HackerGadgets AIO Board Package

uConsole
,
682

I ran into a problem trying to install the hackergadgets-uconsole-aio-board. It would install 99% of everything but then fail at the last minute with this error:

FATAL: could not find aircraft.json in any of the usual places!
checked these: /run/readsb /run/dump1090-fa /run/dump1090 /run/dump1090-mutability /run/adsbexchange-feed /run/skyaware978
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You need to have a decoder installed first, readsb is recommended:
https://github.com/wiedehopf/adsb-scripts/wiki/Automatic-installation-for-readsb
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dpkg: error processing package tar1090 (--configure):
 installed tar1090 package post-installation script subprocess returned error exit status 1

I did some random poking at things and got a bit farther, but it threw a different error.

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Jan 26 04:15:07 clockwork readsb[7386]: lowestGain:  0.0 noiseLowThreshold:  27 noiseHighThreshold:  31 loudThreshold: 243
Jan 26 04:15:07 clockwork readsb[7386]: 30002: Raw TCP output port
Jan 26 04:15:07 clockwork readsb[7386]: 30005: Beast TCP output port
Jan 26 04:15:07 clockwork readsb[7386]: 30003: SBS TCP output ALL port
Jan 26 04:15:07 clockwork readsb[7386]: 30001: Raw TCP input port
Jan 26 04:15:07 clockwork readsb[7386]: 30004: Beast TCP input port
Jan 26 04:15:07 clockwork readsb[7386]: 30104: Beast TCP input port
Jan 26 04:15:07 clockwork readsb[7386]: FATAL: rtlsdr: no supported devices found.
...
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ERROR: readsb service didn't start.
       common issues: SDR not plugged in.
       the webinterface will show an error until readsb is running!
       If you can't fix the issue:
            Open a github issue or contact wiedehopf on discord (https://discord.gg/DxU4VG37JS) and post the above 30 lines of log!
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common issues: SDR not plugged in :light_bulb: … this message is what finally made me realize what was happening. Part of the tar1090 package’s post-install scripting involves starting something called readsb, and readsb won’t start unless it’s able to connect to an RTL-SDR device.

At this point I hadn’t installed the aiov2_ctl script yet, but I found the directions on how to manually turn on the power to the RTL-SDR device.

pinctl 7 op && pinctl 7 dh

:white_check_mark: After doing this, sudo apt --configure tar1090 succeeded, and other apt commands after this worked as expected.

Which begs the question, why didn’t the directions say to power on the RTL-SDR device? Turns out there’s a note in HackerGadgets’ AIO setup guide explaining that the CM5 boots up with GPIO 7 high, and if you’re not planning to use the SDR you should turn it off. My guess is that whoever wrote those directions, was using a CM5.

For me, using a CM4, GPIO 7 is low when the machine boots. This means the RTL-SDR device isn’t being powered, which causes readsb to not be able to connect to it, which causes the dpkg --configure tar1090 step to fail. (Luckily the CM5 I had ordered, finally arrived.

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