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  3. Step-by-step procedure to connect the NRF24L01+ to the GPIO pins and use the Raspberry as a Serial Gateway (MySensors 1.x)

Step-by-step procedure to connect the NRF24L01+ to the GPIO pins and use the Raspberry as a Serial Gateway (MySensors 1.x)

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nrf24raspberry piraspberryraspberry nrf24l01 gpiogateway
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  • M msantang

    I got it working on my rb2 but i got 100% of cpu ussage.

    I read a lot of post about this but i cant found a solution.

    Some one know how to fix this?

    OitzuO Offline
    OitzuO Offline
    Oitzu
    wrote on last edited by Oitzu
    #33

    @msantang said:

    I got it working on my rb2 but i got 100% of cpu ussage.

    I read a lot of post about this but i cant found a solution.

    Some one know how to fix this?

    The 100% cpu usage is probably due to the style of receiving new messages from rf24/serial port.
    The current state is that the PiSerialGateway tries to poll data in a endless loop from rf24/serial.
    This could maybe fixed with using the interrupt of the nrf24l01+ to signal new data and reading data from the serial in blocking mode.
    I want to solve this but using interrupts on the RPi isn't that trivial.

    1 Reply Last reply
    0
    • mfalkviddM Offline
      mfalkviddM Offline
      mfalkvidd
      Mod
      wrote on last edited by
      #34

      http://forum.mysensors.org/topic/2367/pigatewayserial-using-interrupts/2 has information on how to use interrupts. I haven't tried it myself though.

      OitzuO 1 Reply Last reply
      0
      • mfalkviddM mfalkvidd

        http://forum.mysensors.org/topic/2367/pigatewayserial-using-interrupts/2 has information on how to use interrupts. I haven't tried it myself though.

        OitzuO Offline
        OitzuO Offline
        Oitzu
        wrote on last edited by
        #35

        @mfalkvidd said:

        http://forum.mysensors.org/topic/2367/pigatewayserial-using-interrupts/2 has information on how to use interrupts. I haven't tried it myself though.

        Oh yeah, thanks for the hint @Bens got the exact same problem and seem to solved the rf24 part already. I hope he gets back online and shares his results. :)

        1 Reply Last reply
        0
        • D Offline
          D Offline
          den2k
          wrote on last edited by
          #36

          Hi all,
          I'm following this thread and have upgraded to MySensors v1.5 and get the following error. Version mismatch.

          It looks like the Protocol version is 1.4.

          Does the Raspberry MySensors Gateway support v1.5 or only v1.4? Any ideas on how to fix?

          upload-27647566-60ff-4341-97aa-4d1186e5e670

          alexsh1A 1 Reply Last reply
          1
          • D den2k

            Hi all,
            I'm following this thread and have upgraded to MySensors v1.5 and get the following error. Version mismatch.

            It looks like the Protocol version is 1.4.

            Does the Raspberry MySensors Gateway support v1.5 or only v1.4? Any ideas on how to fix?

            upload-27647566-60ff-4341-97aa-4d1186e5e670

            alexsh1A Offline
            alexsh1A Offline
            alexsh1
            wrote on last edited by
            #37

            @den2k said:

            Hi all,
            I'm following this thread and have upgraded to MySensors v1.5 and get the following error. Version mismatch.

            It looks like the Protocol version is 1.4.

            Does the Raspberry MySensors Gateway support v1.5 or only v1.4? Any ideas on how to fix?

            Up until now, MySensors v1.4 only for nrf24l01+ direct connection.
            Did you upgrade the GW or the sensors or both ?

            D 1 Reply Last reply
            0
            • hekH Offline
              hekH Offline
              hek
              Admin
              wrote on last edited by
              #38

              Protocol version hasn't changed since 1.4
              https://github.com/mysensors/Raspberry/blob/master/MyMessage.h#L41

              So you must have some other problem.. As you can see you only get zeroes in the log...

              D 1 Reply Last reply
              0
              • GertSandersG Offline
                GertSandersG Offline
                GertSanders
                Hardware Contributor
                wrote on last edited by GertSanders
                #39

                You can "fake" a later version (e.g, 1.5) on the Raspberry by changing the version code in the version.h file and recompiling the Gateway software.

                As far as I understand, the gateway will still pass the messages to the controller, even is there is a version mismatch message on the console.

                1 Reply Last reply
                0
                • alexsh1A alexsh1

                  @den2k said:

                  Hi all,
                  I'm following this thread and have upgraded to MySensors v1.5 and get the following error. Version mismatch.

                  It looks like the Protocol version is 1.4.

                  Does the Raspberry MySensors Gateway support v1.5 or only v1.4? Any ideas on how to fix?

                  Up until now, MySensors v1.4 only for nrf24l01+ direct connection.
                  Did you upgrade the GW or the sensors or both ?

                  D Offline
                  D Offline
                  den2k
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #40

                  @alexsh1 I know the sensors are on v1.5. As for the Raspberry Gateway, it looks like based on the info here, that is running v1.4.

                  1 Reply Last reply
                  0
                  • hekH hek

                    Protocol version hasn't changed since 1.4
                    https://github.com/mysensors/Raspberry/blob/master/MyMessage.h#L41

                    So you must have some other problem.. As you can see you only get zeroes in the log...

                    D Offline
                    D Offline
                    den2k
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #41

                    @hek I'm running a custom 1Mhz build bootloader on a Pro Mini for the Sensor side. This was paired with the standard Serial Gateway running on another Pro Mini with v1.5 on both gateway and sensor. That setup was working. But I moved over to using the Pi gatway+nRF24+ radio and have this issue. I don't believe the hookup is the problem. I've seen the 0 readings before, and that usually meant node side issue or uninitiated Gateway. I have not changed the Node, so it must be the Pi gateway that is the problem. Any thoughts on what to test?

                    1 Reply Last reply
                    0
                    • D Offline
                      D Offline
                      den2k
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #42

                      Noob question. Any one have an idea on solving the "Permission denied" error.

                      upload-a7ed9c85-5b6b-4198-af00-909e1861374e

                      1 Reply Last reply
                      0
                      • D Offline
                        D Offline
                        den2k
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #43

                        Solved my own problem. Using the following command did the trick.

                        sudo chown -h pi:pi ttyUSB20

                        1 Reply Last reply
                        0
                        • D Offline
                          D Offline
                          den2k
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #44

                          weird. Permission Denied problem again.

                          What is the USER : GROUP that is needed for this to work?

                          martinhjelmareM 1 Reply Last reply
                          0
                          • mfalkviddM Offline
                            mfalkviddM Offline
                            mfalkvidd
                            Mod
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #45

                            @den2k I think your best chance is to post in the Home Assistant category. I don't have any experience with Home Assistant unfortunately.

                            1 Reply Last reply
                            0
                            • J jpbabou

                              Hi
                              something is missing..

                              Is there a problem with the repository
                              Tks a lot for your job!

                              pi@domoticjp ~ $ sudo git clone https://github.com/mysensors/Raspberry.git
                              Cloning into 'Raspberry'...
                              remote: Counting objects: 273, done.
                              remote: Compressing objects: 100% (3/3), done.
                              remote: Total 273 (delta 0), reused 0 (delta 0), pack-reused 270
                              Receiving objects: 100% (273/273), 215.00 KiB | 0 bytes/s, done.
                              Resolving deltas: 100% (114/114), done.
                              Checking connectivity... done.
                              pi@domoticjp ~ $ cd Raspberry/librf24-bcm
                              -bash: cd: Raspberry/librf24-bcm: No such file or directory
                              mfalkviddM Offline
                              mfalkviddM Offline
                              mfalkvidd
                              Mod
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #46

                              @jpbabou said:

                              Hi
                              something is missing..

                              Is there a problem with the repository
                              Tks a lot for your job!

                              pi@domoticjp ~ $ sudo git clone https://github.com/mysensors/Raspberry.git
                              Cloning into 'Raspberry'...
                              remote: Counting objects: 273, done.
                              remote: Compressing objects: 100% (3/3), done.
                              remote: Total 273 (delta 0), reused 0 (delta 0), pack-reused 270
                              Receiving objects: 100% (273/273), 215.00 KiB | 0 bytes/s, done.
                              Resolving deltas: 100% (114/114), done.
                              Checking connectivity... done.
                              pi@domoticjp ~ $ cd Raspberry/librf24-bcm
                              -bash: cd: Raspberry/librf24-bcm: No such file or directory
                              

                              The guide has been updated to reflect the updated in the MySensors Raspberry repository now. Thanks @jpbabou !

                              1 Reply Last reply
                              0
                              • D den2k

                                weird. Permission Denied problem again.

                                What is the USER : GROUP that is needed for this to work?

                                martinhjelmareM Offline
                                martinhjelmareM Offline
                                martinhjelmare
                                Plugin Developer
                                wrote on last edited by martinhjelmare
                                #47

                                @den2k

                                Hi!

                                Have you added the user that runs homeassistant to the dialout group? This group is usually owner of serial ports.

                                Check default group of serial port (change for your port below) after connecting it:

                                pi@martin-pi:~ $ ls -l /dev/ttyUSB0 
                                crw-rw---- 1 root dialout 188, 0 dec 18 03:21 /dev/ttyUSB0
                                

                                Check groups that user pi is in:

                                pi@martin-pi:~ $ groups pi
                                pi : pi adm dialout cdrom sudo audio video plugdev games users input netdev spi i2c gpio
                                

                                If pi runs homeassistant, which should be the case, and is not in dialout, add pi to dialout:

                                sudo adduser pi dialout
                                

                                Changing owner of a port will only work until you disconnect it. Default owner will be restored upon reconnect, if you haven't written a special udev rule.

                                Edit:
                                According to the readme in the mysensors raspberry repo (https://github.com/mysensors/Raspberry), the group of the device is tty. So you should probably use that, and not dialout. But you will know, when you check with ls -l.

                                1 Reply Last reply
                                1
                                • mfalkviddM mfalkvidd

                                  Note: This guide is only applicable to MySensors 1.x. For MySensors 2, use this guide.

                                  I noticed that a step-by-step procedure to connect the NRF24L01 to the GPIO pins and use the Raspberry as a Serial Gateway was listed in the document for MySensors 1.6.

                                  Since I have three gateways configured this way, and I need to set up 3 more for covering different offices around the world, and I had already written the instructions in Swedish for Datormagazin, I thought I'd help out.

                                  This is the first draft. Any feedback is welcome.


                                  INTRODUCTION
                                  The radio module NRF24L01+ is cheap and power efficient, but it is unable to communicate with regular wifi. The bridge between NRF24L01+ nodes and the "computer world" is called a Gateway. You can use other types of gateways, but connecting the NRF24L01+ module directly to the Raspberry Pi is a simple and cheap alternative.

                                  Wiring Things Up
                                  Connect the NRF20L01+ radio module to the Raspberry Pi like this:
                                  raspi_mysensors[1].png

                                  Raspberry Pi NRF24L01+ Color
                                  6 / GND GND Black
                                  1 / 3.3V DC VCC Red
                                  22 / GPIO25 CE Orange
                                  24 / GPIO 8 CSN/CS Yellow
                                  23 / GPIO11 / SPI_CLK SCK Green
                                  19 / GPIO10 / SPI_MOSI MOSI Blue
                                  21 / GPIO9 / SPI_MISO MISO Violet

                                  The IRQ pin on NRF24L01 is not currently used.

                                  For a comprehensive view of the Raspberry Pi pins, see http://pinout.xyz/

                                  You should also connect a decoupling capacitor to the radio. See this guide.

                                  COMPILING THE GATEWAY
                                  Login to your Raspberry Pi (using SSH or open a terminal on the graphical console) and run these commands:

                                  git clone https://github.com/TMRh20/RF24.git
                                  cd RF24
                                  make all && sudo make install
                                  cd ..
                                  
                                  git clone https://github.com/mysensors/Raspberry.git
                                  cd Raspberry
                                  make all && sudo make install
                                  

                                  If you get the following error:

                                  pi@raspberrypi ~/RF24 $ make all && sudo make install
                                  g++ -Wall -fPIC -Ofast -mfpu=vfp -mfloat-abi=hard -mtune=arm1176jzf-s -march=armv7-a -D BCM2835_PERI_BASE=0x -c RF24.cpp
                                  gcc -Wall -fPIC -Ofast -mfpu=vfp -mfloat-abi=hard -mtune=arm1176jzf-s -march=armv7-a -D BCM2835_PERI_BASE=0x -c bcm2835.c
                                  bcm2835.c: In function ‘bcm2835_init’:
                                  bcm2835.c:1207:28: error: invalid suffix "x" on integer constant
                                  
                                  

                                  You've probably run into the problem discussed in this thread. People have had luck with different solutions. The simplest is to make the following change to ~/Raspberry/librf24-bcm/Makefile

                                  #IOBASE := $(shell cat /proc/iomem | grep bcm2708_vcio | cut -f 1 -d "-")
                                  IOBASE := 3F000000
                                  

                                  VERIFY THE GATEWAY
                                  Run sudo /usr/local/sbin/PiGatewaySerial. The output should look like this:

                                  pi@raspberrypi ~/Raspberry $ sudo /usr/local/sbin/PiGatewaySerial
                                  Starting PiGatewaySerial...
                                  Protocol version - 1.4
                                  Created PTY '/dev/pts/1'
                                  Gateway tty: /dev/ttyMySensorsGateway
                                  ================ SPI Configuration ================
                                  CSN Pin          = CE0 (PI Hardware Driven)
                                  CE Pin           = Custom GPIO25
                                  Clock Speed      = 8 Mhz
                                  ================ NRF Configuration ================
                                  STATUS           = 0x0e RX_DR=0 TX_DS=0 MAX_RT=0 RX_P_NO=7 TX_FULL=0
                                  RX_ADDR_P0-1     = 0xe7e7e7e7e7 0xc2c2c2c2c2
                                  RX_ADDR_P2-5     = 0xff 0xc4 0xc5 0xc6
                                  TX_ADDR          = 0xe7e7e7e7e7
                                  RX_PW_P0-6       = 0x00 0x00 0x20 0x00 0x00 0x00
                                  EN_AA            = 0x3b
                                  EN_RXADDR        = 0x07
                                  RF_CH            = 0x4c
                                  RF_SETUP         = 0x23
                                  CONFIG           = 0x0e
                                  DYNPD/FEATURE    = 0x3f 0x06
                                  Data Rate        = 250KBPS
                                  Model            = nRF24L01+
                                  CRC Length       = 16 bits
                                  PA Power         = PA_LOW
                                  

                                  If the NRF24L01+ isn't correctly wired, the following error will be shown

                                  pi@raspberrypi ~ $ sudo /usr/local/sbin/PiGatewaySerial
                                  Starting PiGatewaySerial...
                                  Protocol version - 1.4
                                  Created PTY '/dev/pts/2'
                                  Gateway tty: /dev/ttyMySensorsGateway
                                  check wires
                                  

                                  If this happens, double-check your wiring and correct any problems. Press Ctrl+Z and type

                                  sudo killall PiGatewaySerial
                                  

                                  to get rid of the non-functioning Gateway. Then run sudo /usr/local/sbin/PiGatewaySerial again

                                  If all is well, exit PiGatewaySerial by pressing Ctrl+C. Then run

                                  sudo /etc/init.d/PiGatewaySerial start
                                  

                                  to start the gateway as a background process. Verify that it started correctly by running

                                  sudo cat /dev/ttyMySensorsGateway
                                  

                                  You should see the message "Gateway startup complete". Exit by typing Ctrl+C.

                                  MAKE THE GATEWAY AUTOSTART
                                  To make sure the Gateway is started when your Raspberry Pi boots up, run the following command:

                                  sudo make enable-gwserial
                                  

                                  Enable the gateway for use with Domoticz
                                  Domoticz (and maybe other home automation systems) has trouble reading from the default path created by PiGatewaySerial. You might need to run the following command:

                                  sudo ln -s /dev/ttyMySensorsGateway /dev/ttyUSB20
                                  

                                  And change /etc/rc.local from this

                                  exit 0
                                  
                                  

                                  to this

                                  ln -s /dev/ttyMySensorsGateway /dev/ttyUSB20
                                  exit 0
                                  
                                  

                                  OTHER NOTES

                                  • The 3.3V power on the Raspberry Pi is rated for a maximum of 50mA. A regular NRF24L01+ only needs 15mA, but if you are using a power amplified version you might exceed what the Raspberry Pi can output. In that case, an external power supply might be required. If you use an external power source gnd must be connected to the Raspberry Pi's gnd.

                                  • Connecting the NRF24L01+ directly to your Raspberry Pi will prevent you from using the Raspberry Pi's gpio ports for other things, like a Z-wave board.

                                  • A user experienced slow data transfer compared to USB-to-Serial(ttl)<-->MySensors Gateway connection, especially on OTA firmware update. If you think this will cause a problem for you, an ethernet gateway might be a better alternative.

                                  As always, I stand on the shoulders of giants. Related posts:

                                  • http://forum.mysensors.org/topic/1151/tutorial-raspberry-pi-nrf24l01-direct-connection
                                  • http://forum.mysensors.org/topic/1974/domoticz-as-controller-and-a-gateway-for-mysensor-nodes-running-on-a-raspberry-pi-2

                                  TROUBLESHOOTING
                                  If you get this error

                                  pi@Domoticz3:~/Raspberry$ sudo /etc/init.d/PiGatewaySerial start
                                  [....] Starting PiGatewaySerial (via systemctl): PiGatewaySerial.serviceFailed to start PiGatewaySerial.service: Unit PiGatewaySerial.service failed to load: No such file or directory.
                                   failed!
                                  

                                  or this error

                                  pi@raspberrypi ~ $ sudo /usr/local/sbin/PiGatewaySerial
                                  sudo: /usr/local/sbin/PiGatewaySerial: command not found
                                  

                                  you have probably forgotten to run sudo make install. Read the instructions again, and follow them this time :-) User @sineverba reported that a reboot of the Pi after running make install helped.

                                  S Offline
                                  S Offline
                                  Scala
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #48

                                  @mfalkvidd Hi there and thanks for a great and super detailed step-by-step tutorial.

                                  I've got mine running in no time with your instructions, but after a couple of minutes I've got the following error:

                                  2015-12-30 20:51:30.356 Error: MySensors: Unhandled sensor (sub-type=32), please report with log!
                                  2015-12-30 20:52:01.390 Error: Serial Port closed!... Error: End of file
                                  2015-12-30 20:52:02.315 MySensors: retrying in 30 seconds...
                                  2015-12-30 20:52:31.319 MySensors: Using serial port: /dev/ttyUSB20
                                  2015-12-30 20:52:31.320 Error: MySensors: Error opening serial port!
                                  2015-12-30 20:52:32.321 MySensors: retrying in 30 seconds...
                                  2015-12-30 20:53:01.324 MySensors: Using serial port: /dev/ttyUSB20

                                  I also attached a partial screen capture showing that it was working before 8-)

                                  2015-12-30 21_18_13-Domoticz - Opera.png

                                  Any idea on why is this happening and how to solve it?

                                  Southern regards and happy new year to all!

                                  ronnyandreR 1 Reply Last reply
                                  0
                                  • mfalkviddM Offline
                                    mfalkviddM Offline
                                    mfalkvidd
                                    Mod
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #49

                                    You are using a sensor type that your version of Domoticz doesn't support. What type os sensor is it? Which version of Domoticz are you using? Upgrading Domoticz might solve the problem (if the newer version supports this sub-type).

                                    1 Reply Last reply
                                    0
                                    • Sander TeunissenS Offline
                                      Sander TeunissenS Offline
                                      Sander Teunissen
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #50

                                      When I try to run the init.d script:

                                      sudo /etc/init.d/PiGatewaySerial start
                                      

                                      I get the following error:

                                      [....] Starting PiGatewaySerial (via systemctl): PiGatewaySerial.serviceFailed to start PiGatewaySerial.service: Unit PiGatewaySerial.service failed to load: No such file or directory.
                                       failed!
                                      

                                      No such file or directory.... Obviously a missing folder or file, but I am not savvy enough to debug this.... Any help appreciated..

                                      mfalkviddM 1 Reply Last reply
                                      0
                                      • Sander TeunissenS Sander Teunissen

                                        When I try to run the init.d script:

                                        sudo /etc/init.d/PiGatewaySerial start
                                        

                                        I get the following error:

                                        [....] Starting PiGatewaySerial (via systemctl): PiGatewaySerial.serviceFailed to start PiGatewaySerial.service: Unit PiGatewaySerial.service failed to load: No such file or directory.
                                         failed!
                                        

                                        No such file or directory.... Obviously a missing folder or file, but I am not savvy enough to debug this.... Any help appreciated..

                                        mfalkviddM Offline
                                        mfalkviddM Offline
                                        mfalkvidd
                                        Mod
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #51

                                        @Sander-Teunissen my guess is that you forgot the sudo make install part of the installation instructions.

                                        1 Reply Last reply
                                        0
                                        • Sander TeunissenS Offline
                                          Sander TeunissenS Offline
                                          Sander Teunissen
                                          wrote on last edited by
                                          #52

                                          @mfalkvidd Yesterday I stopped trying and shutdown the Pi. This morning I tried the same again and it works !!
                                          Pretty sure I haven't done anything else.
                                          Thanks anyway.

                                          Sander

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