Raspberry pi disconnects after a few seconds

AstroBox Troubleshooting
#1

UPDATE 3: After doing some research, looks like the Raspberry pi b+ requires at least a 1A power source. I need to check what I’m using when I get home. Also from videos of people using octoprint, a powered USB hub is REQUIRED even if the b+ has more than enough ports for cameras, printers etc. I’ll try meeting those requirements first and update this post if there are improvements seen. Thanks!

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The last day or two, when I boot up my raspberry pi with astroprint, I’m able to see the box is ready to print. When I send it a job or let the box sit for a few minutes, the cloud says there’s no boxes connected (even though my astroprint box is powered and it just saw it a few seconds earlier). Is there some network settings I need to change in order to keep the box from dropping? Strangely enough this wasn’t happening a few days ago…I’ll do some debugging and see if there’s any type of order to when it happens.

Update: After a few reboots, the astroprint box seems to stay connected, but now when I send it gcode, it doesn’t do much of anything. Nozzle temp settings stay at 0 and it just sits there. The extruder head moves to its home position and everything just stops and nothing heats up. I think a factory reset of my astroprint pi may be needed. Is there an easy way to reset the box and go through the whole setup again?

Update Update: I have my iphone and laptop connected to the same router as my astroprint box. When I launch the UI control link on my iphone, it selects the IP address of the box and brings up the controls. When I do the EXACT same thing with my laptop, it says the astrobox’s IP address has timed out and can’t find the requested IP address. Very very strange. I have a desktop that is hard wired into my wireless router. It is also able to get to the box’s IP address same as the phone.

Possible useful info: I am still not able to get into the box via http://(boxname).local. Every time I try the webpage goes to DNS error Time warner cable (Your standard “I can’t find the link you requested so here’s a pretty generic page you can look at instead that has nothing to do with what you’re looking for”) :smile:

-Jim

#2

@Jim_Leemhuis thanks for looking into this. Please let us know if the higher amp power supply helps. We use 2A power supplies here

#3

Ok here’s the update…and while it’s a “D’OH” moment for me, maybe it will help someone else.

Originally when I hooked up my pi with astroprint, I used my iphone wall charger since it was what I had laying around. It supplies 1Amp max. Everything worked great on the first print…webcam…controls…Only thing that has never worked for me is http://(name).local. However, going through the UI link in astroprint.com takes me to the control page via direct IP, so that’s not a huge issue.

When I needed my phone charger back, I realized my Garmin GPS used a similar USB wall charger. It didn’t occur to me that the issues started after the switch until I saw people using powered USB hubs on their pi. I looked at the garmin specs last night at the max output is 500mA! I figure the pi would power up but any time the wifi was used, it drew too much current and would momentarily reset.

I asked some really smart people over on adafruit forums if they had any info. I got the following fun fact:

“A Raspberry PI B+ uses around 240 mA by itself, the older B used about 380 mA: http://raspi.tv/2014/how-much-less-power-does-the-raspberry-pi-b-use-than-the-old-model-b”

Moral of the story, current required for the pi astroprint setup is going to vary depending on wired vs. wifi, if a webcam hooked to the pi, how many printers, etc. With a 1Amp supply, I was able to power the wifi dongle, printer (lulz mini), and the webcam with no hiccups. Anyone who is trying the astroprint setup MAKE SURE YOUR SUPPLY IS AT LEAST 1Amp…more if you want to make yourself feel all warm and fuzzy!!!

Sorry for the issues guys because of my bonehead mistake :confused:

However, the issues with the lulzbot cura code still exist that I posted in a previous thread. To that I also mention I think astrobox code may have an extra line at the end. Using cura, once the bed is done cooling, it moves forward for the user to remove the part. When I run the astroprint code, the table moves forward once it is cooled and then immediately moves all the way back. No biggie compared to the extra lines of code at the beginning that heat the nozzle too hot for leveling and wiping, but just a little hiccup I noticed. Please keep me informed if this code is updated in astroprint! I’m excited to start using astroprint as a slicer instead of having to upload cura Gcode manually :slight_smile:

Other than that, I’m up and running smoothly! I love it!

-Jim

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#4

I’m going to send this thread to lulzbot to see if there’s anything they can do to fix the start gcode in our system.

#5

For lulzbot’s clarification, here is a link to te post where I show the codes for Cura and astroprint side by side :smile:

Newb: Can connect via cloud but not local/Can I upload gcode direct?