Digirig - FLRig - G90 I'm pulling my hair out

,
1

I have everything set up correct I believe and have read a lot of posts and watched a lot of videos on getting this set up correctly but I’m at a loss.

I am using the latest beta of wsjt-x (after seeing the same problems with the latest released version), and the latest flrig version (2.0.05). I have confirmed the drivers are installed, and set up properly.

When I open flrig it initializes properly, however whenever I attempt to use wsjt-x, flrig crashes. I have tried this on both my desktop and my laptop and both do the same thing. I saw that wsjt-x has an option to go to the G-90 directly, and tried that, however it crashes on transmit and only receives a few stations across all bands.

Additionally, when I attempt to change bands, rig control fails, it changes on the radio, then rapidly changes back to the band it’s on, goes back to the new band and wsjt-x says control has failed. if I click on retry, it stays on the band properly.

I’m not sure where to start with this one, I’ve tried a few different usb-c cables, 2 different computers (I’ll try a pi next), and various versions of both flrig and wsjt-x. I’ve tried running everything as admin on both computers and it doesn’t help.

Any suggestions on what I could try out would be greatly appreciated.

flrig settings: (I did set the correct port after the screenshot)

flrig

flrig crashing when attempting to change frequency (this happens in both versions)

flrig-crash
flrig-crash798×613 359 KB

wsjt-x crashing when changing bands:

wsjtx-4
wsjtx-4796×710 42.1 KB

2

the ci-v connection being lost when tx is indicative of rfi.
what’s your antenna setup from the g90?

dropping connection when simply issuing commands is another issue.

i would do as you have, remove flrig from the equation.
i use a maestro laptop running wsjt-x, digirig, g90/x5105.
8,n,1(or2) and correct comport.
no middleware, rock solid.

before i got the maestro, i tried some other windows laptops/notebooks that had touchscreens and they would lose their entire usb connections on tx no matter what.
:slight_smile:
lastly, make sure power saving is turned off on the pc usb port properties. (turn this device off to conserve energy. more or less)

good luck
kb0wlf

3

Additionally to solid suggestions by @webmonkey, you can isolate any Digirig related concerns with CAT control by temporarily falling back to using the blue USB dongle that came with the radio.

4

Thank you for the replies.

The antenna is a Buddistick Pro, whe I started having issues, I switched to a dummy load rated for 20 watts and changed my output to 2 watts. It still happens with that both on the desktop and the laptop, which seems strange. I tried to eliminate as much as possible, but it’s definitely possible it’s an rfi issue.

The laptop could be an issue, it’s a Lenovo without a touch screen. Unfortunately I don’t have any other laptop to try it with. I do a have a pi, I can try that for testing. I live in an apartment and can’t have an antenna up here as there’s nowhere to put it, so all of my testing has been at local parks or on a dummy load in the apartment.

I believe I’ve turned this off but it’s a good think to check, thank you.

I hadn’t thought of trying that, I’ll dig out the programming cable and give it a try.

Thank you both for the suggestions, I’ll try them later (it’s still quite early here in ZL) and report back. 73

5

I just wanted to update everyone and say thank you again for the recommendations.

I took my G90 out again today (beautiful day here in ZL), and did some experimenting.

The Lenovo is horrendous for RFI. As soon as it’s plugged into the usb, it throws massive amounts of rfi to the radio. I tried a few different cables, and put some ferrites on them as well, but it still is extremely bad. I took a quick video to show how bad it is here:

So I guess I’m now looking for a cheap laptop that I can get in ZL (so no beloved Evolve III Maestro as they do not ship here). If anyone has any suggestions of brands, I really would prefer used and cheap, I’d love to hear it.

Thank you again for the suggestions.

6

Maybe consider 1. USB opto-isolator 2. downgrade from USB3 to USB2 3. hardwire USB jacket to ground. (If you still want to try alternatives to a new laptop.)

73 Constrainted

1 Like
7

Thanks I just ordered a usb isolator, I’m hoping that works.

I hadn’t thought of trying to ground the jacket, that’s a brilliant idea if I can get it to work. I’ve also dug out an old android tablet, I’ll see if I can get the digirig to play nicely with it. Thank you for the suggestions!

8

It might be a bad idea if it creates a ground loop! So use with caution. I’m not sure of your power supply and antenna configuration.

73 Constrainted

9

I appreciate it, I’m just using a lifepo4 battery and a buddistick pro as it’s all portable for me.

1 Like
10

I’m having the same trouble, G90 and digirig. flrig starts up fine, connects to the G90, but instantly dies with a VERY unhelpful “flrig closed” when I start wsjtx. It does this even without trying to start wsjtx, simply clicking on the frequency digits to change the system frequency pretty is guaranteed to do an “flrig closed”. This cannot be rf getting into the USB as the rig isn’t transmitting when these crashes happen. I’ve tried removing flrig and reinstalling it… No joy. I went looking for a log file that flrig might be creating and no joy there either. This is a Windows 10 installation where this is happening…

Thanks
K7dgf

1 Like
11

I just wanted to update everyone.

I pulled out an old laptop that I used before with this same setup, and went back to the park today. There is no rfi when touching the laptop while connected that I can see. There’s zero movement on the g90 noise floor. I don’t use the laptop as it has a few keys that don’t work, however for this it should be fine.

I set the radio up just as I had on the Lenovo, and had it pretuned to 10 meters. I was able to run ft8 and got a couple of contacts. However as soon as I attempted to change bands, it did the same exact thing the Lenovo did.

At that point I packed everything up and came home. I hooked my pi 5 up to my wifi, and put it on a battery outside where it can reach my wifi but not much else. I hooked the g90 up using the digirig to the pi, using a short usb 2.0 cable, and a 25 watt dummy load and logged in from my desktop using vnc.

As soon as I attempted to change bands, wsjt-x did the same thing it does on the laptops. At this point I swapped all of the usb cables, and tried again, and the same thing happened.

I don’t know where to go from here, I purchased new shielded usb cable, I tried numerous cables, I eliminated everything I can from an rfi standpoint (there’s no power supplies or anything other than a lifepo4 battery, and a battery bank for the pi).

I’ve ordered a usb isolator which should apparently be here by the 7th per aliexpress but I don’t have much faith it’s going to change anything. Until it arrives, the radio is packed up. I was able to make a pota contact on ssb with the radio and antenna no problem, but as soon as it’s hooked to the digirig and anything is hooked to that, it crashes. The swr on the antenna is below 1.5 and using a dummy load and 2 watts should eliminate anything there.

Not sure what’s going on but my last chance is the isolator unless anyone has anything else they think I could try. I’m at a complete loss here.

12

did the ‘factory supplied’ cat control cable produce the same results?

changing bands = close/crash is strange.

incorrect command being sent from software.
incorrect response from radio. (has there been a firmware update?)

before there were xiegu entries, choosing an icom radio was the way to get remote control.

you might try choosing an icom 7100/7200 in the flrig or wsjt-x or whichever and see if a different radio definition fixes the issue.

but to start, i’d get the blue plastic ‘factory supplied’ cable out and use that with no digirig in the chain.

just try to set frequency/mode/etc
:slight_smile:

good luck
kb0wlf

13

Thank you for the reply.

I had a try with the blue cable that came with the radio, and it is doing the same, meaning it’s not an issue with the digirig. I also tried switching it to the ic-7200 in both flrig and wsjt-x but they are both crashing.

I had a look at the firmware on the radio and it’s on 1.79, but there is a 1.8 firmware out. I attempted to flash it but it will not boot with the 1.8 head unit flashed (there’s no body unit firmware for 1.8). I guess my next step is to contact radioddity and see if it is still somehow under warranty.

Unfortunately I bought it two years ago while I was staying with family in the US and am now back in ZL so I may be out of luck.

Thank you all again for the help, I didn’t know where else to turn to. I appreciate all the suggestions you’ve all given me.

This is the changelog for the 1.8 firmware which seems to be the one that will allow the radio to function properly with wsjt-x. Unfortunately it flashes but the radio will not turn on.

Changes:

    To work with JTDX/WSJTX (or some other data mode softwares), add CI-V commands 0x25,0x26,
    See <<XIEGU RADIO CI-V REFERENCE>> and <<XIEGU RADIO JTDX WSJTX SETTINGs>>
    Add CI-V command 0x1d 0x19, read the XIEGU RADIO ID,
    See <<XIEGU RADIO CI-V REFERENCE>>

Hopefully I can get it installed (radioddity is my next point of contact) or I’ll have to sell it. Thank you again for all the help I wanted to update everyone on the progress (or lack of) I’ve had. 73

14

i’m sorry to hear that.

i’m running an older firmware on my g90, i’ll check to see what the actual # is.
(the one introducing U-D and L-D)

maybe downgrade the firmware on head and main?
(or just head to get it to turn back on)

in wsjt-x, i set the mode change to ‘none’ so it would just leave the mode alone.

i know none of this really helps and again, sorry to hear the non-op with the blue cable, etc.

radioddity may have some ideas even if ‘warranty work’ is out/ship prohibit.

i do wish you luck
kb0wlf

15

Thanks for that, I did downgrade to 1.7somethingsomethingB I’ll have to have a look

I do appreciate all the help I am actually coming back to the radio after not using for a year or so. It’s coming back to me why I put it away in the first place I think lol

I only use digital as I’m hard of hearing, but I did contact someone that was doing pota while I was testing the other day so it does transmit and receive ssb at least. I just had to ask the other person to speak slowly so I could make everything out. I have a whole lot of mic fright from bad experiences on the local repeaters when I started out.

I appreciate all the help everyone has given, even though it doesn’t seem to be an issue with digirig itself. Worst case I sell the radio locally to someone that isn’t interested in digital and get something else.

Thank you again

Edit: I found the g90fwupdate software and was able to update the radio head to the latest version. Unfortunately it didn’t fix the issues. I’ll give things one more shot when the isolator gets here, but if it still doesn’t work I’ll just sell the radio. Thank you again for all the help everyone.

16

You’re doing something wrong. I have your exact setup and it’s bomb proof.

S2BU.

KB2HSH

17

Gosh that’s super helpful. Thanks… :roll_eyes:

Just a further update, I got the usb isolator and there’s no change. Since his is persisting across usb cables, and computers (a dekstop, two laptops and a pi) I’m leaning towards a bad cable or bad rig. I’ll order new digirig cables off Amazon AU I guess and go from there.

18

yeah, it’s looking like a rig issue.

you’ve already tried the ‘blue’ cable with no luck.

it’s rare but something in the ci-v chain on the radio could have gotten damaged.

i’m retiring an ic-736 just now with a ci-v issue.
all mic/front panel/rear panel operation is fine.
ci-v commands take 4 or 5 ‘tries’ before executing and mostly results in error.

this was due to a near field strike and too many UTP cables running around.

i know it’s not the same rig or architecture but thought i’d share a case where just the ‘remote control’ function was ‘broken’.

with your goal of digital mode work, your thoughts on trying to trade for another rig might be the end result.

stinks, but i wish you luck.
kb0wlf

19

I think you’re right. I’m just a bit stubborn as I can’t afford a new rig right now, but I’ve really run out of other things it can be. I remember having issues before and had put away the radio for about a bit over a year according to my last logs, so it’s probably always had issues.

Thank you again for the help. 73