Ethernet Gateway - unreliable (sort-of)

[stevebus]

yeah, since I'm relatively new to home automation, I made the (apparent) mistake of building an Edge. No choice but UI7. When troubleshooting other stuff with long time Vera users, this is the point I usually get to, where they say "oh, I'm running UI5, <insert thing I'm trying to do> works fine for me" and shrug :-)

Apparently UI7 is a big pile of monkey :shit:

Thanks a ton for trying to help! I'll keep plugging at it.

[Dan S.]

@stevebus There have been discussions here about using UI7 and I am assuming there are some members of this forum who have an Ethernet gateway up and running. If it is a UI7 specific problem, I recommend you start a new entry such as "Help with Vera Edge UI7 Ethernet gateway problem" so that you attract UI7 users with your title.

[stevebus]

I can do that, but I'm not yet convinced it's a Vera/UI7 problem (unless UI7 is what's causing the GW to stop listening). I say that because I can't telnet or use the MYSController app to connect to it either. I should be able to connect with those things as well I would think.

[BulldogLowell]

@stevebus

Does your arduino or Ethernet shield get very warm?

By that I mean impossible for you to hold your finger on them for more than a few moments?

I'm wondering if you haven't overpowered your rig, causing some over current protection to trip.

I have the same setup but the arduino/Ethernet/radio and had problems with a 1200mA 12v power supply... Got too hot!

[Dan S.]

@stevebus Since you receive from the sensor and post on the Vera, your gateway loop and radio are working which means the problem is probably not the Arduino. The Ethernet is sending to the vera but not receiving. When you reboot the setup code is run through again, the Ethernet is reinitialized and then it is ok for a short while (If I correctly understood your problem description). Thinking maybe a problem with wiznet board. Do you have one to substitute?

[stevebus]

@BulldogLowell - Neither the Uno or the Ethernet shield gets hot. I seem to have the same experience no matter how I power it...

@Dan-S - I'm using a ENC28J60 based shield, not Wiznet. I had both. I actually tried to use the Wiznet board first, but it seems to be completely bad (I can't even get any of the built-in Ethernet examples to work with it). I don't have another ENC28J60 board to test with..

However - by way of a small update. I've had the GW running for several days in a row now and have a few updates/observations:

1. communication from sensor to GW to Vera continues to work flawlessly.
2. I finally got around to adding a sensor that requires commands to be sent FROM the Vera (a variation on the relay actuator sample). Communication from the Vera through the GW to the sensor also works very reliably... So, it seems the problem is not the Ethernet stack or listener. So, the problem seems to be isolated to the inclusion mode and Metric/Imperial buttons.
3. inclusion mode now works 'sometimes'. It doesn't work every time, but sometimes setting inclusion mode from the Vera UI works, as opposed to never working previously after the first 30 seconds after a reboot. It seems like it works right as I'm about to get irritated that I have to walk down two flights of stairs to my basement to push the inclusion mode button manually, so maybe the Vera/GW have a 'mood' sensor :-)

I don't know (yet) why it works sometimes and not others. Still troubleshooting. But I'm encouraged that the Vera/Mysensors combination is trending towards more reliability.