Repeater Node, problems

[flopp]

Not solved.

I still have some nodes that sometimes doesn't send data.

23/8 22.00 I changed to DEBUG but still some Nodes that doesn't send correct.

I just changed to NO DEBUG and 9600, i will let it run for a few days and see what happens

[tlpeter]

I seem to have the same issue. I just opened a topic about it.
One or two nodes just stop sending and i am not sure if this is because there isn't a change in the reading or not.
After rebooting the node it goes well for sometimes hours and sometimes just minutes.

[flopp]

I had a node that haven't sent any data for 3 days and suddenly it sent data without I touched it. This is a solar panel node.

It must be something with range problem. If the battery is too low it cannot send even if the sun is shining it will not send because the solar panel is very small so it takes lots of hours to charge the battery to a high level.

[tlpeter]

I have two which are powered (nano) with USB and both in the same place (garage)
They both are repeater nodes and i think they both have issues connecting to the nearest repeater node.

[flopp]

yesterday was the first day since I changed(27/8) to below setup, not even one error :grinning:
this is my setup
NO DEBUG, 9600, PA+LNA power taken from 5v on a Nano to an adapter http://www.ebay.com/itm/2pcs-Socket-Adapter-plate-Board-for-10Pin-NRF24L01-Wireless-Transceive-module-/191674251825

[flopp]

I will give up soon

Today it start do NOT send again. It is raining if that can make problem. I reprogram Repeater with DEBUG ON and could see that the repeater didn't have connection to GW.

I changed RF on Serial GW, didn't help.
I change to have external power for RF on GW, didn't help.

I changed RF on Repeater, didn't help.
I change to have external power for RF on Repeater, didn't help.
Reprogram Repeater, didn't help.

Finally I restarted my RPi, that helped.

I have 6-8 meters from GW to Repeater, there is 2 inner walls, 1 brick wall, 1 wood wall and the GW is inside my drawer so some woods there as well.
It is a Serial GW with nRF24L01+ PA + LNA with shield. I take 5 volt from UNO to an adapter that step-down to 3.3V I have Cap on GW
Repeater is Arduino Nano with nRF24L01+ PA + LNA no shield and Cap, power from 5v Nano to an adapter step-down to 3,3V

What is next step?:flushed:

[okos]

@flopp said:

I will give up soon

Today it start do NOT send again. It is raining if that can make problem. I reprogram Repeater with DEBUG ON and could see that the repeater didn't have connection to GW.

I changed RF on Serial GW, didn't help.
I change to have external power for RF on GW, didn't help.

I changed RF on Repeater, didn't help.
I change to have external power for RF on Repeater, didn't help.
Reprogram Repeater, didn't help.

Finally I restarted my RPi, that helped.

I have 6-8 meters from GW to Repeater, there is 2 inner walls, 1 brick wall, 1 wood wall and the GW is inside my drawer so some woods there as well.
It is a Serial GW with nRF24L01+ PA + LNA with shield. I take 5 volt from UNO to an adapter that step-down to 3.3V I have Cap on GW
Repeater is Arduino Nano with nRF24L01+ PA + LNA no shield and Cap, power from 5v Nano to an adapter step-down to 3,3V

What is next step?:flushed:

Reposition and put it to the test in the vicinity of the goal.
Exclude in this way the problem of the range.
It's just a tip :smiley:

[Boots33]

@flopp

If you live in a highly populated area the 2.4GHz part of the radio spectrum can get quite busy. There are a host of devices that could be sharing the same channel that you have setup your network on. These may include WiFi networks, cordless telephones, surveillance camera transmitters, bluetooth devices and a range of others that may be using the 2.4GHz ISM band. On top of this you may have to contend with noise being generated by other appliances, Microwave ovens for example operate at around 2.45GHz. See this page for an idea of what you are up against.

When I first built my gateway I was very disappointed with the range I was getting but after spending a bit of time I now have my whole house covered by it and now only need repeater nodes for the outside area.

I have found that intermittent nodes are usually caused by either power supply problems or range/channel crowding problems. If you take a logical approach to your fault finding you will soon have a reliable network.

The first thing you should do is build a node that you can use to test the range of your gateway. You will need this so you can compare the results for changes that you make to improve the range. You will need a laptop and a small breadboard to complete the test unit.

You can see my simple range tester node below

You can then load this simple sketch, which just transmits dummy data every 5 seconds.

/**
 * rangeTester
 */

// Enable debug prints to serial monitor
#define MY_DEBUG 

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

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

#define CHILD_ID_LIGHT 0


unsigned long WAIT_TIME = 5000; //  time between reads (in milliseconds)

MyMessage msg(CHILD_ID_LIGHT, V_LIGHT_LEVEL);



void presentation()  {
  // Send the sketch version information to the gateway and Controller
  sendSketchInfo("Range Finder", "1.0");

  // Register all sensors to gateway (they will be created as child devices)
  present(CHILD_ID_LIGHT, S_LIGHT_LEVEL);
}

void loop()      
{     
  
 for (int i=0; i<20; i++) {
   send(msg.set(i));
   Serial.println(i);
   wait(WAIT_TIME);
 }
  
}

plug the node into your laptop and walk around your house and watch the serial monitor to see when the node loses reliable contact with the gateway. Make sure you don't have any repeater nodes going at this time and always have the radio in the same position in relation to the gateway as this will make a difference too.

you will see an output like this

TSP:MSG:SEND 3-3-0-0 s=0,c=1,t=23,pt=2,l=2,sg=0,ft=0,st=ok:2
2
TSP:MSG:SEND 3-3-0-0 s=0,c=1,t=23,pt=2,l=2,sg=0,ft=0,st=ok:3
3
TSP:MSG:SEND 3-3-0-0 s=0,c=1,t=23,pt=2,l=2,sg=0,ft=0,st=ok:4
4
TSP:MSG:SEND 3-3-0-0 s=0,c=1,t=23,pt=2,l=2,sg=0,ft=0,st=ok:5
5
TSP:MSG:SEND 3-3-0-0 s=0,c=1,t=23,pt=2,l=2,sg=0,ft=0,st=ok:6
6
TSP:MSG:SEND 3-3-0-0 s=0,c=1,t=23,pt=2,l=2,sg=0,ft=0,st=ok:7
7
TSP:MSG:SEND 3-3-0-0 s=0,c=1,t=23,pt=2,l=2,sg=0,ft=0,st=ok:8
8
TSP:MSG:SEND 3-3-0-0 s=0,c=1,t=23,pt=2,l=2,sg=0,ft=0,st=ok:9
9
TSP:MSG:SEND 3-3-0-0 s=0,c=1,t=23,pt=2,l=2,sg=0,ft=0,st=ok:10
10
TSP:MSG:SEND 3-3-0-0 s=0,c=1,t=23,pt=2,l=2,sg=0,ft=0,st=ok:11
11
TSP:MSG:SEND 3-3-0-0 s=0,c=1,t=23,pt=2,l=2,sg=0,ft=0,st=ok:12
12
!TSP:MSG:SEND 3-3-0-0 s=0,c=1,t=23,pt=2,l=2,sg=0,ft=0,st=fail:13
13
!TSP:MSG:SEND 3-3-0-0 s=0,c=1,t=23,pt=2,l=2,sg=0,ft=1,st=fail:14
14
!TSP:MSG:SEND 3-3-0-0 s=0,c=1,t=23,pt=2,l=2,sg=0,ft=2,st=fail:15
15
!TSP:MSG:SEND 3-3-0-0 s=0,c=1,t=23,pt=2,l=2,sg=0,ft=3,st=fail:16
16
!TSP:MSG:SEND 3-3-0-0 s=0,c=1,t=23,pt=2,l=2,sg=0,ft=4,st=fail:17

When you see the fail your connection has been lost, move back closer to the gateway and you will see ok again. It may be a good idea to have a rough plan of your house as well so you can mark down the current range limits to compare with later results. Once you have this base data then we can talk about improving your range :)

[flopp]

@Boots33
Thank you very much, this is something I really need to test.
Since my restart yesterday all nodes has been working.

I got answer about what frequencies nRF is using, see this post https://forum.mysensors.org/topic/4721/nrf-frequency-and-channels/4

[flopp]

I have some posts here for same problem https://forum.mysensors.org/topic/4079/my-best-nrf24l01-pa-lna-node-gateway-repeater-so-far/9