This week pottery making was all about my digital life. And no, I’m not referring to the time I put into Insta, Twitter or Facebook. No, I don’t mean working on my site or writing this blog either. No, I don’t even mean working on my webshop or product photography.
Then what am I talking about? The hassle you get with all the digital tools that you as a ceramicist can no longer do without… And this week I had more then my fair share.
After updating the firmware of my Bentrup WebBox (part of my kiln control), he only winked at me. That was not a good sign and something had to be done about it immediately. In addition, I wanted to transfer my dfb-keramiek.nl mailbox to the exchange server of outlook.
That sounds like a modest to-do list, but that caused quite a few problems last week. How was I supposed to fix that?
Bentrup WebBox Logs
Numbers tell the tale and writing is staying are my mottos (believe it or not, but these are Dutch expressions that rhyme). That applies to me as well as my kiln. I weigh my clay before I throw my pots same way as my kiln measures temperature. As I write blogs, my kiln writes logs. Well, the kiln doesn’t do that but the Bentrup WebBox, connected to the kiln control of the same company, does.
The log is a description of the fire cycle. Every five seconds, the WebBox writes the date/time, temperature and percentage that the elements are on in a log. And with that CSV file you can then display the firing curve. In addition, you can follow the firing progress directly by the remote control app (“live view”).
Interesting when the firing went well, but necessary if something went wrong. Then I can check when and what went wrong. But what should you do if the WebBox only blinks and does nothing else?
Digital life is a lot of hassle
So what was going on? I mailed Bentrup and I got an immediate reply. When updating the firmware of the WebBox, the (mini SD) memory had failed. Claus would immediately send me a new SD card (with the latest firmware), so I could replace the memory.
A few days later I had the new (mini) card in my hands. Thank you Bentrup! The old card out, the new one in and I was ready to go…
No not with a firing, but reconnecting the WebBox to the router. With the manual, I was able to find the right settings again. Establish IP address, set port forwarding, find the correct protocol for the SSL connection.
Supplier help more important than product
Anyway, I was busy for a while, mainly figuring out how I had set it before…. This time, hopefully, I’ve recorded my notes better. That will save a lot of research next time (I hope).
But after setting and testing, all lights were back on in all the right places. And that gave me green light to fire (and blog) and the WebBox to log again. Everyone here has their duties.
Oh … before I forget. How did it go with converting my mail to the outlook’s exchange server? That too didn’t went without a struggle. But with some mails to and fro to my website host and a extensive explanation by phone from Microsoft, that too has been resolved.
So you see, a beautiful product is nice. But get to know your supplier well, because only with the help and commitment of the maker it will get you somewhere. Just like with my ceramics actually 🙂
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