Channels freezing every 2mins

[Metalartin]

Hi, having an issue that seems to come and go when it pleases making it hard to pin down, I will give as much information about my setup and what's happening and would like those in the know to give me some pointers to the most likely culprit.

The issue and checks already done:
1) Random freeze ups of channels, doesn't matter what channel, even BBC HD etc do it, the pause lasts a few seconds.
2) Already checked the cable at the back and made sure its secure.
3) Had the softcam panel open once and noticed it's reconnecting when this happens(reconnects are normal though right?).
4) Ran speedtest(enigma client) several times successfully with expected speeds(15-20mbs over vpn) each time to see if the connection was dropping.
5) Checked internet connection and VPN settings, main connection 100mb+ down and now receives A+ on http://www.dslreports.com/speedtest for the bufferbloat test with my updated settings. Used to think the problem was the VPN so spent ages making sure I had the optimal settings, there's no longer any daily disconnects, no errors in the logs and I created a script to bypass the VPN for ZGEMMA's ip and still had the freeze ups so I doubt the problem is there.

My Setup
1) ZGEMMA H5.2TC, wooshbuild7(used to happen occasionally with 6 too), mgcamd softcam.
2) Wireless nano router connected to the ethernet port(only way I can connect).
3) OpenVPN on main router for wireless traffic.

So what else is there left to try before contacting my line provider?

 

[pabloescaban]

have you tried it without the VPN?
You don't need a VPN unless you're using IPTV

also you may need to completely remove the softcams and re -add them again;
Go into plugins and remove all the softcams.
Then open putty and type:

opkg remove softcam-feed-universal

Then once done, install the IPK attached (the one in the zip file) - make sure you unzip it first.

Then add plugins, softcams, CCcam 2.3.0

 

[Metalartin]

have you tried it without the VPN?
You don't need a VPN unless you're using IPTV

also you may need to completely remove the softcams and re -add them again;
Go into plugins and remove all the softcams.
Then open putty and type:

opkg remove softcam-feed-universal

Then once done, install the IPK attached (the one in the zip file) - make sure you unzip it first.

Then add plugins, softcams, CCcam 2.3.0

Yes I can bypass the VPN via a script and the problem still occurs... I'd still rather have it running through VPN anyway for extra safety plus Virmin could easily start blocking line servers.

I only re-installed the wooshcam7 recently would the softcams really need re-installing so soon?

Thanks for the input all the same.

 

[pabloescaban]

Yes I can bypass the VPN via a script and the problem still occurs... I'd still rather have it running through VPN anyway for extra safety plus Virmin could easily start blocking line servers.

I only re-installed the wooshcam7 recently would the softcams really need re-installing so soon?

Thanks for the input all the same.

it takes 2 mins to change softcams, yes this has been mentioned elsewhere on the forum

 

[steptoe]

Yes I can bypass the VPN via a script and the problem still occurs... I'd still rather have it running through VPN anyway for extra safety plus Virmin could easily start blocking line servers.

I only re-installed the wooshcam7 recently would the softcams really need re-installing so soon?

Thanks for the input all the same.

The script may be causing issues also.
CS uses very little bandwidth, barely noticeable, so doubtful VM would even notice it,
To be completely sure its not a VPN issue I would completely remove it from the setup , then you can go to the next stage of elimination.

 

[Metalartin]

it takes 2 mins to change softcams, yes this has been mentioned elsewhere on the forum

Fair enough thanks for the info, I will give this a try.

 

[pabloescaban]

Fair enough thanks for the info, I will give this a try.

Did you try it with the script disabled/removed as mentioned by @steptoe above? - any change?

 

[Metalartin]

The script may be causing issues also.
CS uses very little bandwidth, barely noticeable, so doubtful VM would even notice it,
To be completely sure its not a VPN issue I would completely remove it from the setup , then you can go to the next stage of elimination.

That's very doubtful although in my explanation in the first post I kind of forgot that I hadn't done an IP "out" exception, I had done a line server "in" exception(people use this for netflix vpn blocks and it works fine) I used this because the none techy family members use IPTVPlayer(yify sources and what not) a lot and it was the best solution. What I will try is a the IP out exception that script will definitely not affect the setup(barely a script just an exception so the device connecting just goes through the main gateway) as I use this for one of my main computers and it's not detectable whatsoever.

I could try turning it off completely just to satisfy the slim possibility but a) I can't think of a reason why it would affect it given the fact I understand how it works b) That would mean losing all VPN protection for all wireless devices in the household(but at least I'd know where the problem was I guess as a starting point).

Thankyou again though all input appreciated.

 

[Metalartin]

Also forgot to mention some days it's fine which is why I'm having trouble pinning the problem down.

 

[pabloescaban]

Also forgot to mention some days it's fine which is why I'm having trouble pinning the problem down.

It's sounding more and more like a provider issue...have you tried a test from elsewhere?

 

[Metalartin]

It's sounding more and more like a provider issue...have you tried a test from elsewhere?

Not yet, I will rule out everything on my end first and give him a chance to try and sort it, maybe there's some mgcamd config I can change? The subs up in June next year.

 

[pabloescaban]

there's still a good chance it's the softcam, replace them first and see if it's any better

 

[ste]

All ok on fta channels? (fta channels on cable are 1-5 SD versions only - NOT the HD ones).

 

[Metalartin]

there's still a good chance it's the softcam, replace them first and see if it's any better

Will do thanks.

 

[Metalartin]

All ok on fta channels? (fta channels on cable are 1-5 SD versions only - NOT the HD ones).

Ah I didn't know there was a difference between the HD ones, I had read on here the FTA channels freezing points to a cable connection issue. I will check this later. Thanks

 

[Metalartin]

Just an update on this... rather annoyingly it seems all the steps I went through were way too complicated, I had a TP-Link Nano router (WR802N) connected to the Ethernet port and it seemed stable(7hours uptime and counting when I monitored it) while the Zgemma was off.... but watching closely while the Zgemma was on the connection was dropping every 7mins a reboot would make it last an hour or more but it seems a hardware issue, switched back to the older version I had upstairs(WR702N) and it's been stable since.

Shame I didn't keep the box to ask for a replacement from the manufacturer, thought I'd leave this here as I was checking everything and about to contact my line provider with a complaint before switching the routers over.