[SOLVED] NanoStation loco M2 Locking up when downloading large files.

Jul 24, 2021
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I'm trying to figure out why I have to physically power cycle my NanoStation loco M2 just about every time I am downloading a large file. It is installed correctly with a 35' shielded cat 7 cable everything looks good as far as signal strength and it is running the latest firmware from Ubiquiti.
 
Solution
Thank you for the reply. For about 2 years I have been running it with out shielded cable and moved the POE adapter to very close to the Loco M2 to make sure it was not a power drop issue in the line. I used Cat5e for this setup and I had lockups before installing the shielded Cat7 cable. I just installed this Cat7 about a week ago just to see if it would fix the lockup issues of the Loco M2 as that is what the manufacture kept telling me the problem was.

Here is the cable I just installed: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0892M2Q8G/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s02?ie=UTF8&th=1

It does not mention the wire size , package it came in says "Senetem CAT7 SSTP Flat Patch cable, Cat 7 Ethernet Cable ...ter, POE (35FT, Cat7)...

Ralston18

Titan
Moderator
This product?

https://www.wifi-shop24.com/ubiquiti-nanostation-locom2-link-set-150mbps-5km-range

And I will ask with respect to the "35' shielded cat 7 cable " - where is that cable being used?

Between the Loco M2 and the computer being served or somewhere else?

What was done with respect to "installed correctly"?

Not sure that Cat 7 is a final standard and "shielded" requires the applicable and appropriate grounding.
 
Jul 24, 2021
13
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This product?

https://www.wifi-shop24.com/ubiquiti-nanostation-locom2-link-set-150mbps-5km-range

And I will ask with respect to the "35' shielded cat 7 cable " - where is that cable being used?

Between the Loco M2 and the computer being served or somewhere else?

What was done with respect to "installed correctly"?

Not sure that Cat 7 is a final standard and "shielded" requires the applicable and appropriate grounding.
Yes that is it.

The cable is used from the POE injector to the antenna.

It was installed as to their installation and setup guide.
 
Jul 24, 2021
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Are you running the M2 in router mode or bridge mode?
What signal strength are you getting ?
Is the M2 mounted outside or inside?
Since the M2 has a 100Mbit ethernet, an unshielded cat5e is more than sufficient for the cable.

Router mode

Signal Strength:-55 dBm
Horizontal / Vertical:-53 / -66 dBm
Noise Floor:-94 dBm
Transmit CCQ:91.1 %
TX/RX Rate:162 Mbps / 216 Mbps

It is mounted outside and when I talked to Ubi they said a shielded cable should be used when installed outdoors. But I have tried it for several months with just a plain cat5e also and it locked up then so I decided to install the shielded cable as suggested by them to see if it would fix the problem and of course it did not.
 

kanewolf

Titan
Moderator
Router mode

Signal Strength:-55 dBm
Horizontal / Vertical:-53 / -66 dBm
Noise Floor:-94 dBm
Transmit CCQ:91.1 %
TX/RX Rate:162 Mbps / 216 Mbps

It is mounted outside and when I talked to Ubi they said a shielded cable should be used when installed outdoors. But I have tried it for several months with just a plain cat5e also and it locked up then so I decided to install the shielded cable as suggested by them to see if it would fix the problem and of course it did not.
When it is "locked up" is it pingable ?
Have you ever configured a syslog server to capture log messages ?
Are you using a Ubiquiti 24VDC POE adapter?
Have you posted this problem on Ubiquiti AirMAX forum ? Or searched the AirMAX forum ?

The only obvious thing that comes to mind is overheating.
 
Jul 24, 2021
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When it is "locked up" is it pingable ?
Have you ever configured a syslog server to capture log messages ?
Are you using a Ubiquiti 24VDC POE adapter?
Have you posted this problem on Ubiquiti AirMAX forum ? Or searched the AirMAX forum ?

The only obvious thing that comes to mind is overheating.

No it can't be pinged
Yes but nothing is ever captured
Yes I'm using their supplied 24VDC POE.
Posted serval times over there, including today. No help.

This forum at least I get replies so it looks like I came to the right place.
So thanks to everyone for helping out.

Over heating is what I was thinking but I live in Jardín Colombia where it doesn't get hot at all... Like 75 (23) is the normal high year round and 55 (13) at night. It locks up day or night time if I start downloading a large file.
 

kanewolf

Titan
Moderator
No it can't be pinged
Yes but nothing is ever captured
Yes I'm using their supplied 24VDC POE.
Posted serval times over there, including today. No help.

This forum at least I get replies so it looks like I came to the right place.
So thanks to everyone for helping out.

Over heating is what I was thinking but I live in Jardín Colombia where it doesn't get hot at all... Like 75 (23) is the normal high year round and 55 (13) at night. It locks up day or night time if I start downloading a large file.
When you say "nothing is ever captured" Do you REALLY mean nothing, not even boot up messages? If so, your syslog server isn't working.
 
Jul 24, 2021
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When you say "nothing is ever captured" Do you REALLY mean nothing, not even boot up messages? If so, your syslog server isn't working.
I think we are not talking about the same system log maybe? I am referring to the built in System log of the Loco M2 under the Main tab at the bottom where there is a button to display the logs. See if the below link works to my shared photo album:

Screenshots of LocoM2
 

kanewolf

Titan
Moderator
I think we are not talking about the same system log maybe? I am referring to the built in System log of the Loco M2 under the Main tab at the bottom where there is a button to display the logs. See if the below link works to my shared photo album:

Screenshots of LocoM2
Yes, we aren't talking about the same thing. I am talking about a host on your network setup to capture messages from the M2. The log on the device itself gets wiped out when you have to reboot it. That is why you need an independent logging device running syslog software. I use my Synology NAS. Any Linux host can function. A PI would work as a syslog server..
 
Jul 24, 2021
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Yes, we aren't talking about the same thing. I am talking about a host on your network setup to capture messages from the M2. The log on the device itself gets wiped out when you have to reboot it. That is why you need an independent logging device running syslog software. I use my Synology NAS. Any Linux host can function. A PI would work as a syslog server..

I just checked on my WD My Cloud NAS and it does not appear to have that nice feature like your Synology NAS. Don't have a PI, I should have picked up one of those when I was back in the states....
 
What wire awg is the cat7 cable? I've seen this cable being advertised mostly as 26awg cable. 26awg cable is great for server racks with shorter cable lengths, where thinner cables are desired for less clutter and better airflow. However, 26awg has higher insertion loss and higher wire resistance. Some of the cable manufacturers aren't engineers, they just build the cables and resell at whatever length without thinking about it. For a 35ft cables, if it's 26awg, I can see problems being caused due to the length and extra resistance compared to 23awg, especially when using POE.

For POE, I'd prefer 23awg solid real copper cat 6 over some shady brand of cat7. Especially since it's not like you're running 10GBE internet anyways. CAT6 is plenty enough for gigabit.
 
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Jul 24, 2021
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What wire awg is the cat7 cable? I've seen this cable being advertised mostly as 26awg cable. 26awg cable is great for server racks with shorter cable lengths, where thinner cables are desired for less clutter and better airflow. However, 26awg has higher insertion loss and higher wire resistance. Some of the cable manufacturers aren't engineers, they just build the cables and resell at whatever length without thinking about it. For a 35ft cables, if it's 26awg, I can see problems being caused due to the length and extra resistance compared to 23awg, especially when using POE.

For POE, I'd prefer 23awg solid real copper cat 6 over some shady brand of cat7. Especially since it's not like you're running 10GBE internet anyways. CAT6 is plenty enough for gigabit.

Thank you for the reply. For about 2 years I have been running it with out shielded cable and moved the POE adapter to very close to the Loco M2 to make sure it was not a power drop issue in the line. I used Cat5e for this setup and I had lockups before installing the shielded Cat7 cable. I just installed this Cat7 about a week ago just to see if it would fix the lockup issues of the Loco M2 as that is what the manufacture kept telling me the problem was.

Here is the cable I just installed: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0892M2Q8G/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s02?ie=UTF8&th=1

It does not mention the wire size , package it came in says "Senetem CAT7 SSTP Flat Patch cable, Cat 7 Ethernet Cable ...ter, POE (35FT, Cat7)

But like I said I have had this issue for a long time.

I just changed the firmware on my two Linksys EA6900's to Asuswrt-Merlin & Xwrt-Vortex and set them as AiMesh network and so far the Loco M2 has not locked up but this is par from the course as sometimes it will go days with no lockups and then when I start to download a large file it goes crazy. Going to try some downloads today and see what it does.
 
Thank you for the reply. For about 2 years I have been running it with out shielded cable and moved the POE adapter to very close to the Loco M2 to make sure it was not a power drop issue in the line. I used Cat5e for this setup and I had lockups before installing the shielded Cat7 cable. I just installed this Cat7 about a week ago just to see if it would fix the lockup issues of the Loco M2 as that is what the manufacture kept telling me the problem was.

Here is the cable I just installed: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0892M2Q8G/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s02?ie=UTF8&th=1

It does not mention the wire size , package it came in says "Senetem CAT7 SSTP Flat Patch cable, Cat 7 Ethernet Cable ...ter, POE (35FT, Cat7)

But like I said I have had this issue for a long time.

I just changed the firmware on my two Linksys EA6900's to Asuswrt-Merlin & Xwrt-Vortex and set them as AiMesh network and so far the Loco M2 has not locked up but this is par from the course as sometimes it will go days with no lockups and then when I start to download a large file it goes crazy. Going to try some downloads today and see what it does.

The third picture shows it as stranded 32awg cable. I would ditch that cable in a heartbeat and use proper cable, preferably solid 23awg real copper, not CCA. Just because they can get it to pass the Fluke test for speed/bandwidth, doesn't mean it'll work great for POE.
81PlwGaQoqS._SL1500_.jpg


Cat5e is also made in 24 or 26awg strands. It could have also been bad if it was 26awg.
 
Solution
Jul 24, 2021
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Very hard to get cables down here in Colombia, will have to wait a year or three before I will be able to change it out again. Will just have to keep rebooting the Loco M2 whenever it locks up on me. I now have it on a Lutron RA2 switch so at least I can reboot it from my phone without even having to get my lazy butt up.
 
Do you have a short ethernet cable that meets proper specs and long power extension cord. On a day when you expect it not to rain try to put the power injector outside near the nanostation connected by your short cable. If you can also get a pc near the nano station use another short ethenet cable to connect your pc to the power injector. If not you will have to use the garbage long cable to run back to the house. Your main goal is to see if it really is that cable. Those fake cables have a lot of trouble passing power. They might pass the data with errors but that should not crash the nano station. I would still test completely without the fake cable if it is possible.

My theory is that the power is barely marginal and as you start using the nanostation it takes more power when it uses its radio to transmit and crashes.

If it works with the power injector outside then you know you just have to get a better cable. If not it could be a defective nano station unit.
 
Jul 24, 2021
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You can get something like this: http://www.msnswitch.com/

Which you can set to ping the other end of the bridge. Ping it once every second or something. Then set a timeout, if a ping doesn't show up within say 30 seconds, you can have it power cycle the outlet. You would have to shut it off during software updates of course.

"MSNswitch will automatically power-cycle its outlet when either;
a) the internet connectivity is lost, or;
b) the monitored network device does not respond.

In short, MSNswitch acts like a watch-dog making sure that the network device monitored is functioning. "

That sounds perfect! Bit costly but looks like this one might also do the job for cheap and they ship to Colombia once it is back in stock and I spend $35 to get free shipping:
https://www.amazon.com/ConnectSense...48-8209-4d88-84b6-e3ad83025c15&pd_rd_wg=d54WW
 
Jul 24, 2021
13
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Do you have a short ethernet cable that meets proper specs and long power extension cord. On a day when you expect it not to rain try to put the power injector outside near the nanostation connected by your short cable. If you can also get a pc near the nano station use another short ethenet cable to connect your pc to the power injector. If not you will have to use the garbage long cable to run back to the house. Your main goal is to see if it really is that cable. Those fake cables have a lot of trouble passing power. They might pass the data with errors but that should not crash the nano station. I would still test completely without the fake cable if it is possible.

My theory is that the power is barely marginal and as you start using the nanostation it takes more power when it uses its radio to transmit and crashes.

If it works with the power injector outside then you know you just have to get a better cable. If not it could be a defective nano station unit.

Yeah that is exactly how I had it setup before. I have power outlets installed up on my Tarraza for Christmas lights and was able to move the injector up to Loco M2 and just used a high quality Cat5e 3 ft cable to it. It still locked up whenever I was downloading a large file.
 
"MSNswitch will automatically power-cycle its outlet when either;
a) the internet connectivity is lost, or;
b) the monitored network device does not respond.

In short, MSNswitch acts like a watch-dog making sure that the network device monitored is functioning. "

That sounds perfect! Bit costly but looks like this one might also do the job for cheap and they ship to Colombia once it is back in stock and I spend $35 to get free shipping:
https://www.amazon.com/ConnectSense...48-8209-4d88-84b6-e3ad83025c15&pd_rd_wg=d54WW

Yes, that looks like a good band-aide solution.
 
Jul 24, 2021
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It really is starting to sound like a defective device. I have couple of those we used for years and if I can find what box I put them in they likely still work. I mean you can mess up the configuration but once you get them running you never touch them.

Yeah, I really should pull it down and take it apart... I have an older XM board version that a friend had and it stopped working so maybe I can pull them both apart and see what is what inside... maybe my newer XW Board one has a lose heatsink or something silly like that happening inside....

Just a pain to get to as you can see in the last photo here:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/P8ixqQ9vVeBuLWfKA