Lost WiFi

[GrahamW]

PAW has been working well since I purchased it in May. It powers up correctly, I can see the red and the flashing green lights but the second time I used it today the usual WiFi network code was not visible so I could not connect to my Ipad. I thought it may be low power in the aircraft so I have taken the device out of the plane and plugged into a mains charger using the correct USB lead supplied but still no WiFi. I have also noticed when I take the GPS dongle out and hot plug it back in I don’t get the initial green LED flash. I’m sure the dongle is working as I get the green flash when I plug it into my laptop which seems to recognise it.
I have updated IOS on my Ipad but PAW has been working ok since then, but just in case the problem is related, I have also tried to detect the WiFi on another device without success.
Any suggestions how to resolve this?

[Admin]

Hi Graham

This sounds like either an sd card corruption, or failed wifi dongle.
Are you able to connect to an hdmi tv/monitor, this should provide some diagnostic info

Thx
Lee

[GrahamW]

Yes I have got several messages. The last one looks significant
3.231602 end kernal panic - not syncing : VFS: unable to mount root fs on unknown-block(179,6)

[GrahamW]

I think the message indicates a corrupt SD card but I don't know how to resolve this. Any ideas?
Thanks Graham

[Admin]

Hi Graham,

Yes that is the case.
The quickest thing would be to download the full installation and burn to the disk.
Depends how computer literate you feel 
Alternately we could ask Dave Styles to dispatch a new SD card.

Let me know what you think.

Thx
Lee

[GrahamW]

Thanks Lee, I think i would rather go for another SD card please.
Graham

[MrSums]

Hi,

I am having a similar problem in that the wifi drops out after about 10-15 mins. Connecting monitor after the problem occured provided the following output:

Starting very small Busybox based DHCP server: Starting /usr/sbin/udhcpd...
udhcpd
### Wifi ssid=Pilotaware-B827EB90725
### Wifi mode=g
### Wifi channel=9
### Wifi txpower=100mW
### setwifi end ###
Interface eth0 Error - force to static
ifdown: interface eth0 not configure

I checked this as the wifi was up and there are no further messages once the wifi dropped off

Thanks

Robert

[MrSums]

I have attached a keyboard - should I login and run dmesg? What is login/password?

[Admin]

Hi Robert (MrSums)

Logins are disabled, but this allows us to see any messages being issued.

Let me understand the issues you are reporting.

I am having a similar problem in that the wifi drops out after about 10-15 mins.

Can I ask what is the symptom you are seeing, that you are determining a wifi dropout ?

Are you using the Power Cable provided ?

What is the power source you are using ?

What is the device you are using to connect to PilotAware ?

Thx
Lee

[MrSums]

Hi,

Today I am working from home with PAW placed in good location with satellites visible. Using power supply with 2A output and supplied cable. However I had exactly the same experience in the car driving the other day.

From startup, the wifi is visible and connectable from any of my devices - I am using both LG Gpad and my phone (OnePlus X)

• device connects well. login to 192.168.1.1 and see home screen
• fire up EasyVFR. GPS/Flarm titles both visible - all operating normally
• some minutes later the GPS/Flarm titles disappear
• exit EasyVFR and check wifi connection; it is lost and PAW wifi does not appear on list of available servers

That is it really. Hooking the PAW up to monitor shows the unit operating and no error messages.

The wifi dongle seems quite hot, but I have nothing to compare it with.

Thanks

Robert

[Admin]

Hi Robert

Not familiar with those devices.
I wonder how they cope with legacy wifi mode.

Can you check the WiFi page, and try setting Mode B, to Mode G
And see how well it holds up the interface

Does it always exit after approx 15 mins ?
And can you reconnect after the initial disconnect ?
If you can reconnect, can you go to The  homepage and to read the UPTIME ?

Do you have access to an apple device which you can connect at the same time to see if it also drops the wifi

Thx
Lee

[MrSums]

Hi Lee,

I had already tried mode g thinking the same thing (see the extract above), so swapped back to mode B and tried again.  Wifi dropped sometime between 20 and 25 mins.

No I cannot reconnect. The wifi service does not reappear on any device I have to hand (2 x HP laptops, a Samsung S6 + both the others already described). I did leave the PAW on for several hours this afternoon to see if it would, but nothing.

And I'm not going to apologize - unless the kids are back home there are NO Apple devices in my house !! - and if I have to buy an expensive bit of kit in order to connect to an inexpensive one, I'd have to reconsider my options ...

Best

Robert

[Admin]

Hi Robert,

Thanks for the update.

OK, the fact you cannot reconnect is very interesting.
This would normally indicate one of two things

1. Power issue
if the power drops you can get either a brownout, or a blackout.
a brownout, can result in the Wifi circuitry resetting, dropping existing connections, and no longer accepting new connections
a blackout causes the Pi to reboot, which will normally start accepting connections again.
This is why I was asking could you see the UPTIME, because this would indicate a blackout due to a reboot.

2. Faulty WiFi dongle
it could also be that a faulty wifi dongle is at play here.


At the moment it does sound like a power issue (although I know you did mention that you are using a 2.0A supply).
can you send me a web reference to your supply ?
Also is your supply, solely providing power to PilotAware, or are you sharing with any other devices ?

Finally will you be at Flyer Live next week, if so I would say definitely come and see us so we can take a look.
if not, then we should get you an alternate WiFi dongle to try out, just in case it is (2) above

Thx
Lee

[MrSums]

Hi Lee,

I had tried a couple of power supplies (including the car), but tried once more with my new Finsix Dart (you need to get one of these if you travel a lot), This provides a stable 2.1A USB source and the PAW lasted about 10 mins this time.

As it sits at the moment, I cannot connect to wifi, but the PAW is showing a solid Red led and a blinking Green. I do not think it is a power issue and of the only other option is a faulty wifi dongle, I'll go with that.

I won't be at Flyer Live, unfortunately - what with the social calendar around Christmas and the move out of Birmingham I can't really spare the time (plus a 300-mile round trip). I hope the show is great for you (I used to do trade shows, so my heart goes out to you!)

If you can send through an alternate dongle, that would be great.

With kind regds

Robert

[exfirepro]

Hi Lee /Robert

I have been following this thread with interest and although I agree, there may be an issue with a defective WiFi dongle - which can of course quickly be eliminated by replacement, having just read up about Robert's 'Dart'power supply on FINsix's own website and also on a couple of independent reviews, I would strongly suspect that this is more likely to be a power supply issue.

The 'Dart' is NOT a power bank as we know it, it is a high frequency switched mode laptop charger with a built in USB device charger. As I say, it is not a power bank. It is rated at max 2.1 amps on both its 18 -21 volt laptop charging and 5 volt USB charging outputs with current overload protection. Probably great for charging laptops or mobiles from a mains supply but goodness knows what it's pushing in rf wise or how smooth the current / voltage is as it approaches its maximum. I'd be interested to hear Jeremy C's views.

As we know from our extensive testing, the power supply to PilotAware is critical to effective operation. We have seen countless examples of this causing brownouts and connection failures. Another recent example which I came across was when one of my local pilot colleagues bought and installed PAW as a portable carry on in his flexwing, using a well known branded power pack, supposedly rated at well above 2 amps. All was well until he connected the PAW audio into his intercom, when he began experiencing serious audio interference. He is a lighthouse maintenance engineer with a first class knowledge of electronics, despite which we just couldn't get to the bottom of the problem, until - after reviewing his setup logically, - I got him to try one of my 'Anker' power packs and the problem disappeared completely. As we well know - all power supplies (whether power packs, car USB adaptors or whatever) definitely are NOT equal.

Regards

Peter