Helpful Network tips and ideas,

N8SDR

Tips for a better 6000 Series Network and Remote Experience:

1)  Use the fastest speed possible between your
route / switch and Flex connection ideally 1 Gb. And a hard-wired connection is the best choice. Wi-Fi and the use of repeaters add latency and increase chances of a less stable environment, also hard wire if possible.

 

2)  Replace any “Green power saving” Router or Switch or disable all power saving options if available in setup or router or if using a managed switch. (Power saving is going to bite you) usually when you really want to work that rare DX! (these reduce power saving or Green switches and routers tend to at times drop connections when they go into there reduced power state or mode, you want a stable connection that is always available when you need it.

 

3)  If your router supports it setup Qos or Bandwidth throttling, you want to make sure your Flex receives the highest amount of your internet bandwidth, there are many ways to setup Qos or bandwidth throttling, and it varies by manufacture and at times models of routers. Look at your user manual or online with your manufacture to see if Qos is available. By setting up a Qos plan you can limit the amount of bandwidth other devices are using giving them either a set state or percentage of bandwidth, and set your Flex to receive the greatest amount available, so devices like your kids streaming  movies or gaming receives less than your Flex when you’re out operating remotely (the faster and more stable your  home or internet where your Flex is located the better experience you’ll have with remote connections. This won’t fix that **** free open Wi-Fi service your using at the coffee shop etc. But when you have a good  connection available on your PC, Maestro, iPhone etc. will certainly give you’re the best performance available per the networks being used. https://www.howtogeek.com/75660/the-beginners-guide-to-qos-on-your-router/ 

 

4)  Keep your routers firmware updated, many routers offer the ability to update their firmware, which can close security loop holes and bring new options and stability to your router, check your manufactures website to see if a newer firmware option is available (backup your current configuration as a precaution before applying the new firmware). 

 

5)  If your router is using DHCP Then assign a “static DHCP” either by IP address or MAC address. This will ensure your Flex always gets the same IP address from your DHCP enabled router and can reduce oddities and loss of connections, when using other programs that are looking for your FLEX at a specific network address.

https://www.howtogeek.com/69612/how-to-set-up-static-dhcp-on-your-dd-wrt-router/ 

 

6)  If you make changes to your network router/switch reboot you Flex, network changes can cause your Flex to hang at times particularly if they involve changes in DHCP, IP address assignments, Gateways, Subnets or even DNS servers. 

 

7)  With remote operations you may find that if you assign a faster DNS to your home router you may get better connectivity, there are many optional DNS servers which can be added as a secondary or later rolling scheme. One that I like and have found works well not only for better connections but also security is the IBM QUAD 9 DNS. 

https://www.howtogeek.com/342330/how-to-choose-the-best-and-fastest-alternative-dns-server/

 

IBM Quad Nine info:  https://www.quad9.net/ 

 

8) Check your routers suggested bandwidth or supported devices connection limits, routers have processors some are better then others at sustaining good connections with many devices while cheap one may struggle keeping 3 or devices connected and sharing data properly. House full of devices, Smartphones, computers, tablets, smart TV, Smart devices like thermostats etc. and now adding your Flex may have topped out the processors ability to properly work. Your using a higher end transceiver with remote capabilities why limit this with a **** cheap router or WIFI device.

K5CG

Adding a secondary DNS server will not improve response time over a primary server, nor will it ever be queried if the primary is responding.

If you choose to use a premium DNS service, it will only benefit you if you use it as your primary DNS server firstly, any other as backup.

A secondary DNS server will never be queried for a host name that is not found by a primary. There is no "round robin" or "rolling scheme" with DNS in this way. The secondary is only there as a backup when the primary is no longer reachable, that is the only benefit.

N8SDR

That is true and I meant to say listing it first, the rolling or round robin as you mention only takes place when the DNS listed above it can not be connected. So you  should list the fastest response time DNS first or I like to list 9.9.9.9  first as they offer a safer experience and they seem faster in my location then what my ISP has. Thanks for the corrections and oversight.

WQ2H - Jim Poulette

Thank you for that Richard. I'm guessing everything comes down to the weakest link.

This may be rudimentary to some, but being relatively new to Windows 10 - I found it interesting:

https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/2843-change-power-plan-settings-windows-10-a.html
73 Jim, WQ2H

K5CG

It certainly doesn't behave the way you'd expect.

W3EX -- Tom

These are excellent suggestions with which I totally agree.