Piaware for new RPi 3B+

Is there currently a plan to upgrade the Piaware software to run on the new RPi 3B+ unit? Bought one for the performance increase and cooler operation but the USB ports do not see the Flightaware Pro Stick. Wondering if this is just a temporary lapse in software compatibility.

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This sounds like a blacklist issue.
Check out this post

I am running two 3B+'s without an issue.

You should be able to install the image in a 3B(not plus) or older. Do this
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get dist-upgrade
sudo rpi-update (Maybe)
then this image should work in a 3B+

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Thanks for the tip, Jon. Ran the sudo commands and updated the SD card. Reinstalled in the RPi 3B+ and it won’t go past the multicolored screen at the beginning of boot. The red LED flashes 4 long and 4 short which must mean something to a boot specialist.

Thanks for trying!
Lowell

Weird, I see the stuff for the 3B+ on my old RPI 2.

Red led blinking and freezing at the splash screen generally indicate a problem with the power supply. For 3 and 3+ 2.5A 5.1V are recommended.

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Try booting without the dongle.

The new board came with a 5.1V / 2.5A filtered powersupply and heat sinks in the kit. The unit won’t boot with nothing connected to the USB ports, just going into the red LED blinking mode.

There are a number of YouTube videos about booting issues (search “Youtube RPi 3B+ booting issues”) and in one it talks about tarnished connectors for the SD card and USB ports. I’ll check them but the easiest think might be to send it back and get another unit.

A blinking red generally means not enough power.
(Never trust advertised voltage/amperage on off the wall brand power supplies.)

Never trust advertised voltage/amperage on off the wall brand power supplies.

Indeed. After purchasing a couple of so called 5V/3A RPi adaptors that could not handle the current, I switched to bigger AC adaptors from older discarded electronics devices that have standard barrel plugs. I use the following adapter from barrel to micro USB:

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/1x-5-5x2-1mm-Female-to-Micro-USB-Male-Barrel-Adapter-Charging-Cable-Connector/162759114634?hash=item25e532ff8a:g:kVgAAOSwpoxZlyx4

Polarity still must be observed, as some of these AC adaptors have the negative side on the center pin. Also, make sure the AC adaptor is of the switching and not linear type.

@Dxista why would a linear supply not work? They are usually cleaner and well regulated…

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It’s not that it would not work, but it has to do with the lack of regulation in most linear adaptors. A nominal 5V adaptor can easily go as high as 8 or 9V, damaging the RPi. Don’t ask me how I know this.:grin:

If the linear adaptor you have is regulated, then no problem.

The other problem is that some of these ‘linear’ adaptors do not use transformers, therefore no isolation. A capacitor shorts out, and the RPi is toast.

Regulated Power Supplies vs Poorly Regulated Power Supplies

Important thing is Regulation, not linear or switching type. Poor regulation in any of the two types can cause malfunction or even failure of the equipment which is being powered. It is the Section B of the power supply adapter in the flow chart below which determines the quality of power supply.

  1. LINEAR type power supply adapter
    AC >> Section A (ac to 5V dc converter, linear type) >> Section B (regulator) >> dc output.

  2. SWITCHING type power supply adapter
    AC >> Section A (ac to 5V dc converter, switching type) >> Section B (regulator) >> dc output.

The main advantage of switching type over linear type is that switching type has higher efficiency, generates less heat, and is lighter than linear type of same rating.

The main disadvantage of switching type is that it generates more RF noise than the linear type

Important thing is Regulation, not linear or switching type. Poor regulation in any of the two types can cause malfunction or even failure of the equipment which is being powered.

Agree, but I have never seen a switching type adaptor that was off, whether under load or not. Linears on the other hand, unless brand name and expensive, are usually above the nominal voltage. The very bad ones will go under voltage when the load is applied, a big swing.

The main advantage of switching type over linear type is that switching type has higher efficiency, generates less heat, and is lighter than linear type of same rating.

The weight difference clinched the deal for me. My transceiver needs a 25A supply to be comfortable. The old linear PS was very heavy. The current Samlex is a joy.

The main disadvantage of switching type is that it generates more RF noise than the linear type

True, but the good brands are ok. The above mentioned Samlex is very good, but I heard horror stories about other brands.

Have you seen RF noise from switchers reaching the ADS-B frequency?

I put my RPIs and dongles in metal cases and add ferrite chokes to the USB power and dongle pigtails to minimise noise. I have added a choke to one of the cat5 cables.

I know my Sony TV kills one of my devices. It is in our bedroom and drops about 20-30% of traffic when the TV is on. It even has a cavity filter and is still affected. The RPI and Antenna are behind a tall dresser that the TV sits on. This is an old RPI2 that has been running with the same P.S. for 2 years.

Quality is the key if you want reliability. Check the reviews and do your homework. I have always used quality 2.5A 5V Power supplies for all of my RPIs. I haven’t had problems when I don’t mess up.

https://www.circuitspecialists.com/blog/power-supplies-switch-mode-vs-linear/

https://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/51431/benchtop-power-supplies-linear-vs-switching

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I’ve seen some VERY noisy switching power supplies, but as anything goes generally; you get what you pay for. Well made switching power supplies should have some filtering to limit noise on both input and output. Be suspicious of cheap wall-wart type supplies, no matter the mode. Regulation and filtering may not be up to par.
A decent desktop computer power supply should have a 5v output with lots of capacity (maybe 5 amps or more?).

The noise doesn’t have to get to 1090MHz to affect the receiver. Noise near the crystal frequency, VCO, or the IF will all have a detrimental affect.
Noise on amplifier gain control lines will increase amplifier gain as the noise amplitude increases.
There are many places noise can affect the performance of a receiver.

Good points, even more so with a basic receiver as the RTL-SDR dongle/stick.

Just wanted to clarify this original post. The problem was not the PiAware software. The RPi was not getting past the original splash screen during boot before failing. Issue believed to be bad RPi board.