Upgrading HamClock to a new server.

 

OHB ver 4.23

 I have been sitting back and watching the many Hamclock projects evolve. What I was looking for was a project that, when finished, resembled Elwood's Hamclock. I am happy to report that I have settled on using OHB or Open Hamclock Backend. This has a very polished look and looks and operates, in my humble opinion, the closest to Elwood's Hamclock. It is a group effort and has progressed at a smooth pace. There is an OHB web page that offers support and status updates. I operate HamClock on my Pi4B, and if you operate Elwood's HamClock on a Pi, below is the process you go through to move from Elwood's version 4.22 HamClock to OHB version 4.23 HamClock. 

HamClock lives on

 

With Elwood (the creator of HamClock) now SK, HamClock is set to stop functioning in June 2026. Fortunately, several alternatives and workarounds exist for those looking to continue using similar features. Here’s a summary based on my experience and research:

1. Open HamClock

• Feature-rich: Offers extensive customization and configuration.
• Spotting Control: Ability to turn off spotting to de-clutter the map.
• Setup: Easy setup process; remembers your preferences if saved.
• Full Screen: Can be run in full-screen mode.
• Updates: Regular updates with clear notifications and instructions.
• VOACAP Display: Improved propagation prediction display.

The Pi is cooked

 

Ham Clock setup page 

A very long time ago I purchased a Raspberry Pi3 and at the time I was excited about experimenting with it but work got in the way, and it was put on the self. About 4 years ago and retired, I blew the dust off it and loaded Ham Clock on it. I have been using it ever since and found it has some very handy information for when I am contesting. The other day I turned on the Pi3, and it started to load, but I was then met with a black screen and the message "unable to load". I turned it off and back on and this time everything loaded except Ham Clock and for some reason it reverted to the setup page. I tried again to reboot, but Ham Clock still showed the setup page. I entered all my information again and was good to go...until I started the Pi3 the next day, when I booted the Pi3 nothing appeared on the screen and the LED lights on the Pi3 were flashing on and off very erratically. I changed out the SD card, reloaded the OS and after some investigation, I concluded the Pi3 was done. I now have a Pi4b on its way here and should be here on Sunday.