rpi3 build issue(s)


 

Tony Shimko

New member
Hi,
this seemed like a great project to try. (I have visions of home automation in my head, or at least that was the excuse I gave my wife). So I got the 4.3 package and it showed up quickly. (thanks Bryan!), and an Rpi3-B and 2.5Amp usb on amazon.

i soldered together everything, the guidance is clear, i just need a magnifier to see it all.

OK, so now trying to boot and things became unclear. The software section says boot the Rpi and launch a browser, but all i get is a Linux style command line.

i don't see whether to install noobs on the sd chip. i figure it should be there. but does the openwrt image overwrite the noobs image or does it create a 2nd partition or something? I seem to recall some doc that said i needed to prep an SD card with noobs but all i see mentioned is the partition from the openwrt snapshot.

thanks for the help, i am sure this is painfully obvious.
 
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i loaded noobs on the SD card which is 1Gb of stuff, but after adding the openwrt image it only shows a 20mb partition. is this just windows file explorer not recognizing the noobs partition separate from the openwrt image?
 
ok, yes I did, literally. I set the config file for my network, but the heater devices remains empty.

so when the doc says to launch a browser to set up the network connection, all I see is a command line interface and no clue where or how to launch a browser.

maybe the issue is that I don't see how to launch that openwrt gui from the command line.

the other mystery is how to shut this down safely. when I reboot (cycle power) I get nastygrams about filesystems not being closed properly.
 
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thanks, I was going off in the weeds. there are signs of life now, the AT chip had 1 pin dorked by the installer. I went thru all the solder connections just to double check.

now the display lights up but it seems in an endless loop of configuration settings. if I hold down any button it will hold on a setting but start looping again on release. (do I have a bad button connection?)

i can get a response from rpi console, shows logged in as root, it seems happy but the wifi settings in the config.txt never get commented out (before they did get commented) and no wireless connection.
 
Oops, just to be sure.
I am using the Pi model 3 B version 1.2.
I understood that it had integrated wifi, so i don't need a usb wifi dongle to make it work. or do I?
 
I used a 2nd sd card, and added the snapshot image openwrt-brcm2708-bcm2710-rpi-3-ext4-sdcard.img
with this the config file entries for my wifi get commented out and now I can see the device on the webpage.

however the configuration seems to be in a continuous reset mode, pounding thru all the possible settings.

just to prove to myself I had the basic raspi working I put noobs on the 1st sd card and got successful install and launch of raspian.
 
after the rPi has flashed the ATMega the HM will work completely on its own (with no web interface). So you can remove the rPi from the HM and boot it alone to decouple it from this "scrolling setup" issue. That sounds like a button issue to me, like the HM thinks the right button is pressed. Could be a bad switch, wrong resistor, solder bridge somewhere on the HM board(s) etc. I guess it is possible it is a bad flash on the ATMega, but I would suspect a hardware issue here.
 
Tony, same some good close up pics of the front and back of your heatermeter boards ( not the raspi ) and post them to the forum.
 
All,
thanks again for your patient advice. after the 5 or 6 time going over the soldering, and a thorough cleaning of remnant flux, it now boots and is stable on the usb power. I just haven't the nerve yet to try the 12 volt supply.
 
All,
thanks again for your patient advice. after the 5 or 6 time going over the soldering, and a thorough cleaning of remnant flux, it now boots and is stable on the usb power. I just haven't the nerve yet to try the 12 volt supply.

It'll be fine. Just make sure you aren't powering the Pi with the micro USB cable when you do.
 
yep, it booted and seemed functional on the 12v supply, that was surprisingly satisfying. so now I need to start thinking how to apply this to my situation.

I have the idea to use this as a wireless thermometer and temp control to a KBQ. I intend to put the output in series with the rheostat knob to allow a digital temp setting in place of the analog knob. I figure a lightweight relay like sous-vide crowd will do the trick.

I have an additional idea (perhaps delusion) that I can track the fan timing and identify a time to add more fuel based on an increase usage of the draft fan. not exactly set and forget, but rather set and get reminded when needed?
 

 

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