LimeSDR arrived but can't get it to work

Projects LimeSDR
1

Hi,

my LimeSDR (v1.4s) arrived yesterday and today i do my first steps in getting it to work. :slight_smile:
I attached it to my internal usb 3.0 connector without the extra power supply connector attached.

Iā€™m using Debian8 x64 and installed LimeSuite from https://github.com/myriadrf/LimeSuite.git and SoapySDR from https://github.com/pothosware/SoapySDR.git. This went fine so far and after that i tried the commands LimeUtil and SoapySDRUtil.

LimeUtil --find
Cannot Claim Interface
  * [LimeSDR-USB, media=USB 3.0, module=STREAM, addr=1d50:6108, serial=0009060B00460914]

SoapySDRUtil --find
######################################################
## Soapy SDR -- the SDR abstraction library
######################################################

Found device 0
  addr = 1d50:6108
  driver = lime
  label = LimeSDR-USB [USB 3.0] 9060B00460914
  media = USB 3.0
  module = STREAM
  name = LimeSDR-USB
  serial = 0009060B00460914

So far it looks good. But when i try the --probe option with SoapySDRUtil i got two errors.

SoapySDRUtil --probe
######################################################
## Soapy SDR -- the SDR abstraction library
######################################################

Probe device 
[INFO] Make connection: 'LimeSDR-USB [USB 3.0] 9060B00460914'

########################################################
##   !!!  Warning: gateware version mismatch  !!!
## Expected gateware version 2, revision 6
## But found version 0, revision 0
## Follow the FW and FPGA upgrade instructions:
## http://wiki.myriadrf.org/Lime_Suite#Flashing_images
## Or run update on the command line: LimeUtil --update
########################################################

[INFO] Device name: LimeSDR-USB
[INFO] Reference: 30.72 MHz
[INFO] Init LMS7002M(0)
LMS7002M values cache at /home/quakeman/.limesuite/LMS7002M_cache_values.db
[INFO] Ver=0, Rev=0, Mask=0
Error probing device: ResetChip() failed
libusb: warning [libusb_exit] application left some devices open

For the firmware version mismatch i tried updating the firmware but the ā€œResetChip() failedā€ looks suspicious to me. So i started the update.

LimeUtil --update
Connected to [LimeSDR-USB [USB 3.0] 9060B00460914]

########################################################
##   !!!  Warning: gateware version mismatch  !!!
## Expected gateware version 2, revision 6
## But found version 0, revision 0
## Follow the FW and FPGA upgrade instructions:
## http://wiki.myriadrf.org/Lime_Suite#Flashing_images
## Or run update on the command line: LimeUtil --update
########################################################

[100%] 555969/555969 Bytes programming: completed (/home/quakeman/.local/share/LimeSuite/images/17.02/LimeSDR-USB_HW_1.4_r2.6.rbf)
Programming update complete!

But the problem is that after the update the wrong firmware version for gateware doesnā€™t change. It always says version=0 and revision=0.

When i start LimeSuiteGUI i can connect to my LimeSDR but the info window also tells version 0. I can do the update as often as i want but it doesnā€™t change anything. I also installed gnuradio, gr-osmosdr and gqrx to try if it maybe work. But when starting gqrx it also warns about the version=0 and ResetChip() problem and doesnā€™t work. :frowning:

So do i miss something essential or could maybe something on the board be defect? :bow:

I also wonder about the four leds beneath the usb connector. Only one green led is on while all others are off. Only one time after another try and reattach the board to the usb more leds were on and some red led was flashing. But now again only the green is on. But i canā€™t find a description about the meaning of the different leds. :confused:

I hope someone can help me get my LimeSDR to work.

Ciao,
Rainer

2

Rainer,

Iā€™ve seen this issue and I know this may read really stupid, but unplug your LimeSDR from the USB 3.0 connection, wait 2 seconds, and then plug it back in and try to connect with the LimeSuiteGUI again. Do an INFO to see if it ā€˜seesā€™ your LimeSDR and then if it does, then do the programming step in LimeSuiteGUI.

Iā€™ve had the same issue where the first time I plug it in it says that thereā€™s a mismatch, but if you unplug it and plug it back in again, itā€™ll be fine. Try that on your V1.4 hardware and then let us know -

73 de Marty, KN0CK

1 Like
3

Marty,

FWIW my v1.4 board isnā€™t automatically detected when my systems boots - I have unplug, breath out, plug in and then itā€™s OK. Maybe this isnā€™t a Linux issue.

1 Like
4

Simon,

Yeah - this looks like an anomaly with the V1.4 hardwareā€¦itā€™s has a weirdness that way with initializing. Itā€™s happened to me a few times and itā€™s a hit and miss issue - - sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesnā€™t.

73 de Marty, KN0CK

5

I tried and the upload from LimeSuiteGUI worked as expected. After that the info window showā€™s all unknown so i detached and reattached the board. Now two green leds are on and one red led is flashing (like mentioned in my first post). But the gateware version is still 0.

Interestingly when i now try SoapySDR --probe i donā€™t get ā€œResetChip() failedā€ but instead ā€œError probing device: UploadAll() failedā€.

After i again detached and reattached the board still only one green led is on.

Ciao,
Rainer

6

@andrewback,

Andrew - Rainer has an initialization issue with the LimeSDR V1.4 he received. Can you call in the experts on this? Iā€™ve seen this issue, too, with my Lime, but unplugging and plugging the Lime seems to make it work fine for me - - not so much for Rainer.

Heā€™s a newbie and needs help - thanks for your efforts in advance,

Marty

7

If I understand your setup @Fox_Mulder it sounds like you need an external power supply that will provide 6V.

Look:
V1.4 update failed, stuck on cypress bootloader

8

@hTo137 So you mean i canā€™t power the LimeSDR only over the USB 3.0 port?
I also attached the second USB connector to another USB 3.0 port to get sure i have enough power available and it would be strange if this doesnā€™t deliver enough power.

9

To be sure it is not just a linux problem i tried it with an older Win7 installation on the same pc. I donā€™t use it anymore but it still works. After i installed the PhotosSDR package and started the Lime Suite it also showed version=0 and didnā€™t work. :frowning:

10

Rainer,

You should not have to have an external power supply for your LimeSDR because Iā€™ve always used my V1.2 and V1.4 boards with just USB 3.0 power. But there is hope - - PLEASE refer to this post and read ALL the threads from it. This LimeSDR user @cswiger had a VERY similar issue to what youā€™re seeing and finally got it fixed. Hereā€™s the link to that post:

Again, please read ALL the threads in that post and see if you can recover. As well, stay in touch - weā€™ll get you on the road to recoveryā€¦

73 de Marty, KN0CK

11

Hi @SimonG4ELI, @martywittrock,

Could you check Firmware version, please. I suspect there will be version 2. Version 3 will fix automatic detection of the board after boot issue.

12

Hi @Fox_Mulder,

You have two options to supply the board:

  1. Over USB3;
  2. External 6V - 12V power source, rated at least for 1A.
13

Thanks for the hint. I tried what was suggested. Especially the 10 step procedure from Zack but it failed at step 6 when i try to program the firmware to FX3 into ram. I just got a ā€œProgramming failed!ā€ message without any reason. In the console there is also no message why it failed. After that i just tried to do the ā€œautomaticā€ programming and this runs through and programs two files without any error message. But it seems not to fix my problem.

I forgot to mention i also tried to flash in the console with LimeUtil --fw and this goes through without any errors. But after that the same behavior as before.

Ciao,
Rainer

14

Hi @Fox_Mulder,

Let me know the firmware version, please.

15

The info window from LimeSuiteGUI shows firmware=3, hardware=4, protocol=1.

16

OK, what about Gateware and Gateware rev?

17

Both show 0 which seems to be the origin of the whole problem. No matter how often i update it always stays at 0.

18

So, it looks like it failed to flash the Gateware. To update it using LimeSuiteGUI:

  1. Download LimeSDR-USB 1v4 board gateware here;
  2. Go to menu Modules -> Programming;
  3. Push Open button and select gateware file you downloaded in step 1;
  4. Select ā€œAltera FPGAā€ Device;
  5. Select ā€œBitstream to Flashā€ Programming mode;
  6. Push Program button and wait for programming complete;
  7. Power cycle the board.
19

Ok did it. Programming went fine and after power-cycle it still says gateware and gateware rev 0.

20

What is the status of LEDs?