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OK, over the last three weeks both the TX and RX signal levels have
dropped 8dB; see:<br>
<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.ae7q.com/misc/media/5.9GHz/2014-07-xx.png">http://www.ae7q.com/misc/media/5.9GHz/2014-07-xx.png</a><br>
<br>
While this could be due to vegetation, the drop (somewhat gradual
this time) looks suspiciously like the previous two drops of 8dB
(see prior messages below). On Friday I noticed that MicroTik had a
new firmware release, v6.17, and I upgraded to that. That fixed an
NTP bug introduced in v6.14 but made no difference in dBm levels, so
Sunday evening I downgraded to v6.13. That downgrade/reboot was
successful, but also made no difference. So, I did a second reboot
in preparation for upgrading back to v6.17 (using the same scenario
as below).<br>
<br>
This time, however, "presto!" (the results below) does not quite
apply. The 5SHPn shows a power-on LED, and when connected to a
switch, shows an electrical network LED. However, <b>the 5SHPn is
inaccessible via Ethernet</b> (using Winbox to access via both by
last IP address, and by MAC address). PINGs fail; there is no
corresponding entry in the ARP table. I can hold in the reset
button while power-cycling the 5SHPn, and I get the flashing power
LED indicating a "reset configuration" is happening, but to no
avail: Winbox is unable to connect to the 5SHPn.<br>
<br>
<b>This is the third time I've had this 8dB drop</b>, and the second
time I've had to go to the roof to reset the radio. So, I've
removed the antenna from the roof. So, unless someone has a bright
idea, the 5SHPn and the 31dBi dish antenna are available for $120
total. I'd like to sell them as a unit, because I've got a really
nice (but easily removable) taped seal of the antenna/radio
connection. If you can't get the radio to work, you're only out
$20.<br>
<br>
-- Dean<br>
425-338-4276 (home)<br>
425-359-4276 (cell)<br>
<br>
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 2014-06-13 18:29, Dean Gibson AE7Q
wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote cite="mid:539BA563.7040304@ae7q.com" type="cite">
<meta content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1"
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Going back to v6.13 didn't improve anything, but it did seem to
get rid of the occasional variations in voltage (from 13.5v down
to 12.8v) that SNMP was reporting to "The Dude" software. So,
after letting v6.13 run for couple hours with no improvement, I
reinstalled v6.15.<br>
<br>
Presto! Instant dBm improvement back to my normally observed
values. Here are links to SNMP graphs of the drop @9:30am, and
the rise at 17:48pm. Of course, you can also see this in Nigel's
Cacti reporting, albeit with less horizontal (time) resolution.<br>
<br>
<a moz-do-not-send="true" class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="http://www.ae7q.com/misc/media/5.9GHz/2014-06-13_0940.png">http://www.ae7q.com/misc/media/5.9GHz/2014-06-13_0940.png</a><br>
<a moz-do-not-send="true" class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="http://www.ae7q.com/misc/media/5.9GHz/2014-06-13_1740.png">http://www.ae7q.com/misc/media/5.9GHz/2014-06-13_1740.png</a><br>
<br>
Note that the reported sudden dBm "rise" to -60dBm (the upper
limit I've imposed to keep the graph scale reasonable) on two
occasions in the second graph, is when I upgraded and then
reconfigured the radio (from a cut-&-paste script), and should
be ignored.<br>
<br>
Note that a very similar scenario occurred several months ago,
when I upgraded from v6.10 to v6.12.<br>
<br>
Of course, today is Friday the 13th. Maybe Jason is responsible.<br>
<br>
-- Dean<br>
<br>
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 2014-06-13 12:28, Dean Gibson AE7Q
wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote cite="mid:539B50D4.8030005@ae7q.com" type="cite">
<meta content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1"
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<br>
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 2014-06-13 12:13, Cory (NQ1E)
wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote
cite="mid:CAGOhXwKUqn-hJ3BbybzLj4_cmaNiXkX7Co0sn_v5xf+HF5K42g@mail.gmail.com"
type="cite">
<div class="gmail_extra">Did it rain on those trees you're
pointing at around then? :)<br>
<br>
<div class="gmail_quote">On Fri, Jun 13, 2014 at 12:12 PM,
Dean Gibson AE7Q <span dir="ltr"><<a
moz-do-not-send="true" href="mailto:hamwan@ae7q.com"
target="_blank">hamwan@ae7q.com</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0
.8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">This
morning (well after the update to v6.15 last night) just
after 9:30am, I saw a 8dB drop in both TX and RX signal
levels, which persist at this time. I did a "reset
configuration", which did not solve the problem.<br>
<br>
Did anyone do a change at Paine sector 2 around 9:30am?<br>
</blockquote>
</div>
</div>
</blockquote>
<br>
It's been raining gently all morning. Last night it rained a
bit harder, and I saw no significant or unusual variation. I'm
going back to v6.13 to see if that changes anything.<br>
<br>
The drop was very sudden. I have that antenna connection very
well sealed, I thought, and the Ethernet cable runs uphill to
get into the eaves. I did a cursory visual check of that this
morning.<br>
</blockquote>
<br>
</blockquote>
<br>
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 2014-05-04 13:00, Dean Gibson AE7Q
wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote cite="mid:53669C43.3060100@ae7q.com" type="cite">
<div dir="ltr">
<div class="gmail_default"
style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small">OK,
everything is back working, and I have my dBm back!!<br>
<br>
Not a comedy of errors, but two factors intertwined to create
this problem:<br>
<br>
<ol>
<li>Since configuring the radio after a configuration reset
requires the use of WinBox (until you get IP addresses set
up), I moved the network connection from the radio to its
normal router on the DMZ, and connected it to a router on
my LAN via an extension Ethernet cable and a
"dual-RJ-45-jack adapter". The port light on the router
associated with the radio connection was off. This
morning when I went to disconnect the cables, I saw the
port light on the router flash momentarily. Junked the
dual-RJ-45 adapter and used another one (I had previously
tried a different cable), and I had WinBox access to the
radio! Everything worked except for the LEDs ...<br>
</li>
<li><b>After much more screwing around</b>, I found out that
for version 6.12,<b> the LEDs are not configured by
default</b> !!! Remember, I had done a
"reset-configuration" ...<br>
</li>
</ol>
<p><br>
So, for others that update to v6.12, here are the relevant
lines in the setup:<br>
</p>
<p><b><font color="#3333ff"><tt>/system leds add
type=interface-status interface=ether1-local
leds=user-led</tt><tt><br>
</tt><tt>/system leds add type=wireless-signal-strength
interface=wlan1-gateway leds=led1,led2,led3,led4,led5</tt></font></b><br>
</p>
</div>
</div>
<div class="gmail_extra">Now that I know I can configure the LEDs
with other options, I'll try some.<br>
<br>
I have no clue as to why my dBm dropped, and why I now have my
prior values back ...<br>
<br>
-- Dean<br>
<div class="gmail_quote"><br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0
.8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><br>
<div class="HOEnZb">
<div class="h5"> -----Original Message-----<br>
From: PSDR [mailto:<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="mailto:psdr-bounces@hamwan.org">psdr-bounces@hamwan.org</a>]
On Behalf Of Dean Gibson AE7Q<br>
Sent: Sunday, May 4, 2014 1:44 AM<br>
To: Puget Sound Data Ring<br>
Subject: Re: [HamWAN PSDR] Metal 5SHPn firmware 6.12 is
current (addendum)<br>
<br>
Well, this did not end well. ... I decided to reset the
configuration (using the command line) ... it appears to
have "bricked" the radio.<br>
<br>
It draws about 160ma (about the value from a week ago,
when I first measured it). There is no light on the
side of the unit, and the Ethernet port is dead.<br>
</div>
</div>
</blockquote>
</div>
</div>
<br>
</blockquote>
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