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Forum Index : Microcontroller and PC projects : WEB NTP
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palcal Guru  Joined: 12/10/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1809 |
When getting the time with WEB NTP it often fails the first time. There was a post in a thread about how to overcome this, maybe from TassyJim. On searching I found so many threads on the WebMite it was impossible to find. Can anyone post some code that will ensure the time is set before continuing. This is on my alarm that will send an email if triggered, since it may sit for a long time it would also be useful to update the time occasionally so that the time it triggers is accurate. Using the code in the manual ON ERROR SKIP 3 WEB NTP -10 IF MM.ERRNO THEN WEB NTP -10 IF MM.ERRNO THEN PRINT "Failure to connect to the Internet" : CPU RESTART does check twice but we still cannot be sure the time is set, or will the CPU keep restarting until the time is set. The other problem with this code is that if the time is set at line 3, line 4 is then executed and performs a restart so I've had to comment line 4 out. Edited 2023-12-09 11:12 by palcal "It is better to be ignorant and ask a stupid question than to be plain Stupid and not ask at all" |
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| palcal Guru Joined: 12/10/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1809 |
I have overcome my problem by having an indicator LED flashing once the program is in the main loop, so if the LED is flashing the time must be set. "It is better to be ignorant and ask a stupid question than to be plain Stupid and not ask at all" |
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phil99 Guru Joined: 11/02/2018 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1852 |
Perhaps replace that line with:- IF MM.ERRNO THEN PRINT "Failure to connect to the Internet" CPU RESTART EndIf It then should then skip the restart if there is no error. |
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TassyJim Guru Joined: 07/08/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 5950 |
I prefer to set a specific NTP server - one that is close to me. Your ISP should have one available. Your router might be configured as a NTP server. If so that is a good choice. (I have a GPS derived time server in the shed so that is what I use, either directly or via the router) You shouldn't have to reboot before attempting to set the time again. Provided your network is up, you can just run the WEB NTP command again. You could set the date to something silly "01/04/1999" and once that changes, you know your NTP command worked. Jim VK7JH MMedit MMBasic Help |
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Geoffg Guru Joined: 06/06/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 3169 |
There seems to be something strange going on in the latest WebMite firmware. ON ERROR SKIP 3 doesn't skip errors on the next 3 lines like it should, instead it appears to act like an ON ERROR SKIP 1 (Peter?). This should work: ON ERROR SKIP WEB NTP -10 IF MM.ERRNO THEN ON ERROR SKIP WEB NTP -10 IF MM.ERRNO THEN PRINT "Failure to connect to the Internet" : CPU RESTART ENDIF Geoff Geoff Graham - http://geoffg.net |
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| palcal Guru Joined: 12/10/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1809 |
Thanks for that, it gives me a couple of things to look at. "It is better to be ignorant and ask a stupid question than to be plain Stupid and not ask at all" |
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| phil99 Guru Joined: 11/02/2018 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1852 |
ON ERROR ok on b2 WebMite MMBasic Version 5.08.08b2 > ON ERROR SKIP 3: x=9/0 :?x 0 > ON ERROR SKIP 3:x=8:x=2: x=9/0 :?x 2 > ON ERROR SKIP 3:x=8:x=2:x=7: x=9/0 :?x Error : Divide by zero > |
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| matherp Guru Joined: 11/12/2012 Location: United KingdomPosts: 8648 |
That makes no sense as the code is identical to the PicoMite and VGA versions which both work but it is as you say (b4/5) |
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Chopperp Guru Joined: 03/01/2018 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1033 |
Hi FWIW, I've been playing around with the Modem/Router Watchdog circuit & program from Nov '23 edition of SC mag here p68 . They basically (pun intended), check an NTP server every 2 minutes & if OK, carry on & loop. If that fails, the program checks Google & if that fails, checks Microsoft then reboots the Modem/Router (& PICO) if not OK. I found a few problems with the code etc. Firstly WEB NTP -10 sets the time to US West Coast time. Should have been just 10 for Queensland time. (GMT +10. Confused me for a bit as the PICO time was way wrong). Secondly, I was getting dozens of different NTP servers with WEB NTP 10, some which caused the program to crash. I found a Google NTP server (see code below) & had no further problems with this issue when set for that. (Jim mentioned using a single server) & Thirdly, the ERROR Codes were not being cleared after an error, so the program went through & rebooted after the first error regardless of the results of the other tests. Adding the ON ERROR CLEAR commands solved that problem (SC advised) Below is the SC code along with my (suggested) changes. My actual test program is a bit different in that it uses PAUSE rather than sending the CPU to sleep & it prints out more details of program operation etc & I have left out the ON ERROR IGNORE command near the beginning. I'm running Ver 5.0708 with no real problems. I have tried a couple of the newer versions, which don't appear to be as stable (PICO locks up). I have not gotten around to test the latest version yet. This may or may not help palcal. 'MMBasic Code Listing WATCHDOG 65000 PRINT “Watchdog initialising” SETPIN GP22, DOUT PIN(GP22) = 0 SETPIN GP28, AIN ON ERROR IGNORE 'not sure on this one CPU SLEEP 60 DO WATCHDOG 65000 CPU SLEEP 60 WATCHDOG 200000 PRINT “Checking NTP” 'WEB NTP -10 ' Note: GMT -10Hrs WEB NTP 10, "216.239.35.0" 'Changed to a Google NTP AEST IF MM.ERRNO THEN ON ERROR CLEAR 'added PRINT “Checking Google” WEB OPEN TCP CLIENT “google.com”, 80 IF MM.ERRNO THEN ON ERROR CLEAR 'added PRINT “Checking Microsoft” WEB OPEN TCP CLIENT “microsoft.com”, 80 IF MM.ERRNO THEN PRINT “Rebooting router” PIN(22) = 1 WATCHDOG 10000 CPU SLEEP 5 PIN(22) = 0 WATCHDOG 200000 CPU SLEEP 180 CPU RESTART ELSE PRINT “OK” WEB CLOSE TCP CLIENT ENDIF ELSE PRINT “OK” WEB CLOSE TCP CLIENT ENDIF ELSE PRINT “OK” ENDIF WATCHDOG 65000 CPU SLEEP 60 LOOP Brian ChopperP |
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| palcal Guru Joined: 12/10/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1809 |
Thanks for that Brian, I have the mag. and will read the article. I did realiase the -10 was wrong and changed it. I will try the google server although at the moment it seems to always connect on the second try. You say you are running Ver 5.0708 I've only got 5.07.07 from Geoff's Site for his Watering System, I didn't know where to find the latest version. Maybe it's in Fruit of the Shed, I'll have a look. Edited 2023-12-10 07:07 by palcal "It is better to be ignorant and ask a stupid question than to be plain Stupid and not ask at all" |
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| palcal Guru Joined: 12/10/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1809 |
Couldn't find anything there, is there somewhere on the forum for Firmware or do I just search through the threads. Edit... Found 5.08.00 Edited 2023-12-10 07:27 by palcal "It is better to be ignorant and ask a stupid question than to be plain Stupid and not ask at all" |
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| lizby Guru Joined: 17/05/2016 Location: United StatesPosts: 3036 |
The thread, "PicoMite/VGA/Web V5.08.00: back to betas". Latest (at present) here Be sure to do "OPTION LIST" before "UPDATE FIRMWARE" so that you can recreate your options, which are erased by this update. Also, save anything on drive A: that you will need. PicoMite, Armmite F4, SensorKits, MMBasic Hardware, Games, etc. on fruitoftheshed |
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| palcal Guru Joined: 12/10/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1809 |
Thanks, I found that and have downloaded. "It is better to be ignorant and ask a stupid question than to be plain Stupid and not ask at all" |
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| TassyJim Guru Joined: 07/08/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 5950 |
MY suggestion for NTP servers, is somewhere close so you are not bouncing around the world. In Australia, 0.au.pool.ntp.org is good. Your ISP will be closer to you. and your router may be easiest but not for testing WWW connectivity. Jim VK7JH MMedit MMBasic Help |
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| palcal Guru Joined: 12/10/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1809 |
Thanks Jim I've been using au.pool.ntp.org. Everything seems to be working OK as far as the PicoWeb is concerned. Now having a bit of trouble with the RCWL-0516 Radar Sensor, it was working OK, just ordered some more. "It is better to be ignorant and ask a stupid question than to be plain Stupid and not ask at all" |
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| palcal Guru Joined: 12/10/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1809 |
 Found out why the Radar Module did not work.There is a cap missing top of photo. I have 5 one is OK one had the cap floating around in the wrapper and 3 had no cap at all. "It is better to be ignorant and ask a stupid question than to be plain Stupid and not ask at all" |
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| palcal Guru Joined: 12/10/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1809 |
I used the one with cap still attached but still had trouble, I found that whilst the cap was stuck in place it was not connected. I removed it, cleaned and resoldered. Now working OK. These boards are not very good quality but what can you expect for cheap boards from China. "It is better to be ignorant and ask a stupid question than to be plain Stupid and not ask at all" |
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| pwillard Senior Member  Joined: 07/06/2022 Location: United StatesPosts: 278 |
I finally just got tired of NTP not working right, even though I have the latest BETA, it still refuses to work reliably. So, I installed the NTP service on one of my local Raspberry Pi servers and I use that. Being a local IP, it just doesn't seem to fail anymore... so that's my solution. Maybe not for everyone... but if you have an always on server like I do, its possible. web ntp -4, "192.168.1.7" |
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| twofingers Guru Joined: 02/06/2014 Location: GermanyPosts: 1148 |
Thanks for the hint. I think I can do the same with my router (Fritzbox). Best regards Michael |
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| TassyJim Guru Joined: 07/08/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 5950 |
Yes. Using my English language Fritz: In the Fritz Under Home Network / Network / Network Settings Scroll down to "Time Synchronization" Set The server you want to use and tick in "Make FRITZ!Box available as a time server in the home network" I have my Fritz pointing to my GPS derived Time server but you can use any Time server as the reference. Jim VK7JH MMedit MMBasic Help |
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