S9/Restraxx Users, Please Help: Is this a Restraxx Error?

[roubai]

Hi! I have a brand-new Resmed Autoset S9 with Restraxx (no choice about that). I've only used it two nights. Yesterday and this morning I noticed that it briefly displayed this notice with an exclamation mark:

ATTENTION: S9 WIRELESS SX[some numbers]

I don't know if this is a route "Hey, man, there's a wireless device plugged in!" notice, ala Windows, or if it's an error message and I should call Apria. (Yes, my DME supplier is Apria, which is why I haven't just called them directly.) I'm leaving for a road trip tomorrow, so I sure hope it's not a problem.

Has anyone seen this message before? I searched and couldn't find anything.

Thank you!

[chunkyfrog]

No idea about the Restraxx, but just an FYI:
Whatever you do, do NOT stop at EXACTLY 4.0 hours of running the machine,
because it will "round down", giving you zero compliance score for that night.
Go for at least 5 hours to be on the safe side. Just relax and breathe--it will think you are sleeping.
No foul, as you are practicing, and getting used to it.
7 hours is much better, and when you can sleep with it that long, you are golden, or close to it.
Edit: I just realized, you're not a newbie, (hey "noobs": this is for you)

[roubai]

Haha, thanks though. It's a good message for everyone else. I'm one of those disgusting patients who makes my doctor super-happy. I use my machine all night, every night. (But I didn't at first--years ago I would take the thing off at night without even knowing it!)

It is a lot easier to "just breathe" into this device than the old ones. In fact, the last two nights went a lot like this "I don't know, I'm not sure the pressure is set high enough; I'm not sure there's enough Zzzzzz...."

Ugh, I don't want to call Apria!

[chunkyfrog]

You may have to; Re$med doesn't like to talk to patients.
If you feel like reading, here is a Restraxx manual:
http://www.apria.com/wps/wcm/connect/6e ... OD=AJPERES

[Pugsy]

If you don't want to call Apria and you are worried ....you can call ResMed and speak with a tech person. They could probably help you out.

[roubai]

Thanks, I took a look at the manual but it doesn't quite match what I'm seeing -- no description of this message, and what I've got is a slow blink (that never goes off, so I guess that is a bad sign).

I'll try calling Apria and ResMed...

[roubai]

well, after getting the "we'll call you back" runaround (I called back myself after it started to get too close to closing time), person 1 says the message is normal, just a "hello, you have a 'modem'" thing. But the blinking seems to concern them. Maybe. They said someone would call back tomorrow, and I said I was leaving tomorrow, which is why I called this morning.

EDIT: OK, I talked to a technician, but I am SOOOO skeptical of what she said. First, she said there's no light on the Restraxx. Yes, there is! It's at the base of the antenna. (Right? Guys?) She wanted me to come in tomorrow so they could look at it, so I explained again about the road trip thing (I knew getting it last week was going to be trouble). She said it wouldn't work out of my home, anyway. This is similar to what the front desk person said when I picked it up. She also said it worked on wifi, which made no sense to me. My wifi is password-protected; random devices can't just get on and use it. Of course, when I looked it up later, ResTraxx's own material said that it's an AT&T cellular device that is basically calling into their network. It isn't using my wifi, it doesn't know where I live, and I can think of no reason why it wouldn't work when I travel unless I'm somewhere with no coverage, in a hotel that's a giant Faraday cage, etc. (I don't know how well it's going to do when we're at the Grand Canyon...) Bizarre.

At any rate, I'm going to bring it in when I get back and they'll download the data from the SD card and check the "modem." Any further suggestions are welcome...

[Pugsy]

I wouldn't worry about it.
The SD card will contain all the DME needs to verify any compliance usage requirements.
The modem thing is just so they can do it remotely if they wanted to.
There aren't many ResMed users here with modems stuck on their machines. So you have a very limited user base to draw ideas from.

[roubai]

Yeah, I'm just unthrilled by the idea of having to drive up the highway every 90 days to get the SD card checked (which is what they implied was going to happen if the modem didn't work out). I think that's probably a more clear and present danger than suddenly becoming a noncompliant CPAP user! I don't see why my doctor, who's around the corner, couldn't do it, if they really think that's necessary. How annoying.

I'm afraid this is the wave of the future.

[chunkyfrog]

I don't imagine they are amenable to you e-mailing them a Rescan report every 90 days.
That would certainly make more sense than the cluster they've got growing.

[roubai]

Ha ha, you're silly -- your idea sounds sensible! I'm sure that wouldn't be OK.

At any rate, if they do seriously try to get me to go up there every 90 days, I will suggest alternatives. (I commute 50 miles away from my home, which is 25 miles the other direction from the Apria office; there's one that's a little closer but, I guess because it's in a different county, I'm not allowed to use it.)

In the meantime, the nonexistent light pulses away.

P. S. What is wrong with CPAP designers? I thought it was bad when the machine before this one had one really freakin' bright blue light on it, but this one has FOUR light sources (power brick, LCD, antenna, humidifier). You know, on a machine that's in the general vicinity of your eyes...while you try to sleep...! I don't need it to look like a low-budget rave.

[idamtnboy]

In the meantime, the nonexistent light pulses away.

The pulsing light may be an indicator that there is a cell signal available. IIRC, my old Palm smartphone had a green LED that blinked whenever I was in range of an AT&T tower.

[zoocrewphoto]

Tell them to send you a new card with a mailer. That is what mine did, and they were only a 10 minute drive away.

[StuUnderPressure]

Not sure this has anything to do with it, but SX (with some numbers) could be the version of the internal software in the machine.

List the numbers that go with the SX & someone might be able to tell you for sure.

Seems like it would list your machine Serial Number instead of the version of the internal software, but who knows.

If it is the software version, I for one would like to know what software version is in the machines they are currently giving out.

[roubai]

Hi, guys! I haven't posted because I was on my epic road trip. Then I got sick when I came back. Whee! Mysteriously, when I was up at the Grand Canyon (or was it Albuquerque?), the modem stopped flashing and switched to a steady blue -- it displayed a slightly different message, and it's been steady blue, no flashing, ever since! I have no idea...

Anyway, the software version #, for those who are interested, is SX474-0905.

I haven't installed sleepyhead yet because I have no card reader built into this computer and my handy external one is missing...

I have a message in to Apria and I'm hoping I can wait till Monday to go see them.