SDRTrunk Getting going with SDRTrunk

[Tim]

Greetings,

I am tearing out my hair trying to get SDRTrunk going with Broadcastify Calls. I downloaded SDRTrunk v0.5.0 Alpha 2 and use two dongles since my target radio system's bandwidth is just under 3 MHz. I was able to get it going somewhat, but I have a few problems I am trying to figure out.

-- The program intermittently freezes up. Below is a screen shot of the command window. I am not that knowledgeable with computers to understand what the errors means. In addition, once in a while I get a "Java heap space error".




-- The next problem that I have is that when I do have it up and running, it seems like its missing several transmissions as the "now playing" tab shows no transmissions, but yet hear transmissions on a regular scanner. It also sometimes will get partial transmissions. I have a portable scanner antenna attached to the dongle so I don't necessarily think reception is the issue.

-- One other issue I have been having I can't get the dongles/tuners to stay parked on one frequency. My target system is between 851-854MHz. So I have one dongle set at 852MHz and the other set at 853MHz. On the tuner tab I can watch the frequency start bouncing around between 851.0625 and 853.5000 and the channel column will flip between locked & unlocked.

Any help or tips that can be provided would be great. Unfortunately, I am rather a novice with the whole SDR scene.


Tim

 

[rlmurray56]

There is a Google Groups for SDRTrunk (recommended) where you might want to post this question

 

[SDWolfman]

I received a couple of problems with SDRTrunk v0.5.0 Alpha 2 that would cause it to freeze. I forget exactly what the java errors were, but I switched back to v0.5.0 Alpha 1 and it has been working better for me. You can switch between versions using the same playlists/logs/recordings folder, but be sure to make a backup of your playlist.

You also may want to run the resource monitor to see how your CPU is handling the workload.

 

[rlmurray56]

Greetings,

I am tearing out my hair trying to get SDRTrunk going with Broadcastify Calls. I downloaded SDRTrunk v0.5.0 Alpha 2 and use two dongles since my target radio system's bandwidth is just under 3 MHz. I was able to get it going somewhat, but I have a few problems I am trying to figure out.

-- The program intermittently freezes up. Below is a screen shot of the command window. I am not that knowledgeable with computers to understand what the errors means. In addition, once in a while I get a "Java heap space error".


View attachment 87144

-- The next problem that I have is that when I do have it up and running, it seems like its missing several transmissions as the "now playing" tab shows no transmissions, but yet hear transmissions on a regular scanner. It also sometimes will get partial transmissions. I have a portable scanner antenna attached to the dongle so I don't necessarily think reception is the issue.

-- One other issue I have been having I can't get the dongles/tuners to stay parked on one frequency. My target system is between 851-854MHz. So I have one dongle set at 852MHz and the other set at 853MHz. On the tuner tab I can watch the frequency start bouncing around between 851.0625 and 853.5000 and the channel column will flip between locked & unlocked.

Any help or tips that can be provided would be great. Unfortunately, I am rather a novice with the whole SDR scene.


Tim

Seriously, go here and start asking questions. The developer is quite active and there are many knowledgeable folks on the Google Groups SDRTrunk page.
Google Groups

Your first issue is likely related to insufficient memory and/or insufficient processing power. You can also try to reduce the number of "Max Traffic Channels" down to 2. You will find this setting on the Playlist Editor, Channel, under your system. Can't really address your second issue but does sound like a signal quality problem or a PPM issue with your SDR.. Not sure. Third issue, the "tuner" channel tab is constantly adjusting itself to what It believes to be the center frequency of your systems bandwidth (not sure I explained that. You should not configure the SDR's for center frequencies.. SDRTrunk will handle that... Let it pick the SDR's it needs and bring them up and tune them.. Set Source for tuner to NONE. SDRTrunk software determines how and what to retune SDR's to get the spread it needs to get channels. The software readjusts center points to accomodate as channels come up is something the dev will need to explain further. All you need is the correct control channel in the Playlist Editor, for your system. Also, the Tuner frequency and sample rate controls should be "LOCKED" when the tuner is providing a channel and "UNLOCKED" when not providing a channel. When the tuner is selected in the tuner editor, this lock state should be reflected in the editor. So, yes, they bounce back and forth.

 

[da2ricky]

I have the same issue with v0.5.0 Alpha 2 and didn't have this issue with prior versions. i7 CPU, 8GB RAM, SSD... definitely not a physical resource issue. I've already posted this in the google group and haven't received any feedback yet.

Redirecting to Google Groups

groups.google.com

 

[rlmurray56]

Interesting. I am running v0.5.0 Alpha 2 without issues at all. Using an HP laptop AMD A8 quad core, 8gb ram

 

[da2ricky]

Interesting. I am running v0.5.0 Alpha 2 without issues at all. Using an HP laptop AMD A8 quad core, 8gb ram

Maybe its a Java version issue or something. Which version of Java are you running so I can compare?

 

[rlmurray56]

openjdk 13.0.2 2020-01-15
OpenJDK Runtime Environment (build 13.0.2+9)
OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM (build 13.0.2+9, mixed mode, sharing)

 

[da2ricky]

openjdk 13.0.2 2020-01-15
OpenJDK Runtime Environment (build 13.0.2+9)
OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM (build 13.0.2+9, mixed mode, sharing)

are you running Linux by chance?

I was using Java SE Development Kit 13.0.2. I don't know if that differs at all from OpenJDK but I switched to OpenJDK just in case.

 

[ScubaJungle]

I definitely recommend the SDRTrunk google group as you will get help directly from the creator.

THe problem you are having sounds exactly like the problem I was having when I first started using SDRTrunk though -
forget about the "tuner" tab. Enter the control channel of the system you want to monitor in the channel tab, and let it go. It is as simple as that. You shouldn't have to mess with the tuner tab at all, unless your dongle is significantly off-center.

I have also seen freezing - report it to the creator as it may just be a small bug

 

[rlmurray56]

are you running Linux by chance?

I was using Java SE Development Kit 13.0.2. I don't know if that differs at all from OpenJDK but I switched to OpenJDK just in case.

No...Windows 10