Step by step instructions of how to troubleshoot RFM69 gateway/sensor ?

[Cliff Karlsson]

I had a gateway using RFM69HW working a long time ago then for some reason it stoped working and I have not got them working again. I have gateways using NRF2401 and Rf-link working without problem but as soon as I connect a gateway with RFM69 it never works.

I have tried several different radios/nano/mini pros with same result. I have a powered usb hub connected to my rpi that every gateway is connected to and am running domoticz as a controller.

A few times I have got the gateway connected right and have it show up in domotics hardware with correct gateway version. But as soon as I power up another RFM sensor I get some error about "serial link lost" or something like that and the gateway "looses" the usb port and I have to remove the sensor and restart everything to have it show up again. often it only shows a ? in the gateway version info.

How do I troubleshoot the problem. When I look at the serial monitor both sensor and gateway seems to start up ok. but the sensor always reports st=fail when gateway is connected to rpi.

Can I use MYScontroller in some way to see if the hardware/sketches are ok?
I have connected the gateway using a nano with level-converter or 3.3v mini pro using a FTDI adapter. I have also tried connected 5v to RAW/GND to provide more power, but I do not know if that is the correct way.

[carlierd]

Hello,

Is there a 3v output on the nano ? I got some issue with my uno and a voltage converter. To solve the issue I removed the voltage converter and used the 3v output on the UNO.
Hope it helps !

David.

[Cliff Karlsson]

@carlierd said:

Is there a 3v output on the nano ? I got some issue with my uno and a voltage converter. To solve the issue I removed the voltage converter and used the 3v output on the UNO.

Yes the nano have 3.3v. But I still need the converter as the RFM69 is not 5v tolerant and I guess both the nano and UNO use 5v for "communication"

[Cliff Karlsson]

This is the log from MYScontroller when I first plug in the RFM69HW gateway using FTDI -> USB and then powering up a sensor (with no sensors attached) with a RFM69 radio.

It looks correct, or am I wrong?

So this must mean that my domoticz controller is not functioning correctly?

2016-02-10 16:13:03	STARTUP	Initialize message logging
2016-02-10 16:13:03	STARTUP	MYSController 0.1.2.282
2016-02-10 16:13:03	STARTUP	FPC 2.6.4 / Lazarus 1.4.2
2016-02-10 16:13:03	STARTUP	still under development :) tekka 2015
2016-02-10 16:13:03	STARTUP	Load INI file...
2016-02-10 16:13:03	STARTUP	INI version 0.1.2.282
2016-02-10 16:13:03	INFO	*** Logging START ***
2016-02-10 16:13:03	VERSION	MYSController 0.1.2.282
2016-02-10 16:13:03	STARTUP	INI file loaded
2016-02-10 16:13:03	STARTUP	Loading FW repository...
2016-02-10 16:13:03	REPO	FW "Blink" loaded. t=10, v=1, blocks=72, crc=0xD098
2016-02-10 16:13:03	REPO	FW "TimeReporter" loaded. t=20, v=1, blocks=840, crc=0x4AC5
2016-02-10 16:13:03	REPO	FW "Sensebender Micro" loaded. t=100, v=1, blocks=1344, crc=0x3482
2016-02-10 16:13:03	REPO	FW "Sensebender Blink" loaded. t=110, v=1, blocks=768, crc=0x1314
2016-02-10 16:13:03	REPO	FW repository loaded. Items=4
2016-02-10 16:13:03	STARTUP	Initialize message types
2016-02-10 16:13:03	NODE	New node discovered, node id=0
2016-02-10 16:13:03	NODE	New node discovered, node id=255
2016-02-10 16:13:09	UPDATE	4295098650
2016-02-10 16:13:12	INFO	Flushing FIFO
2016-02-10 16:13:12	INFO	Connected to COM4
2016-02-10 16:13:14	CHILD	New child discovered, node id=0, child id=internal
2016-02-10 16:13:14	RX	0;255;3;0;9;Starting gateway (RRNGA-, 2.0.0-beta)
2016-02-10 16:13:14	RX	0;255;3;0;9;Radio init successful.
2016-02-10 16:13:14	RX	0;255;3;0;14;Gateway startup complete.
2016-02-10 16:13:14	RX	0;255;3;0;9;Init complete, id=0, parent=0, distance=0
2016-02-10 16:13:59	RX	0;255;3;0;9;read: 255-255-0 s=255,c=3,t=3,pt=0,l=0,sg=0:
2016-02-10 16:13:59	CHILD	New child discovered, node id=255, child id=internal
2016-02-10 16:13:59	TX	255;255;3;0;4;1
2016-02-10 16:13:59	RX	255;255;3;0;3;
2016-02-10 16:14:01	RX	0;255;3;0;9;read: 255-255-0 s=255,c=3,t=3,pt=0,l=0,sg=0:
2016-02-10 16:14:01	TX	255;255;3;0;4;1
2016-02-10 16:14:01	RX	255;255;3;0;3;
2016-02-10 16:14:03	RX	0;255;3;0;9;read: 255-255-0 s=255,c=3,t=3,pt=0,l=0,sg=0:
2016-02-10 16:14:03	TX	255;255;3;0;4;1
2016-02-10 16:14:03	RX	255;255;3;0;3;
2016-02-10 16:14:05	RX	0;255;3;0;9;read: 255-255-0 s=255,c=3,t=3,pt=0,l=0,sg=0:
2016-02-10 16:14:05	TX	255;255;3;0;4;1
2016-02-10 16:14:05	RX	255;255;3;0;3;
2016-02-10 16:14:07	RX	0;255;3;0;9;read: 255-255-0 s=255,c=3,t=3,pt=0,l=0,sg=0:
2016-02-10 16:14:07	TX	255;255;3;0;4;1
2016-02-10 16:14:07	RX	255;255;3;0;3;

[chrille]

I find the Node and Gateway sketches, that comes with the RFM69 library, are very useful to validate the hardware setup.
They are available from https://github.com/LowPowerLab/RFM69/tree/master/Examples

It's also my experience that powering the RFM69 modules from an USB adaptor (either 3.3V directly, or 5V to a regulator), doesn't work reliable. I needed to power my RFM69 modules (even the non-H version) from a more reliable power source to get the hardware to work reliable

[carlierd]

All my nodes work correctly when powering via 2 AA or via USB adaptor (FTDI).
I only got issue on the gateway using a uno and a voltage converter.

On my nodes (arduino pro mini on 3.3v / 8MHz) I used caps of 100uF on the power supply and 4.7uF for the RFM.
On the gateway I only add the 4.7uF for the RFM.

David.

[carlierd]

@chrille I also use simple sketch to validate hardware without MySensors. It's easier to be sure everything is working correctly. Another reason is that with MySensors there is no RSSI. I found this very useful to verify antenna connection especially with home-made antenna :)

[Cliff Karlsson]

I tried both gateway and node sketch and it worked.

I then uploaded the mysensors.org gateway sketch version 1.5,1.6 and 2.0. None worked. Formatted and reinstalled domoticz. Tried both stable and beta. No change. I am giving up on this for tonight.