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  1. Home
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  3. Problems with Sensor using RFM69

Problems with Sensor using RFM69

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  • spacejayS Offline
    spacejayS Offline
    spacejay
    wrote on last edited by
    #1

    Hello all,

    I'm trying to build a sensor with an arduino nano and RFM69 radio. The serial monitor shows the following errors:

    send: 1-1-0-0 s=255,c=3,t=15,pt=2,l=2,sg=0,st=fail:0
    send: 1-1-0-0 s=255,c=0,t=17,pt=0,l=5,sg=0,st=fail:1.5.4
    send: 1-1-0-0 s=255,c=3,t=6,pt=1,l=1,sg=0,st=fail:0
    sensor started, id=1, parent=0, distance=1
    send: 1-1-0-0 s=255,c=3,t=11,pt=0,l=9,sg=0,st=fail:Torstatus
    send: 1-1-0-0 s=255,c=3,t=12,pt=0,l=3,sg=0,st=fail:1.0
    send: 1-1-0-0 s=0,c=0,t=3,pt=0,l=0,sg=0,st=fail:
    Setup done
    send: 1-1-0-0 s=0,c=1,t=2,pt=7,l=5,sg=0,st=fail:1.0
    send: 1-1-0-0 s=0,c=1,t=2,pt=7,l=5,sg=0,st=fail:1.0
    send: 1-1-0-0 s=0,c=1,t=2,pt=7,l=5,sg=0,st=fail:1.0

    I checked the wiring and I also tried to use a capacitor. Nevertheless I get always the same error. I think I can exclude a hardware error as I uploaded a sketch with a Jeelink clone and this works fine with my normal temperature sensors. I'm not sure if hava an logical error in my sketch:

    MyTransportRFM69 transport;
    MyHwATMega328 hw;
    MySensor gw(transport, hw /, signer/);
    MyMessage msgLight(CHILD_ID_LIGHT, V_STATUS);

    void setup() {
    //gw.begin();
    gw.begin(NULL, 1, false, 0);
    // Send the Sketch Version Information to the Gateway
    gw.sendSketchInfo("Torstatus", "1.0");
    gw.present(CHILD_ID_LIGHT, S_LIGHT);
    Serial.println("Setup done");
    }
    void loop() {
    // put your main code here, to run repeatedly:
    gw.send(msgLight.set(1, 1));
    //Serial.println("Test");
    delay(3000);
    }

    Does anyone have an idea, what the root cause of the problem could be and how I can investigate. Currently I have just the errors in the serial monitor.

    Thanks!
    Christian

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    0
    • carlierdC Offline
      carlierdC Offline
      carlierd
      wrote on last edited by
      #2

      Hello,

      Are you using HW version of RFM69 ?

      David

      1 Reply Last reply
      0
      • spacejayS Offline
        spacejayS Offline
        spacejay
        wrote on last edited by
        #3

        Hi David,

        no I'm using the CW version. As I know I have to use isRFM69HW=false with this one, but I'm not sure.

        Christian

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        0
        • carlierdC Offline
          carlierdC Offline
          carlierd
          wrote on last edited by
          #4

          Your gateway is also on nano ? or uno ? You have level adapter ? voltage converter ?

          1 Reply Last reply
          0
          • spacejayS Offline
            spacejayS Offline
            spacejay
            wrote on last edited by
            #5

            Yes, the gateway is also a nano with RFM69. I'm using the SerialGateway sketch from the examples. I connected the radio to the 3,3 V pin of the arduino. As I mentioned I tried also to use a capacitor, without success. Do I need a gateway to test? Does the sensor request an acknowledge?

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            • carlierdC Offline
              carlierdC Offline
              carlierd
              wrote on last edited by
              #6

              Yes you need a gateway and a controller like MYSController.

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              0
              • spacejayS Offline
                spacejayS Offline
                spacejay
                wrote on last edited by
                #7

                Now I connected the gateway to the MYSController. And I was able to get a stable connection but only when I touch both antenna. My antenna is a 8,3 cm piece of wire. I read a something about that but I tought that this is solved with the capacitor. Is the value of the capacitor to less. How can I solve that problem?

                1 Reply Last reply
                0
                • carlierdC Offline
                  carlierdC Offline
                  carlierd
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #8

                  What is the frequency of the RFM69 ?
                  I used 4,7uF for the capacitor but I am pretty sure that more is not a problem.

                  David.

                  1 Reply Last reply
                  0
                  • spacejayS Offline
                    spacejayS Offline
                    spacejay
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #9

                    I'm using 868 MHz. I try to use a bigger one ...
                    Do you think that the simple wire antenna could be a problem also?

                    carlierdC 1 Reply Last reply
                    0
                    • nagelcN Offline
                      nagelcN Offline
                      nagelc
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #10

                      Unlike the NRF24, some of the SPI pins on the RFM69 radios are not 5V tolerant. I have had good luck with the RFM69's on 3.3V Arduinos, but did not get one to work with the nano. I expect it would work with the proper level shifters, but I haven't tried that yet.

                      carlierdC 1 Reply Last reply
                      0
                      • spacejayS spacejay

                        I'm using 868 MHz. I try to use a bigger one ...
                        Do you think that the simple wire antenna could be a problem also?

                        carlierdC Offline
                        carlierdC Offline
                        carlierd
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #11

                        @spacejay I used a 1/2 length antenna (17,23 cm) without any problem on many sensors. I imagine it's a copper wire not flexible ?

                        1 Reply Last reply
                        0
                        • nagelcN nagelc

                          Unlike the NRF24, some of the SPI pins on the RFM69 radios are not 5V tolerant. I have had good luck with the RFM69's on 3.3V Arduinos, but did not get one to work with the nano. I expect it would work with the proper level shifters, but I haven't tried that yet.

                          carlierdC Offline
                          carlierdC Offline
                          carlierd
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #12

                          @nagelc Dialog with MYSControler is correct so there is probably no issue with 5v.

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                          • spacejayS Offline
                            spacejayS Offline
                            spacejay
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #13

                            Hello,

                            I want you to give a short update. Now I was able get the sensor with the RFC69 running. Now I use a coaxial cable, 17,2 cm long. I removed the electromagnetic shielding on 8,6 cm (Lamba/4). Furthermore I use 10 uF capacitor between 3,3V and GND for the radio. But now I have another problem. When I connect a 9V battery to VIN and GND. The power LED is on but the sensor doesn't work. The LED "L" shows weak light. It seems that the LED is blinking. Is current is not enough. But could that be?

                            Thanks in advance ...

                            Christian

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                            • carlierdC Offline
                              carlierdC Offline
                              carlierd
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #14

                              Hello,

                              You have message on the serial monitor ?

                              David.

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                              • spacejayS Offline
                                spacejayS Offline
                                spacejay
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #15

                                Hi David,

                                no I don't have any messages on the serial monitor. But I'm not sure if this is general problem. Because sometimes when I use the sensor only with USB power I don't see anything on the serial monitor either. But I can see that the sensor works as I get the correct messages on the gateway. Sometimes when I open the serial monitor the sensors stops sending (I assume that as I don't get any messages at the gateway).

                                Christian

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                                0
                                • carlierdC Offline
                                  carlierdC Offline
                                  carlierd
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #16

                                  It's strange ! Can you post a picture of your sensor and gateway ?

                                  Have you try with a second nano ? It's not normal to have nothing on the serial monitor when using USB.

                                  One thing you can do it's to connect a LED to any digital pin and switch it on at the end of the init() function ??

                                  David.

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