|
|
Post by kg5kbp on Jun 5, 2016 9:18:49 GMT -7
I'm using the latest DVMega image with a Raspberry Pi 3 and a dual band DVMega. I configured the card correctly in the .exe afrte loading it.
But nothing works. The system neither transmits nor receives. No matter how much power I supply, it's not enough. No matter how I cajole it, there's no making this device do anything.
The LEDs on the Pi and the DVMega do blink. But that's it. I don't even get the initialized "not connected" message, no matter how long I wait.
What gives?
|
|
|
|
Post by W6KD on Jun 5, 2016 13:15:11 GMT -7
There isn't enough detail in your post to have any idea what gives.
Have you tried to connect to the Pi with VNC or with a monitor and keyboard to see what's happening?
Do you see the Pi on your router's attached devices page? Are you using WiFi or ethernet cable?
Regards
|
|
|
|
Post by kg5kbp on Jun 5, 2016 13:25:40 GMT -7
Well, I just connected the Pi to a monitor. Herems what I found:
1. The settings had not been applied successfully by the .exe. They were almost entirely wrong, and would never have worked in that state.
2. Wifi was not properly configured. I've currently got it working on an open access point.
Basically, logging in showed a much bigger mess than I had realized. I'll reply back if I still have the powering problem.
|
|
|
|
Post by kg5kbp on Jun 5, 2016 16:41:42 GMT -7
Okay, I actually found my IP address, and now can tell you way more than I could before.
The problem is that sometimes, ircDDB will hang in the process of starting. It'll get to the point where it says it's actually registered my callsign with the Dutch DStar servers, then kind of peter out. Closing ircDDB and the DStar Repeater software, then starting the DStar Repeater software and ircDDB will usually do the trick.
The question is, then, why it consistently has to be restarted in the first place? I don't have the sources for ircDDB sitting in front of me right now (and I'm definitely not going to try to run gdb on the Pi--no sir, that's just begging for my eyes to jump out of my skull and kill me).
Before, basically none of my configuration applied through the exe had stuck. My callsign wasn't configured, the desired use frequency wasn't configured, it didn't know what kind of DVMega I was using, it didn't know what DStar module it needed to be on...basically, the entire thing was a disaster.
|
|
|
|
Post by kg5kbp on Jun 5, 2016 20:44:44 GMT -7
With more playing, the actual problem becomes apparent. And yes, this one requires some attention.
When it doesn't work, it will stop at the DRPS registration step in ircDDB. It won't populate my call sign in ircDDB. DStar Gateway never goes active.
|
|
|
|
Post by W6KD on Jun 5, 2016 21:52:02 GMT -7
What is the full name of the image file you downloaded?
I'd start by reflashing the image and reconfiguring it from scratch. If you have special characters in your wifi ssid or password, they can cause problems in some cases, especially the apostrophe that's used in the default iPhone/iPad hotspot ssids (like Bob's iPhone).
My gut feel is your problems may be caused by a slow or otherwise problematic wifi connection. If you hook the Pi to an ethernet cable and all is OK, that'd be a sign that the wifi is behind the trouble. Routers with very slow DHCP servers can cause issues...you might try power-cycling the router in that case. When restarting the gateway and repeater consistently solves the problem, it usually points to the internet connection not being established before the software wait expires (~60 sec).
Regards
|
|
|
|
Post by kg5kbp on Jun 6, 2016 7:40:40 GMT -7
I'm not using WiFi. I'm using a USB cable to tether to my phone directly.
And now, the DVMega's LED is not turning off, even on a clean boot.
|
|
|
|
Post by W6KD on Jun 6, 2016 10:23:31 GMT -7
Probably best, then, to manually configure the hotspot. Instructions for doing that are included in the doc folder.
I'm not aware of USB tethered NIC drivers being part of the standard Raspbian image. Did you disable the Pi3's internal WiFi adapter when you configured it? Could be your Pi is connecting via WiFi using its internal WiFi NIC and not via the USB cable. At any rate, the auto-configuration feature of the software is designed for ethernet or wifi connections. Something different, like your USB tether, is probably going to need manual setup and/or configuration.
My dual-band mega's LED never turns off...it's either on steady or flashing at different rates depending on what it's doing.
Regards
|
|
|
|
Post by kg5kbp on Jun 6, 2016 20:08:06 GMT -7
I did a full reimage of the machine. Things seem to be working now, other than the slight annoyance of having to restart both ircDDB and DStar Repeater upon booting. I might try disabling the WiFi adapter in /etc/network/interfaces to see if that helps at all. > I'm not aware of USB tethered NIC drivers being part of the standard Raspbian image. They aren't. I have added them according to the instructions found here. Adding them (and vim, also not a part of stock Raspbian or the DStar Commander image, but something I've found is a bare minimum for my comfort on any *nix system--I never did get the hang of Lisp) amount to the only software installations I've performed. One thing that's helped is learning my Pi's IP address while plugged into my phone. It's allowed me to connect to it via VNC and actually get an idea of what's happening. |
|
