VersaTrak troubleshooting & guidance
Hardware identification, battery replacement, and what happens when the power goes out: everything Maintenance Personnel need between scheduled visits.
Identifying your monitoring hardware
There are two types of monitoring hardware in use across sites. Knowing which one you're working with matters, particularly for battery replacement.
The original system (three components)
A wireless, battery-operated temperature transmitter, connected in line with an Automatic Validator, paired with a NIST-certified temperature probe installed inside the refrigeration compartment. Some units also include a separate equipment status transmitter attached to the remote alarm outputs, which detects door-open events or power outages.
The V4 transmitter (single unit)
Newer V4 transmitters integrate the temperature transmitter, the automatic validator, and the equipment status transmitter into a single battery-operated wireless device.
Signal Repeaters & the VersaHub
Signal Repeaters extend the transmission range of nearby transmitters, and run on an external power adaptor with an 18-hour internal battery backup. The VersaHub Wireless Access Point receives all data transmissions within range and forwards them to the VersaTrak software. It has its own external power supply plus a 24-hour integrated battery backup, with four status LEDs on the front panel.
- A transmitter reads the temperature and sends it wirelessly.
- A signal repeater extends the range where it is needed.
- The VersaHub receives the readings and passes them on.
- VersaTrak records every reading and alerts your team.
Replacing batteries
Battery exchanges are one of the few things Maintenance Personnel can carry out between annual scheduled PM visits. The type matters: using the wrong battery is one of the most common causes of avoidable transmitter faults.
| Original temperature & equipment transmitters | 1× CR123A lithium 3V DC |
| Automatic Validator | 1× CR123A lithium 3V DC |
| V4 transmitters | 4× Energiser 1.5V AA (lithium) |
- Open the battery cover.
- Take out the old batteries.
- Fit four new AA lithium batteries, matching the + and − markings.
- Close the cover.
- Reset the transmitter (see Reset a transmitter).
Shown for a V4 transmitter. Original transmitters and validators take one lithium battery. See the table.
Power outages & the Watchdog service
When a power outage occurs, the VersaHub immediately switches to its internal battery backup, which lasts up to 24 hours. During that time, data from any transmitters in wireless range continues to be buffered in the VersaHub's memory. Once power and network connectivity are restored, all buffered data transfers automatically into the VersaTrak application database.
This is backed by the VersaTrak Watchdog service: if a VersaHub loses power or loses its connection to the server, an alert email is sent automatically to a group of recipients managed by an authorised administrator, so the right people are notified immediately, even if no one is actively monitoring the software at that moment.
- Power to the VersaHub is lost.
- It switches to its battery straight away, which lasts up to 24 hours.
- The Watchdog service emails your alert group.
- Readings from transmitters in range are stored.
- Power returns and the stored readings upload automatically.
Show me how
Three common fixes, step by step. These are illustrations, not to scale. If your unit looks different, call us before you start.
- Look at each wired connection at the validator’s green terminal blocks.
- Repair as required: push any loose wire fully home and tighten the screw.
- The message changes to a temperature. Check the time of the last reading is current.
- Check the validator’s battery is OK.
- Press the manual validation button on the top of the validator, between the green connections.
- The red LED flashes on the front of the validator.
- The software shows “ANC in progress”.
- Turn the transmitter off. The switch is usually by the batteries.
- Hold the reset button down.
- Turn it on while still holding reset, for another 5 to 10 seconds.
- Put the transmitter back together and check it worked.