Change of ISP at Remote Site - Help Requested

[Mike Cotton - K4RUM]

Hi All  --

I have hit a roadblock. 

I have used a TS-480 remotely for years.  Recently, the owners of the remote site changed their internet service provider.  I took the laptop computer I use at the control site, my Control RRC and my TS-480 control head to the radio site, and I reconfigured both the Radio and the Control RRCs.  Due to scheduling issues, I had to leave the radio site immediately after confirming that all worked together on the network at the radio site.  The Radio and Control RRCs are not communicating now that they are on different networks.  I cannot access the Radio RRC outside of the Radio RRC's network.

While at the radio site, I (believe I) dealt with firewall issues to allow communications between the Radio and Control RRCs.

In the Radio Settings for the Control RRC, I now have the outside address of the Radio RRC.  Previously, I used a ddns hostname.

Any thoughts?  I'm at a loss, although I suspect that I am missing something obvious.

I can get to the remote site to make any changes that I need to make, and alternatively, I should be able to get access to a PC at the remote site to make any changes to the Radio RRC settings that may be required.

73,

Mike
K4RUM

[dj0qn]

Hi Mike,

Actually, re configuring the RRC's was unnecessary to make the system work, all you needed
to do was to add the port forwards in the new router and it would have worked as it did before
(assuming the radio RRC was set to DHCP, in the case it wasn't, then a minor change was
necessary in that RRC only).

Drop me a note to dj0qn (at) darc.de and I can send you my networking checklist to remind you how
to do that, or let me know if you need any further help.

73,
Mitch DJ0QN / K7DX

[Mike Cotton - K4RUM]

Mitch, thanks very much.  Since much of what I did was unnecessary, should I just revert to previous profiles for both the Radio and the Control RRCs?  I believe I have dealt with the new internet firewall issues.

By the way, I do have your networking checklist.  I had forgotten that you had sent this to me in 2015.

[dj0qn]

Hi Mike,

Only if you want to. If it works now, then don't worry about it. Bottom line is that is was
unnecessary and a change to a new router only means changes in the new router (and maybe
one change to the radio RRC's IP number if not set to DHCP).

73,
Mitch DJ0QN / K7DX

[Mike Cotton - K4RUM]

Mitch, I am going to try to get everything (re)configured tonight.  I am outside of the radio network, but I did have everything working within the radio network, so I hope that I can talk someone at the radio site through the reconfiguration.

I have one question:  I had a Microbit Dynamic DNS Address for my prior configuration.  Will that same Microbit Dynamic DNS Address work with my new configuration, or will I need to get a new Dynamic DNS address?

[dj0qn]

Hi Mike,

No difference, the existing DDNS will just update the server with the new IP address, nothing changes
as far as the user is concerned.

Good luck and let me know how it goes.

73,
Mitch DJ0QN / K7DX

[Mike Cotton - K4RUM]

Things have gotten interesting. 

I took my Control RRC and my TS-480 radio head to the radio site and, thanks to Mitch's configuration checklist, I got everything squared away.  A couple of days later, I returned to NY and everything worked exactly as it should.  The next day, however, I was unable to turn on the radio control head.  I can access both Control and Radio RRCs from my computer at the control site.  The status of the Control RRC indicates that the radio is on, and the SIP status of both RRCs indicates that the RRCs are connected and transferring. 

I have swapped out TTL cables at the control end, and I have changed the TS-480 head to a different TS-480 head.  None of this has worked.

I opened up the Control RRC box, and nothing is visibly wrong there.

Any ideas?

[dj0qn]

Mike,

If it worked before, then something in the environment changed, e.g. a loose cable,
router problem, etc.

I would start by rebooting the router(s) to see if that solves the problem, then reboot the RRC's.

Let us know if that helps.

73,
Mitch DJ0QN / K7DX

[Mike Cotton - K4RUM]

I have rebooted my router, and after I did so I rebooted both RRCs.  The RRCs are communicating with each other, but again, the TS-480 radio head is not turning on.  In addition, I have again swapped out the cable between the Control RRC and the radio head, and I have swapped out the radio head itself.  No luck.

[Mike Cotton - K4RUM]

For what it's worth, when I press and hold the power button on the TS-480 head, I hear what sounds like a very faint, slow pulse.

[dj0qn]

I am not sure what you mean by "communicating with each other". Are you saying that the status is
showing all connected OK? Do you receive the single connect beep?

I would take a look at the power supply the control RRC is using. Sounds like the head is not receiving
enough power in that case. Unplug the USB cable when testing to make sure.

73,
Mitch DJ0QN / K7DX

[Mike Cotton - K4RUM]

Yes; the Control RRC status indicates that the radio is on.  Both the Control and Radio RRCs SIP status indicate connected/transferring.  I do not hear a beep, which does suggest that the head is not getting enough power.

I changed the power supply to the Control RRC (twice); the radio head still does not turn on.

[dj0qn]

I have only seen this happen in two cases:

1) The TTL cable was using a standard telephone cable instead of the 6P6C cable that is necessary.

2) Or the power supply was not producing enough voltage.

If these are both fine on your side, then I am not sure what it could be. If you want, you can e-mail me directly
and send me your .BIN config file for the control RRC and I can try it from here. At least then we can determine
where the problem lies.

73,
Mitch DJ0QN / K7DX

[Mike Cotton - K4RUM]

OK Mitch.  I'll email you my .BIN file for my Control RRC.

I am not using a telephone cable.

Thanks very much.