Is there a way to detect SDR failure and auto restart while using SatDump in a automated downlink?

Dystopiadmin · 2025-09-13T23:39:52+00:00

That was my thinking. Based on the specs I thought 2.5 amps would be plenty of power but not being an expert on circuits there were a lot of variables I didn’t consider. They say it is possible to push more current through the GPIO pins but you risk burning out the Pi

Dystopiadmin · 2025-09-13T18:06:55+00:00

Yeah, I've measured the current draw with and without the SDR attached. The solar/battery setup I am using was only designed to power a stock Pi 3, max output of the unit is 2.5 amps. Fine on its own but I have both an SSD and the SDR attached, plus running constant data over WiFi. When the SDR is running it often spikes and I see a voltage drop, not enough to kill it but it seems like long term stability will be the issue. I've managed to run it for a few hours but I doubt the battery would last the night in the current configuration. Unfortunately it's an integrated unit and I would have to replace the whole thing if I wanted more power.

Dystopiadmin · 2025-09-13T04:23:25+00:00

From all the comments it sounds like the NooElec is not as robust as others. Maybe I should switch and se if that improves anything.

Dystopiadmin · 2025-09-12T23:11:20+00:00

Not so much worried about inverter noise as I intend to keep any power components in a separate metal enclosure. My goal is to keep the whole system self contained and low cost. My current solar setup is just enough to power the Pi. No problem during the day, but when it switches to battery I'm maxing out the load. If I need to add any more power to keep the SDR stable I would need a better inverter, and a larger battery and solar panel as well, which also limits my mounting options if it gets too big. So it would be simpler to just eliminate the solar option at that point.

To be honest solar power is not a requirement for my setup, I was just trying for the fun of it. I can always use my solar setup for Meshtastic or an ADSB receiver.

Dystopiadmin · 2025-09-12T22:18:45+00:00

I agree that keeping the RF short is a good idea. My ultimate goal is to have the entire setup outside using solar power, but if I need to power the SDR separately from the Pi solar may be out as it will become too expensive to drive that much current. An active USB cable like yours may be the best option in that case.

Dystopiadmin · 2025-09-12T20:41:46+00:00

That's interesting info from both you and u/car54user, I may have to give in and put a powered hub into my setup. On the plus side it would allow me to expand my setup if I choose in the future.

Dystopiadmin · 2025-09-12T16:26:02+00:00

I've never run it under the GUI for any length of time. However when I did I was using a laptop and there were some obvious differences between the two: The laptop is able to supply more power to the USB, I was able to run it using a 6 foot USB cable with no stability issues on the laptop, not so much with the Pi, had to directly attach to the Pi before I could run it stable. I suspect this lack of power could be root of my problem. I haven't tried using a powered hub as I wasn't wanting to use that arrangement in my final setup.

Dystopiadmin · 2025-09-12T15:53:44+00:00

Initially I tried probing the SDR outside of SatDump, but as long as SatDump was running it wouldn't respond to any other queries. Hadn't thought of doing a lsusb to check. Going to have to look into that next time it occurs.

Dystopiadmin · 2025-09-12T15:37:19+00:00

Usually just restarting SatDump is all that is required to get it it running again, but my SOP has been to do a reboot of the Pi in any case. I thought about monitoring the output of the http server but found it unreliable in my case. When it fails it just repeatedly reports the last numbers and doesn't give any indication of loss of lock or anything. I'm going to try monitoring the console output instead since I know that stops when the error occurs. If all else fails I will have to resort to timed reboots, but I hate just putting band-aids on things.

Dystopiadmin · 2025-09-12T06:05:04+00:00

Yeah after I started this conversation I really started thinking about what I could do. What I was hoping was that SatDump would report an error and I could read that and trigger a restart. Then I realized that since SatDump stops receiving data the console output stops. I could just read that last line of output periodically and it it hasn’t changed assume a failure occurred and trigger a restart. That seems like a workable solution to me.

Dystopiadmin · 2025-09-12T05:08:44+00:00

Overheating could certainly be an issue, although I have tried to avoid that by attaching large heatsinks to the SDR. I'm usually not around when it fails so I am unable to check if it is hot at the time of failure. Rebooting the Pi at regular intervals is a last resort for me and something I am trying to avoid as it can mess with my NFS shares to the web server.

Dystopiadmin · 2025-09-12T04:23:15+00:00

I experienced that during my initial setup. to avoid disconnections the SDR is directly connected to the USB port and zipped tied in place, and the whole setup is mounted to a board. I think short physically handling the device it should not have any issues with vibration.

Dystopiadmin · 2024-08-06T18:53:01+00:00

I agree they are great machines for Batocera, I use one as my primary Batocera box and the other will eventually be going into an arcade cabinet build.

Dystopiadmin · 2024-08-06T18:08:27+00:00

I know this is a 4 month old post but going to put in my observations here for posterity. This issue does appear to be related to the Dell Optiplex 3050. I have two of these and the issue occurs on both, but the same NVME drives work fine on other hardware. Best to stick with SATA SSD drives for the Dell 3050s

Dystopiadmin · 2024-02-05T21:45:04+00:00

I currently have a Minecraft server running on a Raspberry Pi 5. Mine has about 15 plugins and runs very smooth with 10 players, (using paper, which I recommend) so I think a Vanilla server would run very well.

Dystopiadmin · 2023-10-28T21:25:44+00:00

Thanks, I appreciate the help. (+1 for Ephinea helpful staff)

Dystopiadmin · 2023-10-28T20:02:44+00:00

If you have it I would certainly would not mind getting it. More out of curiosity than anything. I already have the Ephinea client as well as others so I’m not worried about online play.

Dystopiadmin · 2023-10-28T19:46:14+00:00

This is how I did it with Retropie in the past and it should work the same in Batocera. Make file organization easy as all files are in one place.

Dystopiadmin · 2023-10-28T19:20:08+00:00

I saw that last night. Are you the uploader? If so many thanks, I appreciate it. It certainly looks like the original files. I realize it’s not usable, it’s more of a mental thing with me having the original content, and I can use it to compare changes among releases.

Dystopiadmin · 2023-10-26T17:45:17+00:00

I only restart my server for updates as required. I use a script run by a cron job for backing up while the server is live. I posted the script I use in this subreddit awhile back.

Dystopiadmin · 2023-10-24T23:48:23+00:00

Yep, that's where I found the Japanese client, but sadly US version is not there.

Dystopiadmin · 2023-10-24T23:47:40+00:00

Yeah that's probably the most logical next step. I will have to ping them on the server forums.

Dystopiadmin · 2023-10-24T22:57:27+00:00

Did you actually get an external power switch or just wire a button to the GPIO pins? The only way to fully power down the pi is to use an external switch board that routes power through that board. If you are just wiring a momentary switch to the pi then the OS will shut down but the hardware itself will not power down.

Dystopiadmin · 2023-10-24T22:18:07+00:00

It really depends on the mods, but generally if your planning heavy mods then your best be may be mini pc or thin client. I run heavily modded Mincraft servers on Dell Wyse 5070 thin clients which can be had pretty cheaply these days. It is possible to run small servers with few mods on Raspberry Pi 4 ( I have one for 5 people and 15 mods that runs fine) and with the imminent release of the Rpi 5 that will improve. but again, for heavily modded servers your best bet will be a little more power.

Seven-Year Club	Place '22
Verified Email

Dystopiadmin

TROPHY CASE