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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)
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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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  • _Rooky__ _Rooky_

    Hi,
    maybe someone could give me a hint. I installed everything and it looks like it is working, but no sensors are displayed in Domoticz. Any idea what's wrong?

    I used this sensor before with a ESP Wifi gateway and it was working fine. The DallasTemp Sensors got visible in Domoticz right after the gateway was added in the Hardware section.

    After installing the NRF24l01 on the Rasperry Pi 3 and follwing the instructions above, I added MySensorsGateway USB with /dev/ttyUSB20, but nothing happend.

    Would be nice, if I could get this smart thing working. Else I would need to go back to the ESP Wifi gateway.

    Domoticz log:
    2016-12-30 00:31:01.610 Domoticz V3.5877 (c)2012-2016 GizMoCuz
    2016-12-30 00:31:01.611 Build Hash: 15b013c, Date: 2016-11-10 16:44:33
    2016-12-30 00:31:01.611 System: Raspberry Pi
    2016-12-30 00:31:01.611 Startup Path: /home/pi/domoticz/
    2016-12-30 00:31:02.327 Sunrise: 08:18:00 SunSet:15:59:00
    2016-12-30 00:31:02.327 EventSystem: reset all events...
    2016-12-30 00:31:02.411 Active notification subsystems: (0/12)
    2016-12-30 00:31:02.448 WebServer(HTTP) started on address: :: with port 8080
    2016-12-30 00:31:02.479 WebServer(SSL) started on address: :: with port 443
    2016-12-30 00:31:02.481 Proxymanager started.
    2016-12-30 00:31:02.516 Starting shared server on: :::6144
    2016-12-30 00:31:02.516 TCPServer: shared server started...
    2016-12-30 00:31:02.517 RxQueue: queue worker started...
    2016-12-30 00:31:04.520 EventSystem: reset all events...
    2016-12-30 00:31:04.520 EventSystem: reset all device statuses...
    2016-12-30 00:31:04.521 EventSystem: Started
    2016-12-30 00:31:05.519 MySensors: Using serial port: /dev/ttyUSB20
    2016-12-30 00:33:06.145 Incoming connection from: 127.0.0.1


    pi@raspberrypi:~ $ sudo /usr/local/sbin/PiGatewaySerial
    Starting PiGatewaySerial...
    Protocol version - 1.4
    Created PTY '/dev/pts/2'
    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 = 0xa8a8e1fc02 0xa8a8e1fc00
    RX_ADDR_P2-5 = 0xff 0xc4 0xc5 0xc6
    TX_ADDR = 0xa8a8e1fc02
    RX_PW_P0-6 = 0x20 0x20 0x20 0x00 0x00 0x00
    EN_AA = 0x3b
    EN_RXADDR = 0x06
    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
    read: 2-2-0 s=255,c=3,t=24,pt=1,l=1:1
    read: 2-2-255 s=255,c=3,t=7,pt=0,l=0:
    send: 0-0-2-2 s=255,c=3,t=8,pt=1,l=1,st=ok:0
    read: 2-2-255 s=255,c=3,t=7,pt=0,l=0:
    send: 0-0-2-2 s=255,c=3,t=8,pt=1,l=1,st=ok:0
    read: 2-2-255 s=255,c=3,t=7,pt=0,l=0:
    send: 0-0-2-2 s=255,c=3,t=8,pt=1,l=1,st=ok:0
    read: 2-2-0 s=255,c=3,t=24,pt=1,l=1:1
    read: 2-2-255 s=255,c=3,t=7,pt=0,l=0:
    send: 0-0-2-2 s=255,c=3,t=8,pt=1,l=1,st=ok:0
    read: 2-2-0 s=255,c=3,t=24,pt=1,l=1:1
    ...


    pi@raspberrypi:~ $ sudo cat /dev/ttyMySensorsGateway
    0;0;3;0;14;Gateway startup complete.
    2;255;3;0;24;1
    2;255;3;0;24;1
    2;255;3;0;24;1
    2;255;3;0;24;1
    2;255;3;0;24;1
    1;255;3;0;24;1
    2;255;3;0;24;1
    1;255;3;0;24;1
    2;255;3;0;24;1
    1;255;3;0;24;1
    2;255;3;0;24;1
    1;255;3;0;24;1
    2;255;3;0;24;1
    2;255;3;0;24;1
    2;255;3;0;24;1
    ...


    Traces from sensor node:
    Starting sensor (RNNNA-, 2.0.0)
    TSM:INIT
    TSM:RADIO:OK
    TSP:ASSIGNID:OK (ID=2)
    TSM:FPAR
    TSP:MSG:SEND 2-2-255-255 s=255,c=3,t=7,pt=0,l=0,sg=0,ft=0,st=bc:
    TSP:MSG:READ 0-0-2 s=255,c=3,t=8,pt=1,l=1,sg=0:0
    TSP:MSG:FPAR RES (ID=0, dist=0)
    TSP:MSG:PAR OK (ID=0, dist=1)
    TSM:FPAR:OK
    TSM:ID
    TSM:CHKID:OK (ID=2)
    TSM:UPL
    TSP:PING:SEND (dest=0)
    TSP:MSG:SEND 2-2-0-0 s=255,c=3,t=24,pt=1,l=1,sg=0,ft=0,st=ok:1
    TSP:CHKUPL:FAIL (hops=255)
    !TSM:UPL:FAIL
    TSM:FPAR
    TSP:MSG:SEND 2-2-255-255 s=255,c=3,t=7,pt=0,l=0,sg=0,ft=0,st=bc:
    TSM:FPAR
    TSP:MSG:SEND 2-2-255-255 s=255,c=3,t=7,pt=0,l=0,sg=0,ft=0,st=bc:
    TSP:MSG:READ 0-0-2 s=255,c=3,t=8,pt=1,l=1,sg=0:0
    TSP:MSG:FPAR RES (ID=0, dist=0)
    TSP:MSG:PAR OK (ID=0, dist=1)
    TSM:FPAR:OK
    TSM:ID
    TSM:CHKID:OK (ID=2)
    TSM:UPL
    TSP:PING:SEND (dest=0)
    TSP:MSG:SEND 2-2-0-0 s=255,c=3,t=24,pt=1,l=1,sg=0,ft=0,st=ok:1
    TSP:CHKUPL:FAIL (hops=255)
    !TSM:UPL:FAIL
    TSM:FPAR
    TSP:MSG:SEND 2-2-255-255 s=255,c=3,t=7,pt=0,l=0,sg=0,ft=0,st=bc:
    TSP:MSG:READ 0-0-2 s=255,c=3,t=8,pt=1,l=1,sg=0:0
    TSP:MSG:FPAR RES (ID=0, dist=0)
    TSP:MSG:PAR OK (ID=0, dist=1)
    TSM:FPAR:OK
    TSM:ID
    TSM:CHKID:OK (ID=2)
    TSM:UPL
    TSP:PING:SEND (dest=0)
    TSP:MSG:SEND 2-2-0-0 s=255,c=3,t=24,pt=1,l=1,sg=0,ft=0,st=ok:1
    TSP:CHKUPL:FAIL (hops=255)
    !TSM:UPL:FAIL
    TSM:FPAR
    TSP:MSG:SEND 2-2-255-255 s=255,c=3,t=7,pt=0,l=0,sg=0,ft=0,st=bc:
    TSP:MSG:READ 0-0-2 s=255,c=3,t=8,pt=1,l=1,sg=0:0
    TSP:MSG:FPAR RES (ID=0, dist=0)
    TSP:MSG:PAR OK (ID=0, dist=1)
    TSM:FPAR:OK
    TSM:ID
    TSM:CHKID:OK (ID=2)
    TSM:UPL
    TSP:PING:SEND (dest=0)
    TSP:MSG:SEND 2-2-0-0 s=255,c=3,t=24,pt=1,l=1,sg=0,ft=0,st=ok:1
    TSP:CHKUPL:FAIL (hops=255)
    !TSM:UPL:FAIL
    ....

    mfalkviddM Offline
    mfalkviddM Offline
    mfalkvidd
    Mod
    wrote on last edited by
    #159

    @_Rooky_ congratulations on your first post in the forum, welcome!

    The gateway uses MySensors 1.4 and the node uses version 2. These versions are not compatible.

    You probably want to use version 2 for the gateway as well. https://www.mysensors.org/build/raspberry describes how to create a gateway for version 2 (the gateway was completely rewritten for version 2)

    _Rooky__ 1 Reply Last reply
    1
    • mfalkviddM mfalkvidd

      @_Rooky_ congratulations on your first post in the forum, welcome!

      The gateway uses MySensors 1.4 and the node uses version 2. These versions are not compatible.

      You probably want to use version 2 for the gateway as well. https://www.mysensors.org/build/raspberry describes how to create a gateway for version 2 (the gateway was completely rewritten for version 2)

      _Rooky__ Offline
      _Rooky__ Offline
      _Rooky_
      wrote on last edited by
      #160

      @mfalkvidd many thanks for the very quick and polite reply.
      It is working now and this solution is much better way, than using an additional ESP as gateway.
      Even though I got on the wrong lane, I learned more details from your excellent guide, than from the "make", "make install" from the MySensors page ... and still got a lot to learn

      1 Reply Last reply
      1
      • ronnyandreR Offline
        ronnyandreR Offline
        ronnyandre
        wrote on last edited by
        #161

        Thanks for this thorough guide, it works perfect :)

        Newbie with RPi and Domoticz, trying to automate my home.

        1 Reply Last reply
        0
        • S Scala

          @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 Offline
          ronnyandreR Offline
          ronnyandre
          wrote on last edited by
          #162

          @Scala I have the same error as you. Worked perfectly first time, and after reboot the "/dev/ttyMySensorsGateway: No such file or directory" error message appear. Did you solve this?

          Newbie with RPi and Domoticz, trying to automate my home.

          1 Reply Last reply
          0
          • MrRikkieM MrRikkie

            Hello, If followed the instruction and everything seemed to work without any problem.
            However when I enter the command : sudo cat /dev/ttyMySensorsGateway
            I get the message : cat: /dev/ttyMySensorsGateway: No such file or directory
            Does anybody have any idea how to solve this ?

            ronnyandreR Offline
            ronnyandreR Offline
            ronnyandre
            wrote on last edited by
            #163

            @MrRikkie Did you solve this issue? I got the same error as you..

            Newbie with RPi and Domoticz, trying to automate my home.

            1 Reply Last reply
            0
            • J Offline
              J Offline
              javad arji
              wrote on last edited by
              #164

              hi
              when that run this code
              :

              sudo /etc/init.d/PiGatewaySerial start
              

              error:

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

              can you help me??

              1 Reply Last reply
              0
              • 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
                sineverba
                Hardware Contributor
                wrote on last edited by
                #165

                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 :-)

                In my case I did need simply to restart. I did "make install" but I did need to restart ;) ;)

                1 Reply Last reply
                1
                • T Offline
                  T Offline
                  Toyman
                  wrote on last edited by Toyman
                  #166

                  I know this thread is ancient, but why it was needed to add

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

                  into rc.local if you could just change a line in makefile from

                  TTY_NAME := /dev/ttyMySensorsGateway
                  

                  to

                  TTY_NAME := /dev/ttyUSB20
                  

                  and create "proper" name from the start

                  1 Reply Last reply
                  0
                  • R Offline
                    R Offline
                    ricorico94
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #167

                    Hi,
                    I plan using a gateway with Mydomoticz and this solution seems great. However, I might want to use later signing or the high Amplifier NRF24 or even the version 2 which seem not suitable for this project.
                    How easy is it to start with this gateway, then migrate to an external ethernet gateway ?
                    I saw this gateway can be uninstalled, but should I then modify anything on sensors to move them to new gateway ? will I lose log datas in Domoticz ?

                    br,
                    Ricorico94

                    mfalkviddM 1 Reply Last reply
                    0
                    • R ricorico94

                      Hi,
                      I plan using a gateway with Mydomoticz and this solution seems great. However, I might want to use later signing or the high Amplifier NRF24 or even the version 2 which seem not suitable for this project.
                      How easy is it to start with this gateway, then migrate to an external ethernet gateway ?
                      I saw this gateway can be uninstalled, but should I then modify anything on sensors to move them to new gateway ? will I lose log datas in Domoticz ?

                      br,
                      Ricorico94

                      mfalkviddM Offline
                      mfalkviddM Offline
                      mfalkvidd
                      Mod
                      wrote on last edited by mfalkvidd
                      #168

                      @ricorico94 welcome to the MySensors commu ity! All you need to do when switching from raspberry pi gateway to ethernet gateway is change the "hardware" configuration in Domoticz.

                      However, if you are just starting out, don't use this gateway. It works for MySensors 1.x only. Use the new raspberry pi gateway instead.

                      1 Reply Last reply
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