Issues with DIY built Rnode with ESP32 and sx1278

[dacoast]

I love this project, I have been experimenting with Reticulum for a few months and I have been really enjoying it.

I have built a couple Rnodes using ESP32 and SX1278. I have copied the same Pinout as the TTGO T-beam.
I am able to flash the firmware and the log indicates that its booting ok with an occasional serial port error 9 Dad file descriptor which usually clears with a restart.

The issue is when setting two Rnodes between two computers, they are not communicating to each other. They cant see each other announcements or send messages to the address.

as per the config.h the Tbeam pinout for rest is 23, this didn't work, but worked with pin 14 as per the datasheet.

any assistance would be much appreciated.

I am following the below Pin out:

Mosi > 27
SCLK > 5
CS > 18
DIO > 26
RST > 14
Miso > 19

This is the error that I often receive

2023-03-26 02:38:48] [Verbose] Waiting for radio configuration validation for RNodeInterface[RNode LoRa Interface]...
[2023-03-26 02:38:49] [Debug] RNodeInterface[RNode LoRa Interface] Radio reporting frequency is 433.7 MHz
[2023-03-26 02:38:49] [Debug] RNodeInterface[RNode LoRa Interface] Radio reporting bandwidth is 125.0 KHz
[2023-03-26 02:38:49] [Debug] RNodeInterface[RNode LoRa Interface] Radio reporting TX power is 7 dBm
[2023-03-26 02:38:49] [Debug] RNodeInterface[RNode LoRa Interface] Radio reporting spreading factor is 8
[2023-03-26 02:38:49] [Debug] RNodeInterface[RNode LoRa Interface] Radio reporting coding rate is 5
[2023-03-26 02:38:49] [Verbose] RNodeInterface[RNode LoRa Interface] On-air bitrate is now 3.12 kbps
[2023-03-26 02:38:49] [Debug] RNodeInterface[RNode LoRa Interface] Radio reporting state is offline
[2023-03-26 02:38:49] [Error] Radio state mismatch
[2023-03-26 02:38:49] [Error] After configuring RNodeInterface[RNode LoRa Interface], the reported radio parameters did not match your configuration.
[2023-03-26 02:38:49] [Error] Make sure that your hardware actually supports the parameters specified in the configuration
[2023-03-26 02:38:49] [Error] Aborting RNode startup
[2023-03-26 02:38:49] [Error] A serial port error occurred, the contained exception was: [Errno 9] Bad file descriptor
[2023-03-26 02:38:49] [Error] The interface RNodeInterface[RNode LoRa Interface] experienced an unrecoverable error and is now offline.
[2023-03-26 02:38:49] [Error] Reticulum will attempt to reconnect the interface periodically.

and this is when it works after a few reboots:

2023-03-26 02:39:11] [Verbose] Configuring RNode interface...
[2023-03-26 02:39:11] [Verbose] Waiting for radio configuration validation for RNodeInterface[RNode LoRa Interface]...
[2023-03-26 02:39:11] [Debug] RNodeInterface[RNode LoRa Interface] Radio reporting frequency is 433.7 MHz
[2023-03-26 02:39:11] [Debug] RNodeInterface[RNode LoRa Interface] Radio reporting bandwidth is 125.0 KHz
[2023-03-26 02:39:11] [Debug] RNodeInterface[RNode LoRa Interface] Radio reporting TX power is 7 dBm
[2023-03-26 02:39:11] [Debug] RNodeInterface[RNode LoRa Interface] Radio reporting spreading factor is 8
[2023-03-26 02:39:11] [Debug] RNodeInterface[RNode LoRa Interface] Radio reporting coding rate is 5
[2023-03-26 02:39:11] [Verbose] RNodeInterface[RNode LoRa Interface] On-air bitrate is now 3.12 kbps
[2023-03-26 02:39:11] [Notice] RNodeInterface[RNode LoRa Interface] is configured and powered up
[2023-03-26 02:39:12] [Notice] Reconnected serial port for RNodeInterface[RNode LoRa Interface]

This is the current interface configuration in config file:

[[RNode LoRa Interface]]
type = RNodeInterface

Enable interface if you want use it!
enabled = yes
Serial port for the device
port = /dev/ttyUSB1

Set frequency to 867.2 MHz
frequency = 433700000

Set LoRa bandwidth to 125 KHz
bandwidth = 125000

Set TX power to 7 dBm (5 mW)
txpower = 7

Select spreading factor 8. Valid
range is 7 through 12, with 7
being the fastest and 12 having
the longest range.
spreadingfactor = 8

Select coding rate 5. Valid range
is 5 throough 8, with 5 being the
fastest, and 8 the longest range.
codingrate = 5

You can configure the RNode to send
out identification on the channel with
a set interval by configuring the
following two parameters.
id_callsign = MYCALL-0
id_interval = 600

For certain homebrew RNode interfaces
with low amounts of RAM, using packet
flow control can be useful. By default
it is disabled.
flow_control = False

This is out put from rnodeconf -i

rnodeconf -i /dev/ttyUSB1
[02:43:28] Opening serial port /dev/ttyUSB1...
[02:43:31] Device connected
[02:43:31] Current firmware version: 1.59
[02:43:31] Reading EEPROM...
[02:43:32] EEPROM checksum correct
[02:43:32] Device signature validated
[02:43:32]
[02:43:32] Device info:
[02:43:32] Product : LilyGO T-Beam 420 - 520 MHz (e0:e4:33)
[02:43:32] Device signature : Validated - Local signature
[02:43:32] Firmware version : 1.59
[02:43:32] Hardware revision : 1
[02:43:32] Serial number : 00:00:00:0f
[02:43:32] Frequency range : 420.0 MHz - 520.0 MHz
[02:43:32] Max TX power : 17 dBm
[02:43:32] Manufactured : 2023-03-26 00:29:08
[02:43:32] Device mode : Normal (host-controlled)

[nathmo]

Did you check the radio hardware side of things ?

Is the antenna working ?
Are they tuned for the frequency you are using ?

Maybe try to post a picture of your setup.

Since it's been a year, I hope that you managed to find the cause of your issue :)