[Solved] MySensors 2.0 Ethernet gateway (ENC28J60) restart / IP issue

[intellium]

Hi all,

I'm new to the MySensors scene (and Arduino for that matter). I seem to be having an issue with the ethernet gateway setup.

My setup:

Arduino Nano v3 clone
ENC28J60 15/21 ethernet shield
The RF24 radio module.

It took me a while to get at least some output on this setup, which is probably due to my lack of experience. I have the system running, but the output is as follows:

0;255;3;0;9;No registration required
0;255;3;0;9;Init complete, id=0, parent=0, distance=0, registration=1
0;255;3;0;9;Starting gateway (RNNGA-, 2.0.0)
0;255;3;0;9;TSM:INIT
0;255;3;0;9;TSM:RADIO:OK
0;255;3;0;9;TSM:GW MODE
0;255;3;0;9;TSM:READY
IP: 183.4.241.184

This keeps repeating itself over and over again. The leds on the LAN port are blinking and loading up a simple test sketch works fine with this setup. In the gateway sketch however, not so much. It doesn't even seem to use the UP I have configured in the sketch :

#define MY_DEBUG

// Enable and select radio type attached
#define MY_RADIO_NRF24

// When ENC28J60 is connected we have to move CE/CSN pins for NRF radio
#define MY_RF24_CE_PIN 5
#define MY_RF24_CS_PIN 6

// Enable gateway ethernet module type
#define MY_GATEWAY_ENC28J60

// Gateway IP address
#define MY_IP_ADDRESS 10, 20, 1, 124

// The port to keep open on node server mode / or port to contact in client mode
#define MY_PORT 5003

// The MAC address can be anything you want but should be unique on your network.
// Newer boards have a MAC address printed on the underside of the PCB, which you can (optionally) use.
// Note that most of the Ardunio examples use  "DEAD BEEF FEED" for the MAC address.
#define MY_MAC_ADDRESS 0xDE, 0xAD, 0xBE, 0xEF, 0xFE, 0xEF

// Flash leds on rx/tx/err
#define MY_LEDS_BLINKING_FEATURE
// Set blinking period
#define MY_DEFAULT_LED_BLINK_PERIOD 300

// Enable inclusion mode
#define MY_INCLUSION_MODE_FEATURE
// Enable Inclusion mode button on gateway
#define MY_INCLUSION_BUTTON_FEATURE
// Set inclusion mode duration (in seconds)
#define MY_INCLUSION_MODE_DURATION 60
// Digital pin used for inclusion mode button
#define MY_INCLUSION_MODE_BUTTON_PIN  3

#define MY_DEFAULT_ERR_LED_PIN 7  // Error led pin
#define MY_DEFAULT_RX_LED_PIN  8  // Receive led pin
#define MY_DEFAULT_TX_LED_PIN  9  // the PCB, on board LED

#include <SPI.h>
#include <UIPEthernet.h>
#include <MySensors.h>


void setup()
{
}

void loop() {
}

I think this has something to do with the UIPEthernet library, but I'm not sure. I know currently a W5100 is recommended, but I only have a bunch of ENC28J60's, which as far as I can tell, should work too.

Anybody able to shed some light onto this ?

[TheoL]

@intellium As far as I can tell. It looks like your Arduino is continuously resetting itself. It should not repeat the first log you've posted.

This can be caused by some reasons:

1. A write operation to a memory location where it shouldn't be writing. I've experienced this last weekend why I used an strcpy wrongly. But since you're using tested software this is not likely.
2. The circuit isn't getting enough power. And the Arduino resets itself.

how does your circuit looks like?

[intellium]

@TheoL The circuit not getting enough power was something I ran into way before my current issues
Currently, the nano is feeding the RF24 module on the 3.3v line and the ENC28J60 module is fed from a separate 5v line.

It's connected as depicted in the ethernet gateway setup Ethernet gateway - Wiring things up. This same setup works fine with a simple test sketch for the ENC module.

I'm using the Arduino IDE 1.6.11 and the UIPEthernet library (v1.09) from here : Github - UIPEthernet

Does this info help ?

[TheoL]

@intellium I'm no expert. But does the simple example work when everything is connected (radio and LED's)?

[intellium]

@TheoL Yeah, it's exactly the same setup (hardware wise). Has to be something in the software part (MySensors / UIPEthernet) thats not working correctly.

Does anybody have a working setup using MySensors 2.0 Gateway with an ENC28J60 module ?

[TheoL]

@intellium Maybe @mfalkvidd ?

[Yveaux]

@intellium with w5100 we currently face an issue, causing the arduino to reset, caused by a bug in the avr gcc tool chain.
Until fixed in the tool chain and adopted by arduino there is not much more than trial and error to see if it runs stable. Reverting arduino ide won't help either, because this bug has been in for a long time.
I'm not saying this is what is happening to you, but it just might.

[intellium]

@Yveaux Hmm, thats annoying. So, if I'm experiencing this issue, I'm basically S.O.L. ?

[tekka]

@intellium The avr toolchain bug is related to variadic arguments used for debug prints. If you comment MY_DEBUG, do you still have the issue?

[intellium]

@tekka You sir, are my new best friend

Sure enough, disabling the debug and uploading the code seems to make everything work. The gateway outputs the correct IP and is now pingable !

[tekka]

@intellium excellent Have fun

[TheoL]

@intellium @Tekka is actually the best friend for most of us

[tekka]

@TheoL haha, that's the MySensors spirit

[intellium]

May have spoken to soon....

Although the gateway now runs, after a few mins it seems to die. LAN leds keep blinking everything seems in order, but it's not pingable anymore and Domoticz starts logging messages that the gateway is unreachable. Is this somehow related? Or is this a whole different issue?

@tekka probably knows what to do, right?

[tekka]

@intellium can you add a serial print in loop() to see if the GW or the lan module freezes?

[intellium]

@tekka Sorry it took a while.

I gave it a try, but ever since adding print statements to the gateway loop(), the sensor nodes stopped communicating with it given FPAR failures. Even when I remove the print statements and return to the previous state, it keeps on giving FPAR failures on all sensor nodes... What would cause this ?

[tekka]

@intellium hmm, hard to diagnose without additional information - could be power-related. Can you add a better/stronger power-supply?

[intellium]

@tekka Before I go the route of messing with the power supply, I did some fiddling...

I added the following statements to both the gateway and the sensor sketches:

//LOW POWER MODE RADIO
#define MY_RF24_PA_LEVEL RF24_PA_LOW

//DEBUG FOR RADIO
#define MY_DEBUG_VERBOSE_RF24

//RADIO THROUGHPUT
#define MY_RF24_DATARATE RF24_1MBPS

Next I put them a little bit closer together (around 80cm apart). The FPAR:FAIL message are gone now. I see in the output on the Sensor node that it communicates with the gateway. Currently, the gateway is running with this setup and the controller (Domoticz) gets values. So this seems to be working OK.

However, on the sensor node, the log sometimes indicates an error. Something like this :

RF24:write register, reg=0, value=14
RF24:open writing pipe, recipient=0
RF24:write register, reg=10, value=0
RF24:write register, reg=16, value=0
RF24:send message to 0, len=12
RF24:flushTX
RF24:write register, reg=7, value=48
RF24:MAX_RT
RF24:flushTX
RF24:start listening
RF24:write register, reg=0, value=15
RF24:write register, reg=10, value=1
!TSP:MSG:SEND 1-1-0-0 s=1,c=1,t=0,pt=7,l=5,sg=0,ft=4,st=fail:29.0
T: 29.00
RF24:write register, reg=0, value=12
RF24:power down
RF24:write register, reg=0, value=12
RF24:power down
RF24:stop listening
RF24:write register, reg=0, value=14
RF24:open writing pipe, recipient=0
RF24:write register, reg=10, value=0
RF24:write register, reg=16, value=0
RF24:send message to 0, len=12
RF24:flushTX
RF24:write register, reg=7, value=48
RF24:start listening
RF24:write register, reg=0, value=15
RF24:write register, reg=10, value=1
TSP:MSG:SEND 1-1-0-0 s=0,c=1,t=1,pt=7,l=5,sg=0,ft=5,st=ok:36.0
H: 36.00
RF24:write register, reg=0, value=12
RF24:power down

From what I've read, the st:fail means there was an error transmitting the value. Could this still be power related ? It seems so intermittent to me that my gut tells me power isn't the issue.

[intellium]

@tekka Next I tried is adding a capacitor to both the gateway and node RF module. I added a 10uF capacitor to both of them. This seems to have stabilized RF communication. I'm not seeing any failures anymore and data is flowing...

Back to the original issue... The gateway that seems to die...

I've added some debug statements to the loop() to see if this would keep on running when the gateway seemingly dies.
After 2 hours of operation, the gateway stopped responding to pings, and the controller also noticed the gateway was not alive anymore. When this happens, the output of the serial console is :

New loop iteration: 21734
New loop iteration: 21735
New loop iteration: 21736
New loop iteration: 21737
New loop iteration: 21738
New loop iteration: 21739
New loop iteration: 21740
New loop iteration: 21741
New loop iteration: 21742
New loop iteration: 21743
New loop iteration: 21744

As you can see, my loop code keeps on running at this point, suggesting it's just the ENC interface thats no longer reachable or has an issue. When I close and re-open the serial port monitor from the Arduino IDE, the gateway springs back to life and everything starts working again.

[intellium]

The next run it only took 20 mins. before the gateway stopped responding....

[tekka]

@intellium Issues with ENC: https://forum.arduino.cc/index.php?topic=398258.0

sounds pretty much the same...

[intellium]

@tekka Yeah, I was afraid of that....

I think I might just build a serial gateway and use that for Domoticz as those seem a lot more stable. Then when I find a good source for a w5100 module, I'll get some of those for building an ethernet gateway.

[intellium]

Just a little update:

I build a serial gateway and attached it to Domoticz. Been working ever since, even during the night. Guess this is the way to go for now.

[tekka]

@intellium Sounds good - fyi, I'm using both, W5100 and ESP8266-based GWs, w/o issues.

[intellium]

@tekka I've got a bunch of esp8266 modules laying around. Maybe I'll just search how to wire those up to my nano's and find some code to run it as a dedicated gateway / sensor node. I've noticed the site uses a NodeMCU board for this instead of an Arduino (Nano) ?

[GizMoCuz]

Having the exact issue as the OP, but then with a W5100 shield and a NRF24.
Reverting back to MySensors 1.5.4 solves the problem.
Now i was on a beta of 2.0 that i uploaded to the gateway quite some time ago, and this worked without issues
Something has changed in the final 2.0 release... and i want to revert that change

[tekka]

@GizMoCuz You mean W5100 freezes and MCU remains responsive? SoftSPI?

[GizMoCuz]

No, the Node is resetting itself with the messages in the first post.
If i disable debug, it is logging the IP Address over and over again (each second), connection is reset at that moment

[tekka]

@GizMoCuz Please upload your sketch and describe your configuration, I will try to reproduce with my HW.

[GizMoCuz]

The sketch is 99,999% the same as 'GatewayW5100' except i changed:

#define MY_IP_ADDRESS 192,168,0,50 

The default Arduino ethernet server examples work perfectly

Thanks in advance !

[tekka]

@GizMoCuz did you uncomment

#define MY_DEBUG

as suggested above?

[GizMoCuz]

@tekka said:

@GizMoCuz did you uncomment

#define MY_DEBUG

as suggested above?

Yep, see three posts up (If i disable debug, it is logging the IP Address over and over again (each second), connection is reset at that moment)

And unfortunately does not explain why version 1.5 is running (but missing important features/fixes)

[tekka]

@GizMoCuz I cannot reproduce your observation with a UNO and W5100 shield. How about power-supply, SPI settings/pins in yor setup?

[Maks_K]

I have the same problem:
Mega 2560+ w5100
Lib 1.5.4 all good
Lib 2.0 restart again and again

[tekka]

@Maks_K @GizMoCuz see here for a solution: https://forum.mysensors.org/topic/4680/mysensors-2-0-ethernet-gateway-atmega-w5100-restart-all-time/3

[intellium]

@tekka After my original report that the serial gateway worked through the night, I have had to reset it every ~24 hours. Somewhere around that timeframe, the serial gateway just doesn't respond anymore. Restarting the controller doesn't help. When I reset the serial gateway, it instantly works again and continues to do so for around 24 hours. So it seems that although the serial gateway works longer, it eventually also suffers the same issue.... Is this some kind of memory leak perhaps ?

[sundberg84]

@intellium - as said before, I strongly as well suspect power issues. I would try out different power supplies and try changing out different parts in your setup.

[intellium]

@sundberg84 I've tried different power supplies already with the same problem.

I'll source some more components from different shops and will build another gateway to test. Will report back once done.

[Yveaux]

@intellium said:

seems that although the serial gateway works longer, it eventually also suffers the same issue

Getting into a 'reboot loop' and 'no longer responding' are probably two different things. We should be careful not to mix things up!

[kk02067]

I have just found this thread and are having the exact same problem. Arduino nano and en enc28j60 shield.

I don't think its a supply problem.

I had to drive the radio with softspi to get that working only to get the "reboot" issue.

I put this in the setup section of the sketch to catch whats reseting the mcu:

 Serial.println(MCUSR);
 MCUSR=0;

This produces this result:

0;255;3;0;9;Starting gateway (RNNGA-, 2.0.0)
0;255;3;0;9;TSM:INIT
0;255;3;0;9;TSM:RADIO:OK
0;255;3;0;9;TSM:GW MODE
0;255;3;0;9;TSM:READY
IP: 192.168.0.72
2        <------------ this is when I push the reset button
0;255;3;0;9;Starting gateway (RNNGA-, 2.0.0)
0;255;3;0;9;TSM:INIT
0;255;3;0;9;TSM:RADIO:OK
0;255;3;0;9;TSM:GW MODE
0;255;3;0;9;TSM:READY
IP: 192.168.0.72
0        <------------  this is the cpu restarting the sketch because of something unknown
0;255;3;0;9;Starting gateway (RNNGA-, 2.0.0)
0;255;3;0;9;TSM:INIT
0;255;3;0;9;TSM:RADIO:OK
0;255;3;0;9;TSM:GW MODE
0;255;3;0;9;TSM:READY
IP: 192.168.0.72
0
0;255;3;0;9;Starting gateway (RNNGA-, 2.0.0)
0;255;3;0;9;TSM:INIT
0;255;3;0;9;TSM:RADIO:OK
0;255;3;0;9;TSM:GW MODE
0;255;3;0;9;TSM:READY
IP: 192.168.0.72
0

So it seems its not the mcu thats resets. The mcu either executes the nops inte unused flash space and wraps around to adress $0000 and starts over again, or there is a bug in the mysensors or the uipethernet files.

Any thoughts on this?

This is the complete sketch,

/**
 * The MySensors Arduino library handles the wireless radio link and protocol
 * between your home built sensors/actuators and HA controller of choice.
 * The sensors forms a self healing radio network with optional repeaters. Each
 * repeater and gateway builds a routing tables in EEPROM which keeps track of the
 * network topology allowing messages to be routed to nodes.
 *
 * Created by Henrik Ekblad <henrik.ekblad@mysensors.org>
 * Copyright (C) 2013-2015 Sensnology AB
 * Full contributor list: https://github.com/mysensors/Arduino/graphs/contributors
 *
 * Documentation: http://www.mysensors.org
 * Support Forum: http://forum.mysensors.org
 *
 * This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
 * modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License
 * version 2 as published by the Free Software Foundation.
 *
 *******************************
 *
 * REVISION HISTORY
 * Version 1.0 - Henrik EKblad
 * Contribution by a-lurker and Anticimex,
 * Contribution by Norbert Truchsess <norbert.truchsess@t-online.de>
 * Contribution by Tomas Hozza <thozza@gmail.com>
 *
 *
 * DESCRIPTION
 * The EthernetGateway sends data received from sensors to the ethernet link.
 * The gateway also accepts input on ethernet interface, which is then sent out to the radio network.
 *
 * The GW code is designed for Arduino 328p / 16MHz.  ATmega168 does not have enough memory to run this program.
 *
 * LED purposes:
 * - To use the feature, uncomment WITH_LEDS_BLINKING in MyConfig.h
 * - RX (green) - blink fast on radio message recieved. In inclusion mode will blink fast only on presentation recieved
 * - TX (yellow) - blink fast on radio message transmitted. In inclusion mode will blink slowly
 * - ERR (red) - fast blink on error during transmission error or recieve crc error
 *
 * See http://www.mysensors.org/build/ethernet_gateway for wiring instructions.
 *
 */

// Enable debug prints to serial monitor
#define MY_DEBUG 

#define MY_RF24_CHANNEL 1

// Enable and select radio type attached
#define MY_RADIO_NRF24
//#define MY_RADIO_RFM69

// Enable gateway ethernet module type 
#define MY_GATEWAY_ENC28J60

// W5100 Ethernet module SPI enable (optional if using a shield/module that manages SPI_EN signal)
//#define MY_W5100_SPI_EN 4  

// Enable Soft SPI for NRF radio (note different radio wiring is required)
// The W5100 ethernet module seems to have a hard time co-operate with 
// radio on the same spi bus.

  #define MY_SOFTSPI
  #define MY_SOFT_SPI_SCK_PIN 7
  #define MY_SOFT_SPI_MISO_PIN 8
  #define MY_SOFT_SPI_MOSI_PIN 9
  

// When W5100 is connected we have to move CE/CSN pins for NRF radio
#ifndef MY_RF24_CE_PIN 
  #define MY_RF24_CE_PIN 5
#endif
#ifndef MY_RF24_CS_PIN 
  #define MY_RF24_CS_PIN 6
#endif

// Enable to UDP          
//#define MY_USE_UDP

#define MY_IP_ADDRESS 192,168,0,72   // If this is disabled, DHCP is used to retrieve address
// Renewal period if using DHCP
//#define MY_IP_RENEWAL_INTERVAL 60000
// The port to keep open on node server mode / or port to contact in client mode
#define MY_PORT 5003      

// Controller ip address. Enables client mode (default is "server" mode). 
// Also enable this if MY_USE_UDP is used and you want sensor data sent somewhere. 
//#define MY_CONTROLLER_IP_ADDRESS 192, 168, 178, 254   
 
// The MAC address can be anything you want but should be unique on your network.
// Newer boards have a MAC address printed on the underside of the PCB, which you can (optionally) use.
// Note that most of the Ardunio examples use  "DEAD BEEF FEED" for the MAC address.
#define MY_MAC_ADDRESS 0xDE, 0xAD, 0xBE, 0xEF, 0xFE, 0xDD

// Flash leds on rx/tx/err
//#define MY_LEDS_BLINKING_FEATURE
// Set blinking period
//#define MY_DEFAULT_LED_BLINK_PERIOD 300

// Enable inclusion mode
//#define MY_INCLUSION_MODE_FEATURE
// Enable Inclusion mode button on gateway
//#define MY_INCLUSION_BUTTON_FEATURE
// Set inclusion mode duration (in seconds)
//#define MY_INCLUSION_MODE_DURATION 60 
// Digital pin used for inclusion mode button
//#define MY_INCLUSION_MODE_BUTTON_PIN  3 

// Uncomment to override default HW configurations
//#define MY_DEFAULT_ERR_LED_PIN 7  // Error led pin
//#define MY_DEFAULT_RX_LED_PIN  8  // Receive led pin
//#define MY_DEFAULT_TX_LED_PIN  9  // the PCB, on board LED

#include <SPI.h>

#if defined(MY_USE_UDP)
  #include <EthernetUdp.h>
#endif
//#include <Ethernet.h>
#include <UIPEthernet.h>
#include <MySensors.h>


void setup()
{
  Serial.println(MCUSR);
  MCUSR=0;
}

void loop() {
  
}

[tekka]

@kk02067 What bootloader are you running?

[kk02067]

@tekka Don't know. Cheap chinese clone of arduino nano

How do I check?
This is what the arduino IDE spits out when uploading to the nano:

avrdude: Version 6.0.1, compiled on Apr 15 2015 at 19:59:58
         Copyright (c) 2000-2005 Brian Dean, http://www.bdmicro.com/
         Copyright (c) 2007-2009 Joerg Wunsch

         System wide configuration file is "C:\Program Files (x86)\Arduino\hardware\tools\avr/etc/avrdude.conf"

         Using Port                    : COM6
         Using Programmer              : arduino
         Overriding Baud Rate          : 57600
         AVR Part                      : ATmega328P
         Chip Erase delay              : 9000 us
         PAGEL                         : PD7
         BS2                           : PC2
         RESET disposition             : dedicated
         RETRY pulse                   : SCK
         serial program mode           : yes
         parallel program mode         : yes
         Timeout                       : 200
         StabDelay                     : 100
         CmdexeDelay                   : 25
         SyncLoops                     : 32
         ByteDelay                     : 0
         PollIndex                     : 3
         PollValue                     : 0x53
         Memory Detail                 :

                                  Block Poll               Page                       Polled
           Memory Type Mode Delay Size  Indx Paged  Size   Size #Pages MinW  MaxW   ReadBack
           ----------- ---- ----- ----- ---- ------ ------ ---- ------ ----- ----- ---------
           eeprom        65    20     4    0 no       1024    4      0  3600  3600 0xff 0xff
           flash         65     6   128    0 yes     32768  128    256  4500  4500 0xff 0xff
           lfuse          0     0     0    0 no          1    0      0  4500  4500 0x00 0x00
           hfuse          0     0     0    0 no          1    0      0  4500  4500 0x00 0x00
           efuse          0     0     0    0 no          1    0      0  4500  4500 0x00 0x00
           lock           0     0     0    0 no          1    0      0  4500  4500 0x00 0x00
           calibration    0     0     0    0 no          1    0      0     0     0 0x00 0x00
           signature      0     0     0    0 no          3    0      0     0     0 0x00 0x00

         Programmer Type : Arduino
         Description     : Arduino
         Hardware Version: 2
         Firmware Version: 1.16
         Vtarget         : 0.0 V
         Varef           : 0.0 V
         Oscillator      : Off
         SCK period      : 0.1 us

avrdude: AVR device initialized and ready to accept instructions

Reading | ################################################## | 100% 0.00s

avrdude: Device signature = 0x1e950f
avrdude: reading input file "C:\Users\Tony\AppData\Local\Temp\build12bf64d7a85151b4ee71a15dfecff5f5.tmp/GatewayW5100.ino.hex"
avrdude: writing flash (26964 bytes):

Writing | ################################################## | 100% 7.51s

avrdude: 26964 bytes of flash written
avrdude: verifying flash memory against C:\Users\Tony\AppData\Local\Temp\build12bf64d7a85151b4ee71a15dfecff5f5.tmp/GatewayW5100.ino.hex:
avrdude: load data flash data from input file C:\Users\Tony\AppData\Local\Temp\build12bf64d7a85151b4ee71a15dfecff5f5.tmp/GatewayW5100.ino.hex:
avrdude: input file C:\Users\Tony\AppData\Local\Temp\build12bf64d7a85151b4ee71a15dfecff5f5.tmp/GatewayW5100.ino.hex contains 26964 bytes
avrdude: reading on-chip flash data:

Reading | ################################################## | 100% 5.58s

avrdude: verifying ...
avrdude: 26964 bytes of flash verified

avrdude done.  Thank you.

[tekka]

@kk02067 The reason why I'm asking is that you got MCUSR=2 using the reset button - optiboot clears MCUSR:

https://github.com/Optiboot/optiboot/blob/master/optiboot/bootloaders/optiboot/optiboot.c#L479

[kk02067]

@tekka I found a sketch that identify the bootloader when googleing a bit. It reports bootloader as:

CRC 2048b @ 0x7800 = 489C
Boot loader: Duemilanove

[tekka]

@kk02067 Ok, I rebuilt your setup and could reproduce the rebooting issue. The problem seems AVR board defs > 1.6.11 related, try downgrading to 1.6.11 and comment MY_DEBUG - this is how it works for me:

UIPEthernet 1.09
AVR Board defs 1.6.11
Arduino IDE 1.6.11
MySensors 2.0.0

[kk02067]

@tekka Updated arduino to latest version 1.6.11 and downgraded to boarddefs 1.6.11 and now it seems fixed, at least with softspi for the radio.
I have to try it with hwspi some other day. Have to stop for today.

The version of arduino 1.6.9 would not let me downgrade to boarddefs 1.6.11, thats why it did not work when I tryed it before.

Thanks for all your help.

[tekka]

@kk02067 Perfect!

[cadet]

Please provide wiring for this hardware.

UNO + enc28-shield + NRF24

Andrey

[cadet]

Hi again

I have enc28j60 shield
UNO
Mysensors 2.1.1
avr 1.6.11
and code above
I was change ip address
BUT no ping
comment debug
and if I comment NRF24
I have ping
Any ideas??

Andrey