Troubleshooting FAQ

This is a list of commonly occuring problems and questions, in no specific order.

My OpenWebRX installation is missing some / all of the digital demodulation buttons

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OpenWebRX doesn't show the type of my SDR device on the "New device page", even though it is supposed to be supported

There's probably some dependency missing. Please navigate to the feature report in the settings area and check if all the requirements for the SDR device type / demodulator in question are fulfilled.

My OpenWebRX installation is still missing DMR / YSF / D-Star and NXDN

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My feature report says that codecserver_ambe is mssing. I have codecserver installed. What's wrong?

The digital modes DMR, YSF, D-Star and NXDN use the proprietary voice codec "AMBE" by DVSI. This codec is patented, and the only licensed distribution channel is through chip sales. The chips are available in retail, the most common form they are sold in is USB sticks (also sometimes referred to as AMBE sticks). In order to decode these modes you need to acquire one of these devices and configure it accordingly in codecserver.

It is probably worth noting that there is other methods to decode this codec out there, but since they are unlicensed (and thus likely constitute a patent infringement) are not supported by OpenWebRX.

My OpenWebRX works fine at first, but stops working when I disconnect and connect again.

This is something that has occured to me when using SDRplay devices, and they seem to be especially prone to this error when connected to a Raspberry Pi. The most probable cause for this is insufficient power supplied to the SDR, so the immediate recommendation is to use a different powersupply and / or a powered USB hub to fix this.

If the error remains, you can add and enable the option "Keep device running at all times" to your SDR device configuration to keep it running continuously. This, however, is just a workaround to avoid the error.

I would like to run additional software / websdrs on my receiver. how can i do that?

There's no universal solution to this, mostly due to the fact that OpenWebRX, like most SDR software, takes full control of the SDR devices in the configuration, and (at least to my knowledge) there's no proper protocol that allows device sharing / interoperability between SDR software.

OpenWebRX allows you to "tap" into the IQ stream in a format that is compatible with rtl_tcp if the device is internally using a so-called "connector". If available, you can enable it by setting the "Port for rtl_tcp compatible data" to a port number that is available on the system. You should probably use this in combination with the "Keep device running at all times" option or a scheduler.

There is some downsides to this:

• The connected software will not be able to control the SDR device, it will only receive IQ data.
• When you switch profiles, the connected software will not be notified of the change (the rtl_tcp protocol does not support this).
• If your SDR is able to provide more than 8 bits per sample, the IQ data will be converted down to 8 bits (again, a limitation of the rtl_tcp protocol).

My E4000 rtlsdr doesn't work

This is a common issue since the the E4000 only supports a limited set of values for the "Device gain" configuration. To make it work, simply set the gain to one of the values from the list of supported values for an E4000:

Supported gain values (14): -1.0 1.5 4.0 6.5 9.0 11.5 14.0 16.5 19.0 21.5 24.0 29.0 34.0 42.0

Where are the backup directorys - How to backup and restore?

The settings files reside in "/var/lib/openwebrx" unless otherwise configured. If you copy them to a different system, please make sure to restore the permissions along with the files themselves. You may also need to back up files in "/etc/openwebrx" if you made any changes there.

My error is not listed / I tried the suggestions and they didn't work

Feel free to open an issue with a description of the problem you are having right here.