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Anyone use Comrex Access Portable?

L

louromshow

Guest
Hey folks,
I work for an AM Talker and I'm thinking about investing in an Access Portable. Can any of you offer some feedback on your experience with it in the field? I'm curious about the basics -- sound quality, connectivity, best way to connect, in particular, anyone ever connect via an iPhone or a laptop. And, any other problems, strengths, success stories. Thanks -- Lou
 
Got a Bric portable Access, wrks pretty good. The performance depends pn the available bandwidth. Here (atlanta) using one opf the su[er broadband services, it does well. When we do syndication backhauls into Tejas or New Yark, we use it to back the ISDN.
 
We have one at our news/talk/sports cluster that uses a Sprint wireless card and while it has great sound quality both ways, the connectivity gets very dicey if it's fed overmodulated audio. Also the pots are VERY sensitive so careful adjustments are needed when setting your levels. Obviously these are situations that can be remedied by just being careful! Under good conditions it's a solid unit but like any cell-phone connection it's pretty much at the mercy of the network and how much bandwidth is available at a given time. As long as you're in an area with good cell reception then you should be good to go. I can't speak for using it through an iPhone or laptop, however. If you plan to be out in the field a lot or in places that lack ISDN or POTS that are readily available then I highly recommend it.
 
We've got one of the early models. Being in the South, after about 3 years, the Portable has started acting up in the heat. Outdoor temps in the upper 80's cause it to overheat and freeze up.

We're going to do a software upgrade and see if that may remedy some of the issues.

When you've got a solid WIFI connection, the sound quality is awesome and the delay is really really low.

On our Verizon 3G card, like what was said before, the connectivity is completely at the mercy of the cell traffic. Usually 15-30 minutes before game time at a major college game, we start getting kicked off a lot.
 
DudeFan said:
We've got one of the early models. Being in the South, after about 3 years, the Portable has started acting up in the heat. Outdoor temps in the upper 80's cause it to overheat and freeze up.

We're going to do a software upgrade and see if that may remedy some of the issues.

When you've got a solid WIFI connection, the sound quality is awesome and the delay is really really low.

On our Verizon 3G card, like what was said before, the connectivity is completely at the mercy of the cell traffic. Usually 15-30 minutes before game time at a major college game, we start getting kicked off a lot.
Click to expand...

Why on earth would you upgrade the software if you have a hardware problem? This will serve to throw additional items into the troubleshooting process (e.g some new bugs).

Anyway - Best of luck
 
Thanks for the overmodulated audio comment! I has learnt something, and maybe corrected a recurring problem. I shall nudge our remote techs.
 
Reality:

Not sure there is a hardware problem. It is an embedded linux device with no moving parts. Linux would throw an error during post and boot up if there were a failed component.

The first thing Comrex would tell you, anyways, would be to be sure you are running the current firmware/software. A lot of the minor difficulties in the past have been software bugs that have been resolved with a newer version of the firmware/software that resolves the bug.

What I believe is happening is that the processor was running spurious processes or multiple process threads causing the processor to overwork. Our 3G card would get almost iron-hot to the touch after an hour or so. It's almost time to upgrade the card anyways to a USB REV A.
 
Dude -- well, to that end, is there a default "best way to connect" ???
Being in South Louisiana, I expect to use it during the storm season, so that will be a challenge to begin with, but I also want to use it, perhaps, to do some Leno-esque man on the streets, and definitely to respond to huge breaking stories where being there adds so much more. Any way, I'm gonna spring for it, so curious what you guys paid for it?
 
The unit is really flexible.

Our preferred connection is, in this order:

1. Wifi
2. 3G
3. POTS Modem

Wifi, generally because you have fewer congestion issues and the delay is less.

3G, when you don't have a Wifi access point and/or need to be mobile.

POTS when all else fails.

You need the Access Portable and another Access unit at the studio end. We have the Access rackmount at the studio. All told, the best deal we could get three years ago was 7,000 all told. We did not get the AAC option. That is a separate license.

If you are doing Leno-esque stuff, you will want a 3G connection. Plug an SM57, make sure your battery is charged, grab a set of headphones and you are golden.

I don't know how reliable in South Louisiana cell service is, but it certainly you could be roving mobile with it as long as you've got a connection during the storms.

The Access is part of our backup plan in case an emergency precludes us from using our studios.
 
littlejohn said:
Thanks for the overmodulated audio comment! I has learnt something, and maybe corrected a recurring problem. I shall nudge our remote techs.
Click to expand...

John

This is an interesting theory and I look forward to your feedback in terms of improvement, if any.

I do know there have been urban myths for years about high levels causing ISDN and Switched 56 codecs to hang up. It certainly never happened with any codec I have used. I have never been able to confirm if this was true with some of the really old codecs (like the CCS micro-56) or if there is no kernal of truth to it. Certainly too much clipping could make G.722 to temporarily lose frame.

Keep us posted.

Rolf Taylor
Applications/Support Engineer
Worldcast Systems: APT
 
I should have shared that I had gotten a call from a talent at a remote saying the audio kept cutting out. Hot levels will definitely cause the unit to have audio dropouts.
 
It's not the levels. Trust me. Like Rolf says, we dealt with similar legends with POTS and ISDN codecs. It seems natural to associate network issues with what you're sending into the box, but they are isolated to the point that audio levels can have no effect on network performance.
Tom Hartnett
Comrex
 
I don't mean to question your expertise but when we send hot levels from the remote back to the station the audio on the receive side starts getting the old digital stutter before cutting out entirely. Drop the levels, the problem goes away.
 
Strangelove, I'm happy to take this offline and find the red herring in your hookup. We can test from you to me. Call me at the factory.
Tom Hartnett
Comrex
 
Tom:

My portable's coming your way in a couple day. Big thank you to Blair. Poor Portable bricked itself on a firmware upgrade.
 
There have been issues with the AT&T card overheating. Probably replacing it is the answer.
Use Sprint 3G through the laptop.
Have tested WiMAX 4G from Clear (the old Clear Wire) with that big-flat Motorola unit. Just plug in the Ethernet & works like a champ even inside the concrete & steel building. No setup needed on the Access. FLAC K4 Dual mono 15 running near 720 kb/s worked 99% but K3 Mono 15 @ 360 kb/s was rock solid.

We've been running 2.7 (beta) on the portable for a month or so. Just upgraded to 2.7p3 on the rack & portable successfully.
 
BosieENGR:

Would you recommend going with a USB stick 3G modem or the PCI Card. I think part of the trouble we have been having is that the Verizon 3G PCI we have (circa 2007) is getting real hot.

I see you are in one of the few markets with WiMax. I take it you give it a huge thumbs up?

2.7-p3 went onto our rack unit really smoothly.
 
An update. We're using a loaner Portable right now. It works fantastic with the new firmware. Still plan on upgrading to a 3G Rev A card, but absolutey smooth sailing.
 
I think they played around with a USB stick. Have to check on that. You can put it on a USB extension too! The card sits inside that hot box. Think most laptops draw a little air over the card.
 
comrex said:
Strangelove, I'm happy to take this offline and find the red herring in your hookup. We can test from you to me. Call me at the factory.
Tom Hartnett
Comrex
Click to expand...
You're very kind for the offer. I've passed it on to our engineer. Thanks so much.
 
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