.

Use the KR1 as a router with no WAN.

Up the broadcast on WLAN to 100%.

Turn on simple file sharing and copy gigabytes of data back and forth.

If this isn't possible (because of the domain thing), get XAMPP on your desktop and copy files one way to your laptop using the DCHP router assigned address. (if you need help setting up XAMPP message me).

Watch the logs and see if the router resets itself.

Our KR1 (with KPC650) has not had any problems and it is heavily used by our techs because it bypases the corporate firewalls Wink

It's a Pre-Production model but the same firmware. We haven't had any calls on this from the few people I have asked around.

I will ask an engineer tomorrow. They generally have better contacts with other engineers in Dlink and Kyocera.

Let me know what happens and good luck!

lordmoto68 · EVDO User Joined: 10 Dec 2006 Posts: 59

cool ...will get wireless card and fire up an old desktop to try

lordmoto68 · EVDO User Joined: 10 Dec 2006 Posts: 59

Happy New Year !!!

Sorry for the delay, but finally completed my assignment.

Used the KR1 as a router only (no WAN) ...

Transfered file between wireless client and ethernet client
2.5GB file 4x with no reboot

Did same with KPC650 installed (WAN enabled / no WAN traffic) ...
Reboot after ~3GB (amber status light)
"unable to renew IP address from DHCP server"
dropped both clients

Recent WAN crashes seem to coincide with heavy traffic (large downloads)
Game Patches
Windows Updates
DirectX Update
Video/Audio Streaming

Not sure what this means ... Could still be a KR1 problem or a KPC650 problem

Mackieman · EVDO Junkie Joined: 31 Oct 2005 Posts: 453

This is the second report I've seen of a router not working very well during a large download. I wonder if this occurs when you try with a Sprint or Verizon card; I'm wondering if there is some clamp on large downloads from the network that causes the traffic channel to tear down and block KR1 from staying connected.

That's just supposition at this point. I've tried some stress testing on the LAN side but have been unable to on the WAN side because KR1 doesn't connect to CDMA test boxes. Has anyone seen this while using a Sprint EVDO device?

lordmoto68 · EVDO User Joined: 10 Dec 2006 Posts: 59

You bring up a good point Mackieman ...

I could see capping upload (so I can't run a server), but I sincerely hope that Alltel is not capping my download. After all I am paying $60 / month for an "unlimited" data plan

Based on the nagging question of signal fade I have added a wilson 3W amplifier to my setup ... signal is now typically between 7/10 and 9/10 on the KR1

Also, I am running with the WLAN antenna transmit power reduced to 12.5% (10dBm)

Eager to fix this issue and finally post a solution ...

w1ngman · EVDO Fledgling Joined: 30 Dec 2006 Posts: 13