Unitrunker Receivers Spontaneously quits working.

[B-One]

My DVB-T+FM+DAB 820T2 & SDR dongles shut down after operating for various lengths of time. They don't all shut down at once; some continue to run while others stop. These are the inexpensive blue dongles as well as the nano dongles found on ebay.

Sometimes they run for hours, sometimes for only minutes. If I close Unitrunker, unplug my powered hub, replug in the hub and restart Unitrunker the setup works again for a period of time. This happens on two computers. The powered hub has been replaced with another powered hub and the problem continues.

Any ideas what the issue could be? What could I check?

 

[Dog]

You have to many variables in your setup. I would start by plugging them into the computer and see if they shutdown.

 

[motomeso]

Are you using virtual audio cable? I've experienced a few crashed relating to VAC. I found changing the sample rate max to 48000 instead of 44100 fixed my issues.

My DVB-T+FM+DAB 820T2 & SDR dongles shut down after operating for various lengths of time. They don't all shut down at once; some continue to run while others stop. These are the inexpensive blue dongles as well as the nano dongles found on ebay.

Sometimes they run for hours, sometimes for only minutes. If I close Unitrunker, unplug my powered hub, replug in the hub and restart Unitrunker the setup works again for a period of time. This happens on two computers. The powered hub has been replaced with another powered hub and the problem continues.

Any ideas what the issue could be? What could I check?

 

[SCPD]

Hello B-One;

Check the usual suspects.

1. power to hub - secure at wall outlet; secure where it plugs into the hub.
2. hub to host PC - secure at both ends.
3. RTL sticks - snug and securely connected.

When you hold an RTL stick in one hand and wiggle the USB connector with your fingers, does it move? Could be a cold solder joint.

Turn on "Tuner" logging and let it run. After it fails, post the log file here. It may have some clues.

 

[chaycock]

I have the exact same problem but only have a single RTLSDR dongle.

 

[B-One]

Hello B-One;

Check the usual suspects.

1. power to hub - secure at wall outlet; secure where it plugs into the hub.
2. hub to host PC - secure at both ends.
3. RTL sticks - snug and securely connected.

When you hold an RTL stick in one hand and wiggle the USB connector with your fingers, does it move? Could be a cold solder joint.

Turn on "Tuner" logging and let it run. After it fails, post the log file here. It may have some clues.

Thank you very much! Here is a portion of the log. There are several lines below the bottom line that I did not include because they were all the same text.

Log file originally created as .\R00000007\Tuner-20170104.LOG Version: Unitrunker 1.0.32.7
PLL LO 855257500 prescale 1 Quotient 59 SDM 25587 error 79.
gain 92 7B FC E6
PLL LO 855257500 prescale 1 Quotient 59 SDM 25587 error 79.
PLL LO 855257500 prescale 1 Quotient 59 SDM 25588 error 216.
gain 92 FB FC E6
PLL LO 855257500 prescale 1 Quotient 59 SDM 25588 error 216.
PLL LO 855257500 prescale 1 Quotient 59 SDM 25590 error 73.
gain 8B FB FC E6
PLL LO 855257500 prescale 1 Quotient 59 SDM 25590 error 73.
PLL LO 855257500 prescale 1 Quotient 59 SDM 25591 error 150.
gain 88 FB FC E6
PLL LO 855257500 prescale 1 Quotient 59 SDM 25591 error 150.
PLL LO 855257500 prescale 1 Quotient 59 SDM 25593 error 67.
gain AE 7B FC E6
PLL LO 855257500 prescale 1 Quotient 59 SDM 25593 error 67.
PLL LO 855257500 prescale 1 Quotient 59 SDM 25594 error 144.
gain 88 7B FC E6
PLL LO 855257500 prescale 1 Quotient 59 SDM 25594 error 144.
PLL LO 855257500 prescale 1 Quotient 59 SDM 25596 error 2.
gain 8A FB FC E6
PLL LO 855257500 prescale 1 Quotient 59 SDM 25596 error 2.
PLL LO 855257500 prescale 1 Quotient 59 SDM 25594 error 144.
gain 8A FB FC E6
PLL LO 855257500 prescale 1 Quotient 59 SDM 25594 error 144.
PLL LO 855257500 prescale 1 Quotient 59 SDM 25593 error 67.
gain AE FB FC E6
PLL LO 855257500 prescale 1 Quotient 59 SDM 25593 error 67.
PLL LO 855257500 prescale 1 Quotient 59 SDM 25591 error 150.
gain 95 FB FC E6
PLL LO 855257500 prescale 1 Quotient 59 SDM 25591 error 150.
PLL LO 855257500 prescale 1 Quotient 59 SDM 25590 error 73.
gain 83 FB FB E6
PLL LO 855257500 prescale 1 Quotient 59 SDM 25590 error 73.
USB::USB::Background interface(0) fails, 0000001F.
USB::USB::Background interface(0) fails, 00000079.
USB::USB::Background interface(0) fails, 00000079.

 

[B-One]

Unitrunker:

I had to email the logfile to you. It was too large to post here.

 

[SCPD]

Thanks B-One;

From the log ...

USB::USB::Background interface(0) fails, 0000001F.

Error 1F = A device attached to the system is not functioning.

USB::USB::Background interface(0) fails, 00000079.

Error 79 = The semaphore timeout period has expired.
​
I think I need to add some code that re-starts the device when it sees error 1F. That would at least allow operation to recover. No idea why or what causes the 1F error.

 

[B-One]

Thanks for checking into this for me. You have helped to narrow things down a bit for me.

I have no clue what is causing the device to fail. I don't think it is the RTL itself since the problem occurs with all seven of my dongles. I don't think it is my USB hub because I have tried two different powered hubs. I thought it may be a system resource issue, but the problem occurred on a different computer with a faster processor and significantly more ram. You have helped me to eliminate Unitrunker as a potential software cause.

It may be the extension cable from the hub to the computer; I will try connecting the hub directly tomorrow. I have avoided doing this because the physical setup of my system makes a direct connection inconvenient. Another user suggested fiddling with the Virtual Cable settings. I don't think the issue is related to DSD+, but I will have to check that out if my process of elimination doesn't sniff out the cause elsewhere.

I am not too knowledgeable on the code end of things but I am wondering whether having the software attempt to restart the device will work or not. I need to unplug the usb hub and replug it in to the computer to get the usb dongles working again. I can't simply restart them within Unitrunker.

You have been such a big help, in the past as well. Is there anything I can do to help you further?

 

[KD8DVR]

Sounds like hokey usb ports. They really need to be connected tightly. My hubs get pissy sometimes. I'm due for replacements.

AntiSquid Disclaimer: All posted content is personal opinion only and may not imply fact or accusation.

 

[B-One]

It appears to have been the USB extension cable. I haven't had a ton of time to mess with things, but after dinking around for awhile I rearranged my entire desktop to be able to plug the usb hub directly into my computer. All has been running well since.

Thanks to all that helped.