KB0OXD wrote: ↑Sun Sep 15, 2019 1:43 pm
The reason I say this is because (At least with the DXMini) I was told BY THE DXMINI DEVELOPER is that is this is a Pi-Star specific issue (I've got the Twitter DM stating this) as I had brought this up with them last night
Pat, that is not an accurate statement. It is not a Pi-Star specific issue, it's a Raspberry Pi issue. Hopefully, the DXMini Developer understands this and just misstated his answer to you. And to be perfectly clear, your DXMini is not anything special; it's simply an MMDVM hat (probably a clone) mounted on a Raspberry Pi Zero W with an added Nextion display, and with all of it wrapped up in a case. What I'm saying applies to all Raspberry Pi-based MMDVM hotspots, including the best quality ones like the ZUMspot, the LoneStar, and the German MMDVM_HS_Hat.
And it's not really an issue; it's just the way a Raspberry Pi works. If you take a Raspberry Pi (not a hotspot, just a Raspberry Pi), the way you turn it on is by supplying it with power. This can be done by plugging in its power supply. Or you can do what I do and insert a power switch between the power supply and the Raspberry Pi, or between the power supply and the wall socket; in either of which cases, to power it on, you simply toggle that power switch.
To turn off the Raspberry Pi, you go through a shutdown process that is similar to what you do with Windows PC. However, even when the Raspberry Pi has been shut down, there is still power being supplied to it, and you can see a red LED light still lit on the Raspberry Pi board. To full power it off, you need to toggle a power switch or unplug the power supply.
This is similar to what happens with a Windows computer. Right now, my Windows laptop is shut down but still plugged in, and there is an LED light that is still lit, which indicates that it is plugged in and charging (or, if it is fully changed, on standby). If I pull its power plug, that light will go off and the Windows laptop will be full powered down.
It seems like you did not understand my previous reply:
KB0OXD wrote: ↑Sun Sep 15, 2019 3:34 pm
ANYTHING would be easier on the Hotspot when it comes to powering it up than plugging & unplugging it DIRECTLY into & out of THE WALL
To be absolutely clear, I am NOT suggesting you turn off your hotspot by unplugging the power supply.
My suggestion is that you 1) use the Pi-Star Shutdown command first, which shuts down the MMDVM processes; and then 2) power off the hotspot unit by unplugging the power supply or by toggling a power switch. Since the MMDVM hat is plugged into the Raspberry Pi via the GPIO pins, when there is power being supplied to the Raspberry Pi, there also will be power being supplied to the hat even when the MMDVM processes have been shut down, and that second step is what will fully shut off the power to the entire unit, including the hat and the display.
Here are a few different examples of power switches you can use (I use all of them). They all have the advantage of not requiring you to pull the micro USB plug out of your Raspberry Pi, saving your Raspberry Pi from wear and tear.
For Raspberry Pi 3B+/3A+ and earlier:
For Raspberry Pi 4B:
[*]CanaKit Raspberry Pi 4 PiSwitch (USB-C)
https://www.canakit.com/raspberry-pi-4- ... witch.html
For all Raspberry Pi power supplies: