M-Series - Lost Data & LCD 7 day Leak Results

M-Series - Lost Data & LCD 7 day Leak Results

There have been a number of threads relating to the M-Series lost data issue and also on the LCD's erroneous 7 day leak results. In the hope of getting a formal response from Respironics I am starting this new thread so that we can point them to it for their research on the problem.

It is my hope that everyone who has had a problem will post a response so all of the information is in one place. If you download data and don't experience lost days that would be good to know also. If you have posted before you might consider copying and pasting from your previous post. It would be great to see how many folks are (or are not) experiencing these issues and what has been tried to fix it. It is clear that a lot of creative folks have tried a lot of fixes and have posted on this forum.

My experience is that I've had the lost data issue with the M-series (using Encore Pro 1.8.49).
The answer that has worked for me (and I hope for you) is to download and clear the card every day.

I've avoided the lost data issue by downloading every day and setting Encore Pro to clear the card after reading the data. Since implementing this approach I've gone since November 13th, 2007 with no missing data. Prior to this approach I had missing data every week (as others have reported).

Here is my daily procedure:
I remove the card every morning and save the data by using the MyCPAP Card Utility. Then I read the card using Encore Pro and have the Encore Pro preference set to clear the card after it is read. My final daily step is to review everything using Encore Pro Analyzer.

There is also a problem involving the M-Series with the 7 day leak report that is shown on the LCD.
The problem presents itself as follows: Let's say my typical leak rate is roughly in the 45 to 50 range. When I look at the leak result on the LCD it will say a 'normal number' for the 30 day period...but it will say a ridiculously low number for the 7 day period (about 10% to 15% of the normal number). When you do the work-around in the next paragraph the 7 day number is corrected to what I assume is the correct result.

The solution to the LCD leak problem is to momentarily remove and re-attach the power cord before reviewing the leak data on the LCD. It will then show the correct result for the 7 day period. This leak data problem does not involve the Encore Pro software, it is just an M-Series firmware problem.

The questions are:
Can a firmware update be applied to fix this or is it a hardware issue?
Will Respironics issue a firmware update for the M-Series?
Would a firmware update fix both issues?
How would end users get access to a firmware update since Respironics denies that we exist?

Let's get a lot of responses on this thread and then ask Respironics for their assistance. I plan to write directly to Respironics and also through my DME provider that sold the M-Series auto bi-pap to me.
--Nelson

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CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): respironics, Encore Pro, DME, Power, auto

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CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): respironics, Encore Pro, DME, Power, auto

Nelson wrote:There is also a problem involving the M-Series with the 7 day leak report that is shown on the LCD. This leak data problem does not involve the Encore Pro software, it is just an M-Series firmware problem.

The solution to the LCD leak problem is to momentarily remove and re-attach the power cord before reviewing the leak data on the LCD. It will then show the correct result for the 7 day period.

I think it would be helpful if you could describe the leak data problem here.

I have random 2 day periods with no details showing on Encore Pro. Sometimes with only 5 days in between. Here is something interesting that happened to me this weekend. Saturday morning I didn't have any details from the previous night. Then I forgot to put my card back in the machine Saturday night. I didn't think it would matter because it was going to be my second night without data, but to my surprise this morning, I had no details from last night. So the two nights in a row were interrupted by my leaving the card out. Does that give anyone a clue as to where the problem lies?

GumbyCT wrote:

Nelson wrote:There is also a problem involving the M-Series with the 7 day leak report that is shown on the LCD. This leak data problem does not involve the Encore Pro software, it is just an M-Series firmware problem.

The solution to the LCD leak problem is to momentarily remove and re-attach the power cord before reviewing the leak data on the LCD. It will then show the correct result for the 7 day period.

I think it would be helpful if you could describe the leak data problem here.

Great idea, but here are the problems.

Respironics was just bought by Royal Philips Electronics. Last year I, and many others, contacted them about the data problems with the M-series units. I even sent them .pdf's clearly showing the various forms of the problem, and described each form of the problem in meticulous detail.

Officially, the company representative denied any problems with the M-series units. But, they suddenly refused to speak further with me about the problems, and do not answer my emails or traditional mail.

They could have been in "sale mode" and simply wanted to keep the problems minimized so as to protect their value and assets during the sale phase. I'm betting, though I could be wrong, that it'll take substantial negative publicity on the web and/or in the TV or print media to get them to really fix the problems -- even if it requires replacing existing M-series flow generators in-use by patients.

I seriously doubt that even one-hundred users or more on one post about the problem is going to sway them to resolve the issues. But I wish you luck.

Nodzy

Nelson wrote: The solution to the LCD leak problem is to momentarily remove and re-attach the power cord before reviewing the leak data on the LCD.

Now I remember, I posted in your other thread - it was you who gave me the idea it is prob not the erasing of the card but the power reset that is doing the trick for you.

You could easily prove it by no longer doing the power off/on reset. Your on a UPS too, right?

Q? - Did you ever get the data loss? If so how long ago?