Jumbo Spot - connectivity problems to http://pi-star

[VE3NMX]

Thanks, Gene - I have Cat-5 with jack to goto LAN port on router, but on other end, to Jumbo spot, I would have
to find appropriate jack for that, meaning soldering, cutting, etc. Right? I don't even know what the larger
female input jack on the Jumbo spot is. Not specified in the data sheets that came with unit.

[n9mxq]

The port next to where you plug in power is a usb port. You can use a cellphone on the go usb adapter to plug in a usb-cat5 adapter..or buy one that will just plug in (micro usb).

The larger onen is HDMI. It's unused with pi-star.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

[n9mxq]

Something like this: https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre ... 1413958219

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

[VE3NMX]

Thank you, sir. Well, looks like I will order one of these or check my stash of cables.
Will provide updates when I make further attempts at this... back to work...

Again, thank you all for your expertise.

73, Mike / VE3NMX

[KE0FHS]

I can't see your photo.

The JumboSPOT typically doesn't have any ports or connectors other than the GPIO connector. It is typically mounted on a Raspberry Pi mini-computer, which is what has the ports. The capabilities of the RPi depends on the model. There's a small RPi called the RPi Zero W (65mm long x 30mm wide) that has two micro-USB ports (the right-most one is the power port and the middle one is the USB port) as well as a mini-HDMI port, used for displays. It sounds like this is the model you may have.

There are micro-USB to ethernet adapters available if you want to try connecting directly to your router via cat5 cable

Trying a new microSD card: start with a fresh download of the image from http://www.pistar.uk/downloads/

Another thing to look into is whether your router has an option for allowing external devices to connect, which would need to be enabled.

Finally, you might consider getting a different modem board. While a lot of people use the JumboSPOTs successfully, they do have a spotty quality track record. You might want to consider picking up a genuine ZUMspot board (HRO carries them), which are quality boards designed by hams who first came up with the MMDVM design. The JumboSPOTs are unauthorized clones made by a variety of Chinese manufacturers, and often use cheap components, some of which end up being faulty.

[n9mxq]

As the jumbospot has nothing to do with wifi.. i don't see how swapping for a Zumspot or other board will help.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

[KE0FHS]

You could well be right, Gene. All I can do is think about these challenges from my own perspective. Some hams, and I think you're one of them, can troubleshoot some fairly complex problems with ease. I can't. For me, it's challenging enough to set up a digital hotspot when everything goes right, so I try to keep the unknowns to a minimum. For example, I'm not going to be able to figure out that a TXCO chip is bad, as has been reported for a fair number of JumboSPOTs, and then solder on a new one. So I try to keep things simple for myself by using good quality hardware and radios. Obviously, that's not a 100% guarantee, but I have five ZUMspots in various configurations that I've put together over the past year, and they've all worked flawlessly.

I also personally think that respecting licensing is the right thing to do. I really appreciate the hams who are contributing so much to our hobby in the digital radio space by designing the advances we're seeing, especially in the MMDVM-related space, and I personally want to support those hams as much as I can. Just as strongly, I don't appreciate it when I see other people who appear to be in the game only to make some quick money ripping off those licensed designs and making clones. I can't help it, I feel really strongly about this.

[n9mxq]

Helping troubleshoot should be all fact not opinion.

Plain and simple. Wether it's what I consider a good product or not.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

[KE0FHS]

Helping troubleshoot should be all fact not opinion.

Whose rule is that?

[n9mxq]

Mine. What help am I if i constantly wander off topic?

If it shouldn't be that way. Let me know, I'll leave now..

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk