NetTime

I’m now using FreeTime quite happily on the BeagleBoard. Steve Revill has reported release of the NetTime source . I guess the built module may be added to the downloads at some point too. Thanks, ROOL.

Steve Revill has reported release of the NetTime source.

Excellent! Shame that the revision viewer doesn’t show when they import new CVS subtrees, otherwise I would have probably spotted it by now :( (Of course, an announcement here would have been nice too!)

I guess the built module may be added to the downloads at some point too.

To be honest it could probably do with being added to the disc image, and have a Configure plugin written for it. Something for me to try on a free weekend, perhaps.

Thanks, ROOL.

Indeed!

Here is an example of what I put into my !Boot.Choices.Boot.Tasks to get NetTime doing its thing…

| Nettime stuff
Set NetTime$DST European
Set Inet$TimeServer ntp.demon.co.uk
Set NetTime$Server < Inet$TimeServer >
RMEnsure NetTime 0.35 RMLoad System:Modules.Network.NetTime

and of course I put the NetTime module itself into System.Modules.Network (or similar). Note the spaces in the example system variable above are only there to stop Textile markup from cocking up my example too badly.

I guess the built module may be added to the downloads at some point too.

I second that. I’ve used FreeTime for a while, but it has suddenly stopped working (it gets timeout when trying to fetch time from the server, ntp.demon.co.uk, and I’ve tried others, as well), so I figured I could try to use NetTime.

Most of the software linked from the software compatibility page can be downloaded directly, without having to build it, and it’s a little cumbersome when you have to download the RISC OS source and build NetTime, to use it.

...it’s a little cumbersome when you have to download the RISC OS source and build NetTime, to use it.

Forunately some kind soul (thanks, DP) emailed me a copy of the TimeKeepers archive, so I didn’t have to do this. I’d send you a copy but it sounds as though you’ve built it anyway. (If not, let me know and I’ll do so.)

I’ve since tried IyoUpWtch on the BeagleBoard, expecting to be able to obtain TimeKeepers directly myself. Never having used an Iyonix, I don’t know what’s going wrong but anyway I can’t get it to work on BB.

A minor snag on downloading TimeKeepers, on an Iyonix, from this link is that it calls GetUpdate within !IyoUpWtch but the ABCLib is not rmensured. (Currently,07Nov10, even with the ABCLib loaded there is no actual download!) There is a rather larger snag in attempting to download on a platform that knows nothing of IyoUpWtch.

The recommended place for the commands was !Boot.Choices.Internet.User, which is accessed from ‘User Options’ in Network > Internet configuration. This is my entry appended to that file :-

Set Inet$NTPServer ntp.plus.net

RMEnsure NetTime 0.35 RMLoad System:Modules.Network.NetTime

(Without the ‘Textile evasion’ blank line that is.)

Works perfectly.

Hi Trevor.

Forunately some kind soul (thanks, DP) emailed me a copy of the TimeKeepers archive, so I didn’t have to do this. I’d send you a copy but it sounds as though you’ve built it anyway. (If not, let me know and I’ll do so.)

No, I haven’t actually built RISC OS, yet: I’ve been concentrating on learning RISC OS, these days, so, yes, I’d appreciate it if you’d send me a copy (tslettebo@broadpark.no).

I have put the module ‘NetTime’ in System.500.Modules.Network on my Beagleboard XM and it is listed using *HELP MODULES as NetTime 0.36 (17 Jan 2005).

| Nettime stuff
Set NetTime$DST European
Set Inet$TimeServer ntp.demon.co.uk
Set NetTime$Server <Inet$TimeServer>
RMEnsure NetTime 0.35 RMLoad System:Modules.Network.NetTime

| Nettime stuff
Set NetTime$DST European
Set Inet$TimeServer ntp.demon.co.uk
Set Inet$NTPServer ntp.demon.co.uk
Set NetTime$Server <Inet$TimeServer>
RMEnsure NetTime 0.35 RMLoad System:Modules.Network.NetTime

However the clock stays at 1970. What have I done wrong please?

put the module ‘NetTime’ in System.500.Modules.Network

Mine’s in System.310.Modules.Network (which may be incorrect, but still works).

...Obey file called ‘NetTime’ to !Boot.Choices.Boot.Tasks

NetTime_Kick

RMEnsure NetTime 0.35 RMLoad System:modules.NetTime
Set Inet$NTPServer pool.ntp.org
NetTime_Kick

...appended the following lines to !Boot.Choices.Internet.User

And I’ve made no changes there. Hope you can get it to work soon.

Chris

I have my module in System.500.Modules.Network

I also just have the following two lines in !Boot.Choices.Internet.User

Set Inet$NTPServer uk.pool.ntp.org RmEnsure NetTime 0 RmLoad System:Modules.Network.NetTime

Works everytime on boot up.

You do have your network set up and working as well?

Still no joy.

*nettime_status  
Current time:    Friday, 2 January 1970 00:05:32.24
Status:          Sleeping
Poll interval:   30 minutes
Timer latch:     130000

Not sure how I can tell ‘whether the internet is up and running’ – ShareFS is showing a shared drive via the network and all my other computers can see the internet OK.

Not sure how I can tell ‘whether the internet is up and running’

What about NetSurf or anything else? Weren’t you already using these before the NetTime install? Do they still work?

What about NetSurf or anything else? Weren’t you already using these before the NetTime install? Do they still work?

I get the error message ‘Pheonix requires version 0.41 of the URL_Fetcher module, either in ROM or on disc at System:Modules.Network.URL.URL’.

So I have added a directory ‘Network’ to System.310.Modules containing a directory URL containing a number of modules including URL (copied over from my Iyonix).

!Pheonix now loads onto the iconbar but gives an error if clicked on – internal error: abort on data transfer at &000B014C.

If I bring up the iconbar menu and select’ Help/RISC OS Ltd then it displays a window with ‘http://www.riscos.com’ as the URL but says ‘Remote host not found. Please check the URL’.

Now what?

I’ve since tried IyoUpWtch on the BeagleBoard

I shouldn’t bother – it doesn’t work any more on the Iyonix. It is dead software, no updates are being produced now.

For a start off, I’d download NetSurf as it’s simpler to setup, it comes with all the modules you need, you just merge the !Boot & !System folder supplied with your existing ones and run !NetSurf. No having to manually copy the right modules to the right places etc..

Also, you can see if your BB can see the outside world by trying a ping. Just ping a site and see what you get.

…no I wasn’t using a browser on the BBXM under RISC OS.

OK – I thought you’d been using a USB over Ethernet adapter but by the sounds of it was wrong… This would also explain your eagerness to have access to the onboard port!

I’ve since tried IyoUpWtch on the BeagleBoard

I shouldn’t bother – it doesn’t work any more on the Iyonix. It is dead software, no updates are being produced now.

Thanks. This confirms what I’d suspected.

Now what?

Do you know whether the NIC works under Linux? Have you already followed the links at Configuring Networking? If you start with a fresh HardDisc4 install on a temporary device and then set up EtherUSB etc. do you have any more joy with NetSurf?

Do you know whether the NIC works under Linux?

Have you already followed the links at Configuring Networking?

*nettime_status  
Current time:    Friday, 2 January 1970 00:05:32.24
Status:          DNSWait
Poll interval:   30 minutes
Timer latch:     130000

*ping 62.24.128.17
PING 62.24.128.17 (62.24.128.17): 56 data bytes
64 bytes from 62.24.128.17: icmp_seq=0 ttl=53 time=41.848 ms
64 bytes from 62.24.128.17: icmp_seq=1 ttl=53 time=36.524 ms
--- 62.24.128.17 ping statistics ---
19 packets transmitted, 19 packets received, 0% packet loss
round-trip min/avg/max = 34.698/36.813/44.264 ms
*ping uk.pool.ntp.org
PING uk.pool.ntp.org (194.1.151.100): 56 data bytes
64 bytes from 194.1.151.100: icmp_seq=0 ttl=52 time=61.205 ms
64 bytes from 194.1.151.100: icmp_seq=1 ttl=52 time=32.533 ms
--- uk.pool.ntp.org ping statistics ---
3 packets transmitted, 3 packets received, 0% packet loss
round-trip min/avg/max = 32.533/42.256/61.205 ms
*nettime_kick 
*nettime_status 
Current time:    Friday, 2 January 1970 00:31:49.89
Status:          DNSWait
Poll interval:   30 minutes
Timer latch:     130000

*show inet$nt*
Inet$NTPServer : uk.pool.ntp.org
*show nettime$*
NetTime$DST : European
*

So what is the issue now, please? !Boot.Choices.Boot.Tasks sets Inet$NTPServer to uk.pool.ntp.org

So what is the issue now, please?

Type *nettime_kick, this should force nettime to check the time with the server. Now type *nettime_status and you should get a larger report if it’s working.

Have you tried to see if you can access the internet using NetSurf yet?

Type ‘nettime_kick’, this should force nettime to check the time with the server. Now type ‘nettime_status’ and you should get a larger report if it’s working.

Many thanks. But you will see (above) that *NetTime_Kick did nothing. Not tried NetSurf yet.

I have the same problem: Neither NetTime nor FreeTime works for me (the latter reports timeout), and I’ve tried several NTP servers, including pool.ntp.org, and I can ping them and access websites using Netsurf, but the clock is stuck on 1970… (setting it with !Alarm works)

This used to work before (first FreeTime, then NetTime; se my earlier post), but now none of them work, and I haven’t done any configuration change to the router or anything…

Seems I’m stuck in the 70’s… Anybody got pot? :)

After installing !NetSurf, which included copying !Boot and merging !System, the drive icon for the USB drive attached to the OTG port (SCSI drive 4) has disappeared. I recovered the old !Boot but the drive icon is still missing.

Switching off and on again, in desperation, brought back the drive icon. I am not prepared to try installing !Netsurf further.

Now this is weird – I set the clock to 1500 today (at 1530) using !Alarm and then did nettime_kick followed by nettime_status and – wow – the clock was set to the correct time.

Does nettime regard 1970 as an invalid date and therefore leave it alone? Or what? The BBXM will have a switch on time of 1970 (until we get CMOS RAM) and so nettime won’t be much use unless it recognises that 1970 is a valid time.

Perhaps we need a utility to read the time from the internet and set the internal clock approximately to that time so that NetTime will be happy that we are in the same century and set the time accurately? I thought that was what NetTime would do on its own!

Does nettime regard 1970 as an invalid date and therefore leave it alone? Or what? The BBXM will have a switch on time of 1970 (until we get CMOS RAM) and so nettime won’t be much use unless it recognises that 1970 is a valid time.

I’ve not tried it on the BB yet, but on an Iyonix, setting the year back to 1970 and then running Nettime_kick causes the year to be reset back to 2011, so nettime itself doesn’t have a flaw, I don’t think.

.. not tried it on the BB yet, but on an Iyonix, setting the year back to 1970 and then running Nettime_kick causes the year to be reset back to 2011, so nettime itself doesn’t have a flaw, I don’t think.

Setting the time to 1970 on the BBXM (using !Alarm) and then running NetTime_Kick causes the year to be set back to 2011 and the time to be correct. However leave the time at 1970 after a power on and NetTime_Kick does not do anything.

I have even tried a work-around to include a file that sets the date in ‘PreDesk’ (a BASIC prog that just contains the line ‘SYS “OS_Word”,15,CHR$(15)+”Mon,17 Feb 1992”’) but this does not work.

SYS "OS_Word",15,CHR$(15)+"Mon,17 Feb 1992" 
*NetTime_Kick

This doesn’t reflect my experiences. I turn on and the clock’s usually reset correctly (from 1970) without any real delay (using NetTime_Kick). I’ll verify some time with a fresh HardDisc4 !Boot sequence and just NetTime & EtherUSB.

any chance nettime will become part of the beagleboard ROM?