MMDVM Hotspot not Internet Connection

Help setting up WiFi
DH5SDL
Posts: 13
Joined: Mon Feb 10, 2020 8:50 pm

MMDVM Hotspot not Internet Connection

Post by DH5SDL »

Hello, I have an MMDVM hotspot with Raspberry Zero that works perfectly at home via Wifi (router is a Fritzbox 7490) Now I want to use the hotspot in the caravan. For this I have an Alfa Camp Wifi. That means I have a router in the caravan where I am with Mobile phone, laptop, tablet, etc. can also be used on the Internet. It has been working for a long time and very well. I can see the hotspot in the router menu, but I cannot connect to the hotspot on the Internet. SSID and password are correct. I can also use access the hotspot on the tablet in the caravan (Pi-Star Config)
I just don't get on the net or I can't link a reflector. Does anyone have a tip for me?
VY 73 de Thomas
AF6VN
Posts: 821
Joined: Fri Jul 20, 2018 1:15 am

Re: MMDVM Hotspot not Internet Connection

Post by AF6VN »

It sounds very much like Pi-Star has not been configured for the ROUTER, or is being rejected by the router.

If you are seeing a "config" ID from Pi-Star it means it failed to connect to the network and is instead running as a local access point -- you are supposed to connect /to/ it using some other device (a direct connection to ITS access point name, not via your router) and configure the WiFi information for the router, then reboot the device.

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AF6VN
Dennis L Bieber
DH5SDL
Posts: 13
Joined: Mon Feb 10, 2020 8:50 pm

Re: MMDVM Hotspot not Internet Connection

Post by DH5SDL »

OK thanks for the answer, I entered the SSID and PSK with Wifi Builder as usual in the caravan (tablet, smartphone, everything works) I can also access the Pi-Star from the tablet (via the router)
I also see in the WLAN configuration interface up and also the SSID / IP address wireless information and everything else from the router in the caravan. Actually how the Pi-Star also works at home. Nevertheless, I don't get to create a link, e.g. DCS001 or other.
I will now try again with the tips from you.
Thank you
DH5SDL
Posts: 13
Joined: Mon Feb 10, 2020 8:50 pm

Re: MMDVM Hotspot not Internet Connection

Post by DH5SDL »

Update:
I connect my Smartphone to the Router in my Caravan(works fine) and on my Smartphone i activate Mobile Hotspot= No connection to the Internet or link to reflector with the pi-star

The Same with my Home Network Visitor Access= no connection (Router AVM 7490)
The same with my Home Network Access= all works fine (Router AVM 7490)

I dont know how doesnt work this.

My last Test is a USB to Lan Adapter......i hope it works with the Caravan Router.
AF6VN
Posts: 821
Joined: Fri Jul 20, 2018 1:15 am

Re: MMDVM Hotspot not Internet Connection

Post by AF6VN »

Based upon a quick Google search, the Alfa Camp stuff works as a signal booster/extender for a WiFi system that is already connected to the WAN. It does not, itself, connect directly to the WAN.

My question then becomes "whose WiFi network connection are you attempting to use". After all, if you are using your own cell phone as the WiFi <> network connection, you probably don't /need/ the extender/router. Just have the laptop/tablet/R-Pi connect to the phone Wifi directly, since you are tied to the range of the phone WiFi.

If you are tapping into some "public WiFi" node, you may be running into a firewall. Public WiFi may be firewalled to only allow common protocols (HTTP, HTTPS, SMTP, POP3, IMAP, [ie; web and email only] and maybe NNTP, FTP, SSH, Telnet). Any initial packets that are not to one of those specific ports may be getting dropped by the firewall rules.

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AF6VN
Dennis L Bieber
DH5SDL
Posts: 13
Joined: Mon Feb 10, 2020 8:50 pm

Re: MMDVM Hotspot not Internet Connection

Post by DH5SDL »

The connection with the smartphone as a bridge between the hotspot and router was just an idea. The camp system runs perfectly on the campsites that I have visited so far. It is a reception amplifier if the WiFi is too weak to receive with a tablet etc. The funny thing is that I can connect to the Alfa router with all devices and also get into the Internet without problems. Only the MMDVM hotspot somehow does not work. As I said, I am waiting for the USB LAN adapter and hope that it will work, if that should work it would be ok.
DH5SDL
Posts: 13
Joined: Mon Feb 10, 2020 8:50 pm

Re: MMDVM Hotspot not Internet Connection

Post by DH5SDL »

Next Update,
Today the USB to Lan Adapter arrives and i make a test.
Connection from Tablet via Wifi to the Alfa R36 Router and from the Router via Lan to the Hotspot works.
But no connection from the Hotspot to the Internet via Lan to the Router so i can't link to any reflector.
I have no more idea what happend.
AF6VN
Posts: 821
Joined: Fri Jul 20, 2018 1:15 am

Re: MMDVM Hotspot not Internet Connection

Post by AF6VN »

DH5SDL wrote: Tue Mar 31, 2020 5:33 pm Next Update,
Today the USB to Lan Adapter arrives and i make a test.
Connection from Tablet via Wifi to the Alfa R36 Router and from the Router via Lan to the Hotspot works.
But no connection from the Hotspot to the Internet via Lan to the Router so i can't link to any reflector.
I have no more idea what happend.
I'll reiterate:

Whose WiFi<>WAN connection are you using, and do you know that that layer is not blocking the ports needed for Pi-Star connections to servers.
Can you get to the dashboard from the tablet -- if you can, then open /admin/expert/ssh_access.php and log into the Pi-Star unit. From there, show the results of

Code: Select all

pi-star@pi-star-3b(ro):~$ ifconfig
eth0: flags=4099<UP,BROADCAST,MULTICAST>  mtu 1500                                              
        ether b8:27:eb:1e:5e:80  txqueuelen 1000  (Ethernet)                                    
        RX packets 0  bytes 0 (0.0 B)                                                           
        RX errors 0  dropped 0  overruns 0  frame 0                                             
        TX packets 0  bytes 0 (0.0 B)                                                           
        TX errors 0  dropped 0 overruns 0  carrier 0  collisions 0                              
                                                                                                
lo: flags=73<UP,LOOPBACK,RUNNING>  mtu 65536                                                    
        inet 127.0.0.1  netmask 255.0.0.0                                                       
        loop  txqueuelen 1000  (Local Loopback)                                                 
        RX packets 2998302  bytes 150939737 (143.9 MiB)                                         
        RX errors 0  dropped 0  overruns 0  frame 0                                             
        TX packets 2998302  bytes 150939737 (143.9 MiB)                                         
        TX errors 0  dropped 0 overruns 0  carrier 0  collisions 0                              
                                                                                                
wlan0: flags=4163<UP,BROADCAST,RUNNING,MULTICAST>  mtu 1500                                     
        inet 192.168.1.79  netmask 255.255.255.0  broadcast 192.168.1.255                       
        ether b8:27:eb:4b:0b:d5  txqueuelen 1000  (Ethernet)                                    
        RX packets 7045894  bytes 729714047 (695.9 MiB)                                         
        RX errors 0  dropped 0  overruns 0  frame 0                                             
        TX packets 2478244  bytes 1373560900 (1.2 GiB)                                          
        TX errors 0  dropped 0 overruns 0  carrier 0  collisions 0                              
                                                                                                
pi-star@pi-star-3b(ro):~$
pi-star@pi-star-3b(ro):~$ sudo ping 8.8.8.8
PING 8.8.8.8 (8.8.8.8) 56(84) bytes of data.                                                    
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=1 ttl=55 time=29.6 ms                                           
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=2 ttl=55 time=26.9 ms                                           
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=3 ttl=55 time=26.6 ms                                           
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=4 ttl=55 time=27.9 ms                                           
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=5 ttl=55 time=30.2 ms                                           
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=6 ttl=55 time=29.1 ms                                           
^C                                                                                              
--- 8.8.8.8 ping statistics ---                                                                 
6 packets transmitted, 6 received, 0% packet loss, time 12ms                                    
rtt min/avg/max/mdev = 26.619/28.389/30.156/1.345 ms                                            
pi-star@pi-star-3b(ro):~$  

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AF6VN
Dennis L Bieber
DH5SDL
Posts: 13
Joined: Mon Feb 10, 2020 8:50 pm

Re: MMDVM Hotspot not Internet Connection

Post by DH5SDL »

Yes i can connect the Dashboard with Tablet or Laptop via Wifi


pistar@
pistar(
ro):~$ ifconfig
eth0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:e0:4d:3a:a6:89
inet addr:192.168.2.100 Bcast:192.168.2.255 Mask:255.255.255.0
UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:4975 errors:0 dropped:2 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:3496 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
RX bytes:1226409 (1.1 MiB) TX bytes:1198890 (1.1 MiB)
lo Link encap:Local Loopback
inet addr:127.0.0.1 Mask:255.0.0.0
UP LOOPBACK RUNNING MTU:65536 Metric:1
RX packets:636 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:636 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:1
RX bytes:35576 (34.7 KiB) TX bytes:35576 (34.7 KiB)
wlan0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr b8:27:eb:0e:da:c4
UP BROADCAST MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:89 errors:0 dropped:48 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:11 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
RX bytes:6581 (6.4 KiB) TX bytes:2606 (2.5 KiB)
wlan0_ap Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr b8:27:eb:00:00:01
inet addr:192.168.50.1 Bcast:192.168.50.255 Mask:255.255.255.0
UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:106 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
RX bytes:0 (0.0 B) TX bytes:18948 (18.5 KiB)

pi-star@pi-star(ro):~$ sudo ping 8.8.8.8
PING 8.8.8.8 (8.8.8.8) 56(84) bytes of data.
From 192.168.2.1 icmp_seq=1 Destination Net Unreachable
From 192.168.2.1 icmp_seq=2 Destination Net Unreachable
From 192.168.2.1 icmp_seq=3 Destination Net Unreachable
From 192.168.2.1 icmp_seq=4 Destination Net Unreachable
From 192.168.2.1 icmp_seq=5 Destination Net Unreachable
From 192.168.2.1 icmp_seq=6 Destination Net Unreachable
From 192.168.2.1 icmp_seq=7 Destination Net Unreachable
From 192.168.2.1 icmp_seq=8 Destination Net Unreachable
From 192.168.2.1 icmp_seq=9 Destination Net Unreachable
From 192.168.2.1 icmp_seq=10 Destination Net Unreachable
From 192.168.2.1 icmp_seq=11 Destination Net Unreachable
From 192.168.2.1 icmp_seq=12 Destination Net Unreachable
From 192.168.2.1 icmp_seq=13 Destination Net Unreachable
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=15 ttl=56 time=19.4 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=16 ttl=56 time=18.7 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=17 ttl=56 time=19.7 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=18 ttl=56 time=18.6 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=19 ttl=56 time=18.8 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=20 ttl=56 time=19.2 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=21 ttl=56 time=18.9 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=22 ttl=56 time=22.3 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=23 ttl=56 time=20.2 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=24 ttl=56 time=19.0 ms
From 192.168.2.1 icmp_seq=25 Destination Net Unreachable
From 192.168.2.1 icmp_seq=26 Destination Net Unreachable
From 192.168.2.1 icmp_seq=27 Destination Net Unreachable
From 192.168.2.1 icmp_seq=28 Destination Net Unreachable
From 192.168.2.1 icmp_seq=29 Destination Net Unreachable
From 192.168.2.1 icmp_seq=30 Destination Net Unreachable
From 192.168.2.1 icmp_seq=31 Destination Net Unreachable
From 192.168.2.1 icmp_seq=32 Destination Net Unreachable
From 192.168.2.1 icmp_seq=33 Destination Net Unreachable
From 192.168.2.1 icmp_seq=34 Destination Net Unreachable
From 192.168.2.1 icmp_seq=35 Destination Net Unreachable
From 192.168.2.1 icmp_seq=36 Destination Net Unreachable
From 192.168.2.1 icmp_seq=37 Destination Net Unreachable
From 192.168.2.1 icmp_seq=38 Destination Net Unreachable
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=39 ttl=56 time=19.8 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=40 ttl=56 time=20.5 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=41 ttl=56 time=19.1 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=42 ttl=56 time=19.5 ms
AF6VN
Posts: 821
Joined: Fri Jul 20, 2018 1:15 am

Re: MMDVM Hotspot not Internet Connection

Post by AF6VN »

DH5SDL wrote: Thu Apr 02, 2020 2:45 pm wlan0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr b8:27:eb:0e:da:c4
UP BROADCAST MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:89 errors:0 dropped:48 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:11 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
RX bytes:6581 (6.4 KiB) TX bytes:2606 (2.5 KiB)
wlan0_ap Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr b8:27:eb:00:00:01
inet addr:192.168.50.1 Bcast:192.168.50.255 Mask:255.255.255.0

UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:106 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
RX bytes:0 (0.0 B) TX bytes:18948 (18.5 KiB)
wlan0 -- the WiFi client, is not configured for the router, it has NO IP # assigned to it.

wlan0_ap -- is the automatic ACCESS POINT that is created only if Pi-Star is unable to connect to a valid network. The access point will not have internet access -- it is only meant for you to connect to the Pi-Star unit using a browser solely for the purpose of configuring the network connection. And to connect to the access point, means your computer/tablet/whatever has to be disconnected from the router WiFi (unless you somehow have a computer/tablet/whatever that has TWO WiFi radios and can gateway traffic to two different networks).

So... possibilities:
  • Router is configured for specific MAC addresses, and the R-Pi MAC address is not in that list, hence getting rejected
  • Router is configured for a limited number of DHCP leases, and you have already reached the limit before the R-Pi tries to connect
  • Router has an SSID and/or WPS password that contains characters that are not valid in the Pi-Star software (this is a major problem for people using iPhones as a WiFi access point -- as the default name has punctuation that doesn't pass through the R-Pi configuration)
  • R-Pi does not have the correct SSID and password
For the last item, what does /etc/wpa_supplicant/wpa_supplicant.conf contain (NOTE: obscure the password(s) [psk] if you post the contents)...

Code: Select all

pi-star@pi-star-3b(ro):~$ cat /etc/wpa_supplicant/wpa_supplicant.conf
ctrl_interface=DIR=/var/run/wpa_supplicant GROUP=netdev
update_config=1
ap_scan=1
fast_reauth=1
country=JP

network={
        #ssid="ATTHWEwm7i"
        ssid=415454485745776d3769
        #psk="OBSCURED"
        psk=HEX STRING OBSCURED
        id_str="0"
        priority=100
}

pi-star@pi-star-3b(ro):~$
Note that the hex string version is an attempt to handle some punctuation (like embedded spaces), but may still have problems if you have an SSID or PSK that uses multi-byte UTF-8 rather than just plain ASCII characters.

And a hint: When pasting from a console, suggest you put the paste inside the "code" blocks (click the button with the </> graphics, then paste between the markers). That will keep screen formatting and blank lines.

--
AF6VN
Dennis L Bieber
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