@mfalkvidd thanks! I'll try with RFM69_RETRIES=1 and handle retris from sketch. The reason I'd like to see what is my retry count is that I'd like to see how the nodes perform in a longer period of time. for short time I see that the power is fluctuating so I wanted to see how many retries on average do I have for a given target_rssi (-70 is the default). I was wondering how much lower can I get to still have reliable link quality.

@mfalkvidd, AFAIK B+ version of Raspberry Pi can provide up to 500mA on 3.3V rail (they replaced linear 3.3V regulator to a switching one), see https://pinout.xyz/pinout/pin1_3v3_power

Anyway I tried external 3v3 anyway a minute ago. Unfortunately my results are the same...