RAK4631 - Lora doesn't work

  • What product do you wish to discuss?

RAK4631

  • What firmware are you using? (RUI3 or Arduino BSP or other IDE (e.g. STM32CubeIDE)?

Latest Meshtastic beta.

  • What firmware version? Can it be obtained with AT+VER=?

No.

I don’t see any nodes on the map, and my node doesn’t connect to other nodes. So I assume my LoRa radio doesn’t work, but it has only preset configuration except for region. So what is wrong? I can access this device using an Android app


.

Are there any other Meshtastic nodes around and are they set to the same channel/region/modem preset and frequency slot?

What region did you set?

What Meshtastic mobile app are you using? Android or iOS?

Yes, they are.
UE868.
Long fast.
Android.
LoRa has a fabric preset; only the region was changed.

I have got a debug from the device.

21:13:24.272 -> [0m[32mINFO  [0m| ??:??:?? 1 [32mSX126x init result 0
21:13:24.308 -> [0m[32mINFO  [0m| ??:??:?? 1 [32mFrequency set to 869.525024
21:13:24.308 -> [0m[32mINFO  [0m| ??:??:?? 1 [32mBandwidth set to 250.000000
21:13:24.308 -> [0m[32mINFO  [0m| ??:??:?? 1 [32mPower output set to 22
21:13:24.308 -> [0m[34mDEBUG [0m| ??:??:?? 1 [34mCurrent limit set to 140.000000
21:13:24.308 -> [0m[34mDEBUG [0m| ??:??:?? 1 [34mCurrent limit set result 0
21:13:24.308 -> [0m[34mDEBUG [0m| ??:??:?? 1 [34mSet DIO2 as RF switch, result: 0
21:13:24.308 -> [0m[34mDEBUG [0m| ??:??:?? 1 [34mSX126X_RXEN not defined, defaulting to RADIOLIB_NC
21:13:24.308 -> [0m[34mDEBUG [0m| ??:??:?? 1 [34mSX126X_TXEN not defined, defaulting to RADIOLIB_NC
21:13:24.308 -> [0m[34mDEBUG [0m| ??:??:?? 1 [34mUse MCU pin -1 as RXEN and pin -1 as TXEN to control RF switching
21:13:24.308 -> [0m[32mINFO  [0m| ??:??:?? 1 [32mSet RX gain to power saving mode (boosted mode off); result: 0
21:13:24.308 -> [0m[32mINFO  [0m| ??:??:?? 1 [32mSX1262 init success

Is it proof that the LoRa radio works well?

Yes, it means the LoRa transceiver works.
Success messages are:

SX126x init result 0
...
SX1262 init success

With UE868 you mean EU868 I guess.
There is no UE868 in Meshtastic. Hope you didn’t select UA868, that is using different frequencies.

Hardware seems to be ok.

For problems with Meshtastic firmware we cannot help. We are not developing or maintaining the Meshtastic firmware. Better you contact them for possible reasons.

Yes, I mean EU868; it was my mistake.
So, I must find a solution to why my device doesn’t see other devices.

Thank you @beegee

@beegee

A one question from debug. What does it mean:

12:00:19.863 -> e[0me[32mINFO  e[0m| 11:00:20 2228 e[32mTell client we have new packets 141

Sorry, I have no idea what that means.
But it seems you received some data, which could be only over LoRa or over BLE from the mobile app.

Is RAK4631 able to query AT commands?
I connected Arduino IDE to USB and tried to send an AT command, but it didn’t respond.

It is not the RAK4631 which can process AT commands, it is the application that is running on it.

Meshtastic has no support for AT commands.

@beegee

It works :slight_smile:

Now I have three nodes in my db.

There is a very weak signal in my house. I went up three floors up and saw other nodes.

But, screwing the enclosure together is an ancient tragedy. I mean Unify Enclosure Solar IP65 100x75x38mm. The holes are very deep and the screws are very small and not magnetised.

Glad you found some Meshtastic nodes.

For the enclosure, I was complaining the same to our mechanic engineer. He said “get the matching screwdriver, it will hold the screws” :rofl:

After 3 years using these enclosures, I got used to it and know the tricks how to get the screws in.

@beegee

So, share this knowledge with us. :slight_smile:

I will have to make a video :rofl:

Just hold the screw to the tip of the screw driver, push against the wall of the opening where the screw goes in.
Continue pushing against the wall while you insert the screw.
Once your reached the bottom, wiggle it a little bit, so that the screw goes into the hole.
Fix it.

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