ASL3, wifi not setting up and update not working

AllStarLink
1

********** AllStarLink [ASL] Version Info **********

OS : Debian GNU/Linux 12 (bookworm)
OS Kernel : 6.12.25+rpt-rpi-v8

Asterisk : 22.4.1+asl3-3.5.4-1.deb12
ASL [app_rpt] : 3.5.4

I'm trying to get ASL3 Pi working for a friend's node. Can't find ASL2 which is what he had running and ASL3's inability to run external programs was keeping me from using it but looks like that's what I have to do. But have two problems. the image I used was allstar3-arm64-3.0.18.img. in setting up with the installer I set all wifi parameters, username, etc. Burned the image choosing a Pi3 which this is a PI3-B which does have wifi. After bootup, no wifi. No wpa_supplicant.conf file generated. I manually edited one and made a script to start wireless and that did work but that's not the intended method. So how do I make wifi work on this thing?

It does work fine with a wired net connection. And while on that tried an update but get errors there:
Service logs

View all logs

July 8, 2025

2:45 AM

Failed to start asl3-update-nodelist.service - Update ASL3 on-disk nodelist db.

systemd

2:45 AM

asl3-update-nodelist.service: Failed with result 'exit-code'.

systemd

2:45 AM

asl3-update-nodelist.service: Main process exited, code=exited, status=1/FAILURE

systemd

2:45 AM

failed to download from http://snodes.allstarlink.org/diffnodes.php

asl3-update-nodelist

2:45 AM

/usr/bin/asl3-update-nodelist: line 43: 18878 Segmentation fault wget --user-agent="$USERAGENT" -q -O $EXTNODESTMP "${NODE_URL}${1}"

asl3-update-nodelist

2:45 AM

Starting asl3-update-nodelist.service - Update ASL3 on-disk nodelist db...

systemd

2:44 AM

Failed to start asl3-update-nodelist.service - Update ASL3 on-disk nodelist db.

systemd

2:44 AM

asl3-update-nodelist.service: Failed with result 'exit-code'.

systemd

2:44 AM

asl3-update-nodelist.service: Main process exited, code=exited, status=1/FAILURE

systemd

2:44 AM

failed to download from http://snodes.allstarlink.org/diffnodes.php

how do I fix these issues?

Also has there been any progress on making remote base work? It got real quiet on that front

GeorgeC W2DB

2

I suspect that you were using the latest version of the Raspberry Pi Imager application ... that has a known bug. We posted Do Not Use Pi Imager 1.9.4 a few weeks back.

'tis not forgoten. We've all just been "busy".

3

That's the image I used, the allstarlink.org web site directed me to that!
GC

4

The log error about a segfault implies your image is corrupt or in some other way fundamentally broken.

5

There is no inability to run external programs. You just have be mindful of security where needed. Running a program as root via cron still works just fine. The only potential concern is running a script from Asterisk with DTMF or something. In those cases, you just have to make sure the script has appropriate testing for non-root use cases. Running everything as non-root has been the norm for at least 15 years. It's just that ASL is finally caught up to 2010....

6

Well, the older versions were no problem running external stuff. I have to set his up to run AUTOSKY somehow. But first need to get this thing to stop erroring and just work as a repeater controller for him.

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image01134×2016 314 KB

And why it does not setup wifi.
I backed down the raspberry pi installer to 1.8.5 and used the latest image allstar3-arm64-3.0.18.img

GeorgeC

7

Did you follow the guidance noted in Do Not Use Pi Imager 1.9.4 - UPDATED and clear/reset/retype all of the previously saved customizations and reapply them? Those would include the WiFi SSID, password, and country.

There's not much to the asl3-update-nodelist.service. It simply executes the /usr/bin/asl3-update-nodelist script. The two issues I've seen relate to networking (DNS errors, internet connectivity) and file permissions (the files in /var/lib/asterisk should all be owned by "asterisk"). If you are still having issues it would be good to exec :

sudo -u asterisk bash -x /usr/bin/asl3-update-nodelist
8

Yeah, I get that but I’ve tried two versions of the image, now two raspberry loaders, two different sd cards. Going to try a third sd card in a few minutes. Frustrating. I did make WiFi work on one last night, had to manually make a wpa_supplicant.conf file and manually start wpa_supplicant but then even though it did dhcp it didn’t have name resolution. I spent about 8 hours messing with this. Lesson is to make an image of a working pi for him. None of my nodes use pi, I have images of all of them. Just frustrated on top of the “security “ frustration

GeorgeC

9

The Raspberry Pi Imager app bug is a major PITA. I (and many others) have been hoping for a quick update but it looks like this one's just gonna take a bit more time.

For the curious, here are a few [rpi-imager] links to follow:

  • Issue #1067 : [BUG]: Wi-Fi config via Raspberry Pi Imager v1.9.4 fails ...
  • PR #1084 : 1.9.5 Fix roll-up
10

To be 1000% clear:

This is NOT an issue with ASL3. The wget utility is a standard tool and a segmentation fault means the application itself is crashing when executed. That almost assuredly means a corrupted installation because wget is a common tool used all over.

Use SkyWarnPlus. It's well-made, supports ASL3, and the author is very active in the forums. Autosky is a HamVOIP application I believe so I wouldn't expect it to work (well) on ASL3.

11

17th time's a charm.

This last time I did clear and then re-enter the data in Pi imager, used a smaller sd card, 8GB, after imaging put it in the Pi I have been using to test his setup. It booted up and found the Wi-Fi and went thru an update process that took over an hour and seems to be working. Yay.

But I need a clue as to where the Wi-Fi SSID/key are stored, or how to change them. It is now set for the SSID here but need to set it up for his Wi-Fi. I have a "guest" SSID/key in my DD-WRT router that mimics his but in my haste I used what the application pulled from my PC here.

Set it up for his allstar account, it is currently connected, his node number shows green in the list. Success.

Also can you point me to the autosky replacement, I need to figure out the wwv report too. The guy I'm building this up for is a blind ham. So when I drive 4 hours to get to his place on Friday it just needs to work.

Thanks for the pointers.

GeorgeC W2DB
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12

You will find some information on the ASL3 Manual : Network Configuration page. To add/change Wi-Fi networks you can use the Cockpit WiFi Manager (installed with the ASL3 Raspberry Pi Appliance) or with the nmcli or nmtui commands.

As @N8EI mentioned, have a look at SkywarnPlus.

13

OK, got the wifi change, was assuming it was wpa_supplicant.conf, still not sure where it is hidden but your method worked.

Skywarn threw an error during install so sent email to Jon W5ALC the author to ask why python isn't happy.

Just need to add the reboot from dtmf and his echolink password and we're good to go.

thanks for the help. Need to pardon me as I'm very used to Linux but ASL has in the past been so poorly documented that I never look at the manual because in the past it has been non-existent or very incorrect. And all the menu stuff really throws me a curve. My first 15 years with Linux was using Slackware command line only.

Gonna go watch the storms go by

GeorgeC W2DB
Crowley, TX