Tech Notes from the Field

Now that is a boring title, eh? Why logs? Why write about logs? No, there will be no examples of logs, but if you do any sort of troubleshooting it is good to read them logs. I know many of us do not really read these things to deeply, but over the years I have solved many issues just by reading the logs.

Today is a good example of the “win” when it comes to logs. The traffic department had shown discrepancies and missed spots during a portion of the day. Everyone gets up in arms when spots are missed. I also notice that fingers get pointed. Long story short, I first checked the logs to verify the report of a system restart. Found that. The next confusion was why did the spots not run. Using the logs I verified contact closures being recorded proving the system was working just fine. Back to the logs and I found that someone left the system in manual mode. No more finger pointing now, eh?

This sound simple, but it can be tedious work. As you know details are always lacking when people report a problem. Doing the detective work means really reading and finding the clues within the logs. Today was WideOrbit. If you ever looked at their radio automation log you know how much detail (and fluff) is in there. With a little patience and time you learn what is important to you and what is not. From there you use what you find to get to the solution, and in my case it was not technical issue. Someone decided to restart the system and forgot to change to automatic mode.

I comb through many different logs based on what I am working on. SAS, Dante, WideOrbit, NexGen, Nautel, and the list goes on. All have logs, and many are very useful. Granted some are not as useful as others, but for the most part they are good to getting the job done. Take the time to read the logs when you troubleshoot. It may take time to decipher, but the more you do it, the easier it becomes. After which you can then tell the manufacturer they have an issue, provide a copy of the log as supporting evidence, and see how fast they respond to your support request.

Cheers!