rtl_tcp samples once then crashes during re-tune

[ljkenny]

SDR++ appears to connect okay, however the frequency analyser is noisy and still. The waterfall is mostly red lines.

When I attempt to tune to a different frequently SDR++ crashes without an error message.

SDR++ doesn't seem to take any flags, so I'm not sure how to put it into debug mode for more info.

Installed on Debian Linux via the *.deb from the releases page:

$ dpkg -l | grep sdrpp
ii  sdrpp               0.2.5-282           all          Bloat-free SDR receiver software

[AlexandreRouma]

Hard to say what's going on with that information. What exact OS are you running (aka what version of debian or derivative)? Where is the RTL-TCP server? WAN or LAN? What sample rate is it running at? etc... Start SDR++ in a terminal and it'll print out the logs, send full logs from start up to crash. Also send a screenshot of the full UI with the source menu in view both before the crash and when the "red lines" show up.

[ljkenny]

The Debian version is bespoke, but fully up-to-date - I can't tell you anymore than that.

The RTL-TCP server is in the loft just above me. Both the RPi and the Client (Laptop) are connected to the same Wireless LAN.

Sample rate is currently 1.025MHz, but I have tried others - same thing happens.

The terminal does not show the crash logs. They just stop, hence why I was looking for a debug mode.

Screenshot (even in real life the spectrum is frozen right from connection, as though only one sample is taken):

Logs:

$ sdrpp                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       
[2021-10-02 21:04:05.627] [info] SDR++ v1.0.3                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 
[2021-10-02 21:04:05.627] [info] Loading config                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
[2021-10-02 21:04:05.857] [info] Loading icons                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
[2021-10-02 21:04:05.866] [info] Loading band plans                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           
[2021-10-02 21:04:05.887] [info] Loading band plans color table                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
[2021-10-02 21:04:05.925] [info] Loading modules                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              
[2021-10-02 21:04:05.926] [info] Loading /usr/lib/sdrpp/plugins/discord_integration.so                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        
[2021-10-02 21:04:05.977] [info] Loading /usr/lib/sdrpp/plugins/rigctl_server.so                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              
[2021-10-02 21:04:05.994] [info] Loading /usr/lib/sdrpp/plugins/soapy_source.so                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
[2021-10-02 21:04:06.028] [info] Loading /usr/lib/sdrpp/plugins/plutosdr_source.so                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            
[2021-10-02 21:04:06.063] [info] Loading /usr/lib/sdrpp/plugins/network_sink.so                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
[2021-10-02 21:04:06.091] [info] Loading /usr/lib/sdrpp/plugins/airspy_source.so                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              
[2021-10-02 21:04:06.130] [info] Loading /usr/lib/sdrpp/plugins/airspyhf_source.so                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            
[2021-10-02 21:04:06.166] [info] Loading /usr/lib/sdrpp/plugins/new_portaudio_sink.so                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         
[2021-10-02 21:04:06.196] [info] Loading /usr/lib/sdrpp/plugins/spyserver_source.so                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           
[2021-10-02 21:04:06.224] [info] Loading /usr/lib/sdrpp/plugins/rtl_tcp_source.so                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             
[2021-10-02 21:04:06.260] [info] Loading /usr/lib/sdrpp/plugins/sdrplay_source.so                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             
[2021-10-02 21:04:06.293] [error] Couldn't load /usr/lib/sdrpp/plugins/sdrplay_source.so.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     
[2021-10-02 21:04:06.293] [info] Loading /usr/lib/sdrpp/plugins/file_source.so                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
[2021-10-02 21:04:06.333] [info] Loading /usr/lib/sdrpp/plugins/frequency_manager.so                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          
[2021-10-02 21:04:06.362] [warning] ConfigManager locked, waiting...                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          
[2021-10-02 21:04:06.362] [info] Loading /usr/lib/sdrpp/plugins/weather_sat_decoder.so                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        
[2021-10-02 21:04:06.390] [info] Loading /usr/lib/sdrpp/plugins/bladerf_source.so                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             
[2021-10-02 21:04:06.424] [info] Loading /usr/lib/sdrpp/plugins/rtl_sdr_source.so                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             
[2021-10-02 21:04:06.464] [info] Loading /usr/lib/sdrpp/plugins/meteor_demodulator.so                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         
[2021-10-02 21:04:06.493] [info] Loading /usr/lib/sdrpp/plugins/audio_sink.so                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 
[2021-10-02 21:04:06.531] [info] Loading /usr/lib/sdrpp/plugins/recorder.so                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
[2021-10-02 21:04:06.559] [info] Loading /usr/lib/sdrpp/plugins/hackrf_source.so                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              
[2021-10-02 21:04:06.590] [info] Loading /usr/lib/sdrpp/plugins/limesdr_source.so                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             
[2021-10-02 21:04:06.626] [info] Loading /usr/lib/sdrpp/plugins/radio.so                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      
[2021-10-02 21:04:06.663] [info] Initializing Airspy Source (airspy_source)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
[2021-10-02 21:04:06.711] [info] Initializing AirspyHF+ Source (airspyhf_source)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              
[2021-10-02 21:04:06.735] [info] Initializing Audio Sink (audio_sink)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         
[2021-10-02 21:04:06.754] [info] Initializing BladeRF Source (bladerf_source)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 
[2021-10-02 21:04:06.799] [error] Could not list devices                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      
[2021-10-02 21:04:06.799] [info] Initializing File Source (file_source)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       
[2021-10-02 21:04:06.820] [info] Initializing Frequency Manager (frequency_manager)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           
[2021-10-02 21:04:06.854] [info] Initializing HackRF Source (hackrf_source)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
[2021-10-02 21:04:06.914] [info] Initializing LimeSDR Source (limesdr_source)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 
[2021-10-02 21:04:06.950] [info] Initializing PlutoSDR Source (plutosdr_source)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
[2021-10-02 21:04:06.954] [info] Initializing RTL-SDR Source (rtl_sdr_source)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 
[2021-10-02 21:04:06.999] [info] Initializing RTL-TCP Source (rtl_tcp_source)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 
[2021-10-02 21:04:07.020] [info] Initializing Radio (radio)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
[2021-10-02 21:04:07.105] [info] RtAudio stream open                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          
[2021-10-02 21:04:07.106] [info] Initializing Recorder (recorder)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             
[2021-10-02 21:04:07.107] [info] Initializing Rigctl Server (rigctl_server)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
[2021-10-02 21:04:07.120] [info] Initializing SDRplay Source (sdrplay_source)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 
[2021-10-02 21:04:07.154] [error] Module 'sdrplay_source' doesn't exist                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       
[2021-10-02 21:04:07.154] [info] Initializing SoapySDR Source (soapy_source)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
[INFO] [UHD] linux; GNU C++ version 10.2.1 20210110; Boost_107400; UHD_3.15.0.0-4+build3                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      
[2021-10-02 21:04:08.514] [info] Setting sample rate to 8000.0                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
[2021-10-02 21:04:08.514] [info] New DSP samplerate: 8000.0 (source samplerate is 8000.0)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     
[2021-10-02 21:04:08.515] [info] Updating FFT DSP settings: Keep: 400, Skip: 0                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
[2021-10-02 21:04:08.515] [info] Initializing SpyServer Source (spyserver_source)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             
[2021-10-02 21:04:08.518] [info] Loading color maps                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           
[2021-10-02 21:04:08.554] [info] Loading /usr/share/sdrpp/colormaps/electric.json                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             
[2021-10-02 21:04:08.561] [info] Loading /usr/share/sdrpp/colormaps/magma.json                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
[2021-10-02 21:04:08.587] [info] Loading /usr/share/sdrpp/colormaps/gqrx.json                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 
[2021-10-02 21:04:08.620] [info] Loading /usr/share/sdrpp/colormaps/plasma.json                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
[2021-10-02 21:04:08.654] [info] Loading /usr/share/sdrpp/colormaps/websdr.json                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
[2021-10-02 21:04:08.687] [info] Loading /usr/share/sdrpp/colormaps/viridis.json                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              
[2021-10-02 21:04:08.720] [info] Loading /usr/share/sdrpp/colormaps/inferno.json                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              
[2021-10-02 21:04:08.754] [info] Loading /usr/share/sdrpp/colormaps/classic.json                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              
[2021-10-02 21:04:08.787] [info] Loading /usr/share/sdrpp/colormaps/greyscale.json                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            
[2021-10-02 21:04:08.820] [info] Loading /usr/share/sdrpp/colormaps/turbo.json                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
[2021-10-02 21:04:08.842] [info] New DSP samplerate: 1024000.0 (source samplerate is 1024000.0)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
[2021-10-02 21:04:08.842] [info] Updating FFT DSP settings: Keep: 51200, Skip: 0                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              
[2021-10-02 21:04:08.842] [info] RTLTCPSourceModule 'RTL-TCP Source': Menu Select!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            
[2021-10-02 21:04:08.842] [info] New DSP samplerate: 1024000.0 (source samplerate is 1024000.0)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
[2021-10-02 21:04:08.843] [info] Updating FFT DSP settings: Keep: 51200, Skip: 0                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              
[2021-10-02 21:04:08.845] [info] RtAudio stream open                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          
[2021-10-02 21:04:08.863] [info] Updating FFT DSP settings: Keep: 51200, Skip: 0                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              
[2021-10-02 21:04:08.863] [info] Updating FFT DSP settings: Keep: 51200, Skip: 0                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              
[2021-10-02 21:04:08.865] [info] Updating FFT DSP settings: Keep: 51200, Skip: 0                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              
[2021-10-02 21:04:08.866] [info] RTLTCPSourceModule 'RTL-TCP Source': Tune: 118000000.0!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      
[2021-10-02 21:04:08.866] [info] Running post-init for Airspy Source                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          
[2021-10-02 21:04:08.866] [info] Running post-init for AirspyHF+ Source                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       
[2021-10-02 21:04:08.866] [info] Running post-init for Audio Sink                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             
[2021-10-02 21:04:08.866] [info] Running post-init for BladeRF Source                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         
[2021-10-02 21:04:08.866] [info] Running post-init for File Source                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            
[2021-10-02 21:04:08.866] [info] Running post-init for Frequency Manager                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      
[2021-10-02 21:04:08.866] [info] Running post-init for HackRF Source                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          
[2021-10-02 21:04:08.866] [info] Running post-init for LimeSDR Source                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         
[2021-10-02 21:04:08.866] [info] Running post-init for PlutoSDR Source                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        
[2021-10-02 21:04:08.866] [info] Running post-init for RTL-SDR Source                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         
[2021-10-02 21:04:08.866] [info] Running post-init for RTL-TCP Source                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         
[2021-10-02 21:04:08.866] [info] Running post-init for Radio                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
[2021-10-02 21:04:08.866] [info] Running post-init for Recorder                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
[2021-10-02 21:04:08.866] [info] Running post-init for Rigctl Server                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          
[2021-10-02 21:04:08.866] [info] Running post-init for SoapySDR Source                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        
[2021-10-02 21:04:08.866] [info] Running post-init for SpyServer Source                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       
[2021-10-02 21:04:08.867] [info] Ready.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       
<Lee: Connecting now>                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         
Connected[2021-10-02 21:04:44.160] [warning] Setting sample rate to 1024000.0                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 
[2021-10-02 21:04:44.161] [info] RTLTCPSourceModule 'RTL-TCP Source': Start!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
[2021-10-02 21:04:44.161] [info] RTLTCPSourceModule 'RTL-TCP Source': Tune: 118000000.0!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      
<Lee: Screenshot here>                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        
<Lee: About to change frequency>                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              
$

[ljkenny]

I should also mention that CubicSDR connects and functions properly with the same setup.

[AlexandreRouma]

Can you show the logs from the rtl_tcp server running on the pi? It honestly looks like that's crashing when setting some options and then SDR++ tried to send it a tune command which crashes because the socket is closed (which is a known bug and I still have to fix)

[ljkenny]

Oct 02 22:09:17 raspberrypi SoapySDRServer[449]: SoapyServerListener::accept([::ffff:192.168.1.3]:43228)
Oct 02 22:09:17 raspberrypi SoapySDRServer[449]: SoapyServerListener::handlerLoop() FAIL: SoapyRPCUnpacker::recv() FAIL: header word
Oct 02 22:09:18 raspberrypi SoapySDRServer[449]: SoapyServerListener::close()

[AlexandreRouma]

That's not RTL-TCP.... that's SoapyServer, You're supposed to use the SoapySDR source with it...

[ljkenny]

I was just coming to that same conclusion myself!

It does work quite a lot better when I use rtl_tcp from the command line. :)

Does SDR++ work with Soapy? I see a SoapySDR option, but no way to enter a remote IP address.

[AlexandreRouma]

the soapy source indeed doesn't let you enter an IP manually, but soapysdr should automatically detect the server on the network and display it as an option

[ljkenny]

What if the IP address you wish to connect to is on a WAN?

[AlexandreRouma]

then it won't work

[ljkenny]

Is this something you'd be prepared support in the future?

Seems to work well in CubicSDR, but I'd prefer to use SDR++.

[AlexandreRouma]

Not sure, soapysdr has been causing more issues then good. Using RTL-TCP generally gives better results than soapyserver anyway. Also there's gonna be SDR++ Server at some point.

[gvanem]

They just stop, hence why I was looking for a debug mode.

It should have -h, -help command-line options to hint users on the -s option. I've done this patch:

--- a/core/src/options.cpp 2021-09-30 11:29:24
+++ b/core/src/options.cpp 2021-10-01 17:29:17
@@ -5,6 +5,16 @@
 namespace options {
     CMDLineOptions opts;

+    void show_help (const char *who_am_I)
+    {
+      printf ("Usage: %s [options]\n"
+              "options:\n"
+              "  -r, --root <root>:  specify root\n"
+              "  -s, --show-console: show console messages\n"
+              "  -S, --server:       enable server-mode\n"
+              "  -h, --help:         show this help\n", who_am_I);
+    }
+
     void loadDefaults() {
 #ifdef _WIN32
         opts.root = ".";
@@ -25,9 +35,13 @@
             else if (!strcmp(arg, "-s") || !strcmp(arg, "--show-console")) {
                 opts.showConsole = true;
             }
-            else if (!strcmp(arg, "--server")) {
+            else if (!strcmp(arg, "-S") || !strcmp(arg, "--server")) {
                 opts.serverMode = true;
             }
+            else if (!strcmp(arg, "-h") || !strcmp(arg, "--help")) {
+                show_help (argv[0]);
+                return false;
+            }
             else {
                 spdlog::error("Invalid command line option: {0}", arg);
                 return false;

[ljkenny]

Yes, it should.

Apart from the odd parameter nomenclature, patch LGTM.