Skytrak drops connection after 4-5 min consistently

[Osubucks999]

Ok. So just got my Skytrak last week and am hooking it up today.
Followed the steps.....worked perfect. At least for a few min.

Now frustration sets in.

In network mode. Open app, turn on the unit.....connects up. Works great.
After about 4.5 minutes or so, the lights go red/yellow/green and I lose connection.
If I restart the unit by pressing the button, it reconnects.
Again after about 4.5 min it drops again.

wifi signal is strong.
network speed is excellent.
Using a brand new Netgear router. All other wifi devices work fine.

was on the phone 5 times with Skytrak. Lots of restarts and rebooting. Obviously, that’s not working.

Help anyone??

I really don’t want to send this thing back 😕

[TrueGolferNorth]

When the following happens, “After about 4.5 minutes or so, the lights go red/yellow/green and I lose connection”, you just wait for 1 min or 2, the connection should recover on its own and all 3 lights should turn green again.

[Osubucks999]

It doesn’t recover

[Scoop]

Is it a dual band router? If so, you may want to separate the bands and only connect to the 2.4 ghz.

[Shipwreck34]

ST can only accept the 2.4 ghz band. It is not dual band.

[Shipwreck34]

I don't do this personally, but I would try setting a static IP address for your ST in your router if you can. It's a long shot, and a hunch. That's all. Your router may be reassigning IP's every 4-5 minute on it's IP table for DHCP. Not likely, it shouldn't be doing it that often, but it may be polling the devices to see if they're still there and causing the issue. Static IP may fix that.

If you were plugged in (USB) and it was dropping after 30 minutes or so I'd suggest making sure the Power Management settings for USB were set to "Do not turn off". You're running over the network, so that doesn't really apply.

If you have a laptop... Connect it to your router using only single band (quite often listed in the router settings as 2.4 Ghz) and place it relatively where you place your SkyTrak.

• Hit the Windows key, type 'cmd'
• Type "ping 192.168.1.1 /t" (I'm assuming this is the IP of your router, verify)
  • the '/t' in the command will let the ping run continuously. Let it go for 5-10 minutes
• Hit 'Ctrl+c' to stop the ping
• Note the Packet Sent, Received, and Lost
  • The 'Lost' should be pretty low to nil. If it's not, you do not have good consistent Wifi in that spot.

I'm just trying to suggest next level above Roy's classic "Have you turned it off and on again?" It also will help you build a case that you have verified everything is good on your end, then send that sucker back for another one!

Hope that helps. I'll try to monitor this thread to see if I can suggest anything else.

[trhuke]

You can have good speed and good WiFi but I've found that even though my internet speeds are fast, my internet isn't that steady. I have the cable modem for the TV and internet in my living room, and every few days the TV will start getting twitchy (it comes in through the modem) and the lights on the modem will do a mild reboot. I'm fairly sure the SkyTrak doesn't like that. I have mystery disconnects too and I think this is the culprit. (Thankfully it doesn't usually last long)

[Shipwreck34]

You know, I just noticed your handle, OP. I'm afraid I can't help you any further. At least not until my Huskers finally beat OSU. I have a feeling I'm still going to be waiting a while!

(I keed, I keed. I'm still happy to help. )

[Osubucks999]

LOL....you can always convert ?? The Buckeyes can always uses a new fan. 😂

[Shipwreck34]

Never!!! Go big red!!! 😁🤞

[Osubucks999]

An update

The unit works fine on my brothers 2.4 network. No dropping at all.
back to my house, it drops.

Im on a dual band....both skytrak and iPad on the 2.4.
ipad stays connected, but the skytrak drops.

So I’m leaning towards some config in my Netgear router maybe?
its a brand new wifi 6 model, so not sure that has any impact or not.

I feel pretty good, it’s something with my network and not skytrak.

I also moved my router close to my sim to rule out a bad wifi connection...it still drops.

[Jason Penner]

Have you tried usb mode? So many things can cause Wifi interference, baby monitors microwave spiral light bulbs. Is there anyone else using wifi at the same time? Old crappy “ gold” dollarstore splitters, loose connection ( cable to modem) these are just a few things id check. I was a service tech for a large cable company and wifi troubleshooting is a PITA. When was the time you had a tech to your house? Maybe give a call in and have your cable company check the stats of your modem to see if there is a issue

[Shipwreck34]

I agree with Jason's assessment. Just because they are both on 2.4Ghz doesn't mean they are on the same channel. That came out wrong... they will definitely be on different channels, assigned by your router. Could be the same repeatedly, or not. I know that sounds nit-picky, but well.. IT. Been doing it too long to dismiss anything.

If you're savvy, see if you can find the channel that your iPad is on, assign a static IP to your SkyTrak, then assign the channel your iPad was using to the ST. Never know!

[Osubucks999]

I may try USB. It’s odd how all other wifi devices are perfect

[Scoop]

Direct Mode is also an option if you want to stay wireless. Unless you are needing to be connected to the internet for simulation.

[ganders75]

Those new netgears do not play nice with SkyTrak, so I’ve heard - that “Nighthawk” was the first one I recall having problems. Think they’re trying to do some clever power saving/keep alive that SkyTrak can’t handle.

Also, I’ll offer a possible troubleshooting path:

Do you have a mesh network? If yes, get a dedicated access point for the SkyTrak, it doesn’t like mesh as it needs a stable connection.
If it’s not mesh, your 2.4ghz signal will be on exactly one “channel” if you only have one access point. In the US this will be a number 1 to 11. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_WLAN_channels If on auto, it will just pick 1, 6 or 11 as they don’t overlap. On a laptop install “netstumbler” free from http://www.stumbler.net/ or on android “WiFi analyser” (sorry, no equivalent on iOS - API features not supported) and check your signal to noise from neighbours, fridges, freezers, etc. If you have contention, pick a different channel which is clear (graph will show you which is best) If no contention, you’re probably boned and it doesn’t like your netgear. I’d probably then buy a crappy/old WiFi access point (or even a wireless print bridge and stick DD-WRT on it), give a different SSID and pick a different channel from one above (check they don’t overlap or you’ll be sabotaging yourself!) and connect SkyTrak to that. You just hardwire it over Ethernet to your router and you should be good to go.

Hope some of that is useful.

[Shipwreck34]

That's good info!

I'm currently doing the research on Mesh Wifi and just about to pull the trigger on Netgear vs Nest. (I'm leaning towards Netgear. I'm familiar with it, and I don't like having any more microphones in my house than I have to.) Going to stick with Wifi5 however, as the benefits of Wifi6 vs the cost just do not wash for me at the moment. (I only get 150 -180 MPS down from my ISP)

Knowing that the ST doesn't play well with Mesh changes my design a bit, and your solution is easy to implement as I'm currently using a Dual Band extender off my main router that I can configure to 2.4 Ghz only. All I have to do is re-utilize it to be a dedicated access point for my ST. Done and done. (To the OP. They only cost about $35 on Amazon if you're looking to pick one up.)

I was planning on having one of the Mesh satellites be in my golf room, but now that seems to be OBE, and I can put it elsewhere. Thanks again for the heads up!

[gkkling]

For what it's worth, I've had great luck with my Eero Pro Mesh setup. It's been rock solid steady not only for the SkyTrak but all the devices in the house including streaming on all of the TVs.

This is the one I have: https://www.bestbuy.com/site/eero-pr...?skuId=5873518

Good luck!

[ganders75]

So long as it never jumps a node you should be ok with mesh - but there are far more tales of woe than successes. If it jumps, even for a split second, you’ll probably drop connection similar to the OP. The problem with mesh WiFi is that generally you have no control of the algorithm it uses for the handoff between nodes, so you get blips in connection. On your iPhone, iPad, laptop or whatever you’d never notice. The SkyTrak will drop connection, and original TGC would fall off network and not restore. They might have fixed that it TGC 2019, not sure...

[gkkling]

I must have paid extra for the non-node jumping enhancement and didn't realize it as it's been about a year with no issues and I think I've only had to bounce the network a handful of times.

[DAK60]

I also have the eero and two beacons and I have not had any issues with connecting the skytrak or any other device using WiFi. Skytrak has not disconnected once in the week or so I have had it.

[ganders75]

It all depends on how the zones are setup. If it works, and there's no handoff then don't move anything and you should be OK.

Problem is: 2.4ghz band that skytrak uses can be upset by neighbour's wifi, fridge motors, electronic goods, kids toys etc so things can change without you doing anything at all... If you get issues with dropping connections, it's harder to diagnose with mesh...

[Shipwreck34]

Exactly. A lot of things at play, especially in the very busy 2.4 Ghz range.

It also tells me that the Eero has a less aggressive policy for node hopping, which in turn is working out well for those scenarios. Good info! That reinforces my thoughts on setting up a dedicated 2.4 Ghz access point for my ST at close range.