Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!vsi!friedl
From: friedl@vsi.UUCP (Stephen J. Friedl)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.att
Subject: Re: Systems File for 3b2
Message-ID: <559@vsi.UUCP>
Date: 19 Apr 88 14:32:30 GMT
References: <348@spock.UUCP>
Organization: V-Systems, Inc. -- Santa Ana, CA
Lines: 30
Summary: . /etc/TIMEZONE

In article <348@spock.UUCP>, blyman@spock.UUCP (Bill Lyman ) writes:
>   Okay I give up. I am trying to get a 3b2310 to call a machine between
>  1:00 am and 2:00 am in the morning. My System entry is as such.
> Machine_name 0100-0200 ACU 1200 phone_no _________ etc
>    My poll statment is as follows
> Machine_name 1
> 
>    It is giving me messages that it is the wrong time to call. I have tried
> 2200-0300 and it stills say wrong time to call.

This common problem is cause by cron not knowing how to export the
proper TZ (timezone) environment variable; the default EST5EDT gets
used.  This can be fixed three ways:

	(1) move to New Jersey
	(2) get SVR3 -- it handles TZ correctly
	(3) put ". /etc/TIMEZONE" everywhere.

Option (3) means you need to add the above line to the beginning
of /usr/lib/uucp/uudemon.poll and /usr/lib/uudemon.hour if you are
using the standard Poll scheme, or at the top of your shell scripts.
There are other solutions to the incoming-mail-has-the-wrong-time
problem, but that is for another day.

MORAL: Always include ". /etc/TIMEZONE" at the start of scripts
       run from cron.

-- 
Steve Friedl   V-Systems, Inc.  Wizard of undocumented 3B options
friedl@vsi.com    {backbones}!vsi.com!friedl   attmail!vsi!friedl