6. Problems and possible solutions

• Nothing happens:
  • Check power supply. Test with another (USB) cable
  • Remove the SD card and insert it again
• at start, it beeps a few times (long long long), the red LED flashes and everything repeats again
  • Unplug the RTL-SDR and connect it again
    • if the problem persists, unplug and reconnect power
• New results aren't written, it is defective
  • exchange the storage medium, recommended is an SD card - used through an USB adapter
    • format with the Flash Friendly File System to extend its lifetime: scanner_format_f2fs.sh
• Raspberry Pi is no longer accessible after pressing the reboot knob
  • sometimes the system hangs on reboot. Remove power and reconnect
• Bad reception quality
  • check the antenna connection and plug as well as the location of the antenna!
  • is the gain set correctly?
  • metallized vehicle window pane?
• the scanner freezes after a while
  • apparently, the RTL dongle is not particularly stable
  • automatic reboot with the setting FMLIST_SCAN_DEAD_REBOOT = “1”
    • if necessary, also the setting FMLIST_SCAN_DEAD_TIME reduce, e.g. to 240.
• Stations are not recognized or decoded. There can be various reasons for this. The best way to assess the specific cause is based on a recording.
  • utilities for recording are recWFMchunk.sh and recDAB.sh. Please use these to create and provide recordings of 10 to 30 seconds.
• the buzzer is too loud and may be annoying too often
  • configure the cases, which should be signalled - or not.
  • the buzzer's hole can be partially or completely glued with an adhesive tape
  • if you don't want to hear anything, it is simple to pull off one of the 2 pins
    • pay attention to the polarity when re-attaching: (+) symbol on the piezo
• after disconnecting the Ethernet cable, the WiFi SSH / PuTTY session also freezes
  • that is a known issue. do not use the Ethernet cable for WiFi operation
• the Raspberry Pi reboots quite often
  • check the power supply unit or try another sufficiently dimensioned power supply

For other or persistent problems, please check the mailing list first: https://groups.io/g/fmlist-scanner
Register and mail to fmlist-scanner@groups.io

This list will also be used to provide further information about new versions / updates or questions / answers on your part in the future. Additional photos, links and wiki pages are also available via the mailing list website.