[SOLVED] duplicate NavNet radar identifiers?

fliesbywho

New member
Hi,
I recently took delivery of two DRS25A-X Class radars. When I connect either one to NavNet, it broadcasts the same identifier, namely "RD003019". This is visible in both raw network packets and on the remote display, so it would appear that these two radars are indistinguishable to NavNet and any client applications.
(FWIW, I have not observed this behaviour in previous shipments of DRS4D-25A-NXT radars; each of these radars broadcasts a distinct identifier.)
Am I missing something?
Thanks!
 
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Ensure that your MFD software is up to date. It is recommended that you connect one unit and provide it a "Nickname" under the sensor list so that it is easy to tell which radar is which. Connect the second and do the same. This way when selecting your radar source you will see something more descriptive like "Forward Radar" or "Aft Radar" or whatever descriptive difference you call them.
 
Thanks for the reply! I went ahead and tried this, assigning different nicknames to each (SYS-008 and SYS-009), and they do show up separately in the Sensor List when I connect both radars to the network at once (although note that the IP addresses are the same):
IMG_20230718_121244780_small.jpg

However, the Radar Source list only shows one of these radars:
IMG_20230718_120235172_small.jpg

Either radar plugged into the network by itself works correctly, but if I then plug the other radar into the network, it never becomes visible in the Radar Source list.

Searching the Navnet SDK docs suggests this is a limitation at the NavNet level: there do not appear to be any API calls that allow distinguishing between two radars with the same host name (and same self-assigned IP address?) nor is there a way to obtain the MAC address of the radar (short of sniffing raw network packets outside of Navnet).

For what it's worth, here are the individual radar pages from the Sensor List, showing distinct MAC addresses:
IMG_20230718_120153770_small.jpgIMG_20230718_120134672_HDR_small.jpg
 
The system is not allowed to have three radars.
1689712389140.png

Two radars is the maximum allowed by the NavNet network. Because someone has tried or is trying to also connect up the NXT the NavNet currently has it assigned and grayed out. I would recommend removing all but one radar, then hitting the RESET at the top right of the sensor list to clear out all these units except the one unit. Then make sure to turn off the second radar plug it into the network and power it ON. It will see the other radar and self assign a different IP address. When nicknaming I don't recommend using dashes or other special characters. All DRS radars assign their own IP address on power up, with the exception of the very old software in the NN3D type DRS units.
 
Thanks! That solution worked, but only the 2nd time I tried it (each time, I did full power cycles of all equipment). Between the first and second tries, I hit every Factory Reset option I could find in the MFD's menus. Perhaps one of those was required?
 
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