Add Ethernet support for RAK4631 + RAK13800 (W5100S)#48
Open
metrafonic wants to merge 10 commits into
Open
Conversation
The RAK13800 W5100S module on the WisBlock IO slot is now supported as part of the standard BOARD_RAK4631 (0x51) build. The W5100S is detected at runtime via Ethernet.hardwareStatus(); boards without the module initialise and fall back to serial/BLE gracefully. Key details: - ETH pins defined in the BOARD_RAK4631 block (CS=26, RST=21, IO slot SPI) - 3V3_S rail (WB_IO2 / pin 34) enabled at startup for all RAK4631 builds - TCP KISS server on port 7633 with two-phase connect/idle timeout - Brownout detection re-initialises W5100S if its MAC registers reset - MAC derived from nRF52840 FICR device address (same source as BLE) - No rnodeconf changes needed; existing RAK4631 provisioning flow works
Ethernet.begin() with an 8s/2s DHCP timeout replaces the original 60s default. If no W5100S hardware is detected, begin() returns immediately (W5100.init() fails before attempting DHCP). If hardware is present but no cable is connected, the retry loop pays 8s instead of 60s per attempt.
Author
|
Replaces #47 |
IRQ_HEADER_DET is latched and only cleared by handleDio0Rise() on RX_DONE. A partial or foreign packet that never completes leaves the bit set permanently, so dcd() reports a forever-busy channel and CSMA can never transmit (medium_free() stays false). Clear it and re-arm RX once it has been latched longer than a max-length packet could take, mirroring the existing false-preamble recovery.
Ethernet.maintain() blocks while it re-requests the lease (~halfway through the lease, i.e. after hours). Run it only when the radio is idle (no carrier and no queued TX) so it cannot interrupt an in-flight packet, and cut the DHCP timeout from 8s to 3s so an unresponsive server cannot stall the main loop. The SX1262 dcd self-heal covers any stall that does occur.
The header-detect self-heal timeout was built from lora_us_per_byte, which is the nominal LoRa bitrate. That undercounts real airtime when Low Data Rate Optimize is active (SF11/SF12), where LDRO inflates payload time by SF/(SF-2). A near-max-length packet at e.g. SF12/BW125k would exceed the estimate and be aborted mid-reception, dropping a valid frame. Correct the payload term by SF/(SF-2) when LDRO is on and add a 1.25x margin for the omitted symbol-count quantization. Over-estimating only delays this last-resort heal; the stuck-IRQ wedge it guards against is far worse.
The dcd() self-heal clears a stuck header-detect and re-arms RX via receive(), but that does not clear a latched RX_DONE or re-attach the DIO0 interrupt. A receiver that has stopped completing receptions therefore keeps detecting headers (channel load still rises) while delivering no packets, and only a full radio re-init recovers it. Count completed receptions (rx_done_events, bumped in handleDio0Rise) against self-heal aborts (rx_header_aborts). When RX_STALL_ABORT_LIMIT header-detects abort with no completed reception in between, loop() runs stopRadio()/startRadio() -- the same recovery a host reconnect performs, which is the only thing that re-arms the RX_DONE path.
This file contains hidden or bidirectional Unicode text that may be interpreted or compiled differently than what appears below. To review, open the file in an editor that reveals hidden Unicode characters.
Learn more about bidirectional Unicode characters
Sign up for free
to join this conversation on GitHub.
Already have an account?
Sign in to comment
1 participant
Add this suggestion to a batch that can be applied as a single commit.This suggestion is invalid because no changes were made to the code.Suggestions cannot be applied while the pull request is closed.Suggestions cannot be applied while viewing a subset of changes.Only one suggestion per line can be applied in a batch.Add this suggestion to a batch that can be applied as a single commit.Applying suggestions on deleted lines is not supported.You must change the existing code in this line in order to create a valid suggestion.Outdated suggestions cannot be applied.This suggestion has been applied or marked resolved.Suggestions cannot be applied from pending reviews.Suggestions cannot be applied on multi-line comments.Suggestions cannot be applied while the pull request is queued to merge.Suggestion cannot be applied right now. Please check back later.
Summary
Adds RNode-over-TCP support for the RAK4631 + RAK13800 WisBlock Ethernet module (W5100S chip), listening on TCP port 7633.
ETH support is added within the existing
BOARD_RAK4631build — the W5100S is detected at runtime, so the same firmware binary works for both plain RAK4631 boards and the ETH variant with no separate build needed. On boards without the RAK13800 module, ETH is skipped after the first failed init with negligible overhead.EthernetRemote.hhandles the full ETH lifecycle: DHCP, TCP accept/read/write, connect and read timeouts, and W5100S brownout recovery (PoE power instability can reset the chip registers while the MCU keeps running). MAC address is derived from the nRF52840 FICR device address.Hardware
SPI buses
The SX1262 modem uses
spiModem(NRF_SPIM2, Core slot P1.11–P1.13). The W5100S uses the board defaultSPI(NRF_SPIM3, IO slot P0.03/P0.29/P0.30). The two instances are independent — no conflict.Tested
The following scenarios were tested on real hardware:
Firmware: https://github.com/metrafonic/RNode_Firmware_RAK_Ethernet/releases/
This PR was developed with AI assistance (Claude). The implementation and all test scenarios were verified on physical hardware.