Gateway stuck.. Is it the radio? <solved>

[Joshua]

Can someone assist me by providing some troubleshooting suggestions?

I'm converting from 433 to 915. However, the gateway sticks at 

GW Version GW V2.4_p4



915 Mhz...

This is the radio I purchased 
RFM69HCW 915Mhz +20dBm HopeRF Wireless Transceiver

If I take the radio off the Ethernet shield, everything else works

GW Version GW V2.4_p4



915 Mhz...

connecting

no link

MQTT-link OK

Here's a photo of the build. 




My sketch that will work just fine with the older RFM69HCW Wireless Transceiver - 434MHz after changing the frequency to the code below

//Match frequency to the hardware version of the radio (uncomment one):

//#define FREQUENCY RF69_433MHZ

//#define FREQUENCY RF69_868MHZ

#define FREQUENCY RF69_915MHZ

[papa]

rfmfrm7738: "Gateway stuck.. Is it the radio? ... If I take the radio off the Ethernet shield, everything else works"      papa: Yes, the radio may be the problem.

rfmfrm7738, some of your image is not clear, but I could trace the wiring on the D2, D7-D13 side of the gateway & they look correct. I could not see your connections to the power pins on the other side of the gateway. Is the RFM69 3.3 volt pin connected to the Ethernet Shields 3.3 volt pin? Are the LEDs connected to GND?

You wrote:

My sketch that will work just fine with the older RFM69HCW Wireless Transceiver - 434MHz after changing the frequency to the code below

//Match frequency to the hardware version of the radio (uncomment one):

//#define FREQUENCY RF69_433MHZ

//#define FREQUENCY RF69_868MHZ

#define FREQUENCY RF69_915MHZ

First it is interesting that you have a 434MHz radio when I've seen 433MHz before.  If you mean that the 434MHz radio works when the sketch sets it at 915MHz, I suggest that you just use that radio.  From what I remember (see this thread), radios marked at a certain frequency can still work when a sketch sets them at a different frequency.  Using the antenna length (see this post) for the sketch-set frequency might help how well it works. (From your image, I cannot see your full antenna.  Perhaps, it is already close to the length for 915MHz.)

A radio like your 915MHz can get damaged if it is run at 5 volts instead of 3.3 volts.  Is the Arduino compatible beneath your Ethernet shield running in 3.3 volt mode (not only at the 3.3 volt pin but also at the digital pins d2 & d8-d13 connected to the radio?  That is, are you using something like a Buono Uno that is switched to 3.3 volt mode.  Also in building the gateway, (see "a hack fix..." in this post), did you disable the pin to prevent 5 volts going to the radio?

[Joshua]

The problem was the Ethernet shield. I'm surprised because it is new out of the box. I should have known better than changing two components (the radio and the shield) at the same time. I assumed it was the radio.

Thanks again for your quick reply. I look forward to contributing back to the forum with my build.

Joshua

[papa]

Joshua: "I should have known better than changing two components (the radio and the shield) at the same time."

papa: It sounds like you have a good sense of building things step by step, testing & troubleshooting along the way. Otherwise, it's easy to lose track of what is working & what is not.
   It does help to have duplicate parts to trade in & out as one tests & builds.

I find a similar approach works well for writing & tweaking sketches: Save multiple versions of a sketch with a naming system that indicates which version is later.  Make small changes in each version & use comments to keep track of what is working & what is not working in each sketch version.

Joshua: "Thanks again for your quick reply. I look forward to contributing back to the forum with my build."

papa: You are welcome. That is good to hear that you plan to give back to the forum from what you learn & get working. I look forward to your future contributions.