[ET10x00] disabling repeated timer behaviour

[adm]

I have a timer configured to record terrestrial BBC1 for 15 minutes every day.

The recent gales have brought down my aerial which probably will not be fixed until next week, at which time I want the daily recordings to start again

Because the tuner can no longer find a channel for my repeating recording timer the box was/is reporting a tuner failure or a timeshift failure.

I have both terrestrial and satellite tuners in the box and I am continuing using the box for satellite reception.

I thought the solution would be to disable the daily repeating timer but having done so a check the following day shows it has been (automatically) re-enabled.

Is this the expected behaviour when disabling a repeating timer?

 

[birdman]

Is this the expected behaviour when disabling a repeating timer?

I reckon this boils down to whether a repeating timer is a single timer that repeats (and hence disabling it should stop them all) or (effectively) a series of single timers (and you can only disable the next one).

I've set one up (disabled) for 9am to see what happens.

Is there likely to be a situation in which you just want to disable the next one, rather than all of them?

 

[adm]

I reckon this boils down to whether a repeating timer is a single timer that repeats (and hence disabling it should stop them all) or (effectively) a series of single timers (and you can only disable the next one).

I've set one up (disabled) for 9am to see what happens.

Is there likely to be a situation in which you just want to disable the next one, rather than all of them?

The timer was set up manually to record BBC1 at a set time each morning. It was not set via an autotimer.

I was just attempting to disable the timer for the duration of the period for which I'm without a working aerial and then I intend to use the same timer again afterwards.

It's not a show stopper as I can delete the timer and then re-create it again once I terrestrial reception is restored. I was just a bit surprised that the disable is just for one occurrence (or maybe none*) on a repeating timer.

*I'm not sure at what time the timer was re-enabled. I disabled it at 1am today and it remains disabled now at 9am. The recording was set for 6am. Previously I disabled it mid afternoon and on checking at 9am the next day I had the error message about my terrestrial tuners being unable to find a signal and the timer was re-enabled - perhaps it gets re-enabled at midnight????

 

[birdman]

The issue is (likely to be) that a repeat timer still has to run, even when it is disabled (otherwise it would become old and likely be deleted in the "old timer" pruning).
Looks like the status isn't being propagated on renewal.

 

[birdman]

This (in timer.py) would seem to be the cause:

       # check if a timer entry must be skipped 
        def shouldSkip(self): 
                if self.disabled: 
                        if self.end <= time() and not "PowerTimerEntry" in repr(self): 
                                self.disabled = False 
                        return True

I think this is done so that the disabled timer gets processed - it's time has passed, so it gets marked as "done".
But the effect for a repeating timer is that it gets re-enabled.

It might be possible to set a "self.disable_on_reschedule" flag here, and test for it when the "calculate next repeat time" code gets run.

 

[birdman]

I've set one up (disabled) for 9am to see what happens.

Only just remembered to check this.
My timer is still disabled, and is now set for tomorrow at 9am.

So for me the disabled status has been propagated.

 

[Tkr001]

Just stop it repeating until you are ready again.

 

[birdman]

Just stop it repeating until you are ready again.

Please read the original post.

 

[adm]

Sods law.....

The timer has now remained disabled now for two days (or more correctly for during 2 occurrences where the timer would have been triggered if enabled). I checked either side of midnight, after a deep standby and just before posting this. It has remembered the disabled setting.

 

[abu baniaz]

Maybe it's like AutoTimer where a timer is created? So disabling it, disables the creation of a timer event but does not affect any timers already created?

As an aside, I would have disabled the tuner.

 

[ccs]

.... I'd have changed the timer to use a working (satellite) tuner until the aerial was fixed.

 

[adm]

Update; timer has remained disabled without my intervention.

New aerial now installed in the loft (Blakes log periodic, band T with inbuild rejection of 4G mobile phone) and timer re-enabled. All working

 

[Tkr001]

Please read the original post.

I have read the whole thread before posting. I didn't say disable it I said stop it repeating ie set it to once or even set a start date way in the future. I have reread the original post and have no idea what you want me to infer from it.....Maybe you could be more explicit in your posts.

 

[birdman]

I have read the whole thread before posting. I didn't say disable it I said stop it repeating ie set it to once or even set a start date way in the future.

You said "stop it repeating". Which is what the original poster expected to happen by disabling it. And that is what this thread is about - what is supposed to happen to a repeating timer when it is disabled.

Maybe you could be more explicit in your posts.

You made no mention (explicit or otherwise) of setting it to a one-off timer at some distant future point.
You could equally well delete the timer completeley, but that is not an answer to the question (although it might be a workaround to the effect).
In practice the actual behaviour is what was wanted, and we don't know what lead to this reported behaviour happening.