Getting Check wire error, yet both devices are talking to each other.

[Adam McCartney]

Hi,

I've currently got a very basic setup.

1. Serial gateway connected to Raspberry Pi 2 running Domoticz using the standard Gateway Sketch available on this site.
2. Arduino Nano Clone with nRF24L01 connected to some WS2812B (102 of them infact) via Pin 6 using the Sketch found in this post.

The problem is that after a while i get the Check Wires error when trying to change the colour or turn the RGB Strip off.

I have connected the RGB Strip arduino to the Raspberry pi for debugging so i can watch the output of both devices.

Here's the output that i logged when trying to change the Strip

Gateway:

[Change Brightness]
0;0;3;0;9;send: 0-0-254-254 s=0,c=1,t=3,pt=0,l=2,sg=0,st=ok:37
0;0;3;0;9;read: 254-254-0 s=0,c=1,t=3,pt=0,l=2,sg=0:37
254;0;1;1;3;37
0;0;3;0;9;read: 254-254-0 s=0,c=1,t=24,pt=0,l=11,sg=0:00FBFF&94&1
254;0;1;0;24;00FBFF&94&1
0;0;3;0;9;send: 0-0-254-254 s=0,c=1,t=3,pt=0,l=2,sg=0,st=ok:37
0;0;3;0;9;read: 254-254-0 s=0,c=1,t=3,pt=0,l=2,sg=0:37
254;0;1;1;3;37
0;0;3;0;9;read: 254-254-0 s=0,c=1,t=24,pt=0,l=11,sg=0:00FBFF&94&1
254;0;1;0;24;00FBFF&94&1
0;0;3;0;9;send: 0-0-254-254 s=0,c=1,t=2,pt=0,l=1,sg=0,st=ok:0
0;0;3;0;9;read: 254-254-0 s=0,c=1,t=2,pt=0,l=1,sg=0:0
254;0;1;1;2;0
0;0;3;0;9;read: 254-254-0 s=0,c=1,t=24,pt=0,l=11,sg=0:00FBFF&94&0
254;0;1;0;24;00FBFF&94&0





[Switch Off]
0;0;3;0;9;send: 0-0-254-254 s=0,c=1,t=2,pt=0,l=1,sg=0,st=ok:0
0;0;3;0;9;read: 254-254-0 s=0,c=1,t=2,pt=0,l=1,sg=0:0
254;0;1;1;2;0
0;0;3;0;9;read: 254-254-0 s=0,c=1,t=24,pt=0,l=11,sg=0:00FBFF&94&0
254;0;1;0;24;00FBFF&94&0


[Switch On]
0;0;3;0;9;send: 0-0-254-254 s=0,c=1,t=2,pt=0,l=1,sg=0,st=ok:1
0;0;3;0;9;read: 254-254-0 s=0,c=1,t=2,pt=0,l=1,sg=0:1
254;0;1;1;2;1
0;0;3;0;9;read: 254-254-0 s=0,c=1,t=24,pt=0,l=11,sg=0:00FBFF&94&1
254;0;1;0;24;00FBFF&94&1

RGB Strip

[Change Brightness]
read: 0-0-254 s=0,c=1,t=3,pt=0,l=2,sg=0:37
send: 254-254-0-0 s=0,c=1,t=3,pt=0,l=2,sg=0,st=ok:37
send: 254-254-0-0 s=0,c=1,t=24,pt=0,l=11,sg=0,st=ok:00FBFF&94&1
read: 0-0-254 s=0,c=1,t=3,pt=0,l=2,sg=0:37
send: 254-254-0-0 s=0,c=1,t=3,pt=0,l=2,sg=0,st=ok:37
send: 254-254-0-0 s=0,c=1,t=24,pt=0,l=11,sg=0,st=ok:00FBFF&94&1
read: 0-0-254 s=0,c=1,t=2,pt=0,l=1,sg=0:0
send: 254-254-0-0 s=0,c=1,t=2,pt=0,l=1,sg=0,st=ok:0
send: 254-254-0-0 s=0,c=1,t=24,pt=0,l=11,sg=0,st=ok:00FBFF&94&0



[Switch Off]
read: 0-0-254 s=0,c=1,t=2,pt=0,l=1,sg=0:0
send: 254-254-0-0 s=0,c=1,t=2,pt=0,l=1,sg=0,st=ok:0
send: 254-254-0-0 s=0,c=1,t=24,pt=0,l=11,sg=0,st=ok:00FBFF&94&0


[Switch On]
read: 0-0-254 s=0,c=1,t=2,pt=0,l=1,sg=0:1
send: 254-254-0-0 s=0,c=1,t=2,pt=0,l=1,sg=0,st=ok:1
send: 254-254-0-0 s=0,c=1,t=24,pt=0,l=11,sg=0,st=ok:00FBFF&94&1

Am i correct in thinking that this is more likely an issue with the RGB Strip? Or the wiring to it anyway? if the Devices are talking to each other i cant see what else it might be?

Thanks.

Adam

[mfalkvidd]

How are you powering the LEDs? They are very power hungry and might affect the power supply to the Arduino and the radio. From this source: "Each RGB LED draws approximately 50 mA when it is set to full brightness and powered at 5 V. This means that for every 30 LEDs you turn on, your LED strip could be drawing as much as 1.5 A. Be sure to select a power source that can handle your strip’s current requirements."
So for your 102 LEDs you'll need 5.1A at full brightness.

Try using a really low brightness, power from a separate power source and add a capacitor to stabilize the power supply.

[Adam McCartney]

They are driven by a separate 5v 10amp power supply. originally i was using this to power the Arduino but i'm now using USB to debug the connection.

[mfalkvidd]

Alright, then the power shouldn't be a problem

[Adam McCartney]

no, i've got a capacitor bridging the NRF module Power feed too to stabilise the power to that.

I'll keep an eye on the ser2net feed and see if there anything untoward happening!