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  4. LTE Modem "Feather is Disabled"

LTE Modem "Feather is Disabled"

Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved Cellular Modems
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  • S Offline
    S Offline
    scottesicdrone
    Contributor
    wrote on last edited by
    #3

    Thanks for the quick response! We are using a v1 modem.
    We ran voxl-configure-modem previously so that definitely could be the case. Here is the output for systemctl status -l voxl-modem:

    yocto:/# systemctl status -l voxl-modem
    ● voxl-modem.service - Modem Initialization
       Loaded: loaded (/etc/systemd/system/voxl-modem.service; enabled; vendor preset: enabled)
       Active: active (running) since Thu 1970-01-01 00:00:08 UTC; 51 years 3 months ago
      Process: 2041 ExecStartPre=/bin/sleep 2 (code=exited, status=0/SUCCESS)
     Main PID: 2824 (voxl-modem-star)
       CGroup: /system.slice/voxl-modem.service
               ├─2824 /bin/bash /usr/bin/voxl-modem-start.sh
               └─2907 /usr/bin/python /usr/bin/voxl-modem --feather_configure
    
    Jan 01 00:00:06 apq8096 systemd[1]: Starting Modem Initialization...
    Jan 01 00:00:08 apq8096 systemd[1]: Started Modem Initialization.
    Jan 01 00:00:09 apq8096 voxl-modem-start.sh[2824]: Initializing v1 modem...
    
    

    Should I disable this service and try configuring and connecting?

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    • tomT Offline
      tomT Offline
      tom
      admin
      wrote on last edited by tom
      #4

      @scottesicdrone Okay great, if you went through the setup using voxl-configure-modem then you shouldn't need to run anything manually. Can I also see what your voxl-modem config file looks like: /etc/modalai/voxl-modem.conf? As a next step I would try rebooting and monitoring the status of the voxl-modem service with watch systemctl status -l voxl-modem.

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      • S Offline
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        scottesicdrone
        Contributor
        wrote on last edited by
        #5

        Here is my voxl-modem.conf file:

        {
        	"modem_type":	"v1",
        	"apn":	"broadband",
        	"world":	"false",
        	"microhard_ip": "192.168.168.100",
        	"modallink":	"false",
        	"placeholder": "hello world"
        }
        

        I'm watching the service right now and here is where it is at currently

        ● voxl-modem.service - Modem Initialization
           Loaded: loaded (/etc/systemd/system/voxl-modem.service; enabled; vendor preset: enabled)
           Active: active (running) since Thu 1970-01-01 00:01:23 UTC; 51 years 3 months ago
          Process: 2129 ExecStartPre=/bin/sleep 2 (code=exited, status=0/SUCCESS)
         Main PID: 2853 (voxl-modem-star)
           CGroup: /system.slice/voxl-modem.service
                   ├─2853 /bin/bash /usr/bin/voxl-modem-start.sh
                   └─3364 /usr/bin/python /usr/bin/voxl-modem --connect_to_network
        
        Apr 02 17:13:49 apq8096 voxl-modem-start.sh[2853]: Setting network preference to LTE
        Apr 02 17:13:59 apq8096 voxl-modem-start.sh[2853]: Failed to open device
        Apr 02 17:13:59 apq8096 voxl-modem-start.sh[2853]: Finished setting network preference
        Apr 02 17:13:59 apq8096 voxl-modem-start.sh[2853]: Disabling band 5...
        Apr 02 17:13:59 apq8096 voxl-modem-start.sh[2853]: configband starting
        Apr 02 17:13:59 apq8096 voxl-modem-start.sh[2853]: Band mask 1 to 32: 0x0000080a 0x0a 0x08 0x00 0x00
        Apr 02 17:13:59 apq8096 voxl-modem-start.sh[2853]: Band mask 33 to 64: 0x00000000 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
        Apr 02 17:13:59 apq8096 voxl-modem-start.sh[2853]: Band mask 65 to 96: 0x00000000 0x00 0x00 0x00 0x00
        Apr 02 17:13:59 apq8096 voxl-modem-start.sh[2853]: Error opening /dev/ttyUSB0: No such file or directory
        Apr 02 17:13:59 apq8096 voxl-modem-start.sh[2853]: Initalizing cellular connection...
        
        
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        • tomT Offline
          tomT Offline
          tom
          admin
          wrote on last edited by
          #6

          @scottesicdrone Okay let's have you go through the steps manually to see if it's a timing issue.

          First, disable the voxl-modem service -> systemctl disable voxl-modem and reboot.

          Now, run the following:

          voxl-modem --feather_configure -> this should bring up /dev/qcqmi0 and /dev/ttyUSB0, make sure these exist before proceeding

          Next, run:

          uqmi -P -d /dev/qcqmi0 --set-network-preference lte

          then

          configband write /dev/ttyUSB0 0x80a

          Lastly, run

          voxl-modem --conect_to_network

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          • S Offline
            S Offline
            scottesicdrone
            Contributor
            wrote on last edited by
            #7

            I disabled the service and ran voxl-modem --feather_configure and got this:

            Configuring GPIO pins
                Setting defaults:
                    GPIO_PIN_WWAN_WAKEUP_IN  = 1
                    GPIO_PIN_WWAN_POWER_ON_N = 1
                    GPIO_PIN_WWAN_RESET_N    = 1
                feather is DISABLED
            ENABLE WNC feather module
                feather is DISABLED
                feather is DISABLED
                feather is DISABLED
                feather is DISABLED
                feather is DISABLED
                feather is DISABLED
                feather is DISABLED
                feather is DISABLED
                feather is DISABLED
                feather is DISABLED
                feather is DISABLED
                feather is DISABLED
                feather is DISABLED
                feather is DISABLED
                feather is DISABLED
                feather is DISABLED
                feather is DISABLED
                feather is DISABLED
                feather is DISABLED
                feather is DISABLED
            WARNING: feather state transtion failed.
               enable failed, try again 0 retries remaining
            ENABLE WNC feather module
                feather is DISABLED
                feather is DISABLED
                feather is DISABLED
                feather is DISABLED
                feather is DISABLED
                feather is DISABLED
                feather is DISABLED
                feather is DISABLED
                feather is DISABLED
                feather is DISABLED
                feather is DISABLED
                feather is DISABLED
                feather is DISABLED
                feather is DISABLED
                feather is DISABLED
                feather is DISABLED
                feather is DISABLED
                feather is DISABLED
                feather is DISABLED
                feather is DISABLED
            WARNING: feather state transtion failed.
               enable failed, try again 1 retries remaining
            ENABLE WNC feather module
                feather is DISABLED
                feather is DISABLED
            

            And this will keep going if I let it, I'm pretty sure. In the /dev folder, /dev/qcqmi0 exists but /dev/ttyUSB0 doesn't exist.

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            • tomT Offline
              tomT Offline
              tom
              admin
              wrote on last edited by
              #8

              @scottesicdrone Thanks for the info, I will look into this behavior in order to get a solution for you

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              • S Offline
                S Offline
                scottesicdrone
                Contributor
                wrote on last edited by
                #9

                Thanks, Tom, for the help! I really appreciate it! Is it possible that the serial port and the ports got renamed from /dev/ttyACM0 and /dev/ttyUSB0? I'm not too familiar with how these devices are generated or normal behavior for these devices. We have also noticed that this happened on two different VOXLs with the same v1 modem, so this problem seems to be with the modem and not the VOXL (though this is not something I am 100% certain about).

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                • tomT Offline
                  tomT Offline
                  tom
                  admin
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #10

                  @scottesicdrone I'm leaning toward it being a hardware issue with your modem. Did anything hardware related change from when it was working and wasn't working? Do you have any other v1 modems you can test with?

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                  • S Offline
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                    scottesicdrone
                    Contributor
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #11

                    Nothing physically changed that I can recall, and unfortunately, we don't have extra modems though we ordered more modems. Last potential useful bit of info: when I ran dmesg, I saw errors relating to qmi pop up but I don't know what to make of them:

                    yocto:/# dmesg | grep "qmi"
                    [    1.186410] usbcore: registered new interface driver qmi_wwan
                    [    1.187419] msm_sharedmem: sharedmem_register_qmi: qmi init successful
                    [    5.741357] sysmon_send_event_no_qmi: Message sending failed -19
                    [    5.890086] type=1130 audit(7.556:61): pid=1 uid=0 auid=4294967295 ses=4294967295 subj=system_u:system_r:init_t:s0-s15:c0.c1023 msg='unit=qmi_shutdown_modemd comm="systemd" exe="/lib/systemd/systemd" hostname=? addr=? terminal=? res=success'
                    [    5.903844] sysmon_send_event_no_qmi: Message sending failed -19
                    [    5.903850] sysmon_send_event_no_qmi: Message sending failed -19
                    [    5.908564] sysmon-qmi: sysmon_clnt_svc_arrive: Connection established between QMI handle and slpi's SSCTL service
                    [    5.914578] sysmon_send_event_no_qmi: Message sending failed -19
                    [    6.039513] sysmon-qmi: sysmon_clnt_svc_arrive: Connection established between QMI handle and adsp's SSCTL service
                    [    6.523379] sysmon-qmi: sysmon_clnt_svc_arrive: Connection established between QMI handle and modem's SSCTL service
                    [    6.543970] msm_slim_qmi_send_power_request: QMI request failed 0x1 (Unknown error)
                    [    7.045169] msm_slim_qmi_send_power_request: QMI request failed 0x1 (Unknown error)
                    [    7.546548] msm_slim_qmi_send_power_request: QMI request failed 0x1 (Unknown error)
                    [    8.049225] msm_slim_qmi_send_power_request: QMI request failed 0x1 (Unknown error)
                    
                    
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                    • tomT Offline
                      tomT Offline
                      tom
                      admin
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #12

                      Can you also run voxl-version so I can see what system image / package version you're using.

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                      • S Offline
                        S Offline
                        scottesicdrone
                        Contributor
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #13

                        Here is what I get when I run voxl-version:

                        yocto:/# voxl-version
                        --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                        system-image:    ModalAI 3.1.0 BUILDER: ekatzfey BUILD_TIME: 2020-12-23_19:41
                        kernel:          #1 SMP PREEMPT Wed Dec 23 19:50:23 UTC 2020 3.18.71-perf
                        factory-bundle:  1.0.1 (Yocto installation)
                        --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                        architecture:    aarch64
                        processor:       apq8096
                        os:              GNU/Linux
                        --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                        voxl-suite:
                        Package: voxl-suite
                        Version: 0.3.4
                        Depends: voxl-utils (>= 0.6.0), libmodal_json (>= 0.3.4), libmodal_pipe (>= 1.7.8), librc_math (>= 1.1.4), libvoxl_io (>= 0.5.4), mavlink-camera-manager (>= 0.0.1), opencv (>= 4.5.1), openmp (>= 10.0.1), voxl-camera-server (>= 0.5.6), voxl-dfs-server (>= 0.0.7), voxl-docker-support (>= 1.1.1), voxl-gphoto2 (>= 0.0.5), voxl-hal3-tof-cam-ros (>= 0.0.5), voxl-imu-server (>= 0.7.8), voxl-modem (>= 0.11.0), voxl-mpa-tflite-server (>= 0.0.2), voxl-mpa-tools (>= 0.1.6), voxl-nodes (>= 0.1.3), voxl-qvio-server (>= 0.2.1), voxl-rtsp (>= 1.0.3), voxl-streamer (>= 0.2.1), voxl-vision-px4 (>= 0.8.1), voxl-vpn (>= 0.0.3)
                        Status: unknown ok not-installed
                        Section: base
                        Architecture: all
                        Maintainer: james@modalai.com
                        MD5Sum: e1e5bf1a125affe5036099f6ce895bed
                        Size: 1818
                        Filename: voxl-suite_0.3.4.ipk
                        Description: meta-package for voxl-suite stable release
                        
                        Package: voxl-suite
                        Version: 0.2.0
                        Depends: docker, imu_app (= 0.0.6), libvoxl_io (= 0.5.2), voxl-cam-manager (= 0.2.2), voxl-docker-support (= 1.1.1), voxl-hal3-tof-cam-ros (= 0.0.2), voxl-modem (= 0.10.0), voxl-nodes (= 0.0.8), voxl-rtsp (= 1.0.2), voxl-utils (= 0.5.2), voxl-vision-px4 (= 0.6.8), voxl_imu (= 0.0.4), voxl-time-sync (= 0.0.1), voxl-vpn (= 0.0.2), librc_math (= 1.1.2), libmodal_pipe (= 1.2.2), modalai-vl (= 0.1.3)
                        Status: install user installed
                        Section: base
                        Architecture: armv7a
                        Maintainer: james@modalai.com
                        MD5Sum: af706cd3c1ea59f274f2ed9b93141f1d
                        Size: 870
                        Filename: voxl-suite_0.2.0.ipk
                        Description: meta-package to install all of the voxl-suite
                        Installed-Time: 689
                        
                        --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                        
                        
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                        • tomT Offline
                          tomT Offline
                          tom
                          admin
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #14

                          Just to show you what a working modem would look like:

                          / # voxl-modem --feather_configure
                          Configuring GPIO pins
                              Setting defaults:
                                  GPIO_PIN_WWAN_WAKEUP_IN  = 1
                                  GPIO_PIN_WWAN_POWER_ON_N = 1
                                  GPIO_PIN_WWAN_RESET_N    = 1
                              feather is DISABLED
                          ENABLE WNC feather module
                              feather is DISABLED
                              feather is DISABLED
                              feather is DISABLED
                              feather is ENABLED, device detected: /dev/ttyUSB0
                          

                          It comes up within a few seconds. Good thought about qmi / dmesg, those errors will go away once the modem is powered up correctly by voxl-modem

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                          • S Offline
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                            scottesicdrone
                            Contributor
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #15

                            This makes a lot of sense. I have seen this working before but now it just says feather is DISABLED until it power cycles and repeats. So if I understand correctly, after a few seconds, /dev/ttyUSB0 will be created and then the feather is enabled? Also random question: what is a feather exactly? I haven't heard of this before and I tried to look into it but I'm still confused!

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                            • tomT Offline
                              tomT Offline
                              tom
                              admin
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #16

                              @scottesicdrone Haha okay so "feather" is a remnant from the days that the VOXL predecessor was a Qualcomm product. The nickname for the project at the time was "Eagle", therefore a "feather" was the nickname for an add-on board for the Eagle. So any reference to "feather" in voxl-modem is just talking about the modem add-on board. An example of one of the VOXL's predecessors is currently powering NASA's "Ingenuity" Drone on Mars (https://mars.nasa.gov/technology/helicopter/).

                              A little ModalAI lore for you that you won't find on Google 😉

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                              • S Offline
                                S Offline
                                scottesicdrone
                                Contributor
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #17

                                Love the Lore and good thing to note! Last last thing, here is the link to an instance of me running dmesg if that's of any use.
                                output here
                                I'm going to keep trying to figure this out because this is a time-sensitive situation but if we will know for sure if it's a hardware issue once we get another modem to test it on. Thanks for the help thus far! Anything else I should try on here?

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                                • tomT Offline
                                  tomT Offline
                                  tom
                                  admin
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #18

                                  @scottesicdrone Thanks! I am going to have another resource take a look at the issue and I will update you with our conclusion. I will message you if anything else is needed.

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                                  • S Offline
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                                    scottesicdrone
                                    Contributor
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #19

                                    Sounds good, thanks!

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