Tech Notes from the Field

Why do we always start of with “it’s been a busy week”? I would hope we are busy or else someone out there will find our presence superfluous. Always wanted to use that word in a blog. I will say an average week with an interesting find, and we are only half way through the week!  As we all do more and more IP based infrastructure, we get to troubleshoot more and more IP based issues. We send audio all over the place via IP these days, so when a codec reports an unusual amount of errors, even though it is not a main, you look into it. As we progressed to a MPX over IP solution, my audio codecs are still online as backups, and I do check these on my remote control for any anomalies. I saw one which was troubling, an excessive amount of Loss of Connection(LOC) errors.

As I saw these errors on both codecs, I began my investigation at the studio end in the comfort of my not so comfortable chair. Software reboot of both codecs was first. Hardware restart of the studio end codec. As it was due for a firmware update, I even verified this was up to date which it was. One of the last things I did before exiting for the day was to connect this codec to the backup codec at the site and see if I was chasing the wrong end.

Good morning, and time to check what the double hockey stick is going on with that codec. Interesting find: LOC errors were gone and the usually expected dropped packets, especially on the Internet side. Looks like a visit to the site.

At the site I did the same routine as I did at the studio. Another software reboot, then a hardware reset, and just a good head scratch as the errors continued to climb. I did a quick check of the switch and verified all other equipment had no issues, and I did not find any. So, I decided to do the tried and true of troubleshooting, and I reworked, exercised, and cleaned the ethernet connections both into the switch and into the codec. I checked for proper operation and began to monitor the situation. No immediate count increase, so looking good. As it is a transmitter site visit I did some routine cleanup. After that time where I saw upwards of 50 or more LOC errors before, none were recorded! Connector cleaning it was.

I checked when I got back and all good. As of writing, a few hours later, still no LOC errors. I will do my periodic checks, but it all looks like life is once again in balance. When tracking down and troubleshooting don’t forget to include connectors and connections in general especially at transmitter sites. Think about how many years its been since you have touched a connection at a site. Usually if nothing is wrong you don’t touch it, but if you have an issue, clean things up and get back to a clean base.