I had some problems with my satnogs installation so I downloaded a new image two weeks ago, since then I have not been able to get any signal in the observations.
I have satnogs on a Raspberry Pi 3 Model B Plus Rev 1.3 with the latest version and an RTL-SDR plus LNA which is working perfectly (tested with rtl command line tools and sdr#).
One example of observation is this: SatNOGS Network - Observation 7428307
Can anyone think of anything I could be doing wrong?
The gain seems to be too high, try lower values.
Also can you generate and copy paste here the support report, check the second yellow box in this wiki page on how to.
I’ve tried multiple gains, even 0, that gain value worked perfectly ( SatNOGS Network - Observation 7253658 ) until now.
Here it goes my support report:
{
“versions”: {
“satnogs-client”: “1.8.1”,
“satnogs-client-ansible”: “202209101521”,
“satnogs-flowgraphs”: “1.4-1”,
“gr-satnogs”: “2.3.4.0-1”,
“gr-soapy”: “2.1.3.1-1”,
“gnuradio”: “3.8.2.0-14”,
“satnogs-config”: “0.13.2”
},
“state”: {
“is-applied”: true,
“pending-tags”: null
},
“system”: {
“date”: “2023-04-17T09:49:46.439454+00:00”,
“distribution”: {
“DESCRIPTION”: “Raspbian GNU/Linux 11 (bullseye)”,
“RELEASE”: “11”,
“CODENAME”: “bullseye”,
“ID”: “Raspbian”
},
“pending-updates”: false,
“platform”: {
“system”: “Linux”,
“node”: “satnogs”,
“release”: “6.1.21-v7+”,
“version”: “#1642 SMP Mon Apr 3 17:20:52 BST 2023”,
“machine”: “armv7l”
},
“memory”: {
“total”: 966750208,
“available”: 740405248,
“percent”: 23.4,
“used”: 166973440,
“free”: 396382208,
“active”: 126210048,
“inactive”: 376598528,
“buffers”: 29392896,
“cached”: 374001664,
“shared”: 733184,
“slab”: 41172992
},
“disk”: {
“total”: 31178534912,
“used”: 4268490752,
“free”: 25588240384,
“percent”: 14.3
}
},
“configuration”: {
“satnogs_antenna”: “RX”,
“satnogs_api_token”: “[redacted]”,
“satnogs_dev_args”: “rtl=0,buffers=32,buflen=16384,bias=1”,
“satnogs_post_observation_script”: “/usr/bin/rtl_biast -b 0”,
“satnogs_pre_observation_script”: “/usr/bin/rtl_biast -b 1”,
“satnogs_rf_gain”: “49.6”,
“satnogs_rx_bandwidth”: “1024e3”,
“satnogs_rx_samp_rate”: “1024000”,
“satnogs_soapy_rx_device”: “driver=rtlsdr”,
“satnogs_station_elev”: “10”,
“satnogs_station_id”: “1343”,
“satnogs_station_lat”: “43.3804059”,
“satnogs_station_lon”: “-3.8537428”
}
}
Try the following settings, they are working on my SatNOGS station that also has a LNA connected.
SATNOGS_SOAPY_RX_DEVICE="driver=rtlsdr"
SATNOGS_RX_SAMP_RATE="2.048e6"
SATNOGS_RF_GAIN="22.9"
SATNOGS_ANTENNA="RX"
SATNOGS_DEV_ARGS="biastee=true"
And just to be sure, do you have a RTL-SDR v3 with the Bias T enabled option active.
In the past there where v3 also models that didn’t have the option.
Good luck and please share you results.
Jan - PE0SAT
Settings set… will have to wait for the results.
As for the bias T, as I said, the rtlsdr is well tested with sdr# on windows and with the rtl suite on this Pi (in fact on the dead times its used to send data to flightradar24…)
Please share your configuration after the changes that where proposed.
If the setup works fine with SDR# then there is an error somewhere in the configuration.
{
“versions”: {
“satnogs-client”: “1.8.1”,
“satnogs-client-ansible”: “202209101521”,
“satnogs-flowgraphs”: “1.4-1”,
“gr-satnogs”: “2.3.4.0-1”,
“gr-soapy”: “2.1.3.1-1”,
“gnuradio”: “3.8.2.0-14”,
“satnogs-config”: “0.13.2”
},
“state”: {
“is-applied”: true,
“pending-tags”: null
},
“system”: {
“date”: “2023-04-25T12:57:36.034148+00:00”,
“distribution”: {
“DESCRIPTION”: “Raspbian GNU/Linux 11 (bullseye)”,
“RELEASE”: “11”,
“CODENAME”: “bullseye”,
“ID”: “Raspbian”
},
“pending-updates”: true,
“platform”: {
“system”: “Linux”,
“node”: “satnogs”,
“release”: “6.1.21-v7+”,
“version”: “#1642 SMP Mon Apr 3 17:20:52 BST 2023”,
“machine”: “armv7l”
},
“memory”: {
“total”: 966750208,
“available”: 792891392,
“percent”: 18.0,
“used”: 118325248,
“free”: 543350784,
“active”: 68452352,
“inactive”: 291983360,
“buffers”: 22224896,
“cached”: 282849280,
“shared”: 724992,
“slab”: 32849920
},
“disk”: {
“total”: 31178534912,
“used”: 4360036352,
“free”: 25496694784,
“percent”: 14.6
}
},
“configuration”: {
“satnogs_antenna”: “RX”,
“satnogs_api_token”: “[redacted]”,
“satnogs_dev_args”: “rtl=0,buffers=32,buflen=16384,bias=1,biastee=true”,
“satnogs_post_observation_script”: “/usr/bin/rtl_biast -b 0”,
“satnogs_pre_observation_script”: “/usr/bin/rtl_biast -b 1”,
“satnogs_rf_gain”: “22.9”,
“satnogs_rx_bandwidth”: “1024e3”,
“satnogs_rx_samp_rate”: “2.048e6”,
“satnogs_soapy_rx_device”: “driver=rtlsdr”,
“satnogs_station_elev”: “10”,
“satnogs_station_id”: “1343”,
“satnogs_station_lat”: “43.3804059”,
“satnogs_station_lon”: “-3.8537428”
}
}
Please share some log information sudo journalctl -f -u satnogs-client -n 512
And I would advice to remove all your RTLSDR settings an go back to basic settings, here an example.
satnogs_station_elev: '10'
satnogs_station_id: '1343'
satnogs_station_lat: '43.380'
satnogs_station_lon: '-3.853'
satnogs_soapy_rx_device: driver=rtlsdr
satnogs_dev_args: biastee=true
satnogs_rf_gain: '22.9'
satnogs_antenna: RX
satnogs_rx_samp_rate: 2.048e6
I will get that logs as soon as I get another observation running, for now there are lots of errors from an unestable connection, but nothing related with soapy or the sdr.
I will try to revert to that settings but I’ve already worked with that the firsts times after the new image.
Thanks!
SatNOGS Network - Observation 7468194
No difference… :_(
Apr 25 14:20:02 satnogs systemd[1]: Stopping SatNOGS client...
Apr 25 14:20:02 satnogs systemd[1]: satnogs-client.service: Succeeded.
Apr 25 14:20:02 satnogs systemd[1]: Stopped SatNOGS client.
Apr 25 14:20:02 satnogs systemd[1]: satnogs-client.service: Consumed 46.165s CPU time.
Apr 25 14:20:03 satnogs systemd[1]: Started SatNOGS client.
Apr 25 14:38:48 satnogs satnogs-client[1521]: Found 1 device(s):
Apr 25 14:38:48 satnogs satnogs-client[1521]: 0: Realtek, RTL2838UHIDIR, SN: 00000001
Apr 25 14:38:48 satnogs satnogs-client[1521]: Using device 0: Generic RTL2832U OEM
Apr 25 14:38:48 satnogs satnogs-client[1521]: Found Rafael Micro R820T tuner
Apr 25 14:38:48 satnogs satnogs-client[1484]: rot_init called
Apr 25 14:38:48 satnogs satnogs-client[1484]: initrots4_dummy: _init called
Apr 25 14:38:48 satnogs satnogs-client[1484]: rot_register (1)
Apr 25 14:38:48 satnogs satnogs-client[1484]: rot_register (2)
Apr 25 14:38:48 satnogs satnogs-client[1484]: dummy_rot_init called
Apr 25 14:38:48 satnogs satnogs-client[1484]: rot_open called
Apr 25 14:38:48 satnogs satnogs-client[1484]: dummy_rot_open called
Apr 25 14:38:48 satnogs satnogs-client[1484]: rot_get_position called
Apr 25 14:38:48 satnogs satnogs-client[1484]: dummy_rot_get_position called
Apr 25 14:38:48 satnogs satnogs-client[1484]: rot_get_position: got az=0.00, el=0.00
Apr 25 14:38:48 satnogs satnogs-client[1484]: rot_set_position called az=285.29 el=0.01
Apr 25 14:38:48 satnogs satnogs-client[1484]: rot_set_position: south_zero=0
Apr 25 14:38:48 satnogs satnogs-client[1484]: rot_set_position: range problem az=285.29(min=-180.00,max=180.00), el=0.007014(min=0.00,max=90.000000)
Apr 25 14:38:48 satnogs satnogs-client[1484]: rig_init: rig does not have rx_range!!
Apr 25 14:38:48 satnogs satnogs-client[1484]: network_open: hoststr=127.0.0.1, portstr=4532
Apr 25 14:38:57 satnogs satnogs-client[1529]: Found Rafael Micro R820T tuner
Apr 25 14:38:57 satnogs satnogs-client[1529]: [INFO] Opening Generic RTL2832U OEM :: 00000001...
Apr 25 14:38:57 satnogs satnogs-client[1529]: Found Rafael Micro R820T tuner
Apr 25 14:38:58 satnogs satnogs-client[1529]: [R82XX] PLL not locked!
Apr 25 14:38:58 satnogs satnogs-client[1529]: [INFO] Using format CF32.
Apr 25 14:38:59 satnogs satnogs-client[1529]: Allocating 15 zero-copy buffers
Apr 25 14:50:31 satnogs satnogs-client[1484]: netrigctl_close: done status=Command completed successfully
Apr 25 14:50:32 satnogs satnogs-client[1596]: Found 1 device(s):
Apr 25 14:50:32 satnogs satnogs-client[1596]: 0: Realtek, RTL2838UHIDIR, SN: 00000001
Apr 25 14:50:32 satnogs satnogs-client[1596]: Using device 0: Generic RTL2832U OEM
Apr 25 14:50:32 satnogs satnogs-client[1596]: Found Rafael Micro R820T tuner
I have a similar issue however I have not changed my image but I did remove a cheap LNA I bought from Amazon and purchased one from GPIO - 433 MHz Filtered Low Noise Amplifier LNA with 20 dB Gain.
I started with a an RF gain of 8.8 and moved it up to 28. I keep getting a nice looking waterfall however with no noise and no signal. I am using the bias-T and have confirmed it to be on giving me 5V. I do have the LNA RF-In coming from the antenna which is the M2 UHF eggbeater and the otherside to my RTLSDR V3. I forced the LNA on because I cannot get the automatic trigger within the satnogs-setup (Scripts) to work… so it is powered all of the time unless I reboot the Pi… Any ideas would be great.
Thank you.
If this is the correct station, obs 7880439 certainly has noise, althou very homogeneous which is a bit suspicious, at some 80 odd dB’s.
For testing I recommend strong sats, like LUSAT and a few others.
Are you sure everything is hooked up properly ? I get the feeling that the LNA is off for some reason. DC break in cable/connectors, perhaps backwards, something is toasted.
Is it possible to confirm DC voltage at coax going in to LNA, or even better at the LNA ? Or if there’s a LED on it.
The LNA, is it close to the antenna ?
If the antenna is DC shorted, has this been connected to the SDR with bias on ?
Hi SA2KNG,
This is the correct station, I am adding a photo to show how this station is set up.
The coax goes out to the antenna which is about 40’ in the air. The other you can see in the photo.
I get 5 VDC at the SMA connector connected to the RTLSDR, nothing on the COAX side.
I have not permanently installed the station close to the antenna until the station is working properly consistently, and I need a way to get a wired LAN cable out there.
I live in a part of the country that gets a lot of snow and very cold temperatures.
Ok, looks like a decent cable to the antenna. solid dielectric or foam ?
The first problem is the LNA down at the receiver, this will probably not do any good, the signal is already lost and amplification will not bring it back. A mast preamp is very different in performance.
Also a bit suspicious is the 5.0V at the connector. The RTL cannot deliver this under load, it usually lags a few hundreds of mV at load.
It looks like the 10uH unductor is missing here, it is required for bias-tee operation. You could hook the micro-usb in as well for a permanent supply, althou I would try to put some filtering on it as it probably carries a decent bit of interference from the RPi.
In any case, if running without the LNA and some 30-40dB gain you can see not signals, you really need to put the LNA up at the antenna.
For my TinyGS station that is hooked up to a Diamond X-50N I made this LNA inside a 22mm copper tube with N connectors. Only for reception so no rx/tx relays. It is protected by the mounting tube below the antenna as well.
When running a mast preamp it is good to be able to measure current draw, like hooking it up to a psu with milliamp measurement or like USB with a dmm in series at ~200mA scale. This to make sure it has a DC connection. It could be feasible to measure the voltage droop from the RTL feeding it, it should dip down to perhaps 4.5V or so.
Thanks Dan!! You were right. I totally missed the inductor, I need to order one. I am now powered through the micro USB. And yes it does have an LED (shaking my head in shame) I thought I purchased the LNA ready to go… I plan to encase the LNA once all of the bugs are sorted out. I will be building a 2M ground station once this one gets to where it doesn’t need that much attention. Trying to cut my teeth on this one as it were. The coax has a dense foam dielectric. very low loss. I like your LNA setup very straight forward. Looks to be 3/4" copper tubing?, Also is that mylar or special tape for the window? Does the Diamond have an Type N connector? I am working on a remote design for everything and the idea of putting the LNA up close to the antenna is in that design.
Thanks again for your help!!
The copper pipe is closer to 7/8" and mylar tape covering the opening to keep the bugs out (:
The X-50N is N connector, yes.
Regarding the board inside it, was some empty pcb from ebay for LNA and I cut it to fit inside the pipe and fitted the required components and a PGA-103+
I have some pics of this and a bunch more at my album, the absolute closest fo feedpoint I have made is the UHF QFH where a chopped down LNA4ALL sits 
Thanks Dan… With your help!! 
I am definitely building the antenna for my new VHF station I have to come up with the best design, it may still be an egg beater but I really like the look of a quadrifiler helix but not sure how well it performs. Seems like the egg beater would have better circular polarization. I have heard good things about the LNA4ALL so I may look towards that brand of LNA… Thanks for being willing to help the noobs like myself!!
