Troubleshooting
AMC does not connect to Skynode
For the most stable connection, we recommend using a native Ubuntu 20.04 LTS operating system and the provided USB-C cable.
Check that you can access the webUI on http://10.41.1.1.
Ensure Skynode is powered on by checking the LED state.
Disable your firewall or add an exception to allow MAVLink traffic to come through.
If Skynode's WiFi is in Access Point Mode (factory default), try connecting over Wi-Fi as an alternative. Make sure the Wifi antenna is properly attached. This can be very handy for tablets running Android.
Skynode is offline
The "Online" status in the suite is refreshed every 5 minutes.
Did you insert a valid SIM card with a data plan?
Did you configure the cellular network (APN, PIN etc) via AMC correctly?
Did you attach the LTE antennas correctly?
Did you register Skynode?
Does the WebUI on http://10.41.1.1 say that Skynode is online?
Skynode does not upload flight logs
Did you register your Skynode?
Does the WebUI on http://10.41.1.1 say that Skynode is online?
Pairing does not work
What operating system are you using? Which interface for connection? (Ethernet or USB)? Some OS struggle with Microhard USB interface, therefore we recommend using Ubuntu 20.04 or Android and connecting via ethernet.
While paired radios typically keep their state across software updates, the pairing process itself is sensitive to the versions of APX4 and AMC. Please ensure you are using the latest version of AMC available from the Auterion Suite as well as the latest version of APX4 running on Skynode.
Disable your firewall on the ground station, as this can prevent MAVLink traffic from getting through to AMC.
Does AMC detect the GROUND unit? This can be checked in AMC under Settings -> Microhard. There should be a green label "Ground unit: connected".
Are you sure you have connected the GROUND unit and not the AIR?
Is the GROUND unit radio powered? It does not receive power over USB or Ethernet, but needs to be powered separately.
Can you ping the radio module on 192.168.168.1? If not, try resetting the radio to GROUND. You may have to attempt this reset process several times until it's successful, the reset button is very fiddly and can slip off easily during press-and-hold. In such a case the reset doesn't work as expected. It only worked if you can ping the radio on 192.168.168.1
Does Skynode detect the AIR unit? This can be easily detected with the orange LED. If it is blinking. Skynode cannot even reach it's own radio module. Check the cabling, IP settings and configuration password of the AIR unit.
Reset the modules into a pre-paired state by loading the configs via the webUI.
As a test, power up both AIR and GROUND unit without connecting them to anything. For this test, do not connect the GROUND unit to your computer/ground station and don't connect the AIR unit to Skynode. Just power the radios on and wait until they are booted. Do the 3 "RSSI" LEDs blink in a "walking pattern" (indicates "searching for other side"), or are they steady-on (indicates "connection established")?
If they are steady-on, power down everything, wire up as described and wait for a connection. If you loaded the pre-paired configs on both AIR and GROUND, you don't have to pair, simply wait for the connection.
If they are showing the "walking pattern": --> Reset the AIR and GROUND units and try again. Again, the fiddly reset button can make this difficult to achieve, and it may take several attempts
There is known driver issue when using Windows. This document describes a procedure to install the correct RNDIS driver to resolve it:
The Microhard radios support fast ethernet, but no gigabit ethernet. In rare cases, your system might be set up to work exclusively with gigabit devices and fail to fall back to fast ethernet.
WebUI and diagnostic report
The advanced mode in the WebUI is really useful when you need to troubleshoot a problem with your Skynode. You can enable it by going to http://10.41.1.1 WebUI.
The Advanced mode will give you a better understanding of what might be wrong with your Skynode. You will get an insight on each system service and software component status. You will also get access to more information related to the network, peripherals, performance, partitions, etc.
How to generate a diagnostic report?
You can generate a diagnostic report by opening up the Show additional information tab and clicking on the Generate diagnostic report. It will generate a tar file that you can share with Auterion Support to get help.
Updating the Skynode or installing custom apps is failing
Skynode requires some free disk space in order to peform the update. A full disk is the most often reason why updates are unsuccessful.
The web UI shows a similar message: "Device update failed, rollback to the previous system"
The process for updating the Skynode and installing custom applications is based on Mender. To check the installation log, take a look at the file /persistent/mender.log. If you see an error similar to
it indicates, that there is not enough disk space available to unpack and install the update. See the section below on how to free disk space.
No free disk space available on Skynode
The persistent partition /data can be used for custom applications and data. Through the course of time the partition can fill up and require the user to free up unused disk space.
Special care needs to be taken when removing docker images. Under no circumstances should you manually delete files inside /data/docker, since this directory contains Docker's internal database as well as cached layers. Two methods for removing unused docker containers are explained below:
Removing all stopped docker applications
The easiest way of freeing disk space is to remove stopped docker containers. Docker provides a handy command to clean the entire Docker system:
Beware that this will require you to reinstall some docker containers should you still require them afterwards.
Removing individual docker applications
It is possible remove specific docker applications with the following method
AMC shows telemetry for only one battery from Skynode
When connecting a second battery and power module to the skynode, the readout for the second power module needs to be enabled in AEPX4 by enabling the parameter BAT1_SOURCE. Additionally AEPX4 can be configured such that having both power modules connected is mandatory in order to be able to arm the drone. In order to do so, enforce the number of required power modules by increasing the parameter to COM_POWER_COUNT=2.
Reboot Skynode and telemetry for both batteries should now be displayed in AMC.
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