Nothing looked odd, and another reboot fixed it. Computers, meh.
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Confirming a flawless flash on this end as well. Have a huge difference in RSSI and SNR on the CHIP (compared to my previous RPI). Seems to get a lock at a lower threshold but the RSSI and SNR values are significantly lower.
before I was seeing an average of 6+ on SNR and an RSSI of -111.00. Now I am lucky to get 3 snr and my rssi is -119.00.
Im digging into what could be going on. Perhaps the CHIP doesnt like the noise my powered USB puts out.
Anyone else experience any differences in reception ?
Mine was working fine for a few hours, then I can’t connect to the wifi. I can see the SSID but it instantly rejects the connection. Tried from my iPad and my iPhone… then went to sleep. Will re-flash the CHIP this evening when I get home. I have it in a temporary enclosure with the antenna and power cables still coming through the lid, so it’s a duct tape job to get it out and work on it again.
Can I put the antenna inside a plastic box and it still get a strong signal? That would reduce the amount of duct tape. 
Not sure what happens at this frequency.
thx
The kit arrived today. Had another Chip that I flashed with skylark 1.0. Everything is working here in ALTA Norway (70N 23E) my Snr is 7.8 and no loss of packets. The satellite is 11 degree above the horizon.
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I like where you’re headed with the new UI, nice work!
My primary issue post upgrade is connecting to a wifi network: very unreliable.
When I set the chip to create a hotspot, all works as expected albeit with a very weak range. When I set it to join a network, it does join but the web UI will not load and it constantly drops packets. Even moved the access point close by, same problem. I was able to (patiently) SSH in to perform the “/mnt/conf” reset as described above and return to the create a hotspot mode to regain access.
Instead of wifi, how can I connect the chip via hardwire ethernet to join my network? This is in a fixed lab setting, so wired network is actually preferable.
Great signal for 11degrees! The patch antenna is quite amazing really!
well i have a issue i cannot flash the chip i am on windows 10 64bit pro using the 1 and only usb 2 port i have and am running virtual box in admistrator mode after installing the chip driver tried with the chip driver and without the chip driver did not work i dont know what to try next the chip is in fel mode i have the jumper set correctly… edit 7:15pm est got it working on another computer just did not like my desktop…
Quick status update. 23 hours 25 minutes of continuous uptime and still working! There is 13.9MB worth of data in /mnt/downloads according to du command. The df command only shows 9.0MB used so filesystem compression is working great. Some weather downloaded and that is displaying just fine.
Came here looking for an answer for my weather problems, and left with a newly flashed CHIP on Skylark. That was a smooth process- thank you!
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I’m getting the same error using the system I flashed the last version of skylark with. Tried 3 different cables, the VM is upgraded as well as the extension… I tried using a USB 2.0 hub. I get the ERROR -7 in your screen capture, but It never makes it to uploading SPL 1664. It does appear to find the CHIP in FEL mode every time. So I installed Vbox on my mac. set everything up the same as the last skylark flash that worked…same error 7 ! Thoughts?
To be honest, I didn’t really try to determine what exactly was the issue.
I figured it failed on my desktop the first and second time because it got lost in the forest of USB devices I have plugged in. That PC did NOT recognize the CHIP plugged into any USB port even though he flasher reported a good FEL.
Second time on another PC (Surface 3), it was picked up immediately as a USB device, but there was no real indication of why it may have failed to see the CHIP after the flash. The subsequent try worked. And it worked a fourth time when I re-flashed.
This may be nothing, but try this… Hold the power button in while you apply power with a power supply, with the FEL jumper in. It should immediately light up. Let it stay on a few seconds then hold the power button in til it shuts down. Then plug in to your PC, let the PC find it, and run the VBox again. That’s really the only thing I did out of sequence and it worked after that. Not scientific, and probably just a fluke.
The cable I used successfully is a Kindle white data cable.
Mine did after the first successful flash, but subsequently did not.
You are fine with a plastic enclosure. There is about a 1dB hit, but if properly pointed, you should have margin for it.
Does the wifi connection get rejected if you move right next to the CHIP?
I’m surprised that the SNR is so high. You have some kind of Outernet-world record, for sure!
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What about a microUSB to ethernet adapter?
Today at work the SNR is from 6 to 10 with no packet loss. I flashed the Skylark to a new C.H.I.P. ver 1.0. when i changed SSID it did not show up. Had to reflash.
Just my 2cents worth here for people flashing using Windows as a “host” for the VM
Firstly, “flashing” a device is never “fun” and the VM method that they have devised, despite the issues some are having, is a lost LESS trouble than I would expect
These are my unscientific observations, and advice.
- when the CHIP is is plugged in in FEL mode, it doesn’t matter if Windoze has a driver or not! As long as it “bongs” to say that SOMETHING was plugged in! I personally would stop Windows looking for any driver.
- when you plug it in and the Flashing VM is running, you should see stuff on the black screen… Unless it says it failed, do NOTHING, but wait! When I flashed mine it took quite a while, a good 5 minutes
- When the Flashing is finished from the VM the VM MAY error (looking for a CHIP in FEL mode) after the CHIP reboots, Windows will whinge & carry on, as the USB device changes state and bing & bong etc. again DO NOTHING … Simply wait until the light on CHIP starts to flash.
- When the light flashes disconnect CHIP, the and take the FEL header off ( paperclip)
So my advice, is to “do nothing” unless you are 10000% sure it has failed. Mine took a good 10 Minutes all up (maybe not that long but it felt like it LOL!).
If it fails , try again! That is the rule of Flashing ( thank goodness it is not going to “brick” the device if it fails!!!)
-
if the VM won’t run:
- check your BIOS settings (see the advice elsewhere in this tread)
- check that you are running the most recent VBOX ( note that if you have an older version running, it will NOT update through the autoupdate to the newer release!! You need to download and install manually… why? buggered if I know, ask Oracle!!)
-
If the VM can’t “see” the CHIP:
- Ensure the current “extensions” are installed (follow the link in the main instructions)
- THEN try another cable
- try another USB port if possible
- double , triple and quadruple check that the FEL header is in the correct pins ( on the correct connector!) and that both ends are right to the bottom of the sockets. Paper-clips can be a bit tight, the end MUST go straight, and vertically into the socket
If all that fails, try another PC
Enjoy Skylark!
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For anyone else who switched from hotspot to wifi and back: maybe it was just something I did, but the hotspot settings got lost in the process. In particular, the satellite reset to Asia Pacific.
I would have saved myself a whole lot of time standing in 15-degree weather, adjusting the antenna and cursing at low SNR, if I’d noticed this more quickly.
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let me dig into this - might be a bug related to config saving. thanks for the heads up!
