im lost somewhere between hostapd, dnsmasq, hdcp, and wpa_su

[yasha312]

system:
-raspberry pi 4
-debian 10
-dhcp
-wpa_supplicant
# custom start
-hostapd
-dnsmasq # required by hostapd right?

### my goals ###
# (1) wifi that i can ssh, vnc, whatever, up at all times regardless of
# internet connection
# (2) independent wifi that can be configured by afore mentioned
# wifi on other interface
# (3) i really expected this list to be longer with how long i have spent on this


### my issues ###
i can get the ap to work when there is internet no problem
but if i get my ap up when there is no internet, then it only stays up for a few seconds.
i can connect to it but after a few seconds it drops out.

i can get the ap up when there is no internet! but then i cant get the internet
on the pi or on the device i am using to connect to the pi

at this point i am thinking that dnsmasq and dhcp(cd?) can NOT run together.
i have tried adding 'deny interface' to dhcpcd.conf, adding 'bind interfaces' to dnsmasq.conf
i have tried giving my "interface" a static address in dhcpcd.conf
right now im trying to figure out how chroot works so maybe i can disallow my main system from
main system and allow it in a "jail" where i have installed dnsmasq.
this has been a wonderful learning experience, but im getting very tired of following tutorials
to only find out that its an outdated way of doing it.

[arochester]

Have you also asked on the Raspberry Pi Forums? https://www.raspberrypi.org/forums/

[yasha312]

Have you also asked on the Raspberry Pi Forums? https://www.raspberrypi.org/forums/

No i have not. I figured it was more of a software thing than a hardware thing. Im assuming i would have the same problem on my desktop.

Although i am quite new at unflavored debian.

I have a debian usb ill see if i have the same issue on x64 when i get home

[yasha312]

I really think im running into a problem with dnsmasq and dhcpcd conflicting. Or maybe one of them is going down because there is no ip address?
Humm... maybe thats it! Does anyone know how i can have an ip address regardless of network connectivity?