So it works fine over a USB-serial converter.
It could be that a different program is using the RPi’s UART. Check the login shell is disabled on the UART (https://www.raspberrypi.com/documentation/computers/configuration.html#disabling-the-linux-serial-console)
Just did an install or Rpanion-server onto a new RPI-4 running Raspian Bookworm. I tried to use the Automatic Install and that failed, so I went step by step with the Manual Install. It also gave me a bunch of grief. I have to admit my linux skills are weak at best so this was a big test of my google-fu. What I ended up figuring out is there was an issue with the Node.js install and I think it’s because this version of Raspian is using aarch64. Every time I tried to run npm install it wouldn’t accept the npm command. So I ended up doing a manual install of Node.Js:
sudo apt-get install -y nodejs npm
sudo npm install -g n && sudo n stable && sudo npm install -g npm
PATH="$PATH"
Then I updated everything and basically walked though the manual install again and now it works. Might not be the cleanest method or solution but I got what I wanted. I hope this helps somebody else.
Which error messages did you get? I’m running aarch64 of RasPiOS and haven’t come across any major issues.
Sorry I can’t be too much help. There was an error about the deployment. Unfortunately I didn’t screen shot it. And every command or step that involved using nmp returned an error saying the npm command was unknown.
Hi @stephendade ,
I’m currently using DroneKit-Python for mission loading on a Raspberry Pi with Rpanion Server 0.10. I’m facing an issue with constant connection losses, with the major error being “EOF on TCP socket”. This error occurs both before establishing a connection and after the vehicle connection is established. I’ve detailed my issue here. Any insights or solutions would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks in advance! 
Hello!
I have been using this software for some time now for telemetry and video streaming. Overall it works quite good, but I am expericening some trouble with the video feed just stopping streaming quite often. The same goes for telemetry. Sometimes it just stops during flight.
I am currently running over NordVPN meshnet and 4G modem. However, I recently got a mobile starlink which I plan to implement. Today when I tried it, it didn’t seem to work with NordVPN meshnet. I got internet from it, but NordVPN couldn’t communicate through the meshnet.
I guess my question is if you know why the video and telemetry just stop streaming some time? I have to go into the webui to re-enable it. I am also wondering if anyone have any experience using a starlink with a VPN such as NordVPN meshnet? I am thinking of trying openVPN, but it seem like much more work to setup.
What’s the reliability like if the vehicle is stationary? It may be some issue with the celltower handover disrupting the VPN.
It’s decent. Inget around 20 mbit. This problem was when stationary.
I am using NordVPN meshnet currently. However I am going to try and switch to wireguard/piVPN. I suppose that would work with rpanion server? There is a built in option for wireguard in rpanion server but i can’t get that one working. I just get an error message when i try to load a config file.
Most VPN types should be compatible … the WebGUI may be buggy, so might be best to go via console
Great. Thank you for the swift replies. What version of raspberry pi OS does the rpanion-server 0.10 version run?
It uses RasPiOS Bullseye as the base image.
Hello again.
I have tried using the video with the Rpanion-server. It starts, and works for a few minutes, or shorter sometimes. The reason it stops, is that rpanion-server stops the stream itself for some reason. The internet connection is always present.
What can I do to improve this? Do you have any idea what can cause this? The location isn’t changed, that is, we are only flying on a fixed point at the moment.
What RPi model, camera, resolution and framerate are you using? There have been some stability issues with the RPiCam at 1080p in the past, but that should have been fixed.
Hello.
We’re using a Raspberry Pi High quality camera along with a Raspberry Pi 4 Model B, 8GB RAM. Stream is 1080p, been trying with 5, 10, 15, 20 fps. Still the same problem. Does it stop the stream as soon as the connection gets bad? If so, is it possible to increase the timeout?
Is it possible to set the video stream to autostart with a certain framerate, bitrate and resolution?
I don’t have a HQ Camera to test, but I did try with a Camera Module V2 and V3. 1080p via RTSP worked fine (tested for 15min).
Have you tried the latest master Rpanion-server from GitHub?
I’d also suggest trying 720p, just in case.
The stream will stop only when there’s some sort of video capture/encoding error. Note with RTSP, you will need to restart the client if there’s network interruptions.
If the video streaming is left enabled, when the RPi reboots it will automatically start the stream with the same settings.
Nope I have only tried the release version. Is there a lot of improvement on the master version? Is it stable?
So, then we have some kind of capture/encoding error rather than connection error. Yes, the RTSP/Gstreamer stream stops on the client to, having to reconnect once the stream is manually started again.
Ok. The video is never started automatically, so there must be something going on here.
There’s been substantial changes to the video streaming to support the Pi5, Global Shutter Camera and RasPiOS Bookworm. There’s a chance your issue may have been fixed in there.
The master version will work. I regularly use it on my laptop and collection of RPi’s. The testing for each stable release is more comprehensive - testing various OS and hardware combinations.
That sounds promising. So I just reflash my memory cards with the new version and go from there? I have NordVPN meshnet installed on each of the RPIs to stream video over internet. I assume that will still be installable?
Hello. I am sorry, I am a bit of a noob on this. How do I get the image from the master branch? Do you have a link?
I only generator images for each stable release. For getting the master code, there’s an “update” button on the About page which should work (though it’s been a while since I last tested that!).
If that fails, log into the Pi and run cd ~/Rpanion-server && ./deploy/upgrade.sh. It will keep all the other software on the Pi as-is and just upgrade Rpanion-server.