Sysops

12 November 2018--Last year (October time frame) Winlink moved all CMS server resources to the cloud and upgraded several critical infrastructure resources. One such resource was our low-level web services that applications like RMS Trimode, RMS Linux Gateway, BPQ32, Winlink Express, Pat, etc. use to report activity and get information to and from Winlink servers.

We believe most (if not all), application authors have made the necessary changes to switch to these new Winlink resources. While they did, we continued to run the legacy web services and support functions on our servers. However and unfortunately, not all users of the assorted programs have upgraded to the newer, changed versions. Now is the time! Really, NOW is the time.

Effective 1 January 2019 the older Winlink web services will be discontinued. Impacts to old program versions may range from none, to not showing up in channel listings, to simply just not working at all. Also, you are not likely to get support for older, now incompatible versions.

Be assured that current versions are in popular use and are well-tested. Please update your software today!

--The Winlink Development Team

There are an ever increasing number of Winlink gateways using outdated software. Being a minor version or two out of date would rarely be an issue, but some gateways are several important version releases behind. See the Tools|Gateway Version tab on the Winlink web site or directly at: https://cms.winlink.org:444/SysopVersions.aspx for a look at which stations are behind with updates.

It is critical that gateway sysops maintain use of current versions of gateway software to remain compatible with changes with core Winlink services and more importantly, to provide the best possible experience to users. See https://www.winlink.org/content/join_gateway_sysop_team_sysop_guidelines for specific gateway sysop guidelines.

Almost a year ago we made several major changes to the Winlink CMS infrastructure. All (known) software authors were notified months in advance of this change. Today, there are still a few that haven't updated software to use the current Winlink system. At some point, support for the way the older system operated will be removed and programs that haven't been updated will either fail to function or function with reduced capabilities. If your gateway software falls into this category please contact the author to let them know.

73, Lee K0QED
Winlink Development Team

There has been an ongoing issue with the SCS Dragon modem randomly becoming inoperable until rebooted. This is a repetitive issue, and has finally been identified by SCS.

From SCS:

"SCS has identified the source of the problem. The EEPROM cells that carry the log pointers are worn out after > 1 M write cycles. Depending on the traffic load of the modems, that can happen after several months of service. SCS is currently developing a system logging format that no longer needs these EEPROM pointers.

New firmware version 2.30.19 _beta provides a work around and should be used until we release the official 2.30.xx firmware.
https://1drv.ms/u/s!AtLEi-HvlIdLhkt4Mzf3DgW6k-1e

If you don’t need system logging at all, you can switch it off permanently using the command (command mode, cmd: prompt): SYS LOG DISABLED 1 and then save that parameter permanently using the SAP command."

Steve Waterman, K4CJX
Winlink Development Team