Can't connect via SSH

Zyzzxander

Okay, I'm finally getting around to building this system, and I've run into snag #2. Heres what I've done so far:

Downloaded and flashed an SD card with the custom Raspbian disk image (with Notochord pre-installed).
Plugged in all wires between the hub and the RPi according to the video tutorial for beta testers
Shut down RPi and plugged it into the network via an ethernet cable
Started following the "Calibrating the K-Ceptor" video tutorial and discovered that I can't SSH into the RPi
Plugged HDMI cable from RPi into my monitor and watch the RPi boot up.
Noted that I get a message "[FAILED] Failed to start dhcpcd on all interfaces."
Logged in as "Pi" per the video instructions.
Got as far as "I need to enter the IP of the device I'm working with" and realized that I don't know what that IP number is. Is it the Raspberry Pi device, or does the hub have it's own IP, or even the K-Ceptor? Also, whichever device is meant, other than the RPi, I'm not sure how to find the IP number.
Assuming it's the RPi, at this point, my lack of network connectivity seems to be an issue (since I don't have an IP address), so I went into Raspi-config to attempt to turn on WiFi. However, when I try to specify a WiFi country, I simply get an error saying "Could not communicate with wpa_supplicant"
This is the point at which I really messed up and I unplugged a K-Ceptor without turning everything off (do NOT do that). Quick visit to the forum informs me that I have smoked the buck converter on the hub. So, I re-wired to power from the 3.3v rail off the RPi. Aaaaaand, we're back! (My bad)
I'm now pretty stuck, though. I can't seem to SSH in to the Rpi, I can't seem to use it via a keyboard and monitor either due to a lack of network connectivity.
My next step will probably be to flash a vanilla Raspbian image onto the card and put the RPi through its paces. I have a few questions, though:
Do I need to full reboot the RPi every time I plug in or unplug a K-Ceptor, or is there a way to just shut down the hub so they can be plugged/unplugged safely?
Also, I'm not great with Linux (as you can probably tell). Am I making an incorrect assumption that SSH should work out-of-the-box if I'm using the custom Raspbian image provided through the chordata.cc download site? (I made sure it was enabled via Raspi-config)
Thanks for your patience, and I'm sorry about the buck converter. I was in problem-solving mode, and I didn't think!

daylanKifky

Hi!
The IP you need to enter on notochord startup is the one of your PC, where the Blender client will be running. It is le local IP address, the one that identifies it within your local network.
in order to find it:

Windows
open a command prompt window by [Win menu] > type the word: cmd
issue the command ipconfig
the IP address will normally appear under the name: IPv4 Address

Linux & Mac
open a terminal window and issue the command ifconfig
it will list the different network adapters available, if you are conneting with WIFI look for the one starting with w, like wlan0.

Zyzzxander "Could not communicate with wpa_supplicant"

Have you set your country as described here?

Zyzzxander

daylanKifky

daylanKifky The IP you need to enter on notochord startup is the one of your PC, where the Blender client will be running.

Ah. Thank you! Does that mean I need to have the Blender add-on up and running at the point of K-Ceptor calibration? I didn't realize the whole thing needed to be communicating with Blender at that point, I thought calibration was just between the RPi and the Hub/K-Ceptors.

daylanKifky Have you set your country as described here?

That's actually what I'm trying to do when I get that error message. Super weird.

Teleman

Zyzzxander You do not need to use Blender for the K_Ceptor calibration (i.e. rotating the box). But I have found it helpful when recalibrating all the sensors -- I can immediately check for any drift, and calibrate again until I get the best result. If I get some drift or incorrect captures with certain movements, I will make those same movements during the calibration phase, and that seems to help, too. Stopping 2-3 seconds after each turn of the box also seems to help.

Zyzzxander

Well, I figured out one problem: The SD Card I was using the the Raspberry Pi was failing. I've now replaced it, and I'll start over. 🙂

daylanKifky

Great to know!

Which was the problem? was the SD card loosing the saved data on reboot? (it happened to me with several low quality SD cards)

Zyzzxander

Something like that. I figured it out when I tried to re-flash it with a generic Raspbian image and it still had notochord installed. After several attempts to format it (with no errors), it simply wouldn't erase. It also wouldn't let me write anything to it. I've since been able to connect the WiFi using a new SD card with no problems. I still haven't gotten SSH working, but that might be just because I don't know what I'm doing with SSH.

Zyzzxander

Okay, so the SD Card issue proved to be almost the whole hang-up for me. I've now successfully SSH'd into the RPi (I couldn't use "pi@notochord," for some reason, I had to use "pi@<IP ADDRESS>" and that worked great.
I've also successfully calibrated all 15 of my sensors, and I've done a successful test with the Blender Add-on (moving the K-Ceptor model around with the K-Ceptor). There was a bit of drift when I set the K-Ceptor down, but I'll try re-calibrating and see if that takes care of the issue. So far, so good!
I think I can see the logic well enough to attempt the biped next (I don't think the video tutorial has come out there yet, has it?). I'll keep posting. Thank you!