Connection issues and crashes?

[LC1]

Hi,

i have just set up my Pi B+ with IQaudIO Pi-DAC+, using a 128GB flash drive as source. Network connectivity is via ethernet cables into powerline homeplugs. I have one homeplug feeding a 5-port switch, connecting a laptop and the Pi to my network. Pi/Pi-DAC+ is connected via audio interconnects to my amp.

My problem is that I cannot get any music to play!

I powered up the Pi for the first time and could see my USB drive and music files, enabled I2S, and played a track, but no sound.

The UI seemed slow and unresponsive and I got a few network 500 errors and spinning wheels of death, as if connectivity to the Pi had crashed. Hard reboots restored the UI each time, but the problems remained.

I reflashed the sd card with PiMusicBox, and found similar problems - UI loaded, I could see my music, but nothing played, lots of spinning wheels and "trying to connect" messages etc.

I am computer competent, but no expert, and so would really appreciate any input from this wonderful community!

I am not sure if it is hardware related (dodgy Pi?) or network issues (homeplugs?). And no idea how to think about diagnosing what the source of the problem is...

Many thanks in advance!

Luke

EDIT: Back onto RuneAudio again and it's definitely a connection issue - I can connect in the first instance and cue up a song to play, but then the connection is dropped and then I cannot do anything via the UI (unless I hard reset by pulling the plug). If I ping the Pi's IP address through the router then nothing is received, so connection is dead. Some thoughts:

1) Is there any router setting that could be causing this? Anything to do with DCHP?

2) Does it sound like a hardware fault on the Pi, or might the Pi be sensitive to the interference on the electrical circuit (via the TP Link homeplugs)?

3) Or something to do with the 5 port switch (also TP Link)?

Cheers.

[njp]

You may find that the homeplugs are the problem. If you can temporarily move the runeaudio close to the router or use a long ethernet cable just to test with a direct connection, see what happens. If everything works, then the homeplugs are the issue. If not, then it may be a hardware problem with the PI.

Personally I've never been a fan of homeplugs and I'm sure many others here will agree - from a networking standpoint. I went to great lengths to wire my house up with some high quality Cat6 under the floorboards whilst redecorating (2 or more cables as well) and now with the increased need for connections to the router it's all coming in handy. At worst even if one wire was routed, you can use a switch in that room if more connections are needed. Homeplugs can behave very unreliably - you can have good results or rubbish results depending on the power wiring in your household and what sockets you use but either way they're a secondary measure and not something to rely on for good speeds and low latency.

[LC1]

Thanks for the reply. Yes, I was a little suspicious of the homeplugs too. But we're in a rented property and the main phone point is under the stairs (?!) and so they seemed a good solution. And apart from rare connection drop-outs, the speed to our two laptops is pretty good. I wonder though if, for some reason, the Pi is less resilient than the laptops? But could this cause the Pi (or Rune) to crash, since it isn't as though it is a temporary loss of signal, it is a permanent and unrecoverable crash each time (shortly after hard reboot)?

Is it normal for the ethernet lights to be off on the Pi when plugged in but not in active use? Do the lights indicate an active connection?

I have just tested the Pi plugged directly to my router....

Interesting - at first it worked flawlessly, letting me navigate around the Rune UI for a good while, playing with settings, exploring the menus, more than I'd had time for previously. I assumed that the Homeplugs must have been the problem, but then I tried to browse my library and got the spinning wheel of death again! The Pi seems to have crashed once more. Looking at the Pi there is no ethernet lights on, and also no glowing LED from my USB flash drive, which I think should also be there. The power LEDs for both the Pi and the Pi-DAC are still lit.

Am I right to think that this is sounding more like a hardware problem on the Pi board itself?

[ACX]

If you are using 0.3-alpha, it's not ready yet to work with Rpi B+ and I2S. You'll have to wait for the upcoming 0.3-beta, which supports the B+ and all the new I2S DACs.

[LC1]

Thanks ACX, but I was under the impression that others were using this combination very successfully?!

I was about to return my Pi board for a replacement, but you think that perhaps this is a software glitch? So would PiMusicBox also have these issues with the B+ and I2S, do you think, because that also wouldn't work for me?

Is there an easy diagnostic test I could use, perhaps with Noobs, to check the stability of the ethernet connection?

Cheers,
Luke

[sykodad]

[Fishstix]

Hey Luke,

Outside possibility; what is the power input of your wall wart? And what other gadgets do you have attached to your RPi? I ask because I had similar issues when I first started. I have a cheap wall wart that's rated for 2A, but I suspect it's on the low side. When I attach my USB dongle, the board always browns out, sooner or later. Sounds similar to what you're experiencing. Right now I am using the same wall wart but *only* have a USB thumb drive attached to my RPiB+. Evidently that's a low enough current draw now; everything works like a charm. When I get around to building a chassis I'll get a better and larger power supply, but for now, that was the big annoying hurdle. Like I said, outside possibility, but a quick thing to check.

Cheers!
-Fishstix

[LC1]

Hi Jan,thanks for the link - I guess that explains how other people have been using the PI-DAC+, but that may as well be written in Greek for all it means to me If it's an easy thing to accomplish, then perhaps someone can give me a step-by-step "how to"? Otherwise I guess I will need to patiently wait for the beta release!

Hi Fishstix - yes, does sound very familiar. But I only have the 128GB Sandisk USB flash stick attached. My wall wart is an EasyAcc 5v 2a one from Amazon, bought because it seems from the reviews to pack the full 2000ma, unlike many others, as you point out - it certainly charged my work phone much quicker than the original charger does!

EDIT: I have successfully installed Volumio (sorry!) and it is working like a charm, so not a homeplug issue after all. I very much look forward to the beta release of Rune and am sure it will be worth waiting for!

Thanks for all the help.