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Are there any known PCC-10 compatibility issues with specific models of laptops? (KB373)

Question Detail
Are there any known PCC-10 compatibility issues with specific models of laptops? If so, are there any solutions to resolve the issues?
Solution
Look at the Product Alert page at http://www.echelon.com/support/alerts/alertnotes/1012.htm The following excerpt from the alert explains how magnetic noise from certain models of PCs interferes with the PCC-10 card's communication and how a new version of shielded PCC-10 cards resolved this.

Summary
Power supplies of Toshiba Satellite Pro Models 4600, 7600, & 8100, Dell Latitude C610, and Gateway Solo 5300 laptop computers have been found to inject high levels of electromagnetic radiation into the PCMCIA device bays, preventing the PCC-10 from working properly. We are working with Toshiba, Dell, and Gateway to resolve this issue. However, at this time we recommend that PCC-10 cards not be used with these specific models. To mitigate the problem, Echelon has added additional MU metal shielding to the PCC-10 card. All cards shipped after September 2003 come equipped with this additional shielding. Testing indicates that the high levels of EM radiation no longer disrupt card operation. Cards with increased shielding can be identified by the agency label affixed to the back of the card. The Agency label lists part number: 801-1054-01. Revisions K or later contain increased shielding. For protocol analyzer cards with increased shielding, the agency label is revision I or later.

Also take a look at the Product Alert at http://www.echelon.com/support/alerts/alertnotes/1018.htm An excerpt from that alert follows.

Summary
Dell Inspiron 1100 and Inspiron 5100 model laptop computers equipped with BIOS versions prior to A22 may be incompatible with existing PCMCIA cards, including the Echelon® model 73200 PCC-10 PC Card. Failure Mode for Model 73200 PCC-10 PC Card LonWorks® Plug 'n Play's diagnostics will always return "Failed," and an attempt to change the transceiver type will result in the error message "Error accessing the driver, driver buffer is full."

Remedy
On August 21st, 2003, DELL provided an updated BIOS version (A22) for the Inspiron 1100 and Inspiron 5100 to resolve this issue. The updated BIOS is available from DELL at http://premiersupport.dell.com. Login ID and password may be required. Please follow the instructions, download the new BIOS, and apply it to your laptop.

Related Products
  • PCC-10
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