GNU radio fails to capture IQ samples and Ethernet Connection Failed error

1

I have been troubleshooting my KrakenSDR setup with GNU Radio for approximately 24 hours. Each time I attempt to run a flowgraph using the Kraken GNU blocks (installed via Radioconda), I encounter an “Ethernet connection failed” error, and the program either freezes or becomes unresponsive.

My goal is to implement a 4–5 element antenna array for beamforming and achieve 180-degree direction-of-arrival (DOA) estimation for a course project.

So far, I have:

  • Installed the KrakenSDR GNU Radio blocks using Radioconda

  • Successfully run Heimdall independently

  • Attempted to run the Kraken DOA interface

However, I am experiencing inconsistent behavior:

  • The DOA web interface (port 5000) is often unresponsive

  • On rare occasions when GNU Radio does run, the data appears to be invalid or consists only of noise

  • This suggests that the IQ data stream may not be properly initialized or transmitted

At this point, I suspect the issue may be related to:

  • Network configuration between the host PC and KrakenSDR

  • Improper initialization of the Kraken data pipeline when launched through GNU Radio

  • Potential conflicts between Heimdall, GNU Radio, and the DOA service

Any guidance on stabilizing the Ethernet connection and verifying a valid IQ data stream would be greatly appreciated.

Also would like to mention I am not attempting beamforming at this time just trying to see spikes in the RF band so I know my SDR is alive.

2

First check, are you able to ping the device running the KrakenSDR?

Second, have you modified the heimdall config file to accept ethernet connections, and made sure that you are only running heimdall, and not the full DoA pipeline?

3

I was able to ping the raspberry pi.

How can I enable Ethernet? I have been running hiemdall only pipeline.

Also I’m doing direct Ethernet connection from my pc > pi > sdr do I need to do a LAN connection instead with a router?

4

In Heimdall daq_chain_config.ini, did you set the following?

[data_interface]
out_data_iface_type = eth

PC→Pi ethernet should work well, assuming it’s creating a gigabit connection. A direct cable should be a lot more stable compared to over a router where other traffic could slow things down.