G2 Software and Firmware Updates

[PH7R]

In VNC open terminal en run the commands, that should work.

[g6phf]

In VNC open terminal en run the commands, that should work.

Ok, done that, still seems to show version 10 though?

Screenshot 2024-11-01 at 17.29.48.jpg (138.5 KiB) Viewed 18632 times

Here is the original before I updated

Screenshot 2024-11-01 at 16.20.43.jpg (117.56 KiB) Viewed 18632 times

I did the flashwriter and chose the correct file, shutdown etc.
Any ideas why it did not update?

[PH7R]

No sorry, worked for me. Are you sure you loaded the v17.bin file? Also full shutdown?

[g6phf]

No sorry, worked for me. Are you sure you loaded the v17.bin file? Also full shutdown?

Ahh, no, I followed the instrucitons at the start of this thread.

click open file
navigate to the file ~/github/Saturn/FPGA
select file saturnprimary.bin
makes sure the Primary radio button is selected
click Program

I saw the recent date/time on the file and assumed that was it. Howevber there is a 2024V17.bin file, so I will try that, that wil be the issue.
Thanks!

[Michael]

I tried to update the firmware following the instructions in the manual and in this thread. All worked fine beside that flashwriter is not starting writing the new firmware. It just does nothing. In the lower left corner there is an indication No PCIe Driver. Do I need to update the drivers first and if yes, how?

Which firmware is recommended for G2/no display? V12?

Regards,
Michael

[laurencebarker]

If the PCI express driver hasn't loaded, that usually means there has been an operating system update and the driver needs to be recompiled. Have you done some kind of system update?

There is a section 7.4.1 in the manual that tells you how to rebuild the driver if that has happened.

[Michael]

Ciao Laurence,

this is what I have done. I had some issues detecting the Saturn after installing Openvpn. Finally I decided to reinstall all from scratch, flashed a new image and installed openvpn server. This worked fine. Saturn was found by Thetis inside and outside (via the VPN) the network. I also installed a UMC202HD with the driver on the PC but I was not getting audio with cmASIO. I therefore tried to install a new firmware and followed the instructions as outlined in section 7.4.1. No diffeence which file I select, flashwriter is not doing anything. Need I to reinstall from scratch?

Regards,

Michael

[Michael]

so - system is again up and running installed from scratch and flashwriter works now as it should. I flashed V12 but I still do not get audio with cmASIO. No clue....

Have a nice week-end!

Michael

[laurencebarker]

The most recent FPGA firmware is V17.

I think the cmASIO issue will be on the PC, not on the linux processor in the G2. I suspect a totally different issue; maybe to do with the VPN.

[Michael]

Thanks, Laurence - installed V17 now. The issue with cmASIO indeed was based on my misunderstanding and had nothing to do with the Saturn firmware. Scott helped me on this.

cmASIO together with a native Asio Audio interface works great but I lack a CW sidetone. Would be nice if in a future version of Thetis an option for a local generated cw sidetone could be implemented. I already put it to the github wishlist.

Thanks for your excellent work and dedication!

73, Michael

[Michael]

Help!

Sorry - I think I was too fast. Same problem again when booting the device this morning. In short:

I installed from scratch, yesterday. I updated firmware to V17. All was running smoothly even though I booted the device several times (e.g. first I was flashing V12 and then V17). I shut down the system (including power off) yesterday evening and rebootet this morning. Again, Thetis is not able to find Saturn. It looks like Saturn is not starting. I could do again a installation from scratch and I am sure it will work and reboot after a short time period but I think the same issue will reappear when the device is shut down for longer time period.

Thus, I assume that there is a problem with the EPROM on the Saturn board, e.g. its battery or related power switches. Is there an onboard mini battery which can be changed or do I need to send the device back for repair?

Any ideas?

Regards,

Michael

[Michael]

I have a feeling what went wrong.

When installing the openvpn on the RPi the installation script is asking if the system should be automatically updated for security reasons as there is at least one port open at the router. Default = yes ..... this likely is causing a daily update of the system which p2app does not like.

I will install again without automatically updating the system and will report back , possibly saving time for others who consider a similar setup (openvpn on the RPI internal of the G2).

Regards,

Michael

[g6phf]

Hi Michael,
Whilst I cannot comment on this issue, I can tell you that a service like Tailscale is very easy to configure and allows simple access to many systems securely. It uses Wireguard protocol.
I can highly recommend it!


Regards
Mike

[laurencebarker]

The FPGA code is stored in a flash EPROM. Something could go wrong during programming (eg power loss), in which case there is a fallback configuration stored too. But once programmed properly - and you have successfully booted from it - I would be shocked if it lost its content. We've never seen that happen.

Some of my fellow developers have prepared driver updates for future Linux versions. I'm tied up with other development tasks, but that will eventually be merged in to give some degree of future proofing.

[Michael]

Laurence,

It happened now twice, always in the morning when booting and after having installed openvpn the day before. According to the installation instructions, the system will be updated daily (I assume a command like sudo apt-get update and sudo apt-get upgrade will be performed daily) if not explicitly omitted. I installed today again without the automatic update option. Maybe I am wrong but it seems p2app needs the version when it was built otherwise it will not start and Thetis will not find Saturn. However, simple cleaning and rebuilding does not work as the flashwriter then is lacking a certain driver (see post further up).
Anyway - I will see tomorrow and report back.

Mike - this sounds interesting in particular as Wireguard is supposed to be faster. Could you please forward more info on the installation or point me to a web page where I can get this info.

Thanks!

Michael

[g6phf]

Laurence,

It happened now twice, always in the morning when booting and after having installed openvpn the day before. According to the installation instructions, the system will be updated daily (I assume a command like sudo apt-get update and sudo apt-get upgrade will be performed daily) if not explicitly omitted. I installed today again without the automatic update option. Maybe I am wrong but it seems p2app needs the version when it was built otherwise it will not start and Thetis will not find Saturn. However, simple cleaning and rebuilding does not work as the flashwriter then is lacking a certain driver (see post further up).
Anyway - I will see tomorrow and report back.

Mike - this sounds interesting in particular as Wireguard is supposed to be faster. Could you please forward more info on the installation or point me to a web page where I can get this info.

Thanks!

Michael

Michael, I cannot speak highly enough of it. So simple, no ports to forward, nothing. I have sent you an email.

Mike

[w-u-2-o]

Let's keep this topic on point, please.

Further discussion on Michael's VPN issues should continue in the original topic:

https://community.apache-labs.com/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=5190

[Michael]

Laurence,

Just to let you know, all seem to be solved. The G2 booted and Thetis found Saturn as supposed this morning. Thus, it indeed was related to the openvpn installation script which adding something to the crontab - eg updating the system daily which apparently p2app does not like (maybe change of certain drivers??).

For all who consider to install openvpn on the internal RPi, make sure you omit automatically updating the system which is not the default option.

73, Michael, DF2RQ