I configured a node as a router, but after some hours of inactivity in the net the node gets into Super Deep Sleep mode and is not seen or recognize anymore by the others nodes. Besides the 18650 battery, the router is connected to an external battery and a solar panel. How do I cancel the Super Deep Sleep mode?
I run into the same trap some weeks ago, with the same problem as you decribe. At least a workaround is to run the node in ROUTER_CLIENT mode. Try this and see if you are happy with teh results.
BTW are you using a PA module there? It looks like a heavy power consuming arrangement. The T-Beam consumes a LOT and your solar module has 10 W, right? Is that for 868 MHz?
I’m using RAK4631 directly running on a 25 Ah LiFePo4 cell…
Maybe it is the parameter power.meshsdstimeoutsecs
Thanks for the info, I will try with ROUTER_CLIENT config and let you know.
Yes, I am using a 2 watts PA and you are right, is a 10W solar panel.
The idea is to put this node on the top of a summit to cover a great area
I am using a 433 MHz node and an acid gel battery
OK, i’m also running 433 MHz.
How far do you want to get? The antenna looks homemade. Radio amateur, right?
A J-antenna?, Or a colinear antenna?
I’m running 5 nodes, permanent installed in good locations, all running on solar modules and LiFePo4 accus…
Good luck.
Yes, radio amateur callsign LW8HBE.
I am planning to put the node in the same location of a vhf repeater so it will cover most of my state.
You are right, is a homemade j-antenna made with 300 ohms cable.
All the nodes you are running are configured as ROUTER_CLIENT? Any other tip to configure them? How do you avoid SDS mode?
I would set the hopLimit as low as possible for your mesh. 3 is the recommendation.
Also it helps to save energy and duty cycle to limit the rebroadcastMode: LOCAL_ONLY
You can disable bluetooth. And you can create an admin channel for remote configuration of your node(s).
You may try to set meshSdsTimeoutSecs to a high value and sdsSecs: 5 or so. If you use a .yaml file to configure all your nodes (i do so), it is comfortable…
BTW i also use 300 Ohm ladder line of type “CQ-562” for matching the center feedpoint of my antenna. My antenna is a full wave dipole with a Lambda/4 ladder line piece in the center and the feed point is at 50 Ohm. Coax is the RG174, just 20 cm, with a quater-wave sleeve balun. So it is like a J-antenne but with two Lambda/2 radiators at the end of the ladder line. The other end of the ladder-line is short-cut of course. All of my Router nodes on mountains/hills use this kind of homemade antenna. I tested the SWR curve with a nano-VNA, an excellent tool for the job.
73!
Thanks a lot for all the info!!!
73s
Oh, one more thing that i enjoyed this week: I modified the source code, changing the voltage divider value and re-compiled. Then, i took a RAK4631 stand-alone (i.e. NOT put into a RAK19007) and build my own external voltage divider. Obviously the 4631 has ADCs with 3 V maximal voltage, so you need to stay below that level, which is of course no problem with a proper divider.
So this way it is possible to measure the voltage of your “12V” system voltage, and change the levels for 100% and 0% accordingly.
And this works! In the phone app, i can see 64% 12.87 V for example. So this way you can remote control the voltage of the battery. If you use a DC/DC converter to generate the voltage for the Meshtastic-module out of a 12V battery, it is of course useless to monitor that voltage, because it will always show something like 4.2 V, even if the 12 V battery is already deep discharged…