We send our audio from the studios to the transmitter over DSL like a lot of stations do. However there are often Internet problems that requires a reboot of the modem at the transmitter. This requires a trip to the transmitter by our operator to manually reboot the modem. What is the best equipment to accomplish an automatic reboot of the modem? This would save the operator a trip. Also, it would be nice if there was equipment that provided a log of exactly the times the Internet was down and then restored.
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Automatic Reboot for Internet Modem?
- Thread starter shreveville
- Start date
Take a look at this
http://www.controlbyweb.com/webswitch/
The Plus version can be activated by contact closures from your remote control.
It can periodically ping out to the web and if it fails cycle a outlet rebooting your modem.
Not too expensive either.
Stu
http://www.controlbyweb.com/webswitch/
The Plus version can be activated by contact closures from your remote control.
It can periodically ping out to the web and if it fails cycle a outlet rebooting your modem.
Not too expensive either.
Stu
A simple home-brew and much cheaper solution: Most modems are powered from a wall wart that you "should" have plugged into a UPS at your TX site. Insert a small automotive type 5 terminal relay with the center conductor of the low voltage side on the normally closed terminals. Control the relay from your remote. Activate it to open the power, wait 30 seconds, then fire the relay again to close it, probably using the raise/lower commands on your remote. That should do the job for less than $5 bucks! If your remote does not have the ablilty to throw 12 VDC on the command terminals you may need another wall wart to provide the power for the relay.
I have 14 of the setups you describe. To-date, my infrequent modem "lockups" have all been fixed by replacing them. The phone companies have had no problem, sending out new modems on the few times this has happened to me.
That said, there are ways to get around a problem like this, some of which have been described here. A UPS will cure the vast majority of these issues, as sometimes the fastest power "blips" can freeze a modem but not reboot it.
You could go so far as to take a silence sensor and hook it to one of the Broadcast Tools or Henry Engineering products that allow for power cycling. That might be a good option, as there's always the chance a modem lockup could freeze the network at the transmitter site, preventing the local equipment from talking to each other.
That said, there are ways to get around a problem like this, some of which have been described here. A UPS will cure the vast majority of these issues, as sometimes the fastest power "blips" can freeze a modem but not reboot it.
You could go so far as to take a silence sensor and hook it to one of the Broadcast Tools or Henry Engineering products that allow for power cycling. That might be a good option, as there's always the chance a modem lockup could freeze the network at the transmitter site, preventing the local equipment from talking to each other.
I concur on the UPS. I also agree you need a new modem.
C
callfm
Guest
There are two wires coming from the power supply. Determine which wire is ground. Clip that wire and pass it through a normally closed relay on a remote control system (hopefully you have dial-in phone service). This way you can power cycle the modem with a momentary relay opening the circuit. This has worked great for us.
We're feeding audio through Tieline from studio to transmitter. The modem is the 1st thing we replace when this happens. The Internet Service provider is lacking. Thanks for the great suggestions, especially liked the unit that reboots and logs changes.
Not all modem reboots are caused by bad modems or power hits. Some modems reboot if large numbers of errors accumulate. I just cleared a problem at an AM site with a modem rebooting several times a day. I saw the near end FEC counter running nearly constantly, but the phone line sounded OK with a butt set. Telco sent a new modem, but the problem continued, so I called for a line check.
An experienced tech came out, and saw no error issues when he tested from the ped across the street before I arrived at the site. He found a high-resistance Scothlock splice in the pedestal...just enough to screw with the DSL without causing obvious problems with POTS calls. A snip and a squeeze, and all is well.
Remember too, that if you have a long loop length, it might help to turn down the speed one notch below what telco thinks they can give you. This site could have had 7M down, but it's set to 5M down, which gave us a lot of extra S/N margin.
An experienced tech came out, and saw no error issues when he tested from the ped across the street before I arrived at the site. He found a high-resistance Scothlock splice in the pedestal...just enough to screw with the DSL without causing obvious problems with POTS calls. A snip and a squeeze, and all is well.
Remember too, that if you have a long loop length, it might help to turn down the speed one notch below what telco thinks they can give you. This site could have had 7M down, but it's set to 5M down, which gave us a lot of extra S/N margin.
dataprobe iboot. I use some of them in my wireless network at sites with questionable power. Can be setup to ping an ip address and when it doesn't respond, automatically reboot whatever is plugged through it.
But really, you shouldn't have to reboot a modem regularly. I have some gear in our wireless network thats been up close to 400 days with no issues. If we ever have CPE that needs reboot, we replace it as soon as possible. I can count on one hand the number of failures we have had in 3 years.
But really, you shouldn't have to reboot a modem regularly. I have some gear in our wireless network thats been up close to 400 days with no issues. If we ever have CPE that needs reboot, we replace it as soon as possible. I can count on one hand the number of failures we have had in 3 years.
I used a programmable silence sensor at one site for this purpose. One side of the 12V power was looped through a normally closed contact. If silence occurred for more than 90 seconds, the sensor opens the line for 20 seconds, rebooting the modem. The unit logs the event, then pauses 3 minutes to let the modem re-sync and then e-mails the log of the event to me. I set the alarm time to 90 seconds to give the silence sensor at the studio a chance to do its work before assuming the modem was at fault. If I were more ambitious, I could bring out the sync /online LED of the modem to a status input and do the reboot that way instead. I'd have to disassemble the modem and void the warranty to do so, of course. I have also done similar things with computers at remote sites.
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