Cms error 500 with Aircard

Cms error 500 with Aircard SearchSearch
Author Message
Jed
Unregistered guest
Posted on Thursday, April 28, 2005 - 09:07 pm:   

Hi I'm trying to use nowsms to send a text message but all I get is cms error 500.
I'm in the US using a sim chip from a cingular phone inside a Sierra 750 aircard.
I can send SMS fine from the watcher app that shiped with the aircard.

Any ideas what it could be?

Thanks.
ashot shahbazian
New member
Username: Animatele

Post Number: 33
Registered: 06-2004
Posted on Friday, April 29, 2005 - 11:52 am:   

Some suggestions, in random:

1. Disable SIM card PIN
2. Exit Watcher, but make sure a tiny blue sign reading "700" stays on on the taskbar.
3. Make sure that your PC is running TAPI service
4. Try testing your modem; in the SMSC tab press "test" button while the gateway service is stopped.
5. The LED on the Sierra should be blinking green. In any other state, the modem would not operate properly.
6. If the modem blinks green then "falls asleep" try running Potmon sniffer on that port, it may stabilise it
7. Sierra Aircard, as well as any other PC card modem known by me, is not suitable for commercial SMS applications, regardless of the gateway software used. These cards tend to stall under moderate load, the only remedy being rebooting the server.
Jed
Unregistered guest
Posted on Friday, April 29, 2005 - 07:36 pm:   

> 1. Disable SIM card PIN
The PIN is left blank in the modem properties in NowSMS. Is that what you mean?

>2. Exit Watcher, but make sure a tiny blue sign reading "700" stays on on the taskbar.
I dont see how to get this "700" icon. What process is that? If I exit watcher the only thing related to the Aircard in the tray is this Network Adapter Manager.

I'm running TAPI, SMSC tab test is fine, and LED is blinking green.

Thanks.
Bryce Norwood - NowSMS Support
Board Administrator
Username: Bryce

Post Number: 4446
Registered: 10-2002
Posted on Friday, April 29, 2005 - 10:03 pm:   

By disabling th e SIM card PIN, what Ashot is referring to making sure that there is not a PIN associated with the SIM card that is in the modem. Try putting the SIM into a phone, and make sure that the phone doesn't prompt for a PIN code.

I've got some more tips in the following thread:

http://support.nowsms.com/discus/messages/485/2265.html

That thread focuses more on MMS than SMS. But it talks about how to disable Watcher.

Before you disable Watcher (I've only had to in order to receive SMS messages ... sending with Watcher loaded has not been a problem) ... try this ...

On the "SMSC" page of the NowSMS config, highlight the modem entry and press "Properties". Change "SMS Access" to "GSM", and see if this makes a difference. I'm not sure that Cingular supports SMS over GPRS in all areas, and I believe the Sierra card defaults to SMS over GPRS when sending via the GSM modem interface.

-bn
ashot shahbazian
New member
Username: Animatele

Post Number: 34
Registered: 06-2004
Posted on Sunday, May 01, 2005 - 10:40 am:   

If it didn't work, try this:

Stop or Disable NowSMS server (untick the box) and close Watcher. Make sure that the card's LED is still blinking green, and no other programs are using it.

Connect to your sierra moden's COM port via hyper terminal, set the baudrate, 8-n-1 and flow control as per your modem settings

Issue the following commands:

at+cgatt=0
at+cgsms=1
at+cmgs="+your gsm handset number in international format" (CR)
>test (CTRL-Z) (CR)

If you receive the message then it's most likely the SMS over GPRS issue Bryce had referred to.

In SMSGW.ini file, add the following in your Sierra modem definition (which is after the modem name in square brackets):

CommandPostInit1=at+cgatt=0
CommandPostInit2=at+cgsms=1

Save the file

Stop the service if it was running
Start the service.

I recall having some difficulties when selecting GSM or GPRS for SMS ACCESS in the gateway SMSC definition interface. The postinit commands worked fine. The access type should in this case be left as "Default"

Note that these cards are very fast, but not quite reliable. In fact they may return "ERROR 500" for no apparent reason, in which case rebooting the computer is sometimes the only remedy.

Also, ensure that the card's 3 components are properly set up (parent device, gprs adapter and the modem in Device Manager/Hardware in your PC's Control Panel.) If any of these has a yellow flag then the card won't function.

It also helps to update the card's firmware to its latest release off Sierra's Web site.
Jed
Unregistered guest
Posted on Monday, May 02, 2005 - 09:51 pm:   

Thanks guys, I switched to T-mobile and upgraded the watcher software and now NowSMS will send fine but I seem unable to receive SMS. I'm running with out watcher and ipconfig shows that I'm connected to GPRS. I can send fine like this but I never get peoples replies until I start watcher again and then they come to watcher not nowSMS. Any good way to figure out what is going wrong?
Bryce Norwood - NowSMS Support
Board Administrator
Username: Bryce

Post Number: 4457
Registered: 10-2002
Posted on Monday, May 02, 2005 - 10:26 pm:   

Make sure that Watcher really isn't running. It sounds like it might be, since it sounds like it is grabbing the messages.

Try different settings for the "SMS Message Storage" setting under the properties for the modem in NowSMS. "Direct to Modem" has worked best for me in the past with the Aircard ... but "SIM Card" will also work.

If that doesn't work, what version of the Sierra software do you have loaded? I haven't tested any of their new releases in the past six months or so, so I might need to load up a new release to try myself.

-bn
Jed
Unregistered guest
Posted on Tuesday, May 03, 2005 - 06:24 pm:   

Ok I got it all working now. I just needed to set it to "Direct to Modem".
Thanks again for your help!