[PLUG] Backup RPi SD card

Thomas Groman tgrom.automail at nuegia.net
Mon Apr 10 18:12:14 UTC 2017 

Wow EMP was so bad there that >300ft indoors caused voltages high enough
to fry NICs? I can't imagine that bad. Did people build Faraday cage
servers rooms in Costa Rica?

I have a similar problem with people in rural flatland having their
canopy SMs fried during storms every month or so.

What are the best options for EMP (caused by lightning) proofing your
home networks? Put ferrite cores on all the cables and grounded Ethernet
lighting suppressors on external runs? Also is it a bad idea to put your
computers on the common ground rather than a dedicated ground?


On 04/10/2017 08:36 AM, Chuck Hast wrote:
> Are you talking about ESD or physically protecting the device? The remote
> sensors are wireless so a lightning strike would take them out but probably
> not do much to the rest of it unless it comes through the 110v line, or the
> EMP
> was too high, in that case there just is not much you can do about the EMP,
> it is cheaper to replace the RPi and console that block for the EMP. I used
> to
> live in lightning prone areas, Costa Rica and Tampa, FL. I have seen my fair
> share of lightning damage, one thing I learned was to run all long network
> runs as fiber rather than Cat5/6. No issues with EMP with the fiber.
>
> The console and RPi are inside the home so they are protected.
>
>
> On Sun, Apr 9, 2017 at 10:58 PM, wes <plug at the-wes.com> wrote:
>
>> What do you plan to use for weather protection?
>>
>> -wes
>>
>> On Sun, Apr 9, 2017 at 9:54 PM, Chuck Hast <wchast at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Tomás
>>> Sorry I should have got  back on and told you I found it, but the charge
>>> rate
>>> is only 1.5 amp, the other unit is 2.0 amp. The RPi doing the WeeWx stuff
>>> pulls data every 60 seconds, writes to the DB and then sends it out to
>> WU,
>>> CWOP and Findu.com. When it does that it pulls a wee bit more current
>>> that usual. So I am going to give the other unit a try as I have the PSU
>>> for
>>> it. I will also power the Acurite console off of it.  If this works I
>> have
>>> a whole
>>> boat load of places I am going to do that trick. Indeed if we do not move
>>> out
>>> of this place, I am going to put an RPi up on the  ridge above the house
>>> with
>>> a AT&T LTE modem on it, AT&T has an offer of 250GB/mo @ $60/mo or 500
>>> GB/mo @ $100/mo. They just came out with the offer last month, it is
>>> directed
>>> at some states back east, but people are calling and getting the offering
>>> every-
>>> where they have put in LTE. At this time I have 50GB @ $110/mo with
>> Hughes
>>> net, and they suck royally. So I can put an RPi up on the ridge and run
>>> about
>>> 500ft of fibre down to the house let the RPi handle the cell modem and
>> get
>>> rid of Hughesnet. Whattavampire they are. That one I will power with the
>>> "kludge" as it will be a much better option there. May even try some
>> solar
>>> to see how much the batteries will keep up that way. Use an RPi to
>> monitor
>>> that too.
>>>
>>> If I get the job I am angling for I will not need to worry about it, but
>> I
>>> can
>>> always find something for an RPi to do.
>>>
>>> On Sun, Apr 9, 2017 at 8:21 PM, Tom <tomas.kuchta.lists at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>>> Follow the second link, scroll down to product description about half
>>>> way through the page, and check the Duo-Charge Section:
>>>>                      Product description
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>              Offer Type:19200mAH
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>                                 TeckNet PowerTitan T2 19200mAH External
>>>> Battery:
>>>> Save time when charging!
>>>>
>>>> .
>>>> .
>>>> .
>>>> Duo-Charge:
>>>> The Duo-Charge function enables charging of the PowerTitan while it
>>>> recharges a connected device such as an iPhone or iPad.
>>>>  .......
>>>> Besides the battery capacity, there does not seem to be functional
>>>> difference between the chargers. Either of them should keep mostly idle
>>>> RPi running for at close to a day. I have 6500mAh USB charger running
>>>> RPi + PWM hat + WiFi dongle + a few sensors on a robot cart for about 8
>>>> -9-hours straight. The Pi lasts much longer than the other battery pack
>>>> feeding the motors.
>>>> I should have mentioned it in my original post, I thought that it is
>>>> obvious:
>>>> If your RPi consumes close to or more than the charging current max 2A
>>>> (depending on your actual power supply) - about 10% to power the
>>>> charger = ~1800mA --> your battery pack will not recharge after the
>>>> outage. In such case you would have to come up with different UPS
>>>> solution.
>>>> Best luck, Tomas
>>>> On Sun, 2017-04-09 at 19:23 -0700, Chuck Hast wrote:
>>>>> Tomas,
>>>>> The second selection looks more like what I am looking for but the
>>>>> first one
>>>>> will certainly work. But I do not see mention of pass through
>>>>> charging or
>>>>> charge while charging.
>>>>>
>>>>> Went ahead and bought the first selection.
>>>>>
>>>>> On Sun, Apr 9, 2017 at 6:46 AM, Nat Taylor <bioborg at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>>>>> I use something like that second battery to power my pi, it's just
>>>>>> a cell
>>>>>> phone charger, I'm not sure what running it while plugged in does
>>>>>> to it's
>>>>>> life.   One could put it on a timer so the power cuts, it drains
>>>>>> the
>>>>>> battery for a while, then charges back up if that was advantageous
>>>>>> for
>>>>>> battery life...
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On Sun, Apr 9, 2017 at 2:39 AM Tom <tomas.kuchta.lists at gmail.com>
>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> There are probably other USB power banks which can be charged and
>>>>>>> discharged together. Here are two examples:
>>>>>>> https://www.amazon.com/TeckNet-Universal-16750mAh-
>> Output-PowerZen
>>>>>>> /dp/B0
>>>>>>> 0FAU7ZB2/ref=pd_cp_107_1?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=
>> B00FAU7ZB2&pd_rd_
>>>>>>> r=0JMM
>>>>>>> HXMXK7RYWY9K361K&pd_rd_w=712hM&pd_rd_wg=6mOCV&psc=1&
>> refRID=0JMMHX
>>>>>>> MXK7RY
>>>>>>> WY9K361K
>>>>>>> <https://www.amazon.com/TeckNet-Universal-16750mAh-
>>>>>> Output-PowerZen/dp/B00FAU7ZB2/ref=pd_cp_107_1?_encoding=
>>>>>> UTF8&pd_rd_i=B00FAU7ZB2&pd_rd_r=0JMMHXMXK7RYWY9K361K&pd_rd_
>>>>>> w=712hM&pd_rd_wg=6mOCV&psc=1&refRID=0JMMHXMXK7RYWY9K361K>
>>>>>>> https://www.amazon.com/PowerTitan-19200mAh3-Port-
>> Portable-Externa
>>>>>>> l-Tech
>>>>>>> nology/dp/B01B534D4Y/ref=sr_1_1?s=wireless&srs=5713662011
>> &ie=UTF8
>>>>>>> &qid=1
>>>>>>> 491729627&sr=1-1
>>>>>>> <https://www.amazon.com/PowerTitan-19200mAh3-Port-
>>>>>> Portable-External-Technology/dp/B01B534D4Y/ref=sr_1_1?s=
>>>>>> wireless&srs=5713662011&ie=UTF8&qid=1491729627&sr=1-1>
>>>>>>> Based on recommendation from this guy:
>>>>>>> http://raspi-ups.appspot.com/en/index.jsp He used older model
>>>>>>> which is
>>>>>>> no longer available.
>>>>>>> I wonder how smart is the circuit in avoiding the
>>>>>>> charge/discharge
>>>>>>> battery cycles when the power is on - it relates to the battery
>>>>>>> life.
>>>>>>> Tomas
>>>>>>> On Sat, 2017-04-08 at 18:57 -0700, Chuck Hast wrote:
>>>>>>>> On Sat, Apr 8, 2017 at 3:42 PM, Tom <
>>>>>>>> tomas.kuchta.lists at gmail.com>
>>>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> dd nor rsync alone will not be able to do full backup of
>>>>>>>>> running
>>>>>>>>> computer (RPi).
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> That was what I figured, just wanted to make sure.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> The best course of action is to separate the OS from your
>>>>>>>>> data -
>>>>>>>>> whatever your RPi is normally writing - then backup each
>>>>>>>>> separately.
>>>>>>>>>   * When you separate the data, you could even store it off
>>>>>>>>> the RPi
>>>>>>>>> avoiding need for local data backups on RPi altogether.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> The drive has two partitions on it /boot and /.  /boot is a
>>>>>>>> vfat, the
>>>>>>>> rest
>>>>>>>> of
>>>>>>>> it is ext4. I supposed that I could stop the service (weather
>>>>>>>> data
>>>>>>>> capture)
>>>>>>>> back up the files that are critical to the weather
>>>>>>>> station.After the
>>>>>>>> back up
>>>>>>>> is done start the service again. Maybe store them on a jump
>>>>>>>> drive and
>>>>>>>> after the station service is back up and running ship them off
>>>>>>>> to the
>>>>>>>> location
>>>>>>>> I will keep the back ups in. I figure that I could do the back
>>>>>>>> up in
>>>>>>>> the wee
>>>>>>>> hours of the morning.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>   * If you want to keep the data on RPi, you could back it up
>>>>>>>>> by
>>>>>>>>> rsync
>>>>>>>>> to separate media (USB) or a network storage
>>>>>>>>>   * You cannot back up the OS while you are using it - that
>>>>>>>>> is why
>>>>>>>>> this
>>>>>>>>> is normally done on a separate computer. It is easier and
>>>>>>>>> faster
>>>>>>>>> than
>>>>>>>>> booting your RPi from USB or network and then doing the
>>>>>>>>> backup.
>>>>>>>>>   * Perhaps the OS does not need to be backed up often or not
>>>>>>>>> at
>>>>>>>>> all as
>>>>>>>>> you could simply create separate OS image, even on another SD
>>>>>>>>> card
>>>>>>>>> attached to your Pi.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> All I really need for recovery is the WeeWx db file, WeeWx
>>>>>>>> config
>>>>>>>> file,
>>>>>>>> skins
>>>>>>>> file and the nginx configuration. I could actually keep a
>>>>>>>> separate
>>>>>>>> image and
>>>>>>>> just insert the latest files and quickly swap out the bad SD
>>>>>>>> card.
>>>>>>>> That
>>>>>>>> should
>>>>>>>> take care of it.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> I should be able to automate the OS configuration, so that I
>>>>>>>> just run
>>>>>>>> a
>>>>>>>> script
>>>>>>>> it looks for the SD card, installs the OS makes sure that the
>>>>>>>> parameters
>>>>>>>> that
>>>>>>>> I set manually on installation are set correctly, probably can
>>>>>>>> automate the
>>>>>>>> whole process.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>   * Your backup target/media could be another SD card connected
>>>>>>>> to
>>>>>>>> RPi
>>>>>>>>> in a SD card reader, that way you could just swap the cards
>>>>>>>>> ....
>>>>>>>>> Thinking outside of a box - perhaps you need little UPS for
>>>>>>>>> your Pi
>>>>>>>>> to
>>>>>>>>> avoid regular data corruption altogether. There are some USB
>>>>>>>>> charging
>>>>>>>>> batteries which can be charged and used both at the same time
>>>>>>>>> (most
>>>>>>>>> can
>>>>>>>>> be either charged or used, not both).  Modest battery could
>>>>>>>>> keep
>>>>>>>>> your
>>>>>>>>> Pi running for hours.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> I have been looking for a battery pack that will allow me to
>>>>>>>> let it
>>>>>>>> float
>>>>>>>> on the
>>>>>>>> powersupply until power goes away, then it takes over. So far
>>>>>>>> all of
>>>>>>>> them
>>>>>>>> that
>>>>>>>> I have looked at will not switch between
>>>>>>>> charge/float/discharge. I
>>>>>>>> have seen
>>>>>>>> a couple that plug into the pin field on the RPi, but I am
>>>>>>>> trying to
>>>>>>>> keep
>>>>>>>> the
>>>>>>>> case clean. I have built up a power supply with a battery on
>>>>>>>> it, and
>>>>>>>> a heavy
>>>>>>>> duty USB dual port power cartridge that supplies the power I
>>>>>>>> need for
>>>>>>>> the
>>>>>>>> RPi and the WX station console. It is kind of big, I am
>>>>>>>> certainly
>>>>>>>> looking
>>>>>>>> for
>>>>>>>> one of the power pack batteries that does not care if it is
>>>>>>>> being
>>>>>>>> charged or
>>>>>>>> not.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> I hope that this is pointing you in the right direction to
>>>>>>>>> your
>>>>>>>>> particular circumstances.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Yes it confirmed most of what I was already suspecting. Now if
>>>>>>>> I can
>>>>>>>> just
>>>>>>>> find a nice clean battery pack that meets the above
>>>>>>>> requirement.
>>>>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>>>
>>>>>
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>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>>
>>> Chuck Hast  -- KP4DJT --
>>> Glass, five thousand years of history and getting better.
>>> The only container material that the USDA gives blanket approval on.
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