Langstone not starting up

Forum for discussion about the Langstone Microwave Transceiver that shares some features with the Portsdown. Wiki: https://wiki.microwavers.org.uk/Langstone_Project
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g8gtz
Posts: 1733
Joined: Wed Apr 07, 2010 6:26 pm

Langstone not starting up

Post by g8gtz » Wed Apr 28, 2021 11:16 am

I have just rebuilt my system and although Portsdown works, I cannot get Langstone to start.

It goes through the very long motions (due to Pluto reset), the blue flash screen appears but goes back to Portsdown. Eventually, I suspected that there was an error message flash up before the reset but I could not read it in the time it was there. I then filmed it on my iphone and went through it frame by frame to discover it said Lang_tx.py failed to load. Check your sound card config.

There is a white ebay sound dongle plugged in which Langstone has worked with before and Portsdown info screen reports:
IMG_1502 (Small).jpg
IMG_1502 (Small).jpg (77.8 KiB) Viewed 4328 times
So any ideas?

Also, can the error message stay up for a longer duration please :)

73
Noel

g4eml
Posts: 673
Joined: Thu Apr 26, 2018 9:36 am

Re: Langstone not starting up

Post by g4eml » Wed Apr 28, 2021 12:48 pm

Hi Noel,

The error message remains visible on a standalone Langstone. It’s only when using with Portsdown that it disappears. I will see if I can add a delay.

You could try running the set_sound command from the Langstone directory to check and configure the sound device. However that message can occur for many reasons. It just means the Lang_Tx task failed to start.
See the wiki for other diagnostics.
https://wiki.microwavers.org.uk/Langsto ... iagnostics

Colin.

g8gtz
Posts: 1733
Joined: Wed Apr 07, 2010 6:26 pm

Re: Langstone not starting up

Post by g8gtz » Wed Apr 28, 2021 2:18 pm

Thanks Colin,

I did the set sound command and it saw the dongle and said it had been set for Langstone.

I then did all the other tests such as Pluto and Mouse which it passed but still does not load into Langstone......

Noel

g4eml
Posts: 673
Joined: Thu Apr 26, 2018 9:36 am

Re: Langstone not starting up

Post by g4eml » Wed Apr 28, 2021 3:39 pm

Ok Noel.

Have you read this topic? viewtopic.php?f=129&t=7242&start=10#p26817

M5TXJ was having a similar problem. It turned out it was because the Langstone install script in Portsdown takes a long time and he was selecting it more than once.

Colin.

g8gtz
Posts: 1733
Joined: Wed Apr 07, 2010 6:26 pm

Re: Langstone not starting up

Post by g8gtz » Thu Apr 29, 2021 8:07 am

I ended up using Winscp file manager https://winscp.net/eng/index.php to log in to the Pi and deleted the Langstone directory.

I then used the install Langstone option in Portsdown and everything works again.

73
Noel

g4eml
Posts: 673
Joined: Thu Apr 26, 2018 9:36 am

Re: Langstone not starting up

Post by g4eml » Thu Apr 29, 2021 12:28 pm

Hi Noel,

That’s good news. Glad you got it working.

I use FileZilla for my remote file transfers.

73
Colin.

ha4bm
Posts: 6
Joined: Sun Nov 24, 2019 9:09 pm

Re: Langstone not starting up

Post by ha4bm » Thu Apr 29, 2021 6:11 pm

Folks, I have just built my portsdown 4. It works very well with my Pluto.
I want to use with Langstone. I installed. But it does not start up. After a longer load it jumps back to the Portsdown menu.
What firmware shall I use in Pluto for Langstone?
What main mode shall I select:
DATV or Passthrough (SDR Console,...) ?
should I set:
RTMP or UDP ?
My current version is 0303 by F5OEO. Is this a proper version for Langstone?

73 de Béla HA4BM
:shock:

g4eml
Posts: 673
Joined: Thu Apr 26, 2018 9:36 am

Re: Langstone not starting up

Post by g4eml » Fri Apr 30, 2021 9:22 am

Langstone uses the Pluto in its original mode, it does not need the F5OEO firmware.

It does however work with the older ‘for the brave’ version of F5OEO which is the same one recommended for Portsdown.

I notice that recent versions have added the option to switch the mode of operation. I have not tested this but I would think that it might need to be set to Passthrough. That might cause problems in a combined Portsdown/Langstone system as there is no easy way to switch the mode.


Colin.

radiogareth
Posts: 1215
Joined: Wed Jan 06, 2016 9:46 am

Re: Langstone not starting up

Post by radiogareth » Fri Apr 30, 2021 1:48 pm

Your Portsdown will check the version in Pluto for you. Somewhere on menu 3 IIRC.
Gareth

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