Reboot possible from a remote operation?

K9SO · August 2017

I've lost audio on my remote (VPN) 6500 both via my PC and my Maestro. My local 6500 via LAN works fine with both interfaces. Everything else works just fine.

This has happened before and typically a hardware reset fixes the problem (front panel pushbutton).

I'm still using 1.10.16 and haven't upgraded to 2.0 yet since previous upgrades required a HW restart but disabled the "Remote On" feature by default. That left me hanging remotely until I got back home (I'm 800 miles away) for a front panel restart.

So I have two questions:

1. Have you reconsidered adding the remote reboot feature now that many more of us are operating remotely? Previous official answers to this request have said you want to know about anything that requires a reboot so you haven't added it.

2. Can the upgrade to 2.0 be handled remotely without having to press the front panel button? In other words, have you corrected the "Remote On" feature being disabled by default when upgrading?

Sure, I'll send someone over to the house and press the magic button again, but if you've been operating remotely as long as I have you rapidly start running out of friends that will repeatedly do that :-)

73,

Fred
K9SO

Ria · August 2017

No, and I would dare say not yet. However it would be a good idea, but not sure how feasible it would be. For the time being you need a webswitch or similar and the ability to turn on/off.

Ria

Mike va3mw · August 2017

Fred, like Ria said, no. However, I highly recommend that if you are that far away, that you have alternate methods of power cycling the radio. Both myself and Howard White have excessive expertise on remote operations and all the things that can be single points of failure.

I have been at it for over 11 years and I am still finding gotchas.

Mike

Larry Loen WO7R · August 2017

I have ooeated remotely without fuss for about three years It is vital to be able to remotely power everything down and up. There is a very nice internet addressable device from Digital Loggers that I have used and can recommend. There are others as well. I use a wall wart powered relay to ground the banana plug to enable controlled boot/shutdown of the flex. I also turn the 12v power on and off as well. I can also remotely power my PC s on and off. Both go on and off from the Digital Loggers **** from home. This is needful for a complete remote deployment. It also means I am not overly dependent on flex features to make remote operation work.

Ken - NM9P · August 2017

There are several options to accomplish two different essential remote power functions:

1) You need a remote controlled relay to open and close the "remote" RCA plug contacts. This is easy to do with a remote controlled relay.

2) You need to be able to remove and restore 12 Volt power to the rig in order to do a "Cold Boot" or an emergency fail-safe shut down, in case the remote switch doesn't work.

There are both inexpensive and more expensive ways to do this.

Both methods have been the subject of multiple posts in the Community.

I use this for the "remote" RCA jack, which costs under $10:
https://www.amazon.com/Enclosed-AC-Protection-Bounce-Terminals/dp/B017743I7S?ie=UTF8&psc=1&r...

I turn it on and off with an Ankuoo NEO remote wifi AC switch (was about $24). Others use a WiMo (a little more). There are other brands out there now, and some may be even more effective and cost efficient. You can use a second NEO / WiMo to turn your power supply on and off.

Others use a more expensive labquality 8 position AC relay. Some of them also have internet ping testing that can regularly test if your router/modem is working properly and reboot it if necessary.
Having 8 poles is also handy for rebooting computers, and controlling power to amplifiers, etc.
Some of these units run $169-$299.

I even read of someone rigging a remote solenoid to press the rig's power button for various time periods (short-press & long-press) with spring dampeners to limit the amount of force applied to the button. I don't remember WHERE I read that one...

There are lots of possibilities! Remote with the 6000 series is fun!

Ken - NM9P

Jim Bryce W5HFS · August 2017

You have another problem with respect to remote installation of the SmartSDR function. In order to configure it for login someone must be physically at the rig to operate a manual transmit switch or other action confirming actual on site control of the equipment. This is a security feature purposely built into the design.

K9SO · August 2017

Thank you for all the quick responses. I have other system problems that are preventing me to do a power reset remotely so I was hoping there was a SW way of doing that.

... and Ken, YES! I even thought about using a power solenoid! LOL

But going to the second point: in order to use the remote start feature, it must be enabled. On previous software upgrades, this feature was DISABLED by default and one lost control when a restart is required. Since the upgrade SW turns off the radio and the remote enable feature is disabled, re-applying DC power does nothing.

I have 3 different and redundant ways of turning it off (Internet ping testing, phone line DTMF control, and MOX timeouts), but with SDR software upgrades I would not have any way of turning it back on (since remote enable is now disabled and a restart is required after installation). You can only do this from the front panel pushbutton.

My second question was: has that default setting been fixed for the 2.0 upgrade?

73.
Fred
K9SO

Mike va3mw · August 2017

Hi Ken

I have been an alpha tester for a few years, all of it remote. Normally, we get an update about once/week. So, that is a LOT of radio updates.

I can both power cycle and remote restart (with the RCA connector). I have yet to get to the point where I actually had to touch the front button (knock on wood).

The risk is pretty low.

Mike

KY6LA_Howard · August 2017

KY6LA_Howard · August 2017

The above are my two remoteweb switches Not enough redundancy yet but a heck of a lot more than a simple restart which is not good enough. Forremote reliabilty.

KY6LA_Howard · August 2017

Just put a remote controlled relay across the PTT port on the back of the radio. Works well.

K9SO · August 2017

Below is a response from Tim to a previous posting. I'm asking if this has been corrected or not?? Please, I'm not asking how to turn off the radio remotely.

If you operate your radio remotely, please read this before upgrading. As a result of correcting defect #4046, where the power LED would incorrectly indicate the presence of a GPSDO, the setting for the Remote On feature has been reset to its default state (disabled). If you are using the Remote On feature of the radio, you will need to change it back to enabled once you have upgraded to SmartSDR v1.10.8. Upgrading the radio remotely may result in the radio not rebooting after the upgrade if the Remote On feature is required.

K9SO · August 2017

As unlikely as it might be, it took a front panel reset to fix the problem.

Tim - W4TME · August 2017

If you had already upgraded to 1.10.8 or greater and not reverted to a previous version, this caveat is not applicable.

Reboot possible from a remote operation?

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