No signal from rtl-sdr v4 on PiAware

[kgdj250]

Hi all. I have been running a basic Nooelec SDR and mini antenna for ages, not getting much more than about 12 miles of reception. I decided to finally upgrade to something a bit nicer.

I grabbed the rtl-sdr v4 dongle with their wideband LNA, a 1090 saw filter, and a nice AirNav antenna. I did a fresh install of PiAware, running on a good brand-name microSD, on my Pi 3 Model B.

PiAware loads and boots fine. Unfortunately, I am picking up zero signal. Even if I bypass the LNA and filter straight to the antenna, there’s nothing. Bias tee is enabled as far as I can tell. I edited the settings file to tell it the device type but that was all.

Pi shows the SDR connected when using the lsusb command:

<Bus 001 Device 004: ID 0bda:2838 Realtek Semiconductor Corp. RTL2838 DVB-T>

rtl_test gives:

pi@piaware:~ $ sudo rtl_test
Found 1 device(s):
0: RTLSDRBlog, Blog V4, SN: 00000001
Using device 0: Generic RTL2832U OEM
usb_claim_interface error -6
Failed to open rtlsdr device #0.

If I plug my Nooelec back in she fires right up and works fine.

All the articles I can find are for the model 3 SDR not the 4. I assume they’re similar enough, but is there something special I need to do? I’m using a proper power supply, everything boots and runs fine, I just don’t have signal. Any tips are appreciated!

[abcd567]

@kgdj250

Found 1 device(s):
0: RTLSDRBlog, Blog V4, SN: 00000001
Using device 0: Generic RTL2832U OEM
usb_claim_interface error -6
Failed to open rtlsdr device #0.

What are outputs of following two commands?

grep RECEIVER_SERIAL /etc/default/dump1090-fa   

grep RECEIVER_OPTIONS /etc/default/dump978-fa   

 

[kgdj250]

Ok update: got it working. Had to follow this order of operations:

• Flash new install of PiAware

• Enable SSH on the Pi.

• Edit config file by adding “receiver-type rtlsdr” and “rtlsdr-gain 10”. I also disabled WiFi because I’m hardwired and I’m working on the gain optimization procedure here Thoughts on optimizing gain

• Put SD card in Pi and let it build

• Use PuTTY to log into Pi and run the “Alternative Debian Package Installation Method” detailed here: RTL-SDR Blog V4 Users Guide

• Reboot

• Run the “Enable bias-tee while readsb/dump1090-fa service is running” script here: RTL Bias Tee · wiedehopf/adsb-wiki Wiki · GitHub

And she seems to be fully up and running now.

[geckoVN]

@kgdj250

I grabbed the rtl-sdr v4 dongle

Could I ask why you selected the V4 over the V3?

@kgdj250

and “rtlsdr-gain 10”.

gain of 10 is pretty low. Set it to “-10” for max gain

[kgdj250]

I was mistakenly led to believe the V3 didn’t have the bias tee voltage to run the amplifier. Oh well.

10dB is giving me the best results with the LNA for getting the strong signals under 10%.

[geckoVN]

Ah - yeah, understand.
When the V4 was released, I compared the two. The V4 was not intended to replace the V3, but rather be a complimentary offering.

RTL-SDR Blog V4 Dongle released

For those waiting for something new, RTLSDR blog has announced the new V4 receiver. It’s interesting to see what has changed (and why) as well as what has not changed. I won’t list the details, but a very brief summery is that it’s a better general coverage receiver, but for ADSB, the V3 is still probably better. Fortunately the V4 isn’t a replacement for the V3 as they are both continue to be available. [image]

[Dxista]

I don’t think Piaware is compatible with the RTL-SDR Blog v4, at least I did not see any annoucement saying so.

I have an RTL-SDR Blog v4, and for all the other software that I use it with, I had to install specific v4 add-ons or wait that the software added support for it.

[kgdj250]

It’s working just fine. See the process I posted above. Required a few steps but it definitely works.

[Dxista]

I do not use it for ADS-B. Maybe the compatibility issue arises only if using it on HF. Apologies for the confusion.

[Dxista]

It’s “claim to fame” is providing HF coverage without resorting to using only one of the I/Q branches like in v3. The latter kind of worked but left a lot to be desired performance wise.

It does add a few other things as well, but the “native” HF coverage is the main thing.

[Dxista]

Yes, not a replacement for the v3. This is a limited run, limited by the number of R828D chips they were able to source. This chip is EOL.

Read all about it here:

https://www.rtl-sdr.com/rtl-sdr-blog-v4-dongle-initial-release/

[geckoVN]

@kgdj250

And she seems to be fully up and running now.

You are receiving ADS-B?
Did you need to load the V4 drivers?

[kgdj250]

Yes, had to load the V4 drivers, in the order I did it in the post above. Works fine. New rig doubled the output I was seeing previously with the old setup.

[ajoseps]

Thank you for this guide! I didn’t realize I had to go through the “Alternative Debian Package Installation Method”. It immediately worked for me after I went through those steps.

[kgdj250]

Glad it helped! I hate it when people don’t post solutions to things.