Repeater drops nodes

titvs

So, to try to solve the range issues of the NRF24 node networks deployed inside masonry-mortar buildings, i've setup a repeater on my first floor. I have a serial gateway with an amplified NRF24 at the groundfloor and a node that works normally.
At the first floor i have 2 nodes (temp+hum) where only one is able to connect to the gateway in this normal setup. Ive then installed a repeater with a fixed ID which gets connection to the gateway without problems.
Ive then forced the nodes at the first floor to connect to the repeater with:

#define MY_PARENT_NODE_ID 51           
#define MY_PARENT_NODE_IS_STATIC

Everything works ok for an hour or so, and then i begin to notice in Domoticz that the time the nodes were "seen" starts to be 20, 30, 50 minutes without reporting the readings and i get the info on my nodes that transportCheckUplink() is false. If i restart the repeater, everything starts to work but the same issue happens again… Has anyone come across something similar? Ive checked the log of the repeater but since this issue takes a bit of time to show up, ill need to plug it to a laptop and collect the full log.

Im now trying to setup one of the temp+hum nodes also as a repeater, but since my nodes have a small OLED im trying to implement a delayed display update since ive removed the "sleep" function. I hope this doesnt spam the gateway…

As always, any insights are more than welcome.
Thank you.

sundberg84

@titvs did you try to set my_parenr_node_id (gateway = 0) on the repeater? I had some similar issues but I upgraded from 2.2 to 2.3 in the same time so can't tell if it was a version mismatch or that the parent setting helped.

titvs

@sundberg84 hmmm, nope… I only have this line:

#define MY_NODE_ID 51

So you're saying you've solved your problem by also adding:

#define MY_PARENT_NODE_ID 0

At the repeater?

sundberg84

@titvs yes, I'm saying it's worth a try... I made some other changes so can't promise.

titvs

Well, that didn’t solve it... got both nodes disconnected as before. It seems the repeater hangs for some reason...

I’ve also noticed that the “last seen” time for the repeater that appears in Domoticz is the time it was powered up and presented to the gateway. It doesn’t get updated.

I guess the only way to debug this is to collect all the log from the repeater until the nodes get disconnected...

sundberg84

@titvs well, its good you figured out its the repeater hanging. Maybe you should look over the hardware? I would suggest trying swapping the capacitor and/or radio. Looking over the nodes debug output is a great idea, but if it just hangs it will not give you anything (unless its a software issue). If so, as I said try first to change the capacitor, maybe try another value (ie if you are using 4,7uF you can try 10uF or 47uF). It can also be good to try another power supply.

How do you power the repeater at the moment? How do you get it to 3.3v? Are you using a strong enough voltage regulator?

titvs

@sundberg84 well, the repeater doesnt "hang" on the literal sense. Here is the initial log from it with the initialization and the acknowledge of one of the nodes:

16 MCO:BGN:INIT REPEATER,CP=RNNRA---,VER=2.3.0
26 TSM:INIT
27 TSF:WUR:MS=0
34 TSM:INIT:TSP OK
35 TSM:INIT:STATID=51
37 TSF:SID:OK,ID=51
39 TSM:FPAR
40 TSM:FPAR:STATP=0
43 TSM:ID
44 TSM:ID:OK
45 TSM:UPL
48 TSF:MSG:SEND,51-51-0-0,s=255,c=3,t=24,pt=1,l=1,sg=0,ft=0,st=OK:1
59 TSF:MSG:READ,0-0-51,s=255,c=3,t=25,pt=1,l=1,sg=0:1
64 TSF:MSG:PONG RECV,HP=1
66 TSM:UPL:OK
68 TSM:READY:ID=51,PAR=0,DIS=1
97 TSF:MSG:SEND,51-51-0-0,s=255,c=3,t=15,pt=6,l=2,sg=0,ft=0,st=OK:0100
114 TSF:MSG:READ,0-0-51,s=255,c=3,t=15,pt=6,l=2,sg=0:0100
147 TSF:MSG:SEND,51-51-0-0,s=255,c=0,t=18,pt=0,l=5,sg=0,ft=0,st=OK:2.3.0
155 TSF:MSG:SEND,51-51-0-0,s=255,c=3,t=6,pt=1,l=1,sg=0,ft=0,st=OK:0
175 TSF:MSG:READ,0-0-51,s=255,c=3,t=6,pt=0,l=1,sg=0:M
212 TSF:MSG:SEND,51-51-0-0,s=255,c=3,t=11,pt=0,l=13,sg=0,ft=0,st=OK:Repeater Node
222 TSF:MSG:SEND,51-51-0-0,s=255,c=3,t=12,pt=0,l=3,sg=0,ft=0,st=OK:1.0
228 MCO:REG:REQ
232 TSF:MSG:SEND,51-51-0-0,s=255,c=3,t=26,pt=1,l=1,sg=0,ft=0,st=OK:2
242 TSF:MSG:READ,0-0-51,s=255,c=3,t=27,pt=1,l=1,sg=0:1
247 MCO:PIM:NODE REG=1
249 MCO:BGN:STP
251 MCO:BGN:INIT OK,TSP=1
22758 TSF:MSG:READ,2-2-0,s=255,c=3,t=24,pt=1,l=1,sg=0:1
22763 TSF:MSG:REL MSG
22765 TSF:MSG:REL PxNG,HP=1
22770 TSF:MSG:SEND,2-51-0-0,s=255,c=3,t=24,pt=1,l=1,sg=0,ft=0,st=OK:2
22781 TSF:MSG:READ,0-0-2,s=255,c=3,t=25,pt=1,l=1,sg=0:1
22787 TSF:MSG:REL MSG
22789 TSF:MSG:REL PxNG,HP=1
22793 TSF:MSG:SEND,0-51-2-2,s=255,c=3,t=25,pt=1,l=1,sg=0,ft=0,st=OK:2
22799 TSF:MSG:READ,2-2-0,s=255,c=3,t=15,pt=6,l=2,sg=0:0100
22805 TSF:MSG:REL MSG
22817 TSF:MSG:SEND,2-51-0-0,s=255,c=3,t=15,pt=6,l=2,sg=0,ft=0,st=OK:0100
22824 TSF:MSG:READ,0-0-2,s=255,c=3,t=25,pt=1,l=1,sg=0:1
22830 TSF:MSG:REL MSG
22832 TSF:MSG:REL PxNG,HP=1
22857 TSF:MSG:SEND,0-51-2-2,s=255,c=3,t=25,pt=1,l=1,sg=0,ft=0,st=OK:2
22864 TSF:MSG:READ,0-0-2,s=255,c=3,t=15,pt=6,l=2,sg=0:0100
22870 TSF:MSG:REL MSG
22874 TSF:MSG:SEND,0-51-2-2,s=255,c=3,t=15,pt=6,l=2,sg=0,ft=0,st=OK:0100
22880 TSF:MSG:READ,0-0-2,s=255,c=3,t=15,pt=6,l=2,sg=0:0100
22885 TSF:MSG:REL MSG
22889 TSF:MSG:SEND,0-51-2-2,s=255,c=3,t=15,pt=6,l=2,sg=0,ft=0,st=OK:0100
22896 TSF:MSG:READ,2-2-0,s=255,c=0,t=17,pt=0,l=5,sg=0:2.3.0
22901 TSF:MSG:REL MSG
22905 TSF:MSG:SEND,2-51-0-0,s=255,c=0,t=17,pt=0,l=5,sg=0,ft=0,st=OK:2.3.0
22913 TSF:MSG:READ,2-2-0,s=255,c=3,t=6,pt=1,l=1,sg=0:51
22918 TSF:MSG:REL MSG
22921 TSF:MSG:SEND,2-51-0-0,s=255,c=3,t=6,pt=1,l=1,sg=0,ft=0,st=OK:51
22936 TSF:MSG:READ,0-0-2,s=255,c=3,t=6,pt=0,l=1,sg=0:M
22941 TSF:MSG:REL MSG
22979 !TSF:MSG:SEND,0-51-2-2,s=255,c=3,t=6,pt=0,l=1,sg=0,ft=0,st=NACK:M
22986 TSF:MSG:READ,2-2-0,s=255,c=3,t=11,pt=0,l=12,sg=0:TEMPHUM_OLED
22992 TSF:MSG:REL MSG
23035 !TSF:MSG:SEND,2-51-0-0,s=255,c=3,t=11,pt=0,l=12,sg=0,ft=0,st=NACK:TEMPHUM_OLED
23044 TSF:MSG:READ,2-2-0,s=255,c=3,t=12,pt=0,l=3,sg=0:1.2
23049 TSF:MSG:REL MSG
23053 TSF:MSG:SEND,2-51-0-0,s=255,c=3,t=12,pt=0,l=3,sg=0,ft=1,st=OK:1.2
23059 TSF:MSG:READ,2-2-0,s=0,c=0,t=7,pt=0,l=0,sg=0:
23064 TSF:MSG:REL MSG
23067 TSF:MSG:SEND,2-51-0-0,s=0,c=0,t=7,pt=0,l=0,sg=0,ft=0,st=OK:
23073 TSF:MSG:READ,2-2-0,s=1,c=0,t=6,pt=0,l=0,sg=0:
23078 TSF:MSG:REL MSG
23083 TSF:MSG:SEND,2-51-0-0,s=1,c=0,t=6,pt=0,l=0,sg=0,ft=0,st=OK:
25023 TSF:MSG:READ,2-2-0,s=255,c=3,t=26,pt=1,l=1,sg=0:2
25028 TSF:MSG:REL MSG
25032 TSF:MSG:SEND,2-51-0-0,s=255,c=3,t=26,pt=1,l=1,sg=0,ft=0,st=OK:2
25039 TSF:MSG:READ,0-0-2,s=255,c=3,t=27,pt=1,l=1,sg=0:1
25044 TSF:MSG:REL MSG
25074 TSF:MSG:SEND,0-51-2-2,s=255,c=3,t=27,pt=1,l=1,sg=0,ft=0,st=OK:1
27297 TSF:MSG:READ,2-2-0,s=1,c=1,t=0,pt=7,l=5,sg=0:25.8
27302 TSF:MSG:REL MSG
27307 TSF:MSG:SEND,2-51-0-0,s=1,c=1,t=0,pt=7,l=5,sg=0,ft=0,st=OK:25.8
27314 TSF:MSG:READ,2-2-0,s=0,c=1,t=1,pt=7,l=5,sg=0:50.2

When the nodes give the "disconnected" signal, the log from the repeater gives this block over and over:

11917643 TSF:MSG:REL MSG
11917645 TSF:MSG:REL PxNG,HP=1
11917649 TSF:MSG:SEND,2-51-0-0,s=255,c=3,t=24,pt=1,l=1,sg=0,ft=0,st=OK:2
11919709 TSF:MSG:READ,2-2-0,s=255,c=3,t=24,pt=1,l=1,sg=0:1

I cant see anything on the log that the repeater lost connection to the gateway so i guess its not a radio problem. But answering your question, when i collected the log, the repeater (arduino nano) was connected/powered via a USB 3.0 port and the NRF was power by the 3v3 pin.

Im now collection the log from one of the nodes to see what it gives.

Thanks!

titvs

Ive been digging around the node logs and i got this after a while:

964875 !TSF:MSG:PONG RECV,INACTIVE
964878 TSF:PNG:SEND,TO=0
964882 TSF:MSG:SEND,3-3-51-0,s=255,c=3,t=24,pt=1,l=1,sg=0,ft=0,st=OK:1
964917 TSF:MSG:READ,0-51-3,s=255,c=3,t=25,pt=1,l=1,sg=0:2
964922 TSF:MSG:PONG RECV,HP=2
964925 TSF:CKU:OK
964969 !TSF:MSG:SEND,3-3-51-0,s=0,c=1,t=1,pt=7,l=5,sg=0,ft=0,st=NACK:48.7

A bunch of NACK errors and "!TSF:MSG:PONG RECV,INACTIVE". I dont understand why this doesnt happen at the beginning and only after a while (about 16 minutes in this case) and i also dont know if the lack of radio acknowledge is from the repeater to the node or the repeater to the gateway…

Ive now moved the repeater more closer to the gateway but im still getting:

!TSF:MSG:SEND,3-3-51-0,s=1,c=1,t=0,pt=7,l=5,sg=0,ft=0,st=NACK:26.1

Oddly, again after 16 minutes… Im at a loss...

sundberg84

If you have a amplified radio you need a better voltage regulator than the onboard regulator. When the radio transmits it can cause a higher current draw than the regulator can provide.

I don't know what the logs mean... but try the log parser.https://www.mysensors.org/build/parser

titvs

I know about the power requirements, but only the gateway is amplified. The repeater i was testing was a normal nano with a NRF24 powered by an original LG USB charger. Thats not the point with this issue.

What im saying is that seems the repeater stops to relay messages after about 16 minutes and with an almost direct line of sight to the gateway… If i remove the repeater, the node that is about 2 meters further apart from where the repeater was, still gets signal directly from the gateway and it works normally.
If i put the repeater in between, about 16 minutes later one of the values (temp or hum) doesnt get through to the gateway.

Ive tested different radios, nanos and power supplies but it seems to be a software issue or somekind of interference… I'll have to equate if i put up more gateways with NRF24's or completely ditch them. They seem not to worth all this hassle even if they are cheaper...

itbeyond

Are you running 2.2 or 2.3. I have noticed that repeaters and 2.3 just do not seem to work. I have three gateways and various repeaters around my place and over 20 nodes and have reverted all Gateways and Repeater to 2.2. and all my issue went away. I even took a gateway on my desk install 2.3 on it - works find for a few hours then starts to NACK and play up - on 2.2 this just does not happen.

sundberg84

@itbeyond logs would be great it can be improved. As i wrote above, I had some issues as well but they went away when I upgraded all (and made some other changes as well).

Norton

Hello,
I have a similar problem. I wanted to start a new thread, but after reading this posts I put it here. My problem is similar even though I do not have a repeater. I used the mysensors version 2.3.0 alpha, after updating to 2.3.0 stable a few days ago one of my nodes started not to send humidity data. Here is the log:

16 MCO:BGN:INIT NODE,CP=RNNNA---,VER=2.3.0
25 TSM:INIT
26 TSF:WUR:MS=0
33 TSM:INIT:TSP OK
35 TSM:INIT:STATID=101
37 TSF:SID:OK,ID=101
39 TSM:FPAR
40 TSM:FPAR:STATP=0
43 TSM:ID
44 TSM:ID:OK
45 TSM:UPL
81 TSF:MSG:SEND,101-101-0-0,s=255,c=3,t=24,pt=1,l=1,sg=0,ft=0,st=OK:1
2092 TSF:MSG:SEND,101-101-0-0,s=255,c=3,t=24,pt=1,l=1,sg=0,ft=1,st=OK:1
2099 TSF:MSG:READ,0-0-101,s=255,c=3,t=25,pt=1,l=1,sg=0:1
2104 TSF:MSG:PONG RECV,HP=1
2107 TSM:UPL:OK
2108 TSM:READY:ID=101,PAR=0,DIS=1
2132 TSF:MSG:SEND,101-101-0-0,s=255,c=3,t=15,pt=6,l=2,sg=0,ft=0,st=OK:0100
2143 TSF:MSG:READ,0-0-101,s=255,c=3,t=15,pt=6,l=2,sg=0:0100
2183 TSF:MSG:SEND,101-101-0-0,s=255,c=0,t=17,pt=0,l=5,sg=0,ft=0,st=OK:2.3.0
2191 TSF:MSG:SEND,101-101-0-0,s=255,c=3,t=6,pt=1,l=1,sg=0,ft=0,st=OK:0
2732 TSF:MSG:READ,0-0-101,s=255,c=3,t=6,pt=0,l=1,sg=0:M
2769 TSF:MSG:SEND,101-101-0-0,s=255,c=3,t=11,pt=0,l=18,sg=0,ft=0,st=OK:Senzor 101-DualDHT
2780 TSF:MSG:SEND,101-101-0-0,s=255,c=3,t=12,pt=0,l=3,sg=0,ft=0,st=OK:1.1
2790 TSF:MSG:SEND,101-101-0-0,s=0,c=0,t=7,pt=0,l=0,sg=0,ft=0,st=OK:
2798 TSF:MSG:SEND,101-101-0-0,s=1,c=0,t=6,pt=0,l=0,sg=0,ft=0,st=OK:
2805 TSF:MSG:SEND,101-101-0-0,s=2,c=0,t=6,pt=0,l=0,sg=0,ft=0,st=OK:
2813 TSF:MSG:SEND,101-101-0-0,s=3,c=0,t=7,pt=0,l=0,sg=0,ft=0,st=OK:
2820 MCO:REG:REQ
2824 TSF:MSG:SEND,101-101-0-0,s=255,c=3,t=26,pt=1,l=1,sg=0,ft=0,st=OK:2
2832 TSF:MSG:READ,0-0-101,s=255,c=3,t=27,pt=1,l=1,sg=0:1
2837 MCO:PIM:NODE REG=1
2840 MCO:BGN:INIT OK,TSP=1
2848 MCO:SLP:MS=2000,SMS=0,I1=255,M1=255,I2=255,M2=255
2853 TSF:TDI:TSL
2855 MCO:SLP:WUP=-1
2856 TSF:TRI:TSB
2868 TSF:MSG:SEND,101-101-0-0,s=1,c=1,t=0,pt=7,l=5,sg=0,ft=0,st=OK:31.8
DHT1TEMP: 31.80
2875 MCO:SLP:MS=2500,SMS=0,I1=255,M1=255,I2=255,M2=255
2880 TSF:TDI:TSL
2882 MCO:SLP:WUP=-1
2884 TSF:TRI:TSB
4485 !TSF:MSG:SEND,101-101-0-0,s=0,c=1,t=1,pt=7,l=5,sg=0,ft=0,st=NACK:35.2
DHT1HUM: 35.20
4497 MCO:SLP:MS=2000,SMS=0,I1=255,M1=255,I2=255,M2=255
4501 TSF:TDI:TSL
4503 MCO:SLP:WUP=-1
4505 TSF:TRI:TSB
4513 TSF:MSG:SEND,101-101-0-0,s=2,c=1,t=0,pt=7,l=5,sg=0,ft=1,st=OK:24.0
DHT2TEMP: 24.00
4520 MCO:SLP:MS=2500,SMS=0,I1=255,M1=255,I2=255,M2=255
4527 TSF:TDI:TSL
4529 MCO:SLP:WUP=-1
4530 TSF:TRI:TSB
6130 !TSF:MSG:SEND,101-101-0-0,s=3,c=1,t=1,pt=7,l=5,sg=0,ft=0,st=NACK:56.8
DHT2HUM: 56.80

As you can see the temperature is sent correctly, and then the humidity value is not. When I returned the 2.3.0 alpha version to the node, everything started going OK. Otherwise, on other nodes where i also updated to version 2.3.0 stable this problem is not. I also updated the gateway to version 2.3.0 stable. I just had to make a downgrade on this one node only.

sundberg84

@norton just out of curiosity, you can add a wait(100); after sending the temp value. This way the radio has some time to recover if needed. I understand your point since it works in alpha but could be a good clue if it works with a wait().

itbeyond

@sundberg84 I understand about the logs but after spending several days trying to make 2.3.0 work on these nodes and just going to NACK NACK NACK for every send either repeater or gateway I reverted. I can enable it again if you like but all you will see is good data for a period then without any warning or reason constant NACK for every send. I did add wait(50)s on my nodes and these seem to be better but no go on Gateways and Repeaters cannot inject a wait of course. I can report that on Gateways trying 2.3.0 I used Vera/Ethernet - openHab/MQTT and openHab/Ethernet and all did the exact same thing and now on 2.2.0 I have zero problems.

Coupled with this testing the openHab network was and is still new so had limited nodes installed and everything was 2.3.0 when the troubles occurred so I did have a full 2.3.0 network using channel 82.

titvs

@itbeyond im running 2.3 on gateway, nodes and repeater… Im glad someone showed up with the same issue. The behaviour is similar: everything is ok and, in my case, it starts to "NACK" after around 16 min… Seems to be a software problem then and not the "popular" NRF24 reception issues. What radios are you using? NRF24's?

tekka

@titvs see here https://forum.mysensors.org/topic/9642/nrf24-transmission-of-data-works-fine-but-constant-nack-s-produced/12

Please test https://github.com/tekka007/MySensors/tree/RF24Test

titvs

@tekka ok, will test your version tomorrow and collect the node log. Do i need to upload your version to the node, repeater and gateway?

tekka

@titvs are you using nrf24L01+ PA+LNA modules?

titvs

@tekka using normal NRF24's on the nodes and a nrf24L01+ PA+LNA on the gateway.

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