Support

Troubleshooting & Typical Problems

The Silent Hawk® appears to be connected to the Capture PC but there is no data being saved in the capture directory.

Verify that a script file has been sent to the Silent Hawk® and that it is not in the paused state.

Make sure that both the Bypass and Hold Switches are both in the run position.

If it is not already in capture mode, place the Silent Hawk in capture mode. Silent Hawks in forced capture do not require this step.
Check all the cable connections and make sure you have the appropriate cables for your unit. The User's Guide outlines the correct cable diagrams.

If the Silent Hawk's PTR STAT LED is solid red, a nAck condition is pending on the printer data lines. To clear this condition, press the CLEAR button on the back of the Silent Hawk Data Capture Unit.

 

The Silent Hawk® is not connecting to intended Capture PC.

Verify that the network switch, router or hub the Silent Hawk is connected to is powered on.

Make sure you are using the appropriate network cable. Direct connections to a Capture PC require a crossover cable. Connections to either a hub, switch, or router require patch cables.

If the Silent Hawk appears in the Silent Hawk Status Window with a yellow colored label that says “NEW”, the Silent Hawk is seen by the Control Console, but it is not on the same sub net as the Control Console. To remedy this, open the Setup Screen for the Silent Hawk and assign it a compatible sub net. A Capture PC's sub net is the first three octets of it's IP Address.

If the intended Capture PC is remote, verify that the correct Gateway, Net mask and IP Address are specified.

 

The Silent Hawk® cannot be located via a Local Search Request.

Make sure that the Silent Hawk is powered on.

Verify that the Silent Hawk has an appropriate Ethernet cable plugged in and that the Silent Hawk's link light is solid green. On YE and TE models of the Silent Hawks, the link light is the rightmost LED on the Ethernet port of the unit.

If the Capture PC has a firewall, turn off the firewall temporarily and click the Local Search button.

Make sure that the network interface card being used with your Silent Hawks has the greatest network priority in Windows. To do this, open the Network Connections dialog from the Control Panel and click on the Advanced menu. From the Advanced menu click on the Advanced Settings menu item. A dialog will appear, select the connection that you plan on using with the Silent Hawk and click the up arrow to move it to the top most position. When the network interface card priority is set properly click OK and restart the computer.

Data is not being saved to the network path specified in the script file.

Make sure that the permissions have been properly configured on the network sharepath PC.

Make sure that the PC containing the network share path is connected to its respective network.

Make sure that the network share path PC is on and fully operational.

If the network share path PC requires a password to log on to it, use Windows Explorer to navigate to the network share path and enter the log in information when prompted.

If a firewall is present on the computer running the Control Console, make sure that the computer with the network share path is listed in the safe zones for the firewall.

 

The Silent Hawk® Unit is not connecting to the Alternate Server.

Make sure that the Alternate Server's IP Address specified in the Manual Configuration File matches the IP Address of the computer you wish to use as the Alternate Server.

Make sure that the Alternate Server Gateway Address is correct in the Manual Configuration File.

Verify that the Port Forwarding on both networks is configured properly. UDP ports 51101, 51201, 51202 and TCP ports 51100, 51110, 51200, 51202 need to be configured for port forwarding.

If there are firewalls present on either the Primary or the Alternate Capture PC, verify that they are properly configured and that they will allow the sub nets of one another.

 

The Script File cannot be sent to the Silent Hawk® Data Capture Unit.

Make sure the Silent Hawk is connected to the Capture PC.

Make sure another Silent Hawk does not have an identical capture path and file name in its script file. Duplicate file paths and names are not allowed for script files that use Custom Filenaming.

Verify that the script file you are attempting to send is a valid script file. Even though the file has an scr extension, it may not be a valid script file. For the script file to be valid, it must contain an ID Header, a valid Capture Path, and a valid Capture File Size.

 

FAQ's

What are the differences between the Silent Hawk® I, XE and YE?

The Silent Hawk I Data Capture Unit only supports Parallel interfaces for both data capture and Capture PC connectivity. The Silent Hawk XE and YE both support parallel interfaces for data acquisition and Ethernet interfaces for Capture PC Connectivity. Each of these units requires an external printer to manage the printer signals and must be paired with one.

 

What are the differences between the Silent Hawk® II, SE and TE?

The Silent Hawk II Data Capture Unit only supports Parallel interfaces for both data capture and Capture PC connectivity. The Silent Hawk SE and TE both support parallel interfaces for data acquisition and Ethernet interfaces for Capture PC Connectivity. Each of these units manages printer signals with its internal printer.

 

What is the difference between the Null Printer C-100 and the Null Printer Lite?

The Null Printer C-100 allows users to manually change the status of the printer signals lines. This allows testing of printer machine interfaces and their signal and fault tolerances. The Null Printer Lite does not allow this but is cheaper and easier to customize. Through customizable, programmable firmware the Null Printer Lite can be customized for specific environments. Both units can either replace a printer or be used in conjunction with Silent Hawk I, XE and YE units.

 

What do the Silent Hawk® Units do?

Silent Hawk units allow data acquisition from parallel and serial data sources. Silent Hawk models can be used to electronically archive data from these sources and depending on the other software options available, modify, manipulate or convert the data to another format.

 

Are the Silent Hawk® E Series Units limited to Local Area Network use only?

Silent Hawk units are not limited to Local Area Network use exclusively. They can be used in Wide Area Networks and over the Internet for data acquisition.

 

What is a script file and why is it required?

Script files configure Silent Hawk Data Capture Units data capture parameters. Script files are required for each Silent Hawk to prepare them for data capture. The script file controls the file naming convention, the file segmentation method, the directory in which files are stored and the Silent Hawk's connectivity settings.

 

What printers are the Silent Hawk® Units compatible with?

Silent Hawk Data Capture Units are compatible with any Standard Centronics Parallel printer.

 

What is the Remote Viewer?

The Remote Viewer is an application that can monitor data folders on various computers from a distant location. It can also be used to display data on local networks. By using user-defined key phrases, text data can be colorized and styled to make portions of the text easier to identify. The Remote Viewer is also capable of playing audio alerts so users are not required to constantly monitor the computer screen. Both the text decoration and the audio alerts are both customizable.

Contact Tech Support If you would like to contact tech support please send us an e-mail, or call 310-212-0600.