This page is a chronicle of the HFRadio hardware and software saga. In other words, I am sharing with you the latest news about the computer that runs the web site of HFRadio.org.

Please take a moment to read this note

I am writing this note, so that you can have a bit of background on what has been happening with HFRadio.org and with me, Tomas Hood (NW7US). Please take a few moments to read all of this note. Thank you.

UPDATE - MAY 15, 2008

As of May 15, 2008, HFRadio.org is running on a new server. This server is a much faster CPU, with twice the memory of the original server, and with faster hard drives and other components. It is also running in a larger server rack-mountable case, with many more fans and so it is running much cooler than before. Finally, it is running on a true server-class version of an Operating System.

The new server cost just under $4,000.00 (US Dollars). Additionally, a firewall computer was constructed and installed, to protect the server. This was an additional cost. The firewall was the last hurdle to navigate through, and that is what caused the delay from December 2007 until now. We tried about five different firewall ideas, and each had a problem in one way or other. Finally, our current firewall is doing the job it was supposed to do.

The next steps are to re-work the whole website content and fix links, re-do navigation and the layout. It is time to modernize it, once again. Remember, I started this back around 1998 - TEN YEARS ago. A lot of changes have taken place since then. It is time again to make new, major changes. I'm open for suggestions, by the way.

DO YOU THINK THAT YOU CAN HELP OUT WITH THE EXPENSES STILL NOT COVERED?

If you are able, please help out - the donations up to this point have been very helpful, but have not yet reached the full amount of the server costs - the tally is about $4400.00 all told. We have raised about half of that, so far.

So, that is all of the current news. If you wish to read the rest of the old news ... for a background on what transpired in this long journey, here you go:

UPDATE - THANKSGIVING, 2007

Well, after struggling for over a year with trying to keep the current server box, a 1U rack-mounted short case with a low-quality budget motherboard and other low-cost components (hard drive, CPU, etc.), I have decided that ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. We cannot keep wrestling with a computer that was never intended to be a server.

So, I just purchased a brand-new REAL server. This computer is housed in a true 2U rack-mount SERVER case, complete with RAID Hot-swappable hard drive bays, hot-swappable power supply (it has two power supplies, running at the same time. If one fails, the computer will keep running while the failed supply can be replaced. And, the dead power supply can be replaced WITH THE SERVER STILL RUNNING!), and other real server features. The motherboard is a high-end server board, and can run TWO CPU chips!

I've installed eight gigabytes of server memory, and populated the server mother board with one CPU at this time. THE SERVER IS A SCREAMING, FAST SERVER!

I am in the middle of installing all of the needed software and I am getting it ready for live service. I hope to be done by the end of December, 2007, at the latest.

THE NEW SERVER COST ABOUT $3800.00 (USD). I NEED HELP TO RE-IMBURSE MY POCKET BOOK FOR THIS HUGE COST. ANY HELP THAT YOU CAN ASSIST WITH BY WAY OF A DONATION WOULD BE MOST APPRECIATED.

UPDATE - JUNE 19, 2007

Good news: the original bills for getting the HFRadio.org server back up and running have been paid up in full. Thank you to those who helped me cover these costs.

Also good news: Leigh (pronounced, 'Lee') has had her surgery (June 13) and the tumors were successfully removed. It was most complex than the surgeon first thought it would be, but in the end all went well. Leigh is recovering well. Thank you to all of you who were keeping her in your prayers. Please continue to pray for her auto-immune system, as she still has the CTD (See below).

We still have a need to cover the cost of upgrading the server's CPU and server case. And, we still have monthly costs. Please consider helping if you can. Thank you.

Background Information and History... As you probably know, the HFRadio.org computer (server) was down (off-line) for about three months. The initial failure of the server hardware occurred in October, 2006. I was able to get the server back into service (on-line) in January, 2007.

The failure of the hardware was one of several issues that caused me to have to remove the server from the Internet. When the server was taken off-line in October, HFRadio.org was not available to the public. During the period that the server was off-line, I redirected HFRadio.org to my personal "page" at: http://nw7us.spaces.live.com - which is still up and running, allowing me to have a personal "blog" of sorts.

More Details: Why HFRadio.org was off-line

After taking the server down at the end of October, 2006, it took me three months (yeah, THREE!) to get all of the hardware changes and upgrades completed, as well as the installation of the more recent version of the operating system.

The following list includes the major reasons that HFRadio.org went off-line from October 2006 to January 2007:

• Server (Computer) Failure - the server kept crashing, or freezing. As the amount of traffic to HFRadio.org increased, the computer (also known as a 'server') had to work harder. The computer has what is known as a 'CPU' - the 'brain' of the computer. The HFRadio.org server has an older CPU, that runs a bit on the hot side. With a heavier work-load, the CPU gets extremely hot. We (several technical advisors/consultants and I) think that most of the crashes have been due to the excessive heat. Because the server hardware (the 'motherboard' with the CPU and memory, the hard drives, and the power supply) is housed in a very small rack-mounted case (the case is known as a '1U' server case), the heat does not get removed easily. With over heating, the hard drives can fail, as well as the rest of the computer hardware. Heat is NOT a good thing to have in a computer.
  
  
• Lack of Funds - no funds were available to quickly fix the hardware. Because I pay for all of this out of my pocket, and because I am not running HFRadio.org as a business, I have limited funds for this public service. I accept donations from those who want to see HFRadio.org continue to run. There have been a few very helpful individuals who have sent donations to help out. This help is appreciated very much. However, these donations are not very common (many months go by with very few donations) and most are very small donations (less than twenty dollars). I also try to raise funds by selling Amazon items, and doing other odds and ends. This income is not very high, either. Bottom line: I had no funds set aside for hardware budgets, and very little on-hand through donations or spare change, to quickly repair the server.
  
  
• Operating System Problems - when I started to patch things up, the operating system continued to have problems with the new hardware components.
  
  

Getting HFRadio.org back up and running

After taking three months (yeah, THREE!) to get all of the hardware changes and upgrades completed, as well as the installation of the more recent version of the operating system, I put the server back in service. I hoped all would be well. Here is the list of what I had to do to get this server back on-line:

• Change (upgrade) the cooling system. That means replacing fans, adding fans, and testing.
  
  
• Replace the hard disc drive with two newer, faster, and larger hard disc drives. This gives an increase in response time, and, allows me to store additional data, and so forth.
  
  
• Upgrade the server RAM (random access memory). This gives the server additional room to do the work of being a server.
  
  
• Upgrade the Operating System to the current stable version - The operating system is a variant of Linux, tailored to the service of hosting a Web site, and so forth.
  
  
• Install the latest protection - This protection includes firewall, anti-spam, anti-virus, anti-denial-of-service, and other related security software.
  
  
• Install updated scripts and programs - These programs and scripts do all of the back-end magic that makes this site run.
  
  
• Cleaning up a lot of stuff.
  

It was frustrating that it took as long as it did! But, I could not go any faster because I had to do all of this work on my free time. I also had to spend a lot of money.

Total cost: $1053.99 in hardware and contracting. This is a bill that I am still paying for, as I was able to obtain this on 'account'. I MUST pay this bill as soon as possible. I cannot easily pay for this out of my own pocket, as my monthly income is very limited. Other costs: $375 in consulting/contracting from the hosting company, and services rendered. Additionally, I still have the monthly fees just to keep the server connected to the Internet at the co-location facility in Seattle, Washington.

UPDATE - MAY 10, 2007 - After further consulting with technical help, we've determined that I have to replace the motherboard, the CPU, and the rack-mount case (which will include a power supply and the fans). This is the only way I can completely stabilize the server. Why? All of my work up to this point has not completely solved the over-heating issues with the high load of this server. The CPU is too old, and runs too hot. Even with all of the fans, the cooler hard drives, the server is running at between 150 and 165 degrees (F). That's way too hot! This excessive heat, no matter how much I've tried to reduce it, is just killing the computer. I have to reset the machine daily. Normally, a server could run for months without being reset. So, this is a real need. WE HAVE TO UPGRADE THE SERVER, COMPLETELY.

The cost of this over-haul is going to increase my bill! I NEED YOUR HELP!

Remember, HFRadio.org is NOT my job. It is my service to the public. So, I have to have spare time to accomplish all of this, and, I have to have spare money to pay for all of this.

If you are able to donate toward either the HARDWARE bill, or donate toward the monthly operating costs, (or both), then you are providing me with the ability to continue serving the general public with this Space Weather and Radio Propagation Web site service. ANY HELP YOU ARE ABLE TO SEND IS DEEPLY APPRECIATED.

Can you help out, today? If so, here are a few ways that you can help: (there are more ways, listed further below

• Send funds directly to me via the United States Postal Service (send it by letter at the Post Office). My address is: Tomas Hood (ARS NW7US), Post Office Box 9, Stevensville, Montana 59870-0009. Funds need to be made out to: Tomas Hood
  
  
• Send funds via PayPal. This is a safe, and easy method, as you can use many forms of payment. To donate toward HFRadio.org, use the following button to help out, today:
  
  
• Purchase one of the items I am allowed to offer through HFRadio.org:
  
  
  • ACE-HF Pro for the Amateur Radio Operator and Shortwave Radio Listening Hobbyist - In my opinion, this is the best available propagation simulation tool for analysis of radio communications circuits on the high frequency spectrum. Check out all of the information here.
    
    
  • Other software items are listed, further below...

My spare time and my funds are VERY limited.

When I am not working for daily income, my time is mostly filled with caring for my wife who is rather ill at this part of our journey together.

Medical Issues (updated: May 10, 2007)

Some of you know the basic facts regarding my wife, Leigh, and her health issues. She recently was diagnosed with a number of rather large, and growing, tumors. Further, there are red flags regarding a possible cancer. We have been dealing with a whole lot of appointments and resulting travel, since about October. This has cut into my available time, affecting my job, and really cutting into the rest of my life (family, and so on). My health is improving, but my plate is pretty full trying to take the slack so my wife can rest and deal with the medical situation. The latest news is that she may finally have surgery by the end of May 2007, to remove as much of the tumors as possible. We hope that this will then trigger her immune system back into normal mode. Right now, she is diagnosed with CTD (connective tissues disease), with a slight 'cancer' risk. To treat CTD, she will have to undergo medication that is terrible on her body. We are praying that the CTD will subside once the tumors are gone.

Travel to medical care is a real drain (financially and physically, let alone mentally!). For us, where the nearest store is nearly 40 miles distant, getting to any medical facility worth anything is quite a trip (no less than 120 miles for one round-trip appointment).

Your continued prayers for Leigh are most appreciated, as she is just not doing well right now. Thank you.

Auto Accident

Somewhat related to this is the auto accident that my wife, one of my sons, and I suffered in about two years ago. The vehicle that I was driving was at a stand-still on the Hood Canal Bridge, in Washington State. We were the last vehicle in the west-bound lane, in the waiting line of traffic. One of my sons and my wife were passengers. While we were waiting for the bridge to re-open to traffic, another driver plowed straight into the rear of our vehicle at about 30 to 40 miles per hour.

He told the police officer that he was looking out over the water to see what boat was causing the bridge to be closed to traffic. (The bridge opens up to let marine traffic through, which causes vehicle traffic to be blocked). He also yelled at me when he first got out of his truck and came up to our vehicle, "Why did you stop right in the middle of the road?" What a strange thing to ask! If he knew that the bridge was closed to our traffic. It was very clear that there was a waiting line of vehicles.

Well, our vehicle was completely "totaled" and we were not able to open our doors. We had to wait for others to break open the vehicle. My wife was immobilized by the medical workers and we all were taken to the hospital.

Two years later, we're still dealing with the repercussions from that single act of that driver's negligence. My wife has had to have spinal surgery, and has on-going medical issues related to the accident. I have had three surgeries due to the accident. Thankfully, though, our son did not need any surgery, though he certainly has suffered, too.

Life has not gotten easier, but rather, quite a bit more difficult, mostly due to that one single incident. All of last year was spend mostly running from medical task to medical task. The trauma is real, and life has not been the same as it was, before.

That's the short story... thank you to those of you who have been keeping us in your prayers.

HELP!

Now, finally, I need to ask you for some help. The cost of upgrading this server is a bit more than I can comfortably handle. I need to pay off what I owe for hardware, co-location, bandwidth, and bring HFRadio.org current. All told, I need at least $500 (U.S. Dollars). Simply, I NEED YOU TO HELP! Please?

If you can spare something, PLEASE HELP, today. Anything helps. The most direct method is by using one of the following methods:

• Send funds to me via Post Office: Tomas Hood (ARS NW7US), PO Box 9, Stevensville, Montana 59870-0009. Funds need to be made out to: Tomas Hood
  
  
• Send funds via PayPal. Use the following button to help out, today: