Jumbospot no longer working

Help with Raspberry Pi Foundation Boards (Raspberry Pi, Pi Zero, Pi Zero W, Pi A, Pi B, Pi B+, Pi2 B, Pi3 B, Pi 3 B+)
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VE6JHC
Posts: 5
Joined: Sun Oct 24, 2021 6:42 am

Jumbospot no longer working

Post by VE6JHC »

I configured my Jumbpspot without issue and used it for a few months. I noticed one day that the display was blank. I tried to power cycle it but it never boots back up to the display. I do get a flashing green light that after a short while flips back and forth with a flashing red/green light. I am not able to see the device on my network and my radios will no longer connect to it. I thought there might be a problem with the microSD card but after checking it out it all seems good. I replaced the microSD with a new card and tried to do the setup from scratch again but I don't get past the "connect to my network" section. I removed the case from the unit to look for a bad connection or a burn part but didn't see anything that caused me a concern. Any tips on what to check next?
dh3ybe
Posts: 84
Joined: Sun Aug 26, 2018 9:02 pm
Location: Germany

Re: Jumbospot no longer working

Post by dh3ybe »

Thanks for this very good troubleshooting summary concerning pistar problems :D

Best Regards
73
Dh3ybe
Kai
VE6JHC
Posts: 5
Joined: Sun Oct 24, 2021 6:42 am

Re: Jumbospot no longer working

Post by VE6JHC »

Yes....Thanks very much for the detailed troubleshooting steps.


The LED's on the RPi or on the hat are flashing?
I will check where the LED that are blinking are located (I hate to answer just from memory)

On the hat you should see all the LED's blink 3 times on powerup, and then SRV should blink slowly. Once the RPi is booted and communications are established it blinks faster, so that can determine if the RPi is booting or not.
Once the LED start to blink the red/green pattern remains until I power down the unit.

As far as the LED's on a RPi, a blinking RED indicates voltage issues (bad power supply voltage, voltage drop over the cable or connector), or there are firmware files missing from its booting procedure. The green LED is disk access, so it should be blinking or solid during operation.
I will try another USB cable and power supply to eliminate a power issue or a cable connection.


I thought there might be a problem with the microSD card but after checking it out it all seems good.
How do you know its good? If you use Windows you only can see the FAT partition unless you are really a Linux guru and have Windows Subsystems for Linux installed. Theres another entire partition of the harddrive, and it needs to be checked with a Linux OS.
I did use Linux to check the MicroSD card....No errors reported.

VE6JHC wrote: ↑Fri Nov 05, 2021 4:49 pm
I replaced the microSD with a new card and tried to do the setup from scratch again but I don't get past the "connect to my network" section.
Where are you seeing "connect to my network"? On a Nextion??? Nextions are terrible to try to use as a diagnostic. If you just supplied 5v power and ground to the Nextion and nothing else, you'd see the same message, so its basically meaningless.
I was referring to the part of the setup that you use the Wi-Fi builder and then use your browser to connect to the http://pi-star to allow the configuration of the device. Looking in my router I do not see an entry for the Jumbospot or any entries for unknown devices. I also used a tool called Advanced IPScanner which also does not find the Jumbospot.

First I'd check the SD card for compatibility, there are some that just plain don't work in a RPi. It could also be counterfeit and not the size you think it is. Check it on this list and see if anyone else reported errors or problems.
https://elinux.org/RPi_SD_cards
This is the same MicroSD card that I had configured and used for several months without issue. The card is a SanDisk but I will specifically check the model from the list on https://elinux.org/RPi_SD_cards to see if I am on the compatibility list.

Second, I'd reimage the SD card with balenaetcher, and make sure it says that it was a verified image, I've had it fail before and I didn't even notice the error message.
I used a new Lexar MicroSD card and reimnaged with Balenatecher. I will specifically check the model from the list on https://elinux.org/RPi_SD_cards to see if I am on the compatibility list

Third, I'd hook up a HDMI cable to a monitor and see what the RPi is doing. A normal boot shows a square colorwheel/rainbow screen, and then a bunch of text scrolling across the monitor or TV and eventually a login prompt.
This is an excellent tip....kicking myself that I never thought of it myself!!!

If you get that far, then the SD card, and the RPi are working as they should.

I will update the group on the results of my further troubleshooting. Once again Thanks Very Much for taking the time to provided a detailed trouble shooting guide.
AF6VN
Posts: 821
Joined: Fri Jul 20, 2018 1:15 am

Re: Jumbospot no longer working

Post by AF6VN »

VE6JHC wrote: Mon Nov 08, 2021 9:45 pm
This is the same MicroSD card that I had configured and used for several months without issue. The card is a SanDisk but I will specifically check the model from the list on https://elinux.org/RPi_SD_cards to see if I am on the compatibility list.

I used a new Lexar MicroSD card and reimnaged with Balenatecher. I will specifically check the model from the list on https://elinux.org/RPi_SD_cards to see if I am on the compatibility list
Sandisk and Lexar (and maybe Samsung, though I've never seen one in a store) would be my goto's for good cards... BUT if you've been buying via, say, e-Bay, the cards may be fakes.

PNY, and others, are basically custom labeled low-bid chips, so cards of the same purported model could vary greatly internally.

--
AF6VN
Dennis L Bieber
VE6JHC
Posts: 5
Joined: Sun Oct 24, 2021 6:42 am

Re: Jumbospot no longer working

Post by VE6JHC »

I finally got a chance to order the mini HDMI cable and back to testing my Jumbospot again. With the Jumbospot connected to the external monitor via the mini HDMI cable and powered by an external USB power adapter I get on the steady green light from the board along with a slow flashing red light. With no MicroSD card installed in the unit there is nothing on the external monitor. With my MicroSD card installed I do get the full screen color rainbow on the monitor but no scrolling text. This is leading to suspect a MicroSD card issue or an issue with the software installed on it. I will flash another MicroSD and report back.
VE6JHC
Posts: 5
Joined: Sun Oct 24, 2021 6:42 am

Re: Jumbospot no longer working

Post by VE6JHC »

I'm making some progress....With the newly flashed MicroSD card I am now able to boot the unit to the log in screen. I will now continue with the configuration procedure.
VE6JHC
Posts: 5
Joined: Sun Oct 24, 2021 6:42 am

Re: Jumbospot no longer working

Post by VE6JHC »

I am back up and running....all seems to be working OK now. Thanks to all who assisted!
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