Something's cooking in the MySensors labs...


  • Admin

    20200501_181009.jpg

    Sensbender, Janus, and HALO - they all support multiple RF modules, but the MySensors framework doesn't...until now πŸ™‚

    Example of a dualRF Sensebender serial gateway configuration - as simple as that:

    #define MY_GATEWAY_SERIAL
    
    #define MY_RADIO_RF24
    #define MY_RADIO_RFM69
    #define MY_RFM69_NEW_DRIVER // required for multitransport
    
    // optional (but recommended)
    #define MY_RF24_USE_INTERRUPTS
    

    Some of the new features:

    • multiple transports with RX queue
    • GW does radio-specific routing, however, the network is still limited to 254 nodes
    • RFM95 radio driver can run in RFM69 compatibility mode

    This is still WIP (and will be for a while) but you can already get your hands dirty and test the PR.

    Kudos to @scalz (Janus and HALO) and @tbowmo (Sensebender) for their cool boards!

    Have fun!

    https://github.com/mysensors/MySensors/pull/1414



  • Great work!
    Does it include RS485 transport, or only RF for now? Or I've missed that it already works with RF and RS485 simultaneously?


  • Admin

    @monte yes, all transport types are supported


  • Mod

    Nice work @tekka
    I'm especially impressed that you have managed to add this support while keeping sketch size for nodes that don't use this feature as small (or even smaller) than before.

    This is the result from compiling the gatewaySerial sketch for Arduino Pro Mini on my system:

    development tekka branch relative size
    Standard sketch 13276 13262 99,89%
    Without debug 10504 10488 99,85%
    Without nrf24 8100 8100 100,00%

    A serial gateway with nrf24, rfm69, rfm95 and rs485 compiles with the following result (note that it might be hard to fit all transports to the available pins though):

    Sketch uses 19946 bytes (64%) of program storage space. Maximum is 30720 bytes.
    Global variables use 1527 bytes (74%) of dynamic memory, leaving 521 bytes for local variables. Maximum is 2048 bytes.
    


  • Well this is just brilliant! And the timing couldn't be any better, as I was just about to conquer our garden with an army of RFM69 nodes. πŸ˜„

    For the last three days I was sending an incrementing number every five minutes with each an NRF24 and RFM69 node to a 3.3V Pro Mini MQTT gateway (W5500) without issues. Today I decided to flick the switch and route my existing NRF24 network through it, effectively replacing my trusty ESP MQTT gateway (which I will keep as a backup, just in case) and it's looking good.

    RAM:   [=======   ]  74.7% (used 1530 bytes from 2048 bytes)
    Flash: [========  ]  84.5% (used 25972 bytes from 30720 bytes)
    

    Here's my basic sketch in case anyone might find it useful:

    #include <Arduino.h>
    
    #define MY_BAUD_RATE 9600
    #define MY_DEBUG
    
    #define SKETCH_NAME "Multi-TP Gateway"
    #define SKETCH_VERSION "1.1"
    
    // Ethernet & MQTT config
    #define MY_GATEWAY_MQTT_CLIENT
    #define MY_MQTT_CLIENT_ID "mys-gw"
    #define MY_MQTT_PUBLISH_TOPIC_PREFIX "mys-out"
    #define MY_MQTT_SUBSCRIBE_TOPIC_PREFIX "mys-in"
    
    #define MY_MQTT_USER "username"
    #define MY_MQTT_PASSWORD "password"
    
    #define MY_IP_ADDRESS 192, 168, 178, 215 
    
    #define MY_CONTROLLER_IP_ADDRESS 192, 168, 178, 220
    #define MY_PORT 1883
    
    // SoftSPI for radios
    #define MY_SOFTSPI
    #define MY_SOFT_SPI_SCK_PIN 14 // A0
    #define MY_SOFT_SPI_MOSI_PIN 15 // A1
    #define MY_SOFT_SPI_MISO_PIN 16 // A2
    
    // NRF config
    #define MY_RADIO_RF24
    #define MY_RF24_CHANNEL 83
    #define MY_RF24_PA_LEVEL RF24_PA_HIGH
    #define MY_RF24_USE_INTERRUPTS
    #define MY_RF24_IRQ_PIN 3
    #define MY_RF24_CE_PIN 7
    #define MY_RF24_CS_PIN 8
    
    // RFM config
    #define MY_RADIO_RFM69
    #define MY_RFM69_NEW_DRIVER
    #define MY_RFM69_NETWORKID 69
    #define MY_RFM69_FREQUENCY RFM69_868MHZ
    #define MY_IS_RFM69HW
    #define MY_RFM69_IRQ_PIN 2
    #define MY_RFM69_CS_PIN 9
    
    // https://github.com/Wiznet/WIZ_Ethernet_Library
    #include <Ethernet.h> 
    
    #include <MySensors.h>
    
    void presentation()
    {
    	sendSketchInfo(SKETCH_NAME, SKETCH_VERSION);
    }
    
    void setup()
    {
    }
    
    void loop()
    {
    }
    

  • Admin

    @BearWithBeard Excellent! Thanks for the feedback. (If your setup/time allows, would be interesting to get your feedback on the ESP MQTT GW with dualRF...)



  • Sure, will do! I'll get back to you, once I've tested it. Might take a week though.



  • Alright, I got the ESP MQTT GW working for the better part of the last two days, handling an average total of 48 messages (36 sending, 12 requesting) per minute from two nodes and all seems good so far. As you can see in the image below, I'm using the RX (GPIO 3) / TX (GPIO 1) pins for CE and CS and I have MY_DISABLED_SERIAL defined, which means that I can't see the serial output of the GW. But looking at the corresponding MQTT topics and the serial output of the nodes, I confirmed that every in- and outgoing message was handled correctly.

    I've tried a bunch of other pin assignments, of which I've included two in the image. With the one shown in the middle, I saw tons of NACKs on the serial output of the NRF24 node. I think this is because D3 (GPIO 0) and D4 (GPIO 2) are used to determine the boot mode of the ESP and are pulled high to VCC. Using them for the IRQ pins isn't going to work either - at least not without external circuitry - because the RFM69 will pull the line down and the NRF24 will pull it up, preventing the ESP from booting / flashing.

    If D3 and D4 can't be used, there are only seven easily accessible GPIOs left (not counting RX/TX here) for a total of eight IO pins on both radios (2x IRQ, 3 for SPI, CE, CS and NSS). I decided to leave the IRQ pin of the NRF24 radio unconnected and ended up with a pin assignment as shown on the right. In this setup, all messages received an acknowledgement, even though not all sent messages appeared in the GW serial output, nor in the corresponding MQTT topic.

    So yes the dualRF GW is working on a NodeMCU (ESP-12E), if you can do without serial output, don't care about traffic indicator LEDs, inclusion mode and such. Since many of the pins have two, three or more functions depending on the ESPs state, I don't think I would recommend it as a dualRF gateway, unless someone who has more patience steps in to figure out if and how all GPIOs can be made accessible. Better use a different MCU for this.

    Let me know if you need a specific log or want me to test something with it. I'd be happy to help. Otherwise I'd like to free my breadboards up for other projects.

    mys_nodemcu_dualrf_assignment.jpg

    GW sketch:

    #include <Arduino.h>
    
    // #define MY_DEBUG
    #define MY_DISABLED_SERIAL
    #define MY_BAUD_RATE 115200
    
    #define SKETCH_NAME "ESP dualRF Gateway"
    #define SKETCH_VERSION "1.0"
    
    // WiFI config
    #define MY_GATEWAY_ESP8266
    #define MY_HOSTNAME "MySensors-ESP-GW"
    #define MY_WIFI_SSID "ssid"
    #define MY_WIFI_PASSWORD "pwd"
    
    // MQTT config
    #define MY_GATEWAY_MQTT_CLIENT
    #define MY_MQTT_CLIENT_ID "my-gw"
    #define MY_MQTT_PUBLISH_TOPIC_PREFIX "mytest-out"
    #define MY_MQTT_SUBSCRIBE_TOPIC_PREFIX "mytest-in"
    
    #define MY_MQTT_USER "user"
    #define MY_MQTT_PASSWORD "pwd"
    
    #define MY_CONTROLLER_IP_ADDRESS 192, 168, 178, 220
    #define MY_PORT 1883
    
    // NRF config
    #define MY_RADIO_RF24
    #define MY_RF24_CHANNEL 83
    #define MY_RF24_PA_LEVEL RF24_PA_HIGH
    #define MY_RF24_USE_INTERRUPTS
    #define MY_RF24_IRQ_PIN D1
    #define MY_RF24_CE_PIN D9
    #define MY_RF24_CS_PIN D10
    
    // RFM config
    #define MY_RADIO_RFM69
    #define MY_RFM69_NEW_DRIVER
    #define MY_RFM69_NETWORKID 69
    #define MY_RFM69_FREQUENCY RFM69_868MHZ
    #define MY_IS_RFM69HW
    #define MY_RFM69_IRQ_PIN D2
    #define MY_RFM69_IRQ_NUM MY_RFM69_IRQ_PIN
    #define MY_RFM69_CS_PIN D8
    
    #include <ESP8266WiFi.h>
    #include <ArduinoOTA.h>
    #include <MySensors.h>
    
    void presentation()
    {
    	sendSketchInfo(SKETCH_NAME, SKETCH_VERSION);
    }
    
    void setup()
    {
    	ArduinoOTA.onStart([]() {
    		Serial.println("ArduinoOTA start");
    	});
    	ArduinoOTA.onEnd([]() {
    		Serial.println("\nArduinoOTA end");
    	});
    	ArduinoOTA.onProgress([](unsigned int progress, unsigned int total) {
    		Serial.printf("OTA Progress: %u%%\r", (progress / (total / 100)));
    	});
    	ArduinoOTA.onError([](ota_error_t error) {
    		Serial.printf("Error[%u]: ", error);
    		if (error == OTA_AUTH_ERROR)
    		{
    			Serial.println("Auth Failed");
    		}
    		else if (error == OTA_BEGIN_ERROR)
    		{
    			Serial.println("Begin Failed");
    		}
    		else if (error == OTA_CONNECT_ERROR)
    		{
    			Serial.println("Connect Failed");
    		}
    		else if (error == OTA_RECEIVE_ERROR)
    		{
    			Serial.println("Receive Failed");
    		}
    		else if (error == OTA_END_ERROR)
    		{
    			Serial.println("End Failed");
    		}
    	});
    	ArduinoOTA.begin();
    }
    
    void loop()
    {
    	ArduinoOTA.handle();
    }
    
    

  • Mod

    Nice work @BearWithBeard !

    Luckily, someone has already figured out the ins and outs of the different pins. His name is Neil Kolban. I bought his book on esp8266 and it was very useful to me when figuring out the limitations of each pin.

    I have not used the esp32 much, but I am pretty sure Neil’s book on it is great. https://leanpub.com/kolban-ESP32


  • Banned

    Great job!



  • Hi, I have a question about signing/encryption.
    I have rs485 nodes without these features (as they are not really useful here), but I want to add nrf nodes, where I would like to implement these to have a secure network.
    So can I use rs485 nodes without signing/encryption and nrf nodes with them enabled at the same time, using this multi gateway or do I have to enable signing/encryption also on rs485 nodes in this case?


  • Contest Winner

    @bwn I don't know exactly how the rs network tie into other networks but in general, if you have two gateways, then each gateway has their own mysensors network and therefore can have two completely different security approaches as the signing/encryption logic applies to the network managed by each gateway.



  • Yes, you're right.
    For two separate gateways that's a valid statement, but I need to know how it (will) work for this multigateway feature when I'll connect rs485 and nrf to one physical GW.


  • Contest Winner

    @bwn I do not think it will if the gateway makes the two transports share the network. As things like encryption is global to each network.
    Signing might work if you do it only for specific node id:s and the node id:s are distributed over both networks.


  • Plugin Developer

    Wait, wait.. what is that USB stick with the dual antennas? Is that a dedicated MySensors gateway device?

    // Ah, it's project Janus. AWESOME!



  • I'm trying to use the MY_RFM95_RFM69_COMPATIBILITY options but it does not pass the RFM95_sanityCheck.

    Code compile without warning, and gateway is working fine with simple RFM95 driver.
    Using esp8266 and arduino 1.8.13.

    Tue Aug 17 2020 10:48:50 GMT+0100 (CET) : 0;255;3;0;9;67 TSF:LRT:OK
    Tue Aug 17 2020 10:48:50 GMT+0100 (CET) : 3;0;9;69 TSM:INIT
    0;255;3;0;9;71
    Tue Aug 17 2020 10:48:50 GMT+0100 (CET) : 0;255;3;0;9;69 TSM:INIT
    Tue Aug 17 2020 10:48:50 GMT+0100 (CET) :  TSF:WUR:MS=0
    Tue Aug 17 2020 10:48:50 GMT+0100 (CET) : 0;255;3;0;9;71 TSF:WUR:MS=0
    Tue Aug 17 2020 10:48:50 GMT+0100 (CET) : 0;255;3;0;9;74 RFM95:INIT:PIN,CS
    Tue Aug 17 2020 10:48:50 GMT+0100 (CET) : =15,IQP=4,IQN=4
    0;255;3;0;9;78 R
    Tue Aug 17 2020 10:48:50 GMT+0100 (CET) : 0;255;3;0;9;74 RFM95:INIT:PIN,CS=15,IQP=4,IQN=4
    Tue Aug 17 2020 10:48:50 GMT+0100 (CET) : FM95:INIT:RFM69
    Tue Aug 17 2020 10:48:50 GMT+0100 (CET) : 0;255;3;0;9;78 RFM95:INIT:RFM69
    Tue Aug 17 2020 10:48:50 GMT+0100 (CET) : 0;255;3;0;9;86 RFM95:SRM:MODE=4
    Tue Aug 17 2020 10:48:50 GMT+0100 (CET) : 0;255;3;0;9;86 RFM95:SRM:MODE=4
    Tue Aug 17 2020 10:48:50 GMT+0100 (CET) : 0;255;3;0;9;220 RFM95:INIT:FREQ=868000000
    Tue Aug 17 2020 10:48:50 GMT+0100 (CET) : 0;255;3;0;9;220 RFM95:INIT:FREQ=868000000
    Tue Aug 17 2020 10:48:50 GMT+0100 (CET) : 0;255;3;0;9;254 RFM95:PTX:LEVEL=20
    Tue Aug 17 2020 10:48:50 GMT+0100 (CET) : 0;255;3;0;9;254 RFM95:PTX:LEVEL=20
    Tue Aug 17 2020 10:48:50 GMT+0100 (CET) : 0;255;3;0;9;273 !RFM95:INIT:SANC
    Tue Aug 17 2020 10:48:50 GMT+0100 (CET) : HK FAIL
    0;255;3;0;9;276 !TSM:INIT
    Tue Aug 17 2020 10:48:50 GMT+0100 (CET) : 0;255;3;0;9;273 !RFM95:INIT:SANCHK FAIL
    Tue Aug 17 2020 10:48:50 GMT+0100 (CET) : :TSP FAIL
    0;255;3;0;9;279 TSM:FAI
    Tue Aug 17 2020 10:48:50 GMT+0100 (CET) : 0;255;3;0;9;276 !TSM:INIT:TSP FAIL
    Tue Aug 17 2020 10:48:50 GMT+0100 (CET) : L:CNT=1
    0;255;3;0;9;282 TSM:FAIL:
    Tue Aug 17 2020 10:48:50 GMT+0100 (CET) : 0;255;3;0;9;279 TSM:FAIL:CNT=1
    Tue Aug 17 2020 10:48:50 GMT+0100 (CET) : DIS
    0;255;3;0;9;285 TSF:TDI:TSL
    Tue Aug 17 2020 10:48:50 GMT+0100 (CET) : 0;255;3;0;9;282 TSM:FAIL:DIS
    Tue Aug 17 2020 10:48:50 GMT+0100 (CET) : 0;255;3;0;9;285 TSF:TDI:TSL
    Tue Aug 17 2020 10:48:50 GMT+0100 (CET) : 0;255;3;0;9;287 RFM95:RSL
    Tue Aug 17 2020 10:48:50 GMT+0100 (CET) : 0;255;3;0;9;287 RFM95:RSL
    Tue Aug 17 2020 10:48:50 GMT+0100 (CET) : 0;255;3;0;9;295 RFM95:SRM:MODE=3
    Tue Aug 17 2020 10:48:50 GMT+0100 (CET) : 0;255;3;0;9;295 RFM95:SRM:MODE=3
    Tue Aug 17 2020 10:49:00 GMT+0100 (CET) : 0;255;3;0;9;10299 TSM:FAIL:RE-IN
    Tue Aug 17 2020 10:49:00 GMT+0100 (CET) : IT
    0;255;3;0;9;10302 TSM:INIT
    0;
    Tue Aug 17 2020 10:49:00 GMT+0100 (CET) : 0;255;3;0;9;10299 TSM:FAIL:RE-INIT
    Tue Aug 17 2020 10:49:00 GMT+0100 (CET) : 0;255;3;0;9;10302 TSM:INIT
    Tue Aug 17 2020 10:49:00 GMT+0100 (CET) : 255;3;0;9;10304 RFM95:INIT:PIN,C
    Tue Aug 17 2020 10:49:00 GMT+0100 (CET) : S=15,IQP=4,IQN=4
    0;255;3;0;9;103
    Tue Aug 17 2020 10:49:00 GMT+0100 (CET) : 0;255;3;0;9;10304 RFM95:INIT:PIN,CS=15,IQP=4,IQN=4
    Tue Aug 17 2020 10:49:00 GMT+0100 (CET) : 09 RFM95:INIT:RFM69
    Tue Aug 17 2020 10:49:00 GMT+0100 (CET) : 0;255;3;0;9;10309 RFM95:INIT:RFM69
    Tue Aug 17 2020 10:49:00 GMT+0100 (CET) : 0;255;3;0;9;10317 RFM95:SRM:MODE=4
    Tue Aug 17 2020 10:49:00 GMT+0100 (CET) : 0;255;3;0;9;10317 RFM95:SRM:MODE=4
    Tue Aug 17 2020 10:49:00 GMT+0100 (CET) : 0;255;3;0;9;10451 RFM95:INIT:FREQ=868000000
    Tue Aug 17 2020 10:49:00 GMT+0100 (CET) : 0;255;3;0;9;10451 RFM95:INIT:FREQ=868000000
    Tue Aug 17 2020 10:49:00 GMT+0100 (CET) : 0;255;3;0;9;10485 RFM95:PTX:LEVEL=20
    Tue Aug 17 2020 10:49:00 GMT+0100 (CET) : 0;255;3;0;9;10485 RFM95:PTX:LEVEL=20
    Tue Aug 17 2020 10:49:00 GMT+0100 (CET) : 0;255;3;0;9;10504 !RFM95:INIT:SA
    Tue Aug 17 2020 10:49:00 GMT+0100 (CET) : NCHK FAIL
    0;255;3;0;9;10507 !TSM
    Tue Aug 17 2020 10:49:00 GMT+0100 (CET) : 0;255;3;0;9;10504 !RFM95:INIT:SANCHK FAIL
    Tue Aug 17 2020 10:49:00 GMT+0100 (CET) : :INIT:TSP FAIL
    0;255;3;0;9;10511
    Tue Aug 17 2020 10:49:00 GMT+0100 (CET) : 0;255;3;0;9;10507 !TSM:INIT:TSP FAIL
    Tue Aug 17 2020 10:49:00 GMT+0100 (CET) :  TSM:FAIL:CNT=2
    0;255;3;0;9;10514
    Tue Aug 17 2020 10:49:00 GMT+0100 (CET) : 0;255;3;0;9;10511 TSM:FAIL:CNT=2
    Tue Aug 17 2020 10:49:00 GMT+0100 (CET) :  TSM:FAIL:DIS
    0;255;3;0;9;10516 T
    Tue Aug 17 2020 10:49:00 GMT+0100 (CET) : 0;255;3;0;9;10514 TSM:FAIL:DIS
    Tue Aug 17 2020 10:49:00 GMT+0100 (CET) : SF:TDI:TSL
    0;255;3;0;9;10519 RFM95:RSL
    Tue Aug 17 2020 10:49:00 GMT+0100 (CET) : 0;255;3;0;9;10516 TSF:TDI:TSL
    Tue Aug 17 2020 10:49:00 GMT+0100 (CET) : 0;255;3;0;9;10519 RFM95:RSL
    Tue Aug 17 2020 10:49:00 GMT+0100 (CET) : 0;255;3;0;9;10527 RFM95:SRM:MODE=3
    Tue Aug 17 2020 10:49:00 GMT+0100 (CET) : 0;255;3;0;9;10527 RFM95:SRM:MODE=3
    


  • Well, i don't know if it is a timing issue or a hardware issue, but increasing the RFM95_POWERUP_DELAY_MS from 10 to 100ms solved the issue.
    Now testing range improvement over rfm69h, will report back.
    @tekka , Great work !



  • Thanks @tekka
    This is awesome and came along at the perfect time. I have 4 networks because of experimenting over the years and have been meaning to clean up the rats-nest of wires that is my current set of serial gateways. Enter Multi-Transport.
    I made a gateway with NRF24 and RFM95 (915Mhz) running off an STM32F411 black pill. Worked right off the bat.
    Now I just need to duplicate for RFM69 and RFM95(433Mhz).

    20201205_204557 (2).jpg


  • Mod

    @nagelc sends like you socketed your rfm69. Could you post a closeup picture of it?



  • @Yveaux
    Another experiment, using 2mm machined pins and sockets. Since the RFM69HCW and the RFM95's share the same pinout, I could switch radios easily for testing. 20201208_215918 (2).jpg



  • Hi guys! I'm trying to enable RS485 and RF24 transports but I'm getting the following error :

    /libraries/MySensors/2.3.2/MySensors.h:290:2: error: #error Only one forward link driver can be activated
    

    I saw the MY_RFM69_NEW_DRIVER example and tried to apply the same logic :

    #define MY_RS485_NEW_DRIVER
    

    This made the error go away but the RS485 transport layer is not initialized.
    I've tried enabling only the RS485 layer and it works.

    Any idea on how to enable multitransport with RF24 and RS485 ?



  • @Giovanni-Chiva You need the development branch (2.4.0-alpha) for multitransport. 2.3.2, which you are using, doesn't support that. Download here: https://github.com/mysensors/MySensors/tree/development



  • @BearWithBeard thanks for the reply!
    Unfortunately I'm getting the same error message :

    /libraries/MySensors-development/MySensors.h:295:2: error: #error Only one forward link driver can be activated
    

    Am I missing something?

    Here is my gateway code :

    // Enable debug prints to serial monitor
    #define MY_DEBUG
    
    // Enable RS485 transport layer
    #define MY_RS485
    
    // Define this to enables DE-pin management on defined pin
    #define MY_RS485_DE_PIN 2
    
    // Set RS485 baud rate to use
    #define MY_RS485_BAUD_RATE 9600
    
    #define MY_RF24_CS_PIN 10     // Used by the MySensors library.
    #define MY_RF24_CE_PIN 7    // Used by the MySensors library.
    
    #define MY_RADIO_RF24	// Define radio module
    #define MY_RF24
    #define MY_RF24_PA_LEVEL RF24_PA_MAX // Set radio power to max
    #define MY_RF24_DATARATE RF24_1MBPS // Limit transmission to 1MBS
    
    // Enable serial gateway
    #define MY_GATEWAY_SERIAL
    
    #include <MySensors.h>
    
    void setup()
    {
        // Setup locally attached sensors
    }
    
    void presentation()
    {
        // Present locally attached sensors
    }
    
    void loop()
    {
        // Send locally attached sensor data here
    }
    
    


  • @BearWithBeard
    Apparently the main development branch does not include multitransport support. I've eventually found @tekka 's branch and was able to download it from here https://github.com/mysensors/MySensors/tree/09434a4b9fb668fbaa2d47803b5541f2d7b05d29

    The error message is gone now, however only RF24 transport layer is working. If I comment the RF24 transport, then RS485 starts working.



  • @Giovanni-Chiva I was certain they merged the multitransport feature into the 2.4 dev branch early on. I was wrong about that. I'm sorry. At least you were able to find the right branch from there on.

    Not sure though why you are having issues combining NRF24 and RS485. Unfortunately, I don't own any RS485 modules to make my own tests. Maybe try using a different pin for RS485 DE?

    Has this combination been tested by anyone else before?



  • @BearWithBeard No need to say sorry! You did point me to the right direction, I was clueless πŸ™‚

    I've tried a different RS485 DE pin, but still no luck.

    #define MY_RS485_DE_PIN 4
    

    I've seen people mentioning RS485 transport here in the comments but I'm not sure if anyone actually did test this combination (RF24 & RS485).



  • I've been using this PR on my gateway for several months now and it's working great. I'm using a Sensebender gateway with both RFM and NRF radios with sensor nodes on both networks. I can swap radio types on a node, change the radio config in the sketch (keeping the node ID) and it flawlessly changes and continues to work in Home Assistant.
    Only thing that is behaving oddly are RFM radio nodes. When they first boot they can pair to the gateway no problem but then suffer NACKs constantly for 3 or 4 mins after which it works no problem for weeks and months... I can see the NACKed messages arriving at the gateway but the node doesn't recieve the ACK from the gateway.
    I also note that all other RFM nodes start NACKing at the same time (I have a NACK monitor sensor on all my nodes) which again clears up once the new node has been on a few minutes. It's the same whenever any RFM node is rebooted.
    I'm not using this PR version on my nodes - only the gateway - as some things would not compile.
    Hope this feedback is of use!



  • @BearWithBeard
    Are you still running the multi version on an ATmega328P? What's your long term experience with it?



  • @pikim No, I am not. My original plan was to deploy more and more RFM-based nodes as they seemed superior over NRF24 in general, but I realized that my NRF24 network was rock solid and reliable, so there was no need for the added complexity and cost to support and integrate another transport. Plans are made to change them. πŸ˜‰

    That being said, I used the multiRF gateway for months without issues. The gateway operated as stable as the single transport 2.3.2 gateway. No issues at all, except with the automatic TX power adjustment (ATC) of the RFM transceivers, due to what I believe might be a timing issue within the library. I described the issue in this thread. Basically, the RFM nodes were not able to reduce their transmit power, unnecessarily blasting the environment and wasting battery power. Introducing small delays in various places was all it needed to work around this issue successfully, seemingly without adverse side effects.

    This issue has not been properly remedied since the introduction of the multiRF gateway though. For all I know, it is still tekka's personal fork of the MySensors 2.4 branch and has not been updated, so any new fixes and features for version 2.4 since March 2020 will not be available to this fork, unless you manually implement them.

    So I guess it is up to you if you prefer to use the multiRF gateway without all the mainline 2.4 changes, or the up-to-date 2.4 branch without the multiRF feature. It should not make much of a difference currently, according the the commits since the multiRF fork, unless you want to use PJON transport or deploy NRF5-based nodes.

    I really wish that the development on MySensors revives, as it is feeling kinda stale at the moment. It would be a shame if this project got silently abandoned. I would be glad to help out wherever I can.


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