Maverick ET732 Interference


 
A

Angel A

New member
Hey everyone.

I bought a Maverick ET732 a couple of months back. I finally had the opportunity to use it for the first time last night during an overnight shoulder cook. I set it all up with Hi-Lo temps and the probes are working great. I'm running into interference problems though. The receiver tends to lose the signal even just a few feet into the house. My smoker is about 10 feet away from the window, and the receiver is only a few feet further away, so maybe 12 feet tops is separating the transmitter from the receiver. When the receiver loses the signal, I've tried bringing it closer to the transmitter to reconnect and powering on and off, but inevitably I wind up going back out and restarting the transmitter. I suspect it might be the WiFi running in the house as my router is located inside but about 50 feet away from the smoker. Is anyone running into a similar problem? Any suggestions on how I can improve the signal? Moving the router is not really an option. Perhaps the router isn't even the problem but I don't think I'm getting much interference from the windows. Maybe it's the cell phones too?

As you might have been able to guess, I didn't get much sleep last night with the receiver's alarm constantly going off after losing the signal. I wound up turning it off for a few hours to find I had to resupply the charcoal. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!!!

Angel
 
I got a 732 a short while ago and have used it on two smokes, and have noticed similar things, although not quite as severe as you. During my most recent job it did appear to lose signal maybe four or five times, but it always got it back within a minute.
 
I have an ET-73 (older version) and I have cell phone, wireless, etc that you have. I have my cooker about 15 - 20 ft from the door and my receiver is about 5 ft inside the door. I also had transmit/receive issues so I added an antenna mod to my receiver. It works like a charm now. I am not sure if there is a mod for your model but it's worth a search.
 
Original batteries still in it?
!! Get new ones. I had the exact same issue when I got mine. New batt solved the problem.

Cheapies come with it when new.
 
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Len may have the answer above, but I had the same issue. The only way I resolved it was to place the remote receiver in the window sill of our bedroom pointed out towards the backyard. It was the closest I could get it to the smoker without it being outside too. :D

Seems to work for me. Maybe that will help you too.
 
Jeff Bryson said:
Len may have the answer above, but I had the same issue. The only way I resolved it was to place the remote receiver in the window sill of our bedroom pointed out towards the backyard. It was the closest I could get it to the smoker without it being outside too. :D

Seems to work for me. Maybe that will help you too.
Click to expand...

Same here. I have a few box out windows on the lower floor that have a direct line of sight to the back yard.

Tim
 
I have heard the same thing that Len said too! Try that to let me know if it works because I am going to buy the Maverick ET-732 or the iGrill for Fathers Day for myself!:cool:
 
I have different experiences with the Maverick ET732 - mine rarely loses connectivity. Once I get the grill going, I typically sit on my front porch with the receiver beside me and the grill out back at least 50 feet away. The signal has to pass through the house walls and our WIFI is on 24/7/365. I've used cell phones and tablets while using the 732 with no issues. My batteries are the originals and are over a year old. I used the 732 to do a Mother's Day cook this year.

This is not to downplay any issues posted above by others - rather it is to present my experience with this thermometer. Not sure why others are having connectivity issues.

Edit: Make sure the temperature probes are fully seated in the transponder unit. The first time I used the 732 I did not push the probe connecters fully into the unit and did lose the signal. The plastic plug fits into the unit snugly - like it is a seal. So be sure to push the connector firmly into the unit. I feel it "lock" into place when it is seated properly.
 
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Thanks for all of the suggestions. I'm going to try swapping out the batteries first during my next cook and will hope that does the trick. If not, I may go the route of iGrill and work with the Bluetooth connection. I really hope that the battery swap fixes the issues because I'd rather invest more money in a thermapen than into another brand of probes.
 
Angel,

Quick question(s)... Do you have lighting nearby that has an electronic switching power supply (such as led lights) or electronic ballasts(such as fluorescent lights) or any other FCC Part 15 devices (such as portable phones) ? If you keep the transmitter and receiver antennas in the same orientation does that help ?
 
John Morton said:
I have different experiences with the Maverick ET732 - mine rarely loses connectivity. Once I get the grill going, I typically sit on my front porch with the receiver beside me and the grill out back at least 50 feet away. The signal has to pass through the house walls and our WIFI is on 24/7/365. I've used cell phones and tablets while using the 732 with no issues. My batteries are the originals and are over a year old. I used the 732 to do a Mother's Day cook this year.

This is not to downplay any issues posted above by others - rather it is to present my experience with this thermometer. Not sure why others are having connectivity issues.

Edit: Make sure the temperature probes are fully seated in the transponder unit. The first time I used the 732 I did not push the probe connecters fully into the unit and did lose the signal. The plastic plug fits into the unit snugly - like it is a seal. So be sure to push the connector firmly into the unit. I feel it "lock" into place when it is seated properly.
Click to expand...

The plastic plug has come out of one of my connectors and is very hard to get back in. I was curious if it was needed. Like you, I've been ok so far with it as far as performance. The original batteries have lasted around 20 hours so far.
 
Mine does the same exact thing. Loses connection after just a few minutes. Maverick even sent me a news receiver and it does the same thing. Now I use a digital meat thermometer from Walmart that works great. I use the maverick for grill temp but the receiver still doesn't work right
 
Bob Bass said:
Angel,

Quick question(s)... Do you have lighting nearby that has an electronic switching power supply (such as led lights) or electronic ballasts(such as fluorescent lights) or any other FCC Part 15 devices (such as portable phones) ? If you keep the transmitter and receiver antennas in the same orientation does that help ?
Click to expand...

I do have lights near the smoker, but they're nothing out of he ordinary. Just a couple of old outdoor lights. No LED or fluorescent. I do tend to keep my phone on me most of the time. However, even when I do keep the phone and receiver separated, the receiver still tends to lose the signal and won't be able to pick it up again. I've tried point the antennas at eachother, but I don't think that's helped any.
 
I popped in some fresh AAA's, replacing the no-namers that came with the unit, and thus far I haven't lost signal (about 2.5 hours in on a smoke). Not that I lost it frequently before, but so far so good.
 
Angel A said:
I do have lights near the smoker, but they're nothing out of he ordinary. Just a couple of old outdoor lights. No LED or fluorescent. I do tend to keep my phone on me most of the time. However, even when I do keep the phone and receiver separated, the receiver still tends to lose the signal and won't be able to pick it up again. I've tried point the antennas at each other, but I don't think that's helped any.
Click to expand...

Hi Angel,

The reason I asked about LED and fluorescent is that in amateur radio (ham radio), we are seeing complaints of interference caused by these lighting devices, especially the LED power supplies. The Maverick ET732, being a part 15 device, can not cause interference to other devices but must accept interference from other devices such as the LED power supplies. Hence the question. Looks like that is a non-issue... thankfully! Also sounds like the phone is not causing the issue.

For the antennas, keep them in the same orientation (polarization). Only if the antennas are either a yagi (looks like an arrow) or a dish, do you point them towards one another. Otherwise, locate each antenna to have the same polarization as the other. If the transmitter is a whip and points up, then do the same with the receiver if it too has a whip antenna. If the transmitter is a whip and lays horizontal and points, let's say, to the North, then do the same with the receiver antenna. Any other orientation (as in one vertical with the other horizontal, or both laying horizontal but pointing different directions) will attenuate the signal.

hth.

Bob
 
Bob Bass said:
Hi Angel,

The reason I asked about LED and fluorescent is that in amateur radio (ham radio), we are seeing complaints of interference caused by these lighting devices, especially the LED power supplies. The Maverick ET732, being a part 15 device, can not cause interference to other devices but must accept interference from other devices such as the LED power supplies. Hence the question. Looks like that is a non-issue... thankfully! Also sounds like the phone is not causing the issue.

For the antennas, keep them in the same orientation (polarization). Only if the antennas are either a yagi (looks like an arrow) or a dish, do you point them towards one another. Otherwise, locate each antenna to have the same polarization as the other. If the transmitter is a whip and points up, then do the same with the receiver if it too has a whip antenna. If the transmitter is a whip and lays horizontal and points, let's say, to the North, then do the same with the receiver antenna. Any other orientation (as in one vertical with the other horizontal, or both laying horizontal but pointing different directions) will attenuate the signal.

hth.

Bob
Click to expand...

Bob, my first overnight cook a few weeks ago was also the first time I used my new 732. Distance was only about 20 feet. The table that the receiver was sitting on was had a lamp with an LED Bulb. All the lights in my house are either LED or CFL (compact flourescient bulbs, some of them dimable. In fact all the LED bulbs in my house are programmed to be auto dimmed by 15% for additional energy savings. I used the original batteries and made sure that the plugs were properly pressed in. I also have a professional grade wifi system in my home. Small house about 1350 sq ft. Not a single problem. This is just my experience but before I got my 732 I read all the posts about them on the site and tried to do everything right. I have to believe that it is either batteries or plugs not being inserted properly. I am a low voltage contractor and deal with RF devices all the time. I hardly ever see RF issues causing problems. Generally it is a battery issue. Given the number of people who have reported issues with the probes of the 732, I have to assume that the problem is there. Either not plugged in properly or kinks in the cable. Those are the two most commonly reported problems on this site, both in the general forums and the heatermeter forum.

Sometimes I think that we just over think these types of problems. From a technical level, you are dead on the mark. Most times it is the simplest answer that solves the problem.

Just my 2 cents.
 
Hi Bob,

Good information. Thanks. Can see where a battery and/or connection issue would cause problems.

Oh... another sparky (lol). Had a C-10 in another life...

Bob
 
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