SIP Out, Audio Out, and Command Out Ports Change on their own

[VA6OK]

Hello.  This is my third pair of RRC's and I have a new problem I haven't seen before.  I bought this set used, so I'm not sure if something was set by the previous owner that could have done this.  I set my SIP and audio ports in the RRC's and did the port forwarding in my router.  All was good until I tried to connect and the units connect, SIP light goes yellow, but data does not flow back and forth.  Looking at the Status tab on the web config page shows that the SIP In, Audio In, and Command In ports are all what I set them to, but the SIP Out, Audio Out, and Command Out have all automatically changed themselves to what appear to be random port numbers.  I have no idea why it would do this.  The unit came with the current 2.91 firmware in it. I have re-loaded the firmware and still the same result.  Any ideas would be great.  Thanks.

Dale VA6OK (formerly VE6DAP)

[dj0qn]

Dale,

It is normal that these random numbers are used, however the three UDP ports that you set are used as well.
These are the ones that count.

Make sure that each set of RRC's uses unique port numbers and you should not have a problem. If it still doesn't
work, then I suspect a port forwarding error. I assume that you first tested it within the same network.

73,
Mitch DJ0QN / K7DX

[VA6OK]

Hello Mitch,

Yes, I tested it within the network and all was well.  I just substituted one of my other RRCs in place of this one and I am having the same issue.  So, the issue is not with the RRC.  It must be like you say, with the port forwarding.  I have used unique ports for each of my setups. 

Just to be clear:  I have assigned new SIP, audio, and command ports.  As well, I assigned a new telnet port that is unique from the other RRC on this network. 

Am I missing something? 

[VA6OK]

PS:  I notice on my other RRC on the same network that it does not seem to get random port numbers.  They all stay as I had set them.  I followed all the same steps with the port forwarding, just used different numbers for the other RRC.

[dj0qn]

Hi Dale,

That sounds correct; these three UDP ports are the key ones. The problem is for sure somewhere in your
router. Double check your entries there to make sure that all numbers are correct, they are forwarding to
the correct internal IP number and that you are using the correct protocol (UDP).

I assume you know that you can use the same SIP contact for all three RRC pairs, since you only have one
external IP number to forward to. The only difference will be the ports used. A lot of people think they need
to setup a separate DynamicDNS address for each device, which is not true.

73,
Mitch DJ0QN / K7DX

[VA6OK]

Oh.  That is news to me with the SIP contact..... I hadn't thought of that, but it makes sense.  I have updated the info in the new control RRC and it finds the proper radio RRC.  I still have the same problem though.  The SIP lights come on on each RRC, the web config status page for both the radio and control rrc both show that they are connected and transferring data, yet the radio head does not come on, no audio comes out, etc.... It is as if they are not connected, yet according to the status pages all looks normal.... with the exception of the random port numbers that show up on the radio rrc status page, as stated earlier. 

[VA6OK]

Strangely enough, it has worked a couple of times.  It has powered up and all seemed normal.  Then once I power it off, it will not connect again.  I think 3 times out of about 50 tries, it has worked. 

Is is necessary to use a separate Telnet Port for other RRC's on one IP address, or can they both use Port 23?  I have tried it both ways and neither seemed to make any improvement.

[VA6OK]

Hmmm.   Very odd.  As I work on things here, I just had it start up and work 100%.  I tuned off the radio.  Turned it back on and all was still good.  Turned it off again and then it would not turn on again.  It is back to having a SIP connection, but nothing else.  The odd thing is that no settings changed in between when it worked and when it didn't. 

[dj0qn]

Sounds like a port conflict. What is the error message on the status page? I think you need to change at least
one of the port numbers you assigned to make it work. That would also explain the intermittent working.

Telnet is never used during normal operation, it is only there for debugging. I never recommend to even
forward it, since there is no need to and it causes security issues. Don't bother changing it from port 23, but
just don't forward it.

The SIP contact was just a tip from me; no need to make things more complicated than they have to be.

I would look into the port conflict possibility as your next step.

73,
Mitch DJ0QN / K7DX

[VA6OK]

Good Morning.  Yes, I was thinking that would be a good next step.  I will try that when I get home. Thanks and 73.

[VA6OK]

Ok Mitch,

I set the Telnet Port back to 23 and nothing is forwarded to that port in the router.

The SIP contact has been changed to my other DDNS and that works fine as it is routing to my proper IP.  So, the single SIP contact is working properly for the two units at this address.

I tried a different set of 3 ports for the SIP, Audio, and Command and these are providing the same result.  I deleted the old forwarding out of the router and put the new ports in.  Still the same problem.  I even tried assigning the RRC to a DMZ and still no luck.

I think my next step may be to swap out RRC's and see if the problem follows any particular unit.

But I am incredibly open to ideas yet as I am at a loss here.....

Thanks

[dj0qn]

Dale,

You never said what the error message is on the status page. That may help find the problem.

Save both RRC's settings in a .BIN file and import them after changing them to a different profile, but
reversing them so that each RRC has both settings in different profiles. Then you can try out the settings
on each RRC to see what the result is. Of course this only works if it is the same type of rig, but you can
tweak the differences under the radio settings or swap cables.

73,
Mitch DJ0QN / K7DX

[VA6OK]

Sorry Mitch,

I just realized I forgot to answer that.  The funny thing is there is no error message.  According to the status page, all is well and they are connected and transferring data, yet over the WWW the radio does not actually turn on.  Over the LAN, all is ok. 

[VA6OK]

PS:  I have swapped out both the radio and control RRCs and the problem still exists.  So, there is something in either the configuration or the router.  The problem does not lie in any particular RRC.  I know that the router/modem would be the most likely culprit, but I've been over them multiple times and done the same thing as the working RemoteRig pair has.  The port forwarding procedure was exactly the same, just with different ports.  I initially tried the next 3 consecutive ports above the original set.... ie: 13003-13005.  When that didn't work, I tried a completely different set of 3.  That still doesn't work.  The working pair keeps working and this pair keeps not working (regardless of which RRCs they actually are).

One fact I have not mentioned is that the original RemoteRig setup is a Kenwood TS-480.  That is working great.  This setup is a Kenwood TM-V71A.  I see the configs are essentially the same for the two rigs, so essentially the only difference is the 3 UDP ports.   

[VA6OK]

Also, I don't know if this fact is helpful or not.  When I try to connect over the www, the SIP lights come on on each RRC and the status pages show that they are connected and all is fine.  However the radio does not turn on.  Over the LAN, the radio turns on just fine.  Here is one of the interesting facts over the www: once connected, I cannot stop the connection by pressing the power button.  They just stay connected until I pull the power connection from the RRCs.  Once the connection is initiated, the radio control panel is unresponsive.

My two radio RRCs are on one internet connection and the two control RRCs are on a separate internet connection via a cell phone hotspot.  So an internet problem "should" affect them both.