[aprssig] Wanted: tone-based reset module schematics

[Stan - N0YXV]

What about X10 remote devices...?

http://www.x10.com/automation/plugin_controllers.html

If you happen to have one of those plug in modules and a remote key chain
push button controller you could reset it if you were close enough to the
tower. Another thought would be to just use an AC Lamp Timer. I used one of
those on a couple of remote dial up modems we had scattered across the
state. The computer that polled those modems couldn't dial at midnight
because of log change overs so I just set up the AC Lamp Timer to switch the
modems off every night at midnight. At least that way the max downtime could
only be about 23 hours before the timer kicked in and reset the modem. Only
down side to the AC Lamp Timer was the least amount of time I could turn the
modem off was 30 minutes. With the X10 type timers you could get that down
to a minute or so. If you turn it off at say 3AM, or what ever is the least
busiest time for you, you'll only miss 60 seconds a day of activity. At
least that way if it goes down one day it should be back up the next. One of
the X10 timers I have even allows you to set two on and two off times a day
so you could reset every thing twice a day. If you're planning on resetting
the radio and TNC (especially when you're only using one power supply) you
might want to get the X10 Appliance timers as they carry higher current
ratings and don't allow for "Dimming" like the Lamp Timers do. I've even
seen one X10 device that was nothing more than a Relay with contact closures
that plugged into the wall.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: aprssig-bounces at lists.tapr.org
> [mailto:aprssig-bounces at lists.tapr.org]On Behalf Of Ron Tonneson
> Sent: Monday, February 06, 2006 9:29 PM
> To: TAPR APRS Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [aprssig] Wanted: tone-based reset module schematics
>
>
> Brad,
>
> I have a design that I use on my digipeaters.  It is not quite
> that simple but it does the same job and does not need
> you to do any tones.  It monitors the RF output of the
> transmitter, if is stays on to long or does not come on at least
> once every 12 minutes or so it will cycle the power to the radio
> and TNC.  My design is documented on the Yahoo UI-Digi
> group at:
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/uidigi/files/APRS%20Monitor/ If you
> are not on that group I can put the info in
> an email attachment for you.
>
> Ron - K0QVF
>
> Brad [VE3BSM] wrote:
>
> > One of the digipeaters I upgraded to UIDIGI last summer had a small
> > circuit card mounted in the TNC. I didn't pay much attention at the
> > time, but it turns out to be a small reset circuit for the TNC.
> > Basically, it listens on the audio input for a specific tone for 2
> > seconds, at which point it trips the reset line of the TNC.
> It's used to
> > recover from a severe lockup of the TNC (which it turns out UIDIGI
> > sometimes suffers from). I had to use it once recently and it saved me
> > from a miserable hike up a snow-covered mountain.
> >
> > I'd like to come up with something similar for the other digis I
> > maintain. But I haven't yet found any schematics for anything *simple*
> > that does the trick. I'm hoping maybe somebody here has some
> schematics,
> > or a pointer to a site with some.
> >
> > Failing that, when Spring comes I'll hike up the mountain and
> > reverse-engineer what's up there, though that's not exactly my
> strong suit.
> >
> > Emphasis on the "simple". This one uses a single tone and I seem to
> > recall it had one IC (maybe two) and only a couple of discreet
> > components. A DTMF decoder would do the trick (and be less prone to
> > spurious resets, presumably), but I really don't have the
> ability to get
> > into PIC-based designs.
> >
> > Anybody seen anything like this?
> >
> > Brad.
> > VE3BSM
> >
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
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