I run a WinLink VHF Gateway using VARA FM (WB4SON-10 on 145.050). It is incredibly stable, except when Windows forces an update (even though I have Auto Updates disabled, apparently some updates are so critical they overrides that setting). Sometimes that will take down the gateway until I complete the update. The last time that happened, I took an opportunity to update VARA FM as well, and that resulted in a system that would no longer connect. It turns out the latest version of VARA FM (4.3.5) decided to uncheck the TCP settings box. That was pretty obvious, and within a couple of minutes the gateway was back up and running.
I hadn’t run my WinLink HF setup since January, and figured I would make sure everything was updated as well, bringing VARA HF up to version 4.8.5. Sure enough, there was a problem with this update as well – my rig was no longer going into transmit, and both the input and output soundcard settings had changed. The soundcard was easy to fix, but the lack of transmit wasn’t so obvious (I had set it up years ago and it just worked every time). It turned out that I had to add a value to the PTT Port (Optional) Selection, which I did. That restored everything to proper operation.
Bottom line, a simple software update can sure mess stuff up. Always test after updating!
