Newbie Questions

[Donald Giles]

I am not much of a Pihead but am trying to get a 3B+ to work with a QRP Labs QDX transceiver and DiGiPi seemed to be a convenient way to make it happen.  It is a type 'A' configuration since the transceiver has a USB port.  After a couple of days, I have found the following:

1. DiGiPi loses WSJTX & FLDIGI configurations when shut down.

2. How do I set the time to UTC and have it remain there?

3. When DiGiPi is running I can't seem to reach the command level of the OS in order to make basic changes like the date.  I have been accessing DiGiPi  remotely with a Mac but know there must be a direct way using the RPi keyboard. Once the app loads there are only two screens--one showing which application is running and the other is a Pi prompt.  

4.  WSJTX is not consistent and seems to only receive at times.  

5.  Also, I spent a couple of days going in circles with Safari then switched to Firefox browser and things lined out.  Have others had problems with Safari?

I know these are basic items for most of you but they certainly made setting up this system interesting.

73, KM7DG

[Clarence Whetten]

See my answers mixed in with your questions

Clarence

KK7LAE

On May 24, 2025, at 4:27 PM, Donald Giles <dgcan...@gmail.com> wrote:

I am not much of a Pihead but am trying to get a 3B+ to work with a QRP Labs QDX transceiver and DiGiPi seemed to be a convenient way to make it happen.  It is a type 'A' configuration since the transceiver has a USB port.  After a couple of days, I have found the following:

1. DiGiPi loses WSJTX & FLDIGI configurations when shut down.

After configuring any of the apps you have to press the “Save Configuration” button.  During operation the DigiPi is running on virtual discs in RAM.  This button flushes the virtual discs to the SD Card.  You will need to press the “Shutdown” or “Restart" buttons” to do a graceful shutdown after saving the configuration.  In practice I have found it best that after initialization of a new SD card I put the file system in read/write mode by opening a Pi Linux shell using the “Shell” button, logging in with pi/raspberry (until you change it) and typing in the sudo remount command.  Then I configure all the software (WSJT-X, JS8Call, FLDigi etc) and then press the shutdown or reboot button.  Craig runs the DigiPi is virtual disc to save wear and tear on the SD Card and protect it from accidental power off.  You will also need to press the Save Configuration button to save your logs.  

2. How do I set the time to UTC and have it remain there?

By default your DigiPi is set there now.  If you press the “Sysinfo” button and scroll to the bottom you will see the system time.  From the Linux shell if you issue the “date” command and you will see the same.  

3. When DiGiPi is running I can't seem to reach the command level of the OS in order to make basic changes like the date.  I have been accessing DiGiPi  remotely with a Mac but know there must be a direct way using the RPi keyboard. Once the app loads there are only two screens--one showing which application is running and the other is a Pi prompt.

The only way that you can interact with the DigiPi Linux shell is by doing it remotely by pressing the shell button and logging in.  You have the full command shell at that point and can issue any Linux command you want.  If you want to edit anything you have to issue the “sudo remount” command first to put the file system in read/write mode.  There is no GUI method or direct keyboard/monitor available.  The “SysLog” and “Sysinfo” buttons are your friends for seeing what is going on under the hood.  

 

4.  WSJTX is not consistent and seems to only receive at times.  

I suspect that this relates back to question one.  You probably have not configured WSJT-X the same way each time.  My experience has been that once I had it set up correctly and the configuration saved it has been rock solid.  Like you, before I figured out how to save my configuration I had inconsistent results.  

5.  Also, I spent a couple of days going in circles with Safari then switched to Firefox browser and things lined out.  Have others had problems with Safari?

I know these are basic items for most of you but they certainly made setting up this system interesting.

I also spent a bunch of frustrating time trying to get Safari to work.  I can’t get it to work on my Mac, iPad, or iPhone.  Firefox works but I feel that the Brave browser works better.  

73, KM7DG

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[Craig]

GREAT questions, GREAT answers.  thanks guys.

My observations/comments,

Press [save configuration] early and often if you change *anything*, including wsjtx logs.
Running sudo remount wont remove this requirement (still need to flush ramdiscs
to SD)

I'm concerned you're not getting time.  DigiPi gets time from the internet.  If it
boots as a hotspot (10.0.0.5) this isn't possible.  In that case, it tries to get time
from a GPS.  So put it on your home wifi, or add a gps, and you should magically
start receiving WSJTX if you're on the right frequency (14.074 USB, DATA mode).

I test on Brave (aka Chrome), Firefox and Safari on IOS, in that order.  The textual
apps are hit and miss, but nothing leaves my desk if it doesn't work on Brave/Chrome.
There is a os/browser certification list at the DigiPi wiki (github.com/craigerl/digipi)

cool,
-craig
KM6LYW

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[Donald Giles]

Thanks Craig.

My problem with the correct time was because DigiPi did not have internet access.  When I took Clarence's advise and followed the instructions it was able to get UTC and the stations came rolling in.  

I am not having quite a bit of trouble with FLDIGI.  It freezes and will not allow any configuration changes and never captures any traffic at all.  I have used this app before without problems and know it is just a procedural thing that I am missing.  I like Olivia for a mode and have used it weekly for a skid for years.  I will keep trying and know I will get it soon.

73, Don, KM7DG

[Craig]

I've seen this with fldigi, disconnect your rig, possibly, then do your configuration, then
[save configuration] then reboot with rig connected.

or, click Shell, login:pi, password:raspberry and run

rm -Rf .fldigi/*


then start FLDigi


your radio/fldigi doesn't like the default configuration shipping with digipi (ic705).


... and let us know!
-craig
KM6LYW

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[Donald Giles]

Craig,

I tried the disconnect of the radio suggestion and executed the command "rm -Rf .fldigi/*"  However FLDIGI still has a mind of its own and refused to take a configuration. I will try again but don't have much hope of success.  Also I notice that the time listed in the SYSINFO section is BST which is one hour off of UTC.  However when running WSJT-X shows exactly the correct time.  Not sure where the system gets the BST time from.  When I run WSJT-X all is good and I have made some FT-8 contacts there.

Thanks for the help.

Don, KM7DG 

[Doug Reed, N0NAS.]

I have had to use my cell as a hotspot and browse the <https://time.is> web site to sync while in the field and I also have a cheap GPS. I recently learned about jtsync and jtxsync which use the WSJTx ft8 received packets to calculate a new time offset. But this article from Jan 2023 indicates it can be done within JS8call also. <https://oh8stn.org/blog/2023/01/24/off-grid-js8call-time-sync-no-gps-or-ntp-needed/>

I haven't tried using this method, but it might be another option without installing more software in the DigiPi image. This is only going to correct a minor time offset to get FT8 working, it will not set the hour and minute correctly if you are that far off....

[Craig]

I looked into that a while back, but couldn't make it work.

I also manually set the time using the NIST broadcast from ftcollins at one point.

Once GPS was getting time, I didn't really look back.

-craig
KM6LYW

On 5/26/25 15:22, Doug Reed, N0NAS. wrote:

I have had to use my cell as a hotspot and browse the <https://time.is> web site to sync while in the field and I also have a cheap GPS. I recently learned about jtsync and jtxsync which use the WSJTx ft8 received packets to calculate a new time offset. But this article from Jan 2023 indicates it can be done within JS8call also. <https://oh8stn.org/blog/2023/01/24/off-grid-js8call-time-sync-no-gps-or-ntp-needed/>

I haven't tried using this method, but it might be another option without installing more software in the DigiPi image. This is only going to correct a minor time offset to get FT8 working, it will not set the hour and minute correctly if you are that far off....

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[Doug Reed, N0NAS.]

Since the jtsync and js8call methods both require at least 2 successful decodes to calculate an error offset, I expect that if the error is too large then it fails because nothing gets decoded.

A quick search for "WWV time sync" found a link to <http://f6cte.free.fr/index_anglais.htm> which links to MultiPSK and it's Clock utility that syncs based on time signals from around the world.

But I think I'll just rely on my cheap GPS dongle if my cellphone doesn't work.....