Cannot connect to Brandmeister after Pi-Star 4.1.4

[AA2UP]

Hello,

From what I'm seeing on the forum, there seem to be many problems with the changes in both Pi-Star and Brandmeister. But I can't find anything addressing the problem I'm having.

I have a Lone Star simplex hotspot connected to a Pi Nano/w. I've been running this setup for about a year and a half with no problems. I upgraded to 4.1.4 and now I cannot get Brandmeister to see my hotspot. The symbol is showing red instead of green. I am aware of the issues with hotspot security and have checked and re-checked the passwords in Pi-Star and Brandmeister several times.

My local link is up and strong. But because I'm not seen on Brandmeister, nothing is showing up on my dashboard. I am attaching a screenshot of my config page. I've been struggling with this issue for days with no hint of success. I even did a "factory reset" on Pi-Star and started again from scratch.

I now have my node set to public but that is only for troubleshooting purposes. I've had it set to private and it makes no difference.

Could someone please let me know if I've messed something up in my setup or give me hints on what else i could try?

Thank you.

Rich, AA2UP

[G8SEZ]

What is your BM server set to? One of the changes fairly recently resulted in Pi-Star changing this to DMR-Gateway, you would need to set it back to the BM master you used before and then apply changes.

[AA2UP]

On Brandmeister Selfcare. Thanks.

[AA2UP]

Very sorry. I didn't see you other questions.

I have opened the log and it is not reporting anything. It just says "Starting logging, please wait."

My frequency is set to 434.3 and it is showing up as such on my Brandmeister profile page. Since I am running simplex tx and rx are the same.

I am using a Lone Star simplex hat and that is what is selected on the config page.

I am attaching a screenshot of my config page. I thought I did that before but maybe it didn't take.

Thank you.

[AA2UP]

I accessed the log as you suggested but I don't see any errors. It just shows basic configuration info. Pretty much the same as what's on the Pi-Star config page. I can take a screenshot if that would help.

Both DMR and DMR NET are green.

I am not sure what you mean when you say simplex should not be a blocked configuration.

Thanks.

Rich

[AA2UP]

Well, I think we can maybe see the problem from the log. I'm using Putty to SSH in and I can't seem to copy and paste from that so I've attached a screenshot. Looks like MMDVM host is starting but it never really opens the MMDVM.

The DM Master is set to BM 3102.

Thanks.

[AA2UP]

When you power the hotspot on, the MMDVM_HS hat should blink its LEDs 3 times, and then PWR should be solid, and SRV should be blinking slowly.

Once communication has been established SRV will blink faster. That speed up in flashing will correspond to the message "MMDVMHost-20200615_Pi-Star_v4 is running"

Also on the dashboard DMR and DMR NET will indicate green.

The only thing that isn't happening is that the SVC light never gets faster. It just continues to blink slowly. So the connection is never established? I never get anything in the log that says MMDVM is running.

Thanks for telling me how to copy and paste from PuTTy.

M: 2021-03-22 19:17:43.196 MMDVMHost-20200615_Pi-Star_v4 is starting
M: 2021-03-22 19:17:43.196 Built 17:21:54 Jun 15 2020 (GitID #3313fe8)
I: 2021-03-22 19:17:43.196 General Parameters
I: 2021-03-22 19:17:43.196 Callsign: AA2UP
I: 2021-03-22 19:17:43.196 Id: 3143384
I: 2021-03-22 19:17:43.196 Duplex: no
I: 2021-03-22 19:17:43.196 Timeout: 240s
I: 2021-03-22 19:17:43.196 D-Star: disabled
I: 2021-03-22 19:17:43.196 DMR: enabled
I: 2021-03-22 19:17:43.196 YSF: disabled
I: 2021-03-22 19:17:43.196 P25: disabled
I: 2021-03-22 19:17:43.196 NXDN: disabled
I: 2021-03-22 19:17:43.196 POCSAG: disabled
I: 2021-03-22 19:17:43.196 FM: disabled
I: 2021-03-22 19:17:43.196 Modem Parameters
I: 2021-03-22 19:17:43.196 Port: /dev/ttyAMA0
I: 2021-03-22 19:17:43.196 Protocol: uart
I: 2021-03-22 19:17:43.196 RX Invert: no
I: 2021-03-22 19:17:43.197 TX Invert: yes
I: 2021-03-22 19:17:43.197 PTT Invert: no
I: 2021-03-22 19:17:43.197 TX Delay: 100ms
I: 2021-03-22 19:17:43.197 RX Offset: 0Hz
I: 2021-03-22 19:17:43.197 TX Offset: 0Hz
I: 2021-03-22 19:17:43.197 RX DC Offset: 0
I: 2021-03-22 19:17:43.197 TX DC Offset: 0
I: 2021-03-22 19:17:43.197 RF Level: 100.0%
I: 2021-03-22 19:17:43.197 DMR Delay: 0 (0.0ms)
I: 2021-03-22 19:17:43.197 RX Level: 50.0%
I: 2021-03-22 19:17:43.197 CW Id TX Level: 50.0%
I: 2021-03-22 19:17:43.197 D-Star TX Level: 50.0%
I: 2021-03-22 19:17:43.197 DMR TX Level: 50.0%
I: 2021-03-22 19:17:43.197 YSF TX Level: 50.0%
I: 2021-03-22 19:17:43.197 P25 TX Level: 50.0%
I: 2021-03-22 19:17:43.197 NXDN TX Level: 50.0%
I: 2021-03-22 19:17:43.197 POCSAG TX Level: 50.0%
I: 2021-03-22 19:17:43.197 FM TX Level: 50.0%
I: 2021-03-22 19:17:43.197 TX Frequency: 434300000Hz (434300000Hz)
M: 2021-03-22 19:17:43.236 Opening the MMDVM
pi-star@pi-star(ro):~$

[AA2UP]

Hello Jason,

I want to let you know that I got everything up and running again. How did I do it? I wiped my SD card and found version 4.1.0 in my downloads from a couple of years ago. I flashed that image and then set up everything *exactly* as it was in the 4.1.4 config and log screenshots I sent you. Boom!! Works perfectly. I am very hesitant to upgrade to 4.1.4, so I'll stick with this as long as the Pi-Star police don't come after me, hi.

Thank you so much for your help. I learned a lot from you.

73
Rich AA2UP

[AF6VN]

I: 2021-03-22 19:17:43.197 TX Frequency: 434300000Hz (434300000Hz)

That frequency is in the SATELLITE band (432-438), and Pi-Star, for some versions now, blocks usage of those frequencies to avoid interference with those trying to access the weak signals from said satellites.

[AA2UP]

I have a Nano/w.

All is working fine now and, although I agree that I could probably upgrade without a problem, I'll just leave well enough alone for now. However, before this trouble started, I did not do anything to cut power to the spot or otherwise disturb things. Everything just went away.

A friend is selling me his Lone Star duplex hotspot. When I receive it, I'll have to re-program my radio and that, of course, will include changing TX and RX frequencies. What freqs would you recommend?

Thanks.

Rich