Community Forums

Jim A · 01-24-2019, 11:23 AM

Another option is to buy a router reset. They monitor the wifi signal, and if you lose the internet, it will cut and then restore the power to your modem. (In this case, your Mobley.) It will do it as often, or infrequent, as necessary. I bought one on Amazon for around $20 in case I start having problems with the Mobley. So far I have not needed to start using it.

W3DKP · 01-24-2019, 06:22 PM

The Mobley senses the change in voltage when the vehicle is running and resets its internal timer. When the vehicle is shutoff (or the Mobley is externally powered) the voltage is steady and the timer disconnects the unit from the network. I designed and built a circuit that switches the voltage about ½ volt every 8 minutes. This tricks the Mobley into thinking it is installed in a vehicle that is running. I’ve had my Mobley connected several days without disconnecting.

Isaac-1 · 01-24-2019, 10:08 PM

I think the simpler way may be to use an old 12 to 14VDC unregulated wall wart style transformer, (you know the heavy ones, not the light modern switch mode power supply wall warts) the output voltage will vary with load, if sized properly, perhaps around 400-500ma the variance should be maximized to fluctuate under normal Mobley operation.

gladu2 · 01-29-2019, 01:02 PM

I ordered an infinite cycle timer switch to turn the Mobley off/on after < 2 hrs. I will go with a better work around device when one emerges and has been Beta tested and available. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

DFitz · 01-29-2019, 02:27 PM

I'm wondering if the 'idle' mentioned on the Mobley admin page refers to not using data vs the vehicle idling? I just checked mine this morning and it is set to 30 minutes, but only rarely does the Mobley need to be reset.
Outlook on our computer 'calls home' frequently and along with all our other usage may keep the Mobley from timing out. Anyone have a similar experience?
If that's the case doing something like streaming audio from a radio station (even with the sound muted) should keep Mobley happy and running!

AnotherMike · 01-29-2019, 05:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by W3DKP

I designed and built a circuit that switches the voltage about ½ volt every 8 minutes. This tricks the Mobley into thinking it is installed in a vehicle that is running.

Mind sharing that circuit? I'm learning the Eagle Cad system right now and laying out a PCB might be a good learning project.

BigBillSD · 01-29-2019, 10:55 PM

I found this info tonight while trying to determine why my new mobley while in the cars's ODBII port doesn't timeout unless I turn off the car. But does timeout when I connect it to a wall wart on 120v at 30 minutes like the timeout is set for. I have a 12v car adapter which should keep the mobley running all the time I am driving the RV, am plugged into shore power (charging) or when charging the batteries from solar.

The time-out interval starts when voltage on the input is approximately 12 volts, meaning that the alternator is not online and thus the engine is turned off. A voltage input above some value (maybe 13 volts-ish) indicates the opposite, that the voltage is higher than battery alone and thus the engine is running... and in that mode it won't time out. So with an external power supply above the cutoff voltage the Mobley would have no way of knowing that it wasn't in a vehicle. The problem is that most 12-volt power supplies out there are, well, 12-volt, and in the range that the Mobley will assume that the engine is not running, and thus subject to the time-out. If you want to run it on home AC power then you can buy a 13.5-volt adapter (Digi-Key has them for under ten bucks), and likewise an RV on shore power would have a battery charger engaged that would keep the voltage above 13.2 or so, even at float voltage. This is perhaps why the Mobile RV video reported that some users are saying that 'it still doesn't time out even with the new software'..

W3DKP · 01-30-2019, 04:13 AM

I’ll post the schematic and circuit board when I am home this weekend. I’m currently in VT skiing.

It is a simple circuit. I used a 4060 ripple counter to drive a MOSFET across a silicon diode. The diode is in series with the power to the Mobley. The MOSFET is switched on by the timer about every eight minutes. When off the voltage is about ½ volt less than the input voltage. When on the diode is effectively shorted out and the voltage is almost equal to the input voltage.

Isaac-1 · 01-30-2019, 05:28 AM

Sounds like a more elegant way to handle it than those that are using an Arduino to do the same thing, or my attempts to introduce instability by using an unregulated power supply and relying on the Mobleys variable current draw under normal operation to induce random input voltage variation. I am currently using a Jameco 14VDC 700 ma unregluated power brick, which seems to be working for this task, while probably not an idea choice, it seems to be functioning, though I do have concerns about voltage going high when the Mobley is in low power mode.

theoldwizard · 01-30-2019, 05:35 AM

I think we have a winner here !

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigBillSD

I found this info tonight while trying to determine why my new mobley while in the cars's ODBII port doesn't timeout unless I turn off the car.
.
.
.
The time-out interval starts when voltage on the input is approximately 12 volts, meaning that the alternator is not online and thus the engine is turned off. A voltage input above some value (maybe 13 volts-ish) indicates the opposite, that the voltage is higher than battery alone and thus the engine is running... and in that mode it won't time out.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Isaac-1

I am currently using a Jameco 14VDC 700 ma unregluated power brick, which seems to be working for this task, while probably not an idea choice, it seems to be functioning, though I do have concerns about voltage going high when the Mobley is in low power mode.

Jameco power supply on eBay

theoldwizard · 01-30-2019, 05:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crankshaft

Does the Mobley have 2 12 volt positive inputs? One constant and one that is only on when the vehicle is running? We'd have to look at the pinouts for the ODBII connectors to determine that.

According to Wikipedia, there is only ONE power pin, pin 16. There are 2 ground pins, 4 and 5.

CountryB · 01-30-2019, 06:04 AM

on rvmobileinternet.com they say one work around is a router "reseter" which monitors the internet connection and cycles power when connection is lost. The one linked to below works with the 120V Mobley adapter.

https://www.amazon.com/Router-Resete...language=en_US

Isaac-1 · 01-30-2019, 08:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by theoldwizard

According to Wikipedia, there is only ONE power pin, pin 16. There are 2 ground pins, 4 and 5.

That should be Pin 4 or 5, they are both tied together internally in the Mobley so you only need to connect negative to one of them, not both.

p.s. Using a router reseter to get around the 30 - 120 minute timeout is a less than ideal solution as the Mobley takes about a minute to boot, this would put it out of operation close to 1% of the time, which could be very annoying while streaming video. Having said that a router reseter may be nice to have with any Mobley, in the case of my old one bought in 2017, it will rarely run for more than 2 or 3 days before locking up and requiring a reboot.

engine103 · 01-30-2019, 09:18 AM

Hi Joe, My Mobley also shuts down at the two hour limit but what I found out at the one hour and 55 minute mark, if I reach over and giggle it for about 5 seconds, it keeps going for another two hours without ever losing connection. As I work mostly from my desk I had the opportunity to play this game for more than 8 hours and never lost connection. To me, it appears to be motion sensitive and to test this out, I have it plugged in to my 110/120 volt outlet in the motorhome and the motion caused by traveling keeps it alive. A small hassle but free work around.