Raspberry Shake 3D is no longer sending data

[cyarnell]

Hello Everyone,

I have a Raspberry Shake 3D (the purchased, complete unit one.). Sometime a day or so ago, it stopped sending data. I’ve looked at the thing and rebooted it, and it won’t get past the “BOOTING” stage and never connects to the server. I did look at the logs and it appears as if the Pi isn’t talking to the Shake Board. I’m not sure what else to do to diagnose this. I wonder if the Shake Board has failed? I was wondering if anyone has ideas before I ask Sales about a replacement unit. It’s less than a year old, which is what I find odd.

I will upload some logs.

Few notes … The Shake 3D is kept inside in a cool (but not cold or damp) closet. It is on conditioned power.

RSH.RFE58.2023-10-28T22_44_41.logs.tar (3.8 MB)

[Stormchaser]

Hello cyarnell, and welcome back to the community!

Thank you for the logs and the initial feedback. Indeed, it appears that, during the booting process, the Pi board is not able to see the blue Shake board above it:

2023 301 22:43:17: Unable to read Firmware version number off of Serial Port /dev/serial0 after trying for 15 seconds, cannot continue!
2023 301 22:43:17: Is the Pi computer connected to the Raspberry Shake Board?  Please confirm and try again.

Furthermore, these lines in the logs, tell us that there is something going on between the boards and the sensors:

š‚‰uõÿ{'MA': 'RS3D-8-4.14','DF': '1.0','CN': 'EH2','TS': 0,'TSM': 0,'TQ': 45,'SI':  5000,'DS:: ['vFFGC>Ac'.#vvFFbG5A>/'FFFFBe8C:¬'FGFFC017:,'FFFFC013','FFFFBEE1','FFFFBFC9','FFFFC00B','FFFFBE4B','FFFFBEA8',2fFFFC0³³'.'FFFFBF8F¾,'F””””Ô2‰±‰2ßíÁåïb2™é

As you can see, there are errors mixed with some ‘gibberish’ that cannot be successfully interpreted. My first thought would be to check and see if the power supply is delivering a stable voltage between 5.0 and 5.2V and a current of at least 2.5A at all times, as a decrease in power could lead to data services interruption. If you have another Pi power supply that you know is in working condition, please try to exchange the current one with that, and see if the Shake now properly boots.

A second check that you can do is to see if all the connections between the sensor, the blue Shake board, and the Pi board are still solid and free from dirt or any other element that could compromise transmission. This is important, in particular, if the Shake is located in an environment where dust or moisture can affect it. If needed, you can find assembly guides here in our manual: Assembly Guide — Instructions on Setting Up Your Raspberry Shake

When doing this, please make sure you are using proper ESD (ElectroStatic Discharge) protection (such as gloves, etc.), as electronics do not like static electricity too much.

If all these checks come out as positive, then I would recommend re-burning the microSD card, and see how the Shake behaves with a freshly-installed system. I will leave the burning instructions link here for your convenience: microSD card topics

Thank you for your collaboration!

[cyarnell]

Hello again,

I have tried a few different power supplies with the same result, so I went ahead and reflashed the system. It appears to still be saying the same thing. The shake board seems firmly attached to the unit. It only has one “blue” light on (steady), is that normal? I’m attaching the latest log files after reflashing the system.
RSH.RFE58.2023-10-28T22_44_41.logs.tar (3.8 MB)

[Stormchaser]

Hello cyarnell,

Thank you for going through all the steps, and for providing the new logs. Yes, the issue still appears to be there

2023 301 22:43:17: Unable to read Firmware version number off of Serial Port /dev/serial0 after trying for 15 seconds, cannot continue!
2023 301 22:43:17: Is the Pi computer connected to the Raspberry Shake Board?  Please confirm and try again.

alongside with the unusual characters already shown in my previous message.

With this newly reflashed microSD card, could I ask you to reboot the Shake and observe its LED behavior during the booting process? It should match what is described here: Technical Specifications If not, could you tell me the differences?

And, if you can, could you sent some pictures of the Shake so that I can get a look too?
Thank you!

[cyarnell]

Hello,

I rebooted and observed the LEDs. They seem to behave as intended in that document you linked. I did try another three week old Anker charger, as well, and another outlet on another circuit. Same result.

Here is a link to some photos and a video.

iCloud Shared

[Stormchaser]

Hello cyarnell,

Thank you so much for all the pictures/video you’ve taken of the Shake. If the LEDs are behaving exactly as expected, then at this point, I think you have two options:

1. If you have one available, you can try switching the Raspberry Pi board (the green one) below the Shake board (the blue one) with another Pi, to see if that is the cause of the problem you are experiencing. If needed, you can find assembly guides here in our manual: Assembly Guide — Instructions on Setting Up Your Raspberry Shake

When doing this, please make sure you are using proper ESD (ElectroStatic Discharge) protection (such as gloves, etc.), as electronics do not like static electricity too much.

2. Contact sales [at] raspberryshake [dot] org so that they can organize what’s needed for you to send the unit back to us. We will then be able to examine it in our lab, trying to find what is not working with it, and the possible source of the issue with the stuck BOOTING status you have been experiencing. Just reference this topic in your email to them, and that will be enough.

[cyarnell]

Hello,

I was busy for a few days, but I had a chance to look at this again today. I went ahead and took the top off of the enclosure and just (carefully) pushed down on the shake board, then put the top back on. Upon booting the unit up, it’s sending data again. Not sure if it has or had a loose connection. I’ll leave it running and see how it is in a few days.

[Stormchaser]

Hello cyarnell,

No problem at all, I’m always available here.

This is great news! It seems that there may have been some kind of loose connection that you pressing down the board must have adjusted, so that the Shake is now working as it should.

As the Shake is now sending data even now as I write, it seems that everything looks fine on my side too.

If the issue (or anything else) appears again, just send us a message here on the forum.