Cube SatSim working, then after a reboot it does not work

[pacrunner]

My CubeSatSim was working ok, tested ok.
Now after a reboot, all the LEDS work ok, and I can detect a carrier on a HT, but nothing works.
The carrier is down in level. I had it working did not touch it and after the reboot nothing.
I have put a newly flashed v2.2 64Gb card into it.
Does anyone have any ideas, I am thinking the RF chip is faulty, but why does it work then stop?

[pacrunner]

Further to earlier post when CubeSatSim reboots, CW ID ok. But no modes including CW now work.
This appears to rule out the RF chip.

[alanbjohnston]

Hi,

The logs will tell us what is going on:

CubeSatSim/config

CubeSatSim/log -t

CubeSatSim/log

Let’s see what they say.

Alan

[pacrunner]

Attached are logfiles.
On boot up today 12/3/26, it started working ok, the fault appears intermittent.
I have checked all the boards for dry joints.
Hope the logs give some indication of problem.
Config.docx
log.txt
logt.txt

[alanbjohnston]

I looked over the logs - thanks for uploading them.

They don't show any issues.

If you can get logs when it is failing, that might show the issue.

Alan

[pacrunner]

The logs I have attached started at 10:55, It was powered up in CW mode. There was a low level carrier on the HT but no morse.
The system then did an uncommanded change to Safe mode, and rebooted.
It then started working ok I changed the mode to SSTV and that is working ok.
I have replaced both the Pi Zero and the pico.

log.txt
logt.txt

[pacrunner]

Should the unit reboot or restart after a mode change?
Also the audio connection from the Pi Zero to the main board, is this for repeater mode only. It looks like it from the block diagram.
This is getting frustrating, but I should know these things get like it after 40years as a communications engineer.

[alanbjohnston]

I will take a look at your logs, thanks for sharing them.

As for a reboot for a mode change, it depends. For similar modes (eg FSK and BPSK, or APRS and SSTV or CW) there is no reboot, but for modes that change the transmitter, a reboot is required.

The audio jumper cable between the USB sound card plugged into the Pi Zero and the Main board is a microphone connection. It is used for Command and Control input to the CubeSatSim only. The audio output from the Pi Zero to the Main board is done with a PWM GPIO pin.

The software will also reboot to switch to or from Safe Mode/Battery Saver. Safe Mode will turn on when the battery voltage drops below 3.55 V, and it will turn off when the battery is being charged.

Alan

[alanbjohnston]

Here's what I see in the Log files:

1. 10:42 starts up in SSTV mode, battery voltage is 3.77 V
2. 10:46 restarts in BPSK. battery voltage is 3.74 V
3. 10:49 reboots into CW mode
4. 10:50 restarts in BPSK mode
5. 10:52 reboots in CW mode
6. 10:54 reboots in CW mode battery voltage is 3.64 V
7. 10:57 reboots to switch to Safe Mode in CW
8. 11:00 restarts to SSTV mode still Safe Mode

Command count is always 1 so no command and control activity.

All the mode changes (10:46, 10:49, 10:50, 10:52, 11:00) must be Push Button presses or config commands typed into the Pi Zero 2.

There is no indication why the reboot at 10:54 happens when in CW mode. It could be due to:

• Pressing a releasing the push button - could happen if finger slips off button when trying to change modes
• A command typed into the Pi Zero 2 such as "sudo reboot now"
• A power glitch to the Pi Zero 2

All these situations are happening under fairly low voltage conditions. A power glitch is more likely to happen at low battery voltages than high battery voltages.

Can you charge with the RBF plug inserted for at least 8 hours then check the voltages of each individual cell in your Battery Board (they will be in the range 1.2 - 1.5 V each).

If these problems only happen at low voltages (battery voltage less than 3.75 V), it is an indication that is related to a power glitch.

You can see the battery voltage at any time by typing this command:

CubeSatSim/config -v

Alan

[pacrunner]

Thanks, I will look at the batteries.
Just a quick one, I am using a Pi Zero 2 WH. Will the fact I have Wifi n cause any interference type issues?

[alanbjohnston]

No, I've been using the Pi Zero W and Pi Zero 2W for many years now and I have never had a WiFi interference issue.

Alan

[pacrunner]

I charged the batteries and all was ok.
I changed the modes between SSTV and BSPK all ok.
I plugged the USB-C in to chare the batteries whilst I was using the CubeSatSim, and switched to SSTV, the system rebooted and now it only works in BSPK mode.
I always change the mode using the SSH commands.
Any ideas, its driving me mad.

[alanbjohnston]

You could try reflashing the Micro SD card for the Pi Zero 2WH. This would eliminate a software cause.

When you say only BPSK is working, I presume that you mean when you set it to a different mode, there is only a carrier transmitted (or is it no signal) while the blue transmit LED behaves normally.

In this failure situation, have you tried FSK mode?

if you could capture the set of logs while you switch between working BPSK and, for example, not working APRS mode, that might show something. These are the commands:

CubeSatSim/config

CubeSatSim/log -t

CubeSatSim/log

Alan