M1ABD-3 stopped beaconing yesterday. Today I took a trip to Headquarters to see why. I found that the TNC appeared to be confused and had stopped working. A re-boot of the computer and switching the TNC off and then on again solved the problem.
Looks like we are getting Winter electric supplies already so I look forward to more trips to Headquarters.
Friday 23 October 2015
Monday 28 September 2015
G0ROZ-3 off air again
Once again G0ROZ-3 vanished from the map. It just happened to stop working on the same day of the week and time that it stopped last week. (Spooky!!)
I took a trip up to site today and found the computer locked up yet again. I have put another UPS in line to see if that will make any difference (fingers crossed)!
I took a trip up to site today and found the computer locked up yet again. I have put another UPS in line to see if that will make any difference (fingers crossed)!
Monday 21 September 2015
G0ROZ-3 locked up again.
G0ROZ-3 vanished from the map again!
A trip up the hill was made today and, once again, the computer was found to be locked up. The power supply to the computer had to be turned off and back on again before the computer would re-boot.
There is a UPS and two spike protector units in line, so perhaps it is not the electricity causing the problem after all.
I will have to find another computer and set it up to run G0ROZ-3 to see if it is the computer itself that is causing the problem.
A trip up the hill was made today and, once again, the computer was found to be locked up. The power supply to the computer had to be turned off and back on again before the computer would re-boot.
There is a UPS and two spike protector units in line, so perhaps it is not the electricity causing the problem after all.
I will have to find another computer and set it up to run G0ROZ-3 to see if it is the computer itself that is causing the problem.
Friday 11 September 2015
Thursday 3 September 2015
G0ROZ-3 has been behaving itself since early June, but yesterday it stopped transmitting. I visited site today and found the computer had locked itself up again. A re-boot (or a good kicking, as it like to call it) sorted the computer out and G0ROZ-3 is back on the air again.
It was a nice day for a drive and I resisted the temptation to stop at the fast food outlet starting with M at Monkey's Jump. :)
It was a nice day for a drive and I resisted the temptation to stop at the fast food outlet starting with M at Monkey's Jump. :)
Wednesday 5 August 2015
UiView32 and Windows 10
As Microsoft were kind enough to offer me a free upgrade to Windows 10, I decided to upgrade my APRS Computer. It had been running UiView32 on Windows 7 for a while with no problems.
I was a bit concerned about upgrading as UiView32 is such an old program and there could be compatibility issues, namely, would it work?
I took the plunge this morning and, after shutting everything down, started the upgrade process.
It took about three hours for the update to run and completed itself with minimal input from myself.
When it was finished I was pleased to see that all my old programs were still installed. UiView32 was still set to run in compatibility mode, using Windows XP.
So, with fingers crossed, I right clicked on the icon and selected "Run as Administrator", as Windows 7 required me to do. After a short delay, the old familiar window burst into life and Uiview was running!!
It has been running for several hours now and appears to have no problems.
I was a bit concerned about upgrading as UiView32 is such an old program and there could be compatibility issues, namely, would it work?
I took the plunge this morning and, after shutting everything down, started the upgrade process.
It took about three hours for the update to run and completed itself with minimal input from myself.
When it was finished I was pleased to see that all my old programs were still installed. UiView32 was still set to run in compatibility mode, using Windows XP.
So, with fingers crossed, I right clicked on the icon and selected "Run as Administrator", as Windows 7 required me to do. After a short delay, the old familiar window burst into life and Uiview was running!!
It has been running for several hours now and appears to have no problems.
Monday 6 July 2015
G0ROZ-3 stops again
G0ROZ-3 disappeared off the map again this morning. www.aprs.fi showed the last beacon at just after 0700 Hours.
I made a trip to site, via HQ to collect the keys, and found the computer locked up. Only completely disconnecting the power, switching the power back on again and starting the computer would make it work.
In spite of Surge Protection and a UPS it would seem that a power spike had locked the computer up again.
It looks like running the system on battery power will be the only way to sort it out.
I made a trip to site, via HQ to collect the keys, and found the computer locked up. Only completely disconnecting the power, switching the power back on again and starting the computer would make it work.
In spite of Surge Protection and a UPS it would seem that a power spike had locked the computer up again.
It looks like running the system on battery power will be the only way to sort it out.
Wednesday 24 June 2015
G0ROZ-3 stopped again
G0ROZ-3 stopped transmitting again. A trip to site was made to check the problem this time. The only problem was a small window saying "The input is no longer valid". I have no idea what this means and nor has Mr Google.
A re-boot of the system cleared the fault and everything is working again.
A re-boot of the system cleared the fault and everything is working again.
Friday 24 April 2015
Round trip to Eggardon Hill
G0ROZ-3 stopped working on Wednesday morning. Due to problems with the car, I was not able to go to site until today. They have moved the keys for the site from Dorchester to HQ, so I had to go to Winfrith to collect the keys, then to Eggardon Hill, then back to Winfrith and then home.
The problem with G0ROZ-3 was just an error opening the COM port again. A quick re-boot solved the problem.
Looks like I need more UPS power to stop this happening again.
The problem with G0ROZ-3 was just an error opening the COM port again. A quick re-boot solved the problem.
Looks like I need more UPS power to stop this happening again.
Monday 13 April 2015
M1ABD stopped working
M1ABD vanished from the map on Friday 10th April. www.aprs.fi showed the last beacon was sent just after 0700 Hours. Due to local problems, which have now been resolved, I was not able to visit the site until today (13 April).
Once again the computer had locked up and required me to turn of the power before it would reboot. This is the only computer I get this problem with now. Looks like I will have to set up another computer and see if it makes any difference.
Anyway, M1ABD is working again and all is well with the world!
Once again the computer had locked up and required me to turn of the power before it would reboot. This is the only computer I get this problem with now. Looks like I will have to set up another computer and see if it makes any difference.
Anyway, M1ABD is working again and all is well with the world!
Thursday 12 March 2015
G0ROZ-3 Stopped again.
G0ROZ-3 vanished from the map yesterday afternoon (11 March 2015). aprs.fi shows that the last beacon was sent around midday(ish).
I visited site today and found the computer had stopped working with an error message to say that it could not open the COM port as it is already in use.
This is usually caused by a electricity supply interruption, where the computer loses power but it comes back on again before the machine has time to close down properly.
A quick re-boot and all is well again.
I did take the opportunity to disable the desktop clean-up app, so that should not cause any more problems.
I visited site today and found the computer had stopped working with an error message to say that it could not open the COM port as it is already in use.
This is usually caused by a electricity supply interruption, where the computer loses power but it comes back on again before the machine has time to close down properly.
A quick re-boot and all is well again.
I did take the opportunity to disable the desktop clean-up app, so that should not cause any more problems.
Tuesday 3 March 2015
G0ROZ-3 stopped working.
G0ROZ-3 was missing from the map yesterday evening. I took a trip up Eggardon Hill this morning to see what the trouble was.
The computer was locked up and only removing the power and then connecting it up again would get it to re-boot.
This is the same problem I had with M1ABD the other day.
I think it is a software problem rather than a problem with the power or computer hardware.
I noticed that on both machines when they were locked up the "Desktop clean-up" icon was showing. This could be what is causing the problem. I have had a word with Mr Google and found out how to disable the Desktop clean-up program and will do so on my next visit.
Fingers crossed!!
The computer was locked up and only removing the power and then connecting it up again would get it to re-boot.
This is the same problem I had with M1ABD the other day.
I think it is a software problem rather than a problem with the power or computer hardware.
I noticed that on both machines when they were locked up the "Desktop clean-up" icon was showing. This could be what is causing the problem. I have had a word with Mr Google and found out how to disable the Desktop clean-up program and will do so on my next visit.
Fingers crossed!!
Saturday 28 February 2015
M1ABD stopped working again.
M1ABD went off the air at around 1700 Hours on Thursday (26 February 2015). I managed to fit a trip up the hill in on Friday morning.
I found the computer was locked up. There did not seem to be any other problems at all. The only way I could re-start the computer was by switching off the Electricity and turning it back on again. The computer burst back into life and started working normally.
I am starting to think this is some sort of software problem. It is difficult to know what could be causing it though, as the computer on has Windows XP and UI-View32 loaded on it.
Time will tell I suppose.
I found the computer was locked up. There did not seem to be any other problems at all. The only way I could re-start the computer was by switching off the Electricity and turning it back on again. The computer burst back into life and started working normally.
I am starting to think this is some sort of software problem. It is difficult to know what could be causing it though, as the computer on has Windows XP and UI-View32 loaded on it.
Time will tell I suppose.
Thursday 15 January 2015
M1ABD still working!
M1ABD is still on the map and working away. This is the first time for many years that it has stayed on through a severe storm. Changing the electricity supply seems to have worked (touch wood).
Monday 12 January 2015
M1ABD power supply changed
Alan, M3GNY, and I braved the elements and fought our way to the top of Bullbarrow Hill this afternoon and changed over the power source for M1ABD. It now running on the Essential supply rather than the Non-essential supply.
Time will tell if it makes things better or not.
No problems with installing some cabling and a new socket, although we did manage to set the alarm off at one point!!
Time will tell if it makes things better or not.
No problems with installing some cabling and a new socket, although we did manage to set the alarm off at one point!!
Sunday 11 January 2015
G0ROZ-3 Fixed again
G0ROZ-3 vanished from the map again in the early hours of Friday morning. I made a visit to site this morning and found that the computer had locked up again. The only way to re-start it was by turning the power off at the wall socket and turning it back on again.
This has happened before and I believe it is caused by the unreliable electricity supplied at the site. It seems to get worse in the winter when there is more bad weather around to disrupt the supply.
I have put Surge & Spike protector sockets in line to see if this will help.
I also replaced the faulty keyboard.
Perhaps tapping into the essential supply line in the cabin will help out with the power problem. I hope to go to Bullbarrow Hill tomorrow to carry out some works to use the essential power there. If that solves the problems there, then I will do the same at Eggardon Hill.
This has happened before and I believe it is caused by the unreliable electricity supplied at the site. It seems to get worse in the winter when there is more bad weather around to disrupt the supply.
I have put Surge & Spike protector sockets in line to see if this will help.
I also replaced the faulty keyboard.
Perhaps tapping into the essential supply line in the cabin will help out with the power problem. I hope to go to Bullbarrow Hill tomorrow to carry out some works to use the essential power there. If that solves the problems there, then I will do the same at Eggardon Hill.
Friday 2 January 2015
M1ABD off air again.
I woke up this morning to an almost empty APRS map. It was not as empty as last time as G0ROZ-3 was Digipeating stations.
A check with www.aprs.fi showed that the last beacon from M1ABD was at 0250 Hours.
So another trip up the hill was called for. At least it was a nice day with plenty of sunshine and no frost on the road.
The computer running M1ABD was locked up again. The only way I could get it to re-boot was by turning it off at the wall socket and then back on again.
I am at a loss to say why this is happening, although the problems did start after the UPS packed up.
I have fed everything through the UPS and spike eliminator that is still there.
I think that I will have to start using the electricity that comes from the main supply and is run by the generator when there is a power outage. I remember that that power supply had a large number of batteries to keep it going until it is switched over to the generator.
As the essential supply is not being used in our part of the site, it will not cause any problems. It will mean hard-wiring a new cable into the supply, but it will be quite easy to do.
I will need to visit the local DIY emporium to get the necessary kit before I do it.
A check with www.aprs.fi showed that the last beacon from M1ABD was at 0250 Hours.
So another trip up the hill was called for. At least it was a nice day with plenty of sunshine and no frost on the road.
The computer running M1ABD was locked up again. The only way I could get it to re-boot was by turning it off at the wall socket and then back on again.
I am at a loss to say why this is happening, although the problems did start after the UPS packed up.
I have fed everything through the UPS and spike eliminator that is still there.
I think that I will have to start using the electricity that comes from the main supply and is run by the generator when there is a power outage. I remember that that power supply had a large number of batteries to keep it going until it is switched over to the generator.
As the essential supply is not being used in our part of the site, it will not cause any problems. It will mean hard-wiring a new cable into the supply, but it will be quite easy to do.
I will need to visit the local DIY emporium to get the necessary kit before I do it.
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