[Won't work because of limitations in PiStar / MMDVHost] New feature in hotspot mode

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EB3AM
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[Won't work because of limitations in PiStar / MMDVHost] New feature in hotspot mode

Post by EB3AM » Wed Feb 26, 2020 10:11 pm

I noticed that if the firmware/hotspot is not available at the time of pi-star boot, it will not work in hotspot mode until the pi-star is reset.
But also, that if for some reason the radio is disconnected, it does not recover the hotspot mode until the Pistar reset.
This could be a problem if you put the radio in poorly accessible places.
Is there any way to have the hotspot mode restored automatically? I don't know if they depend on the pistar or the modem / radio. But it would be great if the thing could do it.

:idea:

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Re: New feature in hotspot mode

Post by VK3KYY » Thu Feb 27, 2020 1:08 am

EB3AM wrote:
Wed Feb 26, 2020 10:11 pm
I noticed that if the firmware/hotspot is not available at the time of pi-star boot, it will not work in hotspot mode until the pi-star is reset.
But also, that if for some reason the radio is disconnected, it does not recover the hotspot mode until the Pistar reset.
This could be a problem if you put the radio in poorly accessible places.
Is there any way to have the hotspot mode restored automatically? I don't know if they depend on the pistar or the modem / radio. But it would be great if the thing could do it.

:idea:

These are mainly bugs in PiStar

If the OpenGD77 Hotspot is not available as a USB device when MMDVMHost starts up, it seems to cause a lot of problems with PiStar, and the only way to recover seems to be to go into the PiStar Configuration and change the Modem type to something that does not use USB e.g. uses GPIO, then save that config and then change the Config back to the OpenGD77 (USB) hotspot.

Generally its easier just to power cycle the PiStar box when this happens.

Also, if the USB device is disconnected, the same thing happens with MMDVMHost, and you have to go through the same procedure.

Also...
MMDVMHost does not re-send the frequency and other parameters after there has been a short interruption on the USB, so the Hotspot could end up on the frequency set for the current VFO or current Channel etc

Hence why we don't just go back into Hotspot mode if this happens, as you could end up on the wrong frequency.

Again, this is a problem with PiStar / MMDVHost, because IMHO if connection to the modem is lost, upon reconnection MMDVMHost should send the config value again, in case the modem has lost its last settings etc

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kd2lh
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Re: [Won't work because of limitations in PiStar / MMDVHost] New feature in hotspot mode

Post by kd2lh » Thu Feb 27, 2020 1:31 am

If the USB connection is still working, you can sometimes reset things by doing an "Update" in PiStar. This stops MMDVMHost and then restarts it completely.

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Re: [Won't work because of limitations in PiStar / MMDVHost] New feature in hotspot mode

Post by VK3KYY » Thu Feb 27, 2020 2:05 am

kd2lh wrote:
Thu Feb 27, 2020 1:31 am
If the USB connection is still working, you can sometimes reset things by doing an "Update" in PiStar. This stops MMDVMHost and then restarts it completely.
Doesn't "Update" also try to download an update?

I think its probably quicker just to power cycle the box

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EB3AM
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Re: [Won't work because of limitations in PiStar / MMDVHost] New feature in hotspot mode

Post by EB3AM » Thu Feb 27, 2020 8:27 am

Maybe by reading the logs I can detect the modem's loss and run a "uptate" on the system. ;)

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kd2lh
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Re: [Won't work because of limitations in PiStar / MMDVHost] New feature in hotspot mode

Post by kd2lh » Thu Feb 27, 2020 5:37 pm

Actually update is fairly fast on my network.

it would be great to have a "reset MMDVMHost" button...

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F1RMB
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Re: [Won't work because of limitations in PiStar / MMDVHost] New feature in hotspot mode

Post by F1RMB » Thu Feb 27, 2020 5:53 pm

Hi Marc,
kd2lh wrote:
Thu Feb 27, 2020 5:37 pm
Actually update is fairly fast on my network.

it would be great to have a "reset MMDVMHost" button...
In my fork, in expert page, you can stop/restart all services, + kill MMDVMHost (if it's stuck, when you stop stop services , it takes many minutes before getting killed).

Cheers.
---
Daniel

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DU2XXR
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Re: [Won't work because of limitations in PiStar / MMDVHost] New feature in hotspot mode

Post by DU2XXR » Fri Feb 28, 2020 2:41 am

On my end, using mmdvmhost on Mac, I recall that it seems to reactivate hotspot mode when the radio is removed and plugged back in after a while. Mmdvmhost just keeps on looking for the radio when it disappears.

I'll test again later today.

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Re: [Won't work because of limitations in PiStar / MMDVHost] New feature in hotspot mode

Post by VK3KYY » Fri Feb 28, 2020 3:51 am

F1RMB wrote:
Thu Feb 27, 2020 5:53 pm
...

it takes many minutes before getting killed
That's why on by 3B+ I find its quicker just to power cycle the RPi

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Re: [Won't work because of limitations in PiStar / MMDVHost] New feature in hotspot mode

Post by DU2XXR » Fri Feb 28, 2020 5:25 am

I just tried turning off the radio and turning it back on after a few seconds. MMDVMHost (on OSX) woke up hotspot mode on the radio again after a few seconds. I will try doing this for longer periods to see if it still wakes up OK.

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