[App_rpt-users] Using an external Controller

[David McGough]

I agree that running full-blown PC's remotely isn't an issue these
days--just make certain to use high-quality hardware (particularly the
power supply). I've also been running systems in hard to reach spots for
years with very minimal headaches (knock on wood!).


73, David KB4FXC


On Tue, 9 Apr 2013, Robert A. Poff WB3AWJ wrote:

> I have to admit, when I first started looking at AllStar, the idea o f a computer running the re peater seemed a bit risky. 
> Several decades of keeping things running on hilltops made me leery . 
> 
> But now with my first node appro aching it's third (or is it fourth?) anniversary , I've realigned my stance. 
> 
> In that time the only ti mes that I've ha d to make a n "emergency" run to th at si te is : 
> 1. The repeater went dead in the middle of the day. When I go t to the site, I found that someone had 
> turned the breaker off in the electrical distribution p anel. 
> 2. Some dummy (me) wasn't paying at tention to which re mote console session he was on when he typed "poweroff <enter>". 
> 
> I have had some problems though wi th one of the repeaters ( t wo seperate no des operating as a s plit site 10m repeate r), b ut that has turned out to be a hardware p roblem that I didn't catch before putting that computer into service. 
> 
> Now I do ha ve each bo x exec ute a c ontrolled shutdown and re boot once a week in the wee hours of Sunday morning. 
> And while I haven't been extravagant on the computer hardware, I haven't cut things to the bone . 
> E ach of my boxes are at least a 3. 0 Ghz P4 with a gig or two of memory. (each bought on Ebay for about $7 5) 
> 
> They sit th ere hour after hour, run ning the repeater, ID scri pts, weather al ert and observation scripts, on sche dule jumping between WAN -RS , Alaska Morning Net, and the Insomni ac net. R unning AR Newslin e Monday and Friday nights . And running other housekeeping scripts (rsync the custom nodename list, rs ync new versions of my scripts, and so on). Oh, and s ervicing a handful Asterisk extens i ons wi th attending IAX trunks bet ween the repeaters. 
> 
> On the other hand, at work I have a fa irly expensive dedicated broadcast remote control (like a repeater "controller") on our TV translator about fif ty miles away , on top of a mountain w ith a nasty access road, that drives me NUTS! 
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> WB3AWJ 
> Robert A. Poff 
> Loganville, PA. 
> "Lieutenant, target the offending power boat and launch photon torpedoes" 
>