diff --git a/ChangeLog b/ChangeLog
index 98a2aba3..f75a46f6 100644
--- a/ChangeLog
+++ b/ChangeLog
@@ -19093,3 +19093,6 @@
 	* Fixed a regression in rdairplay(1) and rdvairplayd(8) that
 	caused hard timed events with the 'Start Immediately' attribute
 	to fail to start if one or more other events were playing.
+2019-09-09 Fred Gleason <fredg@paravelsystems.com>
+	* Added a 'ServiceTimeout=' directive to the '[Tuning]' section
+	of rd.conf(5).
diff --git a/conf/rd.conf-sample b/conf/rd.conf-sample
index c6413b09..aa68c3a3 100644
--- a/conf/rd.conf-sample
+++ b/conf/rd.conf-sample
@@ -125,7 +125,12 @@ ChannelsPerPcm=-1
 ;
 
 [Tuning]
-; This section defines the realtime parameters used when running
+; This directive tells Rivendell modules how long to wait for the
+; 'rivendell' systemd service to become active (seconds). Default
+; value is '30'.
+ServiceTimeout=30
+
+; These directives define the realtime parameters used when running
 ; audio components.  Normally, these are useful only for debugging.
 UseRealtime=Yes
 RealtimePriority=9
diff --git a/lib/rd.h b/lib/rd.h
index f3e4b6e1..985fc810 100644
--- a/lib/rd.h
+++ b/lib/rd.h
@@ -600,5 +600,9 @@
 #define RD_PAD_CLIENT_TCP_PORT 34289
 #define RD_PAD_SOURCE_UNIX_ADDRESS "m4w8n8fsfddf-473fdueusurt-8954"
 
+/*
+ * Default 'ServiceTimeout=' value in rd.conf(5)
+ */
+#define RD_DEFAULT_SERVICE_TIMEOUT 30
 
 #endif  // RD_H
diff --git a/lib/rdapplication.cpp b/lib/rdapplication.cpp
index 37b0f26e..e5898b22 100644
--- a/lib/rdapplication.cpp
+++ b/lib/rdapplication.cpp
@@ -341,40 +341,50 @@ void RDApplication::userChangedData()
  bool RDApplication::CheckService(QString *err_msg)
 {
   bool ret=false;
-  QStringList args;
-  QProcess *proc=new QProcess(this);
+  int trial=config()->serviceTimeout();
 
-  args.push_back("--property");
-  args.push_back("ActiveState");
-  args.push_back("show");
-  args.push_back("rivendell");
-  proc->start("systemctl",args);
-  proc->waitForFinished();
-  if(proc->exitStatus()!=QProcess::NormalExit) {
-    *err_msg=tr("systemctl(1) crashed.");
+  if(trial<=0) {
+    trial=1;
   }
-  else {
-    if(proc->exitCode()!=0) {
-      *err_msg=tr("systemctl(1) returned exit code")+
-	QString().sprintf(" %d:\n",proc->exitCode())+
-	proc->readAllStandardError();
+  while((!ret)&&(trial>0)) {
+    QStringList args;
+    QProcess *proc=new QProcess(this);
+
+    args.push_back("--property");
+    args.push_back("ActiveState");
+    args.push_back("show");
+    args.push_back("rivendell");
+    proc->start("systemctl",args);
+    proc->waitForFinished();
+    if(proc->exitStatus()!=QProcess::NormalExit) {
+      *err_msg=tr("systemctl(1) crashed.");
     }
     else {
-      *err_msg=tr("Rivendell service is not active.");
-      QStringList f0=QString(proc->readAllStandardOutput()).
-	split("\n",QString::SkipEmptyParts);
-      for(int i=0;i<f0.size();i++) {
-	QStringList f1=f0.at(i).trimmed().split("=");
-	if((f1.size()==2)&&(f1.at(0)=="ActiveState")) {
-	  ret=f1.at(1).toLower()=="active";
-	  if(ret) {
-	    *err_msg=tr("OK");
+      if(proc->exitCode()!=0) {
+	*err_msg=tr("systemctl(1) returned exit code")+
+	  QString().sprintf(" %d:\n",proc->exitCode())+
+	  proc->readAllStandardError();
+      }
+      else {
+	*err_msg=tr("Rivendell service is not active.");
+	QStringList f0=QString(proc->readAllStandardOutput()).
+	  split("\n",QString::SkipEmptyParts);
+	for(int i=0;i<f0.size();i++) {
+	  QStringList f1=f0.at(i).trimmed().split("=");
+	  if((f1.size()==2)&&(f1.at(0)=="ActiveState")) {
+	    ret=f1.at(1).toLower()=="active";
+	    if(ret) {
+	      *err_msg=tr("OK");
+	    }
 	  }
 	}
       }
     }
+    delete proc;
+
+    trial--;
+    sleep(1);
   }
-  delete proc;
 
   return ret;
 }
diff --git a/lib/rdconfig.cpp b/lib/rdconfig.cpp
index c105d8e1..74925b48 100644
--- a/lib/rdconfig.cpp
+++ b/lib/rdconfig.cpp
@@ -417,6 +417,13 @@ int RDConfig::transcodingDelay() const
   return conf_transcoding_delay;
 }
 
+
+int RDConfig::serviceTimeout() const
+{
+  return conf_service_timeout;
+}
+
+
 // Don't use this method in application code, use RDTempDirectory()
 QString RDConfig::tempDirectory()
 {
@@ -583,6 +590,8 @@ bool RDConfig::load()
   conf_use_realtime=profile->boolValue("Tuning","UseRealtime",false);
   conf_realtime_priority=profile->intValue("Tuning","RealtimePriority",9);
   conf_transcoding_delay=profile->intValue("Tuning","TranscodingDelay");
+  conf_service_timeout=
+    profile->intValue("Tuning","ServiceTimeout",RD_DEFAULT_SERVICE_TIMEOUT);
   conf_temp_directory=profile->stringValue("Tuning","TempDirectory","");
   conf_sas_station=profile->stringValue("SASFilter","Station","");
   conf_sas_matrix=profile->intValue("SASFilter","Matrix",0);
@@ -681,6 +690,7 @@ void RDConfig::clear()
   conf_use_realtime=false;
   conf_realtime_priority=9;
   conf_transcoding_delay=0;
+  conf_service_timeout=RD_DEFAULT_SERVICE_TIMEOUT;
   conf_temp_directory="";
   conf_sas_station="";
   conf_sas_matrix=-1;
diff --git a/lib/rdconfig.h b/lib/rdconfig.h
index b06a75a1..f1111dc9 100644
--- a/lib/rdconfig.h
+++ b/lib/rdconfig.h
@@ -106,6 +106,7 @@ class RDConfig
   bool useRealtime();
   int realtimePriority();
   int transcodingDelay() const;
+  int serviceTimeout() const;
   QString tempDirectory();
   QString sasStation() const;
   int sasMatrix() const;
@@ -172,6 +173,7 @@ class RDConfig
   bool conf_use_realtime;
   int conf_transcoding_delay;
   int conf_realtime_priority;
+  int conf_service_timeout;
   QString conf_temp_directory;
   QString conf_sas_station;
   int conf_sas_matrix;