My Blue Boat can connect to my laptop via the Base Station. I have confirmed this by using BlueOS to turn props on the boat.
The Blue Boat can detect wifi networks and claims it is connecting to them. However it remains unable to connect to the internet.
I constantly get errors: INTERNET_CHECK_FAIL and SERVICE_SCAN_FAIL.
The Blue Boat has worked well in the past. It hasn’t been touched in months though, and the batteries are now quite dead (I know batteries should be removed for storage). BlueOS tells me it is back to Factory Settings. When I look at BlueOS Version I see an error:
error fetching online tags: Cannot connect to host ‘auth.docker.io:443 ssl:default [Temporary failure in name resolution]’
QGroundControl doesn’t currently work. I’m trying to update BlueOS. But of course I need internet for that.
I’d like help getting the Blue Boat on the internet, or finding a work around to be able to use the Boat in the field.
The Base Station connection is completely separate from BlueOS access to the internet. The Mikrotik radios in the boat and BaseStation make a point to point link. If the Raspberry Pi in the BlueBoat is in range of a compatible WiFi network, you can connect to it within BlueOS as you’ve found.
If this connection isn’t giving you internet, can you confirm what version you are running under the BlueOS version menu? You may need to update, or roll back to factory and then update to get things working depending on what version you’re using…versions prior to 1.2 had a bug that would roll them back to factory, which would break things like internet access. Reflashing the BlueOS SD card may be the easiest fall-back if you continue to struggle.
Sometimes your IP address may be (temporarily) blocked - connecting to a different source of internet, like a phone hotspot, may get you around this.
If those batteries were left in the system with it turned off, they may be ok? What voltage do you measure coming from them?
Hi @HPeters -
Yes, version 1.1.0 is quite old and likely the root cause of your wifi connection issue. Updating another way may be possible, but simply flashing the SD card with 1.3.1 would be fastest!
You may want to download your parameters from the Autopilot Parameters menu first, by restoring them after the update you’ll not have to repeat the motor direction setup and sensor calibrations…
I’ve flashed the SD card with 1.3.1 and installed it to the BlueBoat. It remains unable to connect to the internet, even though it seems to connect to local wifi networks.
I’ve found another problem. On your advice, I saved the Autopilot Parameters and tried to reload them after flashing the firmware. The process starts but fails partway through error returned is: ‘Failed to write some parameters. Please restart the vehicle and try again’. I’ve occasionally seen the word “Disconnected” flash at the top of the screen.
I suspect these two issues are related. How would I diagnose a spotty connection between the BlueBoat and the Base Station? The two devices are only a few feet apart, with clear line of sight between their antennae.
Hi Harlan -
Did you setup the vehicle via the wizard as a BlueBoat before trying to load your saved parameters? The Lua script to control lights must be in place for parameters associated with it to be written…
What WiFi network are you using to try and reach the internet with BlueOS?
If you go to the terminal and
ping 8.8.8.8
does this succesfully reach the internet with BlueOS connected to WiFi? If so,
connect BlueOS to a WiFi hotspot from your phone or a different internet service, so your IP will change and potentially restore access to updates.
The disconnected flashing is not likely related. Sometimes moving the radios farther apart can help communications, at close range they are “shouting” very loud at each other!
It is not expected for the BaseStation WiFi network to provide internet - it is just a point to point wifi network between the boat and the BaseStation!
Yes I’ve tried different wifi networks. The problem is not my wifi networks, it is something internal to the Blue Robotics equipment.
I was able to verify the Blue Boat was on my local network by pinging it from my laptop. Oddly, I could not (via the terminal) ping my laptop from the Blue Boat.
I went ahead and reset the router settings on both the Blue Boat and Base Station. I followed the instructions you posted (Mikrotik_programming.zip) in a different thread.
That went well, except for an issue with the Blue Boat. The status “connected to ess” doesn’t stay on. It only stays on for a few seconds before disconnecting.
Summary:
I’ve reset my Blue Boat’s router. Settings re-loaded to Blue Boat defaults, verified in UI. Router now only connects to Base Station for a few seconds at a time.
But if I connect my PC to the Blue Boat directly I can work with BlueOS just fine, and the Blue Boat can connect to the internet. I’ve run the Blue Boat setup wizard.
I feel like I’m getting closer to the core connectivity problem. It seems like it is the router in the Blue Boat that is giving me trouble, as I can see it connecting and disconnecting. I’ve already re-set it-- any other suggestions on how to tackle this?
Hi @HPeters -
How old is your BaseStation? Technical Bulletin 10 could be relevant - checking to make sure the radio is receiving the proper voltage in the BaseStation would be the best troubleshooting step.
Both the radio in the BlueBoat and the BaseStation emit a beep when powered on, and another double beep when finished powering up. If you hear this coming from the BaseStatio when not expected, the technical bulletin instructions will definitely solve your issue!
I don’t think the Base Station is the issue. We’ve used it in the field in the past with no issues. During my troubleshooting it has not given me any problems.
It is the router on the Blue Boat which is cycling between ‘connected to ess’ and ‘searching for network’. This problem arose after I reset the routers in the Blue Boat and Base Station.
I can’t say for certain the Blue Boat router is the problem but it is currently the only part of the system where I see an obvious issue. Tips on troubleshooting this would be great.
Hi @HPeters -
If the BaseStation had power issues, the BlueBoat radio would get disconnected each time the AP of the BaseStation went down, hence my suggestion.
A bad connection in the Boat to the radio could also be the cause - can you double check the power wires that route from the Radio ethernet cable to the Fuse Board?
Does your phone or laptop stay connected tot he BaseStation WiFi AP ok? Or are they losing connection when the BlueBoat radio does?
Any beeps being emitted from any of the radios at unexpected times?
Thanks for the continued support Tony, I appreciate it.
A bad connection in the Boat to the radio could also be the cause - can you double check the power wires that route from the Radio ethernet cable to the Fuse Board?
Power wires to the Fuse Board are secure. I checked other connections like the RJ45s and tightened up those where necessary. Same behavior though.
Does your phone or laptop stay connected tot he BaseStation WiFi AP ok? Or are they losing connection when the BlueBoat radio does?
My laptop stays connected to the BaseStation. I sat and watched it for a couple minutes and saw no issues. The BlueBoat router is disconnected more than connected.
Any beeps being emitted from any of the radios at unexpected times?
No, they beep shortly after power-up, that’s it.
Looking at the electronics while powered, the Status light on the Navigator board goes blink-blink-pause on repeat. I don’t know what that means, if anything.
Hi @HPeters -
It sounds like you might have a faulty BlueBoat radio, or have an issue in the applied settings. You might try reseting it and loading the configuration again, and if it continues to not maintain connection, reach out via the support form to arrange a replacement.
It seems like it is faulty, however I don’t know how this would have occurred. Issues popped up after we left the BlueBoat with batteries plugged in for several months. On power-up QGroundControl wouldn’t connect and it seemed like the firmware had been reset. In troubleshooting that issue I was able to connect to the BlueBoat router without issue. I reset that router, and after that it would periodically disconnect.
So it seems like a settings issue to me, or a conflict with a different system.
Are there any more detailed instructions available for resetting the BlueBoat router? I’d like to focus on that before replacing the unit.
Hi @HPeters -
Were the batteries left in the boat with the switch turned off? If so, this shouldn’t have been cause for any issue, other than maybe heat depending on the storage location?
If the switch was left on, and the UVLO protection of the switch disabled, the batteries would have drained until they were permanently damaged and unusable. Low voltage exposure should not damage the radio in this case either.
Without a connection to the Vehicle, the QGroundControl interface will not populate, this is expected.
If you have that zip file, those are the best instructions for resetting the router. The only other radio setup information is in the BlueBoat software guide.
It is very strange that the connection is not maintained - if the disconnect was accompanied by the beeps from the radio indicating a reset, that would definitely indicate a hardware issue. As that doesn’t seem to be happening, my only other guess is the radios are too close to each other, in a noisy / high reflectance RF environment?
We did kill the batteries to the point they were not chargeable. In any case, as discussed, the BlueBoat router survived this and was working normally after the fact.
The radios are typically around 6m from each other with clear line of sight. Moving around equipment takes it up to 20m and as low as 1m. No particular RF noise here, and we’ve never had issues with the Boat in this shop before.
Hi @HPeters
Oh no! The UVLO protection on the switch should have prevented that, you may want to double check the switches on it were set correctly (switch set to UVLO side and second switch set to 4S if using standard batteries)
The low voltage the radio was exposed to might have damaged things - the radio has a 9-30V input range, so when it received less than 9V it may have been damaged.
