I'm having disconnnectiong issues too, but all I do tofix it is go to the settings and connect.   I don't think restarting is necessary

My chumby has been disconnecting from wifi also.  This has been happening since the firmware update 1.5.0.

0,10,20,30,40,50 * * * * /usr/bin/wget -q http://eddy/cgi-bin/wifi -O /home/brad/chumby-status/wifi-`date +"\%y\%m\%d\%H\%M"`

added to the side-by Linux machine crontab to see if/when/how it dies and the connection stuff leading up to it.

I'm not running beta; standard 1.5. Chumby is less than 8ft away from the WAP.  Running WEP mode (all that the WAP supports).  Chumby ran for about 4-1/2 to 5 hours before dropping its connection. Captured in the cron job above; never dropped below 95 signal quality/strength and sat at 100 for 27 out of 31 grabs. No networks visible in the 'choose a wireless network' thing.  Other wireless devices still connecting just fine.

It was able to reconnect to the network directly after restarting with no fuss.

(Yes, I'm passing this info -- actually a bit more detail -- to the Chumby support people for their analysis.)

Edit: Going to let Chumby and my side-by Linux machine run through the night to see what happens.

#!/bin/sh

typeset -i retval

for file in `ls chumby-status/`; do
  retval=`grep rausb0: chumby-status/$file | cut -c15-17`
  time=`echo $file | cut -f2 -d'-'`
  if [ "x${retval}" == "x" ]; then 
    retval="NR"
  fi
  echo "$time:$retval"
done

to generate:

0804021851:100
0804021859:100
0804021900:100
0804021901:100
0804021922:100
0804021934:100
0804021938:100
0804021940:100
0804021950:100
0804022000:97
0804022010:100
0804022020:100
0804022030:100
0804022040:100
0804022050:100
0804022100:100
0804022110:100
0804022120:100
0804022130:100
0804022140:100
0804022150:95
0804022200:100
0804022210:100
0804022220:100
0804022230:100
0804022240:97
0804022250:100
0804022300:0
0804022310:0
0804022320:0
0804022330:0
0804022340:98
0804022350:97
0804030000:98
0804030010:100
0804030020:100
0804030030:100
0804030040:100
0804030050:90
0804030100:0
0804030110:80
0804030120:0
0804030130:100
0804030140:0
0804030150:80
0804030200:0
0804030210:0
0804030220:0
0804030230:0
0804030240:0
0804030250:0
0804030300:0
0804030310:0
0804030320:0
0804030330:0
0804030340:0
0804030350:0
0804030400:0
0804030410:0
0804030420:0
0804030430:0
0804030440:0
0804030450:0
0804030500:0
0804030510:0
0804030520:0
0804030530:0
0804030540:0
0804030550:0
0804030600:0
0804030610:0
0804030620:0
0804030630:0
0804030640:0
0804030650:100
0804030700:100

manual restarts at 11:30p and 6:45a

edit: I'm not the most efficient shell coder, but it works

Its a bug... Hang in there... Geesh...
Its like returning a PC for a bug in the network stack...

I'm sorry, no, I don't see it that way.  This is an all-in-one appliance -- like a NAS or CD-Tower Server (goodness, those things only worked half the time) with its own built-in 'operating system' or in Chumby's terms, 'firmware' -- which implies a level of closed system.  It should work without me having to hack at it or work around, etc. That's why I have yet to really lay my hands on it as a hackable toy -- I wanted to ensure that it works(ed?) as designed.  If networking doesn't work reliably, the add-on stuff i wish to do is waste of my time.

The fact that this gizmo is based on GNU/Linux, a kernel/userland combination which has years of tried and true practices and is even being 'sold' (well, okay, the support and stability is what's truly sold) by RedHat and Novell (SuSE) as Enterprise class operating systems leads one to believe that they used most of the stuff that had already been built, tacked on the bits needed to interface with the hardware, create the control panel which could do the stuff they wanted it to do and be done with it.

Wireless networking has been around for a shorter amount of time, but the practice is the same as a wired network -- if I lose connection, notify the user/administrator/whatever and when the network is available again, reconnect. Its that simple. The tools are there. Is the hardware that different that these bits don't work as they do on a 'true computer' (what is that anyhow, these days?)

In my not so humble opinion, a device that's made to be so very network centric as the Chumby should have had the wireless/connectivity piece on the very top of the testing stack. If the network doesn't work, the content display system is for naught and, suddenly, I have an expensive alarm clock.  If [reconnecting] is not even feature that was designed in, shame on Chumby, Inc.

Don't get me wrong, I like the device and the options it brings; I really want it to work The Right Way(tm) and be able to add some tidbits of personal functionality to it at a later date.

That said, the techs (Chumbicians?) have agreed that it appears my Chumby is defective and are going to cross ship me a new one Real Soon Now(tm).  So I'll give it another go and I'll have a few home made tools to track the Chumby status and we'll see where we go from there.

Edit: Wow, didn't realize how much I had rambled on. But I needed to say it.  I don't have a ton of disposable income and was trying to decide between the Chumby (which was all about fun and playing) and an Asus Eee PC (which was more utilitarian and COULD be fun but wasn't really designed that way.) ... wow ... more rambling ... well ... whatever.

Its like any piece of hardware/software/firmware, even if its bundled together, you need some real world usage for things to BREAK... Duane clearly stated they have a fix pending for the reconnect problem.. Using the "I dont have disposable income" as an excuse for impatience is just plain inconsiderate.. If you want to go into a speal about *Like a NAS*.... Uh.. I could go off about Windows Home Servers file corruption issue..... or some well known issues with some professional gear (NetApps fileservers) .... Chumby has TRIED to get all the kinks out before they released the product, but it needs to be in the hands of REAL users, not just the technical saavy ones before you can work out every permutation/configuration.... some linux configurations are stable, while some STILL dont work.. Also realize that this is linux for a ARM device, not a Intel or AMD cpu.. and network drivers for linux.. ARE STILL AN ISSUE!.... (and the distro does NOT matter.. Oh Broadcomm gig ethernet adapters ring a bell)....

Ooh.. how about the day of the week bug on the Philips USB Picture Frame/Alarm clock?

Sorry about my rant but you have delusional expectations for ANY software/hardware...
Go try a Nokia 800/810 Internet Appliance.. It too has *issues* but most have been ironed out only AFTER being out on the market....

Ill gladly take your chumby off your hands for you..  You have no appreciation for the effort it took to design it, and the people who support it... Duane in fact tends to go above and beyond the call of duty on answering both the geek and user questions, and trying to make sure you have a good Chumby experience... I cannot say that about a lot of device/hardware manufacturers.... iv been in cases of S.O.L.... (Like Widcomm/Broadcomm not allowing users to update their bluetooth stack and having to go buy a NEW BT dongle, because the company who made your fob, isnt paying a subscription fee)

Morph wrote:

"was trying to decide between the Chumby (which was all about fun and playing) and an Asus Eee PC (which was more utilitarian and COULD be fun but wasn't really designed that way.)"

Haven't posted in a while but wanted to respond.  I have an Asus Eee PC and a Chumby.  I use both for different purposes.  I bought the Asus Eee for more secure internet browsing and banking as I don't trust my Windows XP computer because it has Active X which is more prone to hackers.  The Asus Eee uses Linux which is more secure than windows as it doesn't use Active X so is almost impossible to hack.  I use my Chumby on my night stand for the vast array of widgets it offers.  I bought the Chumby just to get little bits of information that appeal to me so I don't have to revert to my computer as I turn it off when not using it.

I have lost my connection to the Chumby a couple of times since the end of December and had to reboot it .  I can't count the number of times that I have had to reset my modem to reconnect my Asus Eee because of losing the wi-fi signal.  I do use Linksys so that might be the problem.  It seems to me that ISP's today are resetting their IP's more frequently these days possibly because of security issues.

But, anyway, I read the posts on a daily basis and find so many users are wanting to convert the Chumby into a computer of some sorts which it was not meant to take the place of.  If they ever came out with a full fledged computer that costs the same as the Chumby I would be the first in line to purchase it.

Good luck Morph on whatever you decide to do.  I'm sure that if you have a defective Chumby, Chumby Industries will be more than happy to replace it.

Bob
Columbus, Ohio

Just a note of interest from a new user - I was having problems getting the Chumby control panel to connect to the internet and resolved the issue by unchecking "Require User Login" option from the router's Admin menus. Other devices such as my iPAQ's (5 each) and Apple Touch units (eight each) were getting connected to the internet however the Chumby required the unchecking of the user login. (I test Wi-Fi enabled devices at work). Having said that and getting a little long winded I would like to add that my Wi-Fi router is a CradlePoint MBR1000 EV-DO router. In short my wireless broadband EV-DO device provides my internet connection through the CradlePoint Wi-Fi router. Great for my RV when camping in the boon docks or wherever internet service is not available via the normal stuff. Here's a link to the router that could be of interest: http://www.evdoinfo.com/content/view/2259/63/.