Messages

46

General discussion forum / Re: RF killing RR box at Remote.

« on: 2016-09-17, 02:50:42 »

At my K3 remote I am still dealing with what appears to be RF leakage on 80/40 m which basically kills the Internet link if power is more the about 12w.  The k3/mini does not return to Rx for 5-6 secs and the Mini display is full of errors.

I am using a standard 80/40 trap dipole apex at 30ft which is essentially right over the remote equipment rack.  It is fed with Belden RG213 type (9214?) cable.   When I first installed the remote I was using an OCF dipole on those two bands and had the same issue.  I recently installed the standard dipole hoping the issue would go away but it has not ....so the problem is coming from another source.  The same coax was used to feed the OCF.

If I switch to the HF6V and transmit on 40m there is no problem.  So the problem must be the coax or bad connector feeding the dipole? ..... The only thing I can do is replace the coax feeding the dipole and hope for the best.   

While at the remote station I log into my home pc using teamviewer and key the rig using N1MM function keys...thereby simulating my own presence at the home station.   The rig does not return to Rx.....there is a delay of up to 5-6 secs .     If I transmit using the paddle while at the remote location all works normally on 80/40 ..... But of course I cannot tell if the link has died because it is not in the keying path.

Just posting this to vent !!...hoping for comments.

47

General discussion forum / Re: Better comms performance using RRC COM1 serial port vs. mini-USB?

« on: 2016-09-12, 14:09:46 »

Here are settings I use for N1MMPlus for my K3 remote using K3mini. 

Posting from Nov 09 2015
Got the K3/0 Mini and N1MM+ and remote K3 working now on Win 10 PC using RemoteRig gear:
My steps:

1.  In RRC (RemoteRig Control) Serial Settings set USB ---->COM1 = NO

2.  In RRC I/O Settins set USB DTR CW = COM1

3.  In N1MM+ Configuration:  Radio K3 - COM 7 for rig control -38400 8N1   DTR/RTS Always OFF

4.  In N1MM+ Configuration:  No Radio COM4 for CW Keying and PTT   DTR=CW   RTS=PTT

5.  In K3 Menu CONFIG  PTT-KEY = OFF_OFF      (*also works if set to OFF-DTR)

6. Cables:  USB Cable from RRC Mini USB Jack to PC;  and Elecraft USB/Serial cable from RRC COM1 to PC

N1MM+ reads freq and mode and ESM feature works .

Frank VO1HP

48

Configuration of Routers, Firewalls, etc / Re: Updating new SIP entry RR Control

« on: 2016-09-07, 19:30:02 »

...just figured it out!!...use the DNS service address and place it in the SIP address bar!....

Thanks

VO1HP

49

Configuration of Routers, Firewalls, etc / Updating new SIP entry RR Control

« on: 2016-09-07, 19:16:35 »

The WAN IP Address of my remote modem changes frequently for some reason.  Don't know if it is initiated by the modem or by the network.

When that happens the SIP address in the RADIO Settings panel of the Home control RR Box does track or change to the new IP address at the remote......resulting in failed login.  My procedure is to use Teamviewer to access the remote PC and query the remote router using 192.168.2.1 to discover its new WAN IP address and then manually enter it into the Radio Settings panel back at the Home station RR box.

Is this what I should be doing or am I missing something??

Frank VO1HP

50

Hardware, Cabling, Installations / Re: RRC-1258 with K3 mini remote - digimodes with Remote Ham Radio

« on: 2016-04-24, 02:14:43 »

I operate JT65 on 1838khz on regular basis and always use the SPKRS and MIC jack on the side of the Mini with stereo cables to the line IN and OUT jacks on the PC.  Use WSJT-X and it is working all Ok....

73 Frank VO1HP

51

Hardware, Cabling, Installations / Re: Using KAT500 and RR Box - Cabling Confusion

« on: 2016-02-28, 15:19:09 »

OK thanks again...that's a great help.

I have verified that the new DB15 Y Cable that I received from Elecraft is a dud.  There is no DC  continuity between the female ends and the male end on all PINS 4-12 inclusive and also PIN15 .   Only on PINs  1,2,3,13,14 have DC continuity between all the connectors.   I have checked it several times.   

The E850463 cable I have has the correct connections on the PINs listed in the KAT500 manual.  I now know why the K3 remote will not turn on and why the KAT500 does not track properly.

52

Hardware, Cabling, Installations / Re: Using KAT500 and RR Box - Cabling Confusion

« on: 2016-02-28, 04:03:11 »

Y Cable -- 10H1-27708

Mitch...what I don't understand yet is how come this VGA cable works.  When I look at VGA plug wiring I see that a lots of pins are grounded.
Is it that this Y cable is just wired straight  through....i.e. each pin in the female ends are wired straight to each of the the corresponding pins on the male end....
...can't find a wiring diagram for a Y VGA.  The VGA Y that I have here does not have the straight through wiring...as I noted before.

If the wiring is straight through then I can see how the E850463 cable can work when it is attached to the KAT500 and one of the female ends of the Y....the remote rig cable only has three wires on PIN 8,5,1 and will work because those pins are not wired in the E850463.  All this works only if the Y cable is wired straight through to each pin....  not like a VGA cable.
Can you clarify?

53

Hardware, Cabling, Installations / Re: Using KAT500 and RR Box - Cabling Confusion

« on: 2016-02-27, 18:11:48 »

Mitch

I was in email contact yesterday with David at Elecraft as I was installing the cables.  Sent him an email today after I tested on the bench the cables.  Thanks for your help.

frank VO1HP

54

Hardware, Cabling, Installations / Using KAT500 and RR Box - Cabling Confusion

« on: 2016-02-27, 16:26:47 »

I have a K3 remote and have added a KAT500 (there is no KPA 500 - yet).  I thought I needed  E850463 cable and Y adapter cable to allow the K3 to control the KAT500.  I installed the cables but have discovered that the K3 will not turn on.  If I turn it on manually the remote control works fine.

The RR Box cable is plugged into the ACC connector with a DB15M connector that only has three wires in it according to the diagram,  That cable runs to the IO port on the RR box --- one of the three wires is pin 8 which is the pin that takes a  ground to power on  the K3.  A Y splitter is needed to allow connection of the KAT500 and the RR Box to the  K3 ACC connector at the same time.   

The Y cable purchased from Elecraft has a VGA designation on the label and I have verified that there is no continuity from Pins 8 in each female end to the male end  ..   I checked the E850463 cable and there is no connection on PIN 8 between the male and female DB15 connectors!.... So the Elecraft Y cable and E850463 cable  are  NOT compatible with the RR box and the KAT500 combo.  There is no pin 8 connection to facilitate remote turn on/off the K3.

I will need to wire up my own plug it seems.

55

General discussion forum / Re: Error alarm after pushing power button on K3/0-mini

« on: 2016-02-15, 01:52:25 »

The first suggestion I have is to install at the K3 site a web power bar such as DIGITAL LOGGERS WESWITCH 7 and then you can reboot your Remote Rig box yourself without bothering anybody.  I have complete control of all the Ac and DC powered devices at my remote using this kind of web power bar.

Also I recently had ongoing issues of that alarm and the K3 not turning on...and when it did turn on it likely would shut down a few minutes later.  I discovered that one of the devices connected to my home network which hosts the K3 Mini or one of the many Ethernet cables in my patch panel was causing packet losses on the data streamfrom the remote site....check the STATUS page of your remote site RR box....when you are connected and see if RTP or UDP status is STALLING  and you may see the counters counting down to zero (by continually hitting the STATUS selection page to update the screen)

I removed all devices from my home network and then started from scratch reconnecting things but the issue has not happened for about a week.  I thought for sure that my problem was at the remote site but it was not...it was right here at my control location. 

Frank VO1HP

56

General discussion forum / Re: STATUS shows Radio OFF - but Radio is actually ON

« on: 2016-02-10, 18:11:18 »

 I took the Mini and RR box to a friends  FibreOp network location and total functionality was normal. The problem has been isolated to the CONTROL location.  The CONTROL  telco  modem  was  replaced by the telco but the connection and RTP stalling problems  persisted.  The telco technician  disconnected everything else  from the router and K3 Mini performance was normal.  IPTV set-top boxes were reconnected and still Mini OK. as well as IPTV PVR service OK

Another   device connected to one of the router LAN ports was the issue.  I had installed  sometime ago a TP LINK SG1008D Ver5.0 8 port gigabit switch.  When this switch and its connected devices was removed K3 Mini functionalty is normal.  When connected the RTP and UDP packets stall out and eventually result in remote disconnection.  I am not yet sure if its is the switch itself or something connected to it that is interfering with the data flow for the Mini....whatever is cauing the issue may have also been creating a problem for the IPTV service whole home PVR.

Further investigation of the switch and connected devices will give the answer.  It would not have occurred to me to suspect that the switch would interfere with the flow of data but that is actually the case.

Finally a resolution.....now to further check out each device / feed attached to the now disconnected switch.

Thanks to all for ongoing help in isolating the problem here

57

General discussion forum / Re: RRC1258MKII Control disconnecting after 2 minutes

« on: 2016-02-09, 01:19:43 »

"I didn't want to leave this thread hanging. After alot of help from Mitch we narrowed down the problem to setting with the router on the control side. Not having access to the router at my work qth I was unable to do any further troubleshooting. I have managed to control the radio successfully via 3G from the same location."

Phil

Can you tell me what setting it was in your router  at the CONTROL side?

Frank VO1HP

58

General discussion forum / Re: STATUS shows Radio OFF - but Radio is actually ON

« on: 2016-02-07, 13:14:01 »

OK Mitch...thanks for your note ...I am focussed now on the gigabit switch that I have at the remote and based on your input will look at moving the router from the cottage to the workshop.   Last evening:  the K3 would turn on 2 out of 5 times and if it did turn on there was RTP/UDP failure and the counter was started.    Last evening the telco network would have been busy with lots of traffic...and heavily loaded but don't know if that is impacting my service at the location...which is at the end of the feed in a rural location.

The strange thing about this problem is this:   Today at 6:30am local I turned on the K3 and it has been on for two hours  or so...it is now past 0845 and still running....there was one "hit" where the word TERM appeared but the condition went away and the link was restored.
Yesterday I replaced the K3 power supply and I left all the eqpt turned off overnight...i'e K3; K3 power supply and RR unit.  The temp in the garage is 5C.  I also discovered a setting in the router that was giving QoS priority to IPTV...we do not have that service so I removed that setting.

This would be a non-busy time for the overall network as well.

From time to time I see under DNS status : Failure to resolve remoterig,com

Again

many thanks for your ongoing help and encouragement.

Frank VO1HP

59

General discussion forum / Re: STATUS shows Radio OFF - but Radio is actually ON

« on: 2016-02-06, 18:52:17 »

Yes I am beginning to understand what is happening and what the counters mean.  RTP/UDP Stalled means that data is not getting transferred between the K3 twins and the line is dropped at the end of the count down to zero.

At the remote site  the RR Remote is located in a workshop at the end of 50m of outdoor buried Ethernet cable which is connected to the router in a my cottage.  From the logs and stats table for the router I cannot see any errors on the fibre line coming into the house from the FOTS network.  Can only assume it is a good line.  The modem is new having just been replaced.   


In the workshop the ethernet feed enters a TP link SG1008 gigabit switch (cheap $30)  and the RR box is on one of the ports of this switch. The interconnecting cable are all shielded Ethernet.   Could be there is something gone wrong with the switch or the the patch cords....? 

I also have an Afedri-NET SDR also running through the switch and monitoring it remotely at home do not have any issue logging on and tuning around using SDR Console...although intermittently I get some chopping of the audio for a second or so and sometimes will see alert "SYNCH LOST" but radio keeps working and the software keeps decoding.

Here are Speed test results today taken from PC in the remote workshop connected to one of the switch ports:
Download Speed: 130911 kbps (16363.9 KB/sec transfer rate)
Upload Speed: 23513 kbps (2939.1 KB/sec transfer rate)
Latency: 26 ms
Jitter: 10 ms
Packet Loss: -1%
2/6/2016, 5:47:44 PM


I was thinking of doing a reset of the RR Remote to factory settings on my next visit there but will check the switch port  first .    I didn't like the SG1008 switch in the beginning because it is in a plastic case...it was only switch available locally.

What ever is going on has rendered the K3 remote unusable.

60

General discussion forum / Re: STATUS shows Radio OFF - but Radio is actually ON

« on: 2016-02-06, 16:56:26 »

Still struggling here with connection problems and K3 will sometimes not turn on....here is a STATUS from recent incident this morning when K3 did come on but shut down shortly there after:

Name   Value
Radio           OFF
Connection status   Faulty(See below)
SIP status                Connected/transfering
Last SIP error                    None
RTP/UDP audio   status   Stalled(11)
UDP cmd status                    Error(0)
SIP command timeout      0
Rx Jitter buffer size   12
Rx Jitter delay   8
Dual Rx   0
Current audio packet size   20