Portsea Surfcam.

Yeah, so are we actually. The technical issues seem to be impossible to trace or fix. Here's a list of the most recent developments:

The router initially went offline Friday 8th Feb. Remote rebooting equipment wouldn't responding, so problem is either (1) hardware failure (unlikely as equipment is relatively new), (2) telephone line fault (possible, has happened before at this location), (3) ISP issue or (4) electrical problem at surf club.

Took quite a few days for someone to get down and diagnose the problem. Confirmed no electrical problem on site. All equipment 'working'. Which means it's either a Telstra issue (which costs us $250 per service call, if the problem ends up not being theirs), an ISP issue or something else.

Technical analysis with the ISP took a few days (usual 48 hour turnaround), and they had no problems at their end. So we asked our contact down there to try a second router (usual way of fault checking).

Unfortunately, the key to the cabinet had been misplaced - so we had to re-order one and courier it down to them which took 4 days. Then they were unable to get on site for a couple of additional days. So another week passed

Then, for some unknown reason - the day they went down to try the backup router, the existing router just started responding again and the surfcam was back up. Absolutely NO idea why it started working after being offline for more than a week and a half.

They also tried the second router which did NOT work (pre-configured identically). Again, this makes no sense at all. So they plugged the original router back in and we had surfcam vision for a couple of days.

Then on Thursday this week, the surfcam service went down again. It's not responding to the rebooter, so we have to go through the same process again.

So, in summary: we have an intermittent connectivity issue which I've been aware of and trying to solve for at least the last six months. Our ISP can't see any problems at their end, there's no electrical problem at the building and all of our hardware is working fine.

This means it's possibly a Telstra line fault (we've had two of them at Portsea over the last seven years) however local Telstra contractors aren't always pro-active to solving these kinds of problems. If I get a Telstra technician to check it out and they deem it to 'not be their problem' (which they may, if the line mysteriously starts working again), then I'll be slugged with a $250 bill and won't be any closer to rectifying the problem.

I can also send out our local surfcam installed/electrician (who lives on the Surf Coast) but I don't know if he'll be able to diagnose the problem. And that'll be an additional expense at my end.

My gut feel is that it is a Telstra issue but I'm trying to tick off every possible other solution before I commit to getting them out.

Anyway, I just wrote all of this to let you know what goes on behind the scenes - we are aware of each and every one of our surfcam issues, but as a small business we have to prioritise our resources and finances (remember, we provide these surfcams to you FREE of charge). Over the last two weeks I've probably spent ten hours on trying to solve this problem alone - plus a range of additional expenses - but it all usually happens behind the scene (we're constantly troubleshooting remote locations right around the country.. that's just the way it goes).

OK.. back to work..

Ben, I have a small business too that is required to work within regional area infrastructure Telstra issues. Sometimes these technical problems have more than one thing going on - you get technicians coming out from the various service providers (in our situation Telstra Business phone systems, Telstra Line Faults, and Xerox ie two hardware providers and one internet provider) and individually testing components and, with us several times anyway, we have gone around the merry go round several times with each party saying their bit is working just fine thank you very much you must now speak (again) to the next person. But our system was still not working. This can become more frustrating than surfing snapper on a public holiday. Our solution has been to find a local technician and risk copping the service call fees because if you can prove its one of the providers (often is) then they reimburse this - anyway thats our experience.
Anyhoo on at least three occasions now the issue has been related to the interaction between systems, and when technicians are only operating within their own bubble and not taking into account the gesalt or whole system they dont find a problem and/or its not their problem thank you very much - diabolical situation when your business relies on it and it is costing you money.
So - local Telstra guy living in the area and knew us took the time to check the whole system out and got to the core of the prob - fairly easy solution which was ultimately a line issue. FARK! Months and months....

So my point is - I have sympathy for your tech issues...

Haha.. thanks Mundies. I actually think it could be a physical problem in the 'pit' out in the street (ie line corrosion) as we've encountered this problem before. But in my experience the techies also don't like being recommended what the problem might be. And, unfortunately in this case my local sparky - despite being Austel approved (ie can play with telephone lines inside a private property) is not allowed to access any Telstra infrastructure elsewhere.

In this case it's just frustrating when the problem is intermittent. It's easier to source the problem when the line is off - but it's impossible for them to diagnose the problem when it magically turns on again. Just like every time I take my car to the mechanic.. it starts driving perfectly...

Argh!

Anyway, the real issue here is: how do we communicate these ongoing issues to the general public? Despite Swellnet being a free service, I do want everyone to be aware of the hard work that goes on behind the scenes to rectify surfcam outages. But I don't want to bore everyone with every small thing that happens. Perhaps we could have a 'status' page for each surfcam - linked to off the actual surfcam - that kept a log of what was happening when a surfcam was offline.

No probs G. Telstra are now on to the case. Dunno how long it'll take or whether they'll be able to fix it, but I'll let you know as soon as we hear back.

"Our wholesale supplier estimates the reported service issue will be investigated on or before 01/03 Close of business. You are not required to be in attendance at this stage. If the service is not working after 01/03, contact us by phone".

It's still not going. Local tech would be wise.

Wow. From my ISP: " Please note that the Technician attended yesterday was unable to locate the premises. Please contact us and confirm the address and let us know of a landmark that can be used to locate the premises. "

Erm, it's the only building at the end of the road. This is very frustrating!

Finally, they seem to have worked out that it's the surf club at the end of the road. The latest info is as such:

"Our wholesale supplier estimates the reported service issue will be investigated on or before 05/03/2013 Close of business. You are not required to be in attendance at this stage. If the service is not working after 05/03/2013, contact us by Phone."

And we're back! Took two visits from Telstra this week but finally got it all sorted today. Fingers crossed we don't experience any more problems.

Bloody hell, we're having problem with the Portsea surfcam again.

It's been offline all week and I suspect it might be related to the same problem as last time (where I had Telstra visit the site twice, and then got our own electrician over from the Surf Coast to check it out).

I've got someone looking at it today or tomorrow but am not sure how long it'll take to rectify. Apologies for the inconvenience.

And we're back with a brand new, upgraded cam at Portsea. Shame the waves are onshore...

https://www.swellnet.com/surfcams/portsea