RaspberryPi Home Automation Gateway - RPi directly using RFM69 modification?

[labusr]

Hello,
I'm still digging into the inner workings of the Low Power Lab's Raspberry Pi gateway.  Thank you for the tutorial:

http://lowpowerlab.com/blog/2013/10/02/raspberrypi-home-automation-gateway/

It looks like the RPi communicates with the Moteino using the SPI pins.  Instead of connecting the Moteino to the RPi, can you use a RFM69 directly to the RPi's SPI pins instead?  Basically, have the RPi act as the wireless base unit instead of the Moteino?

It's harder to use the RPi for certain I/O - for example the lack of RTC means you can't use it for ultrasonic distance sensors because they use ms timer on the I/O pins to measure distance.  Is there something to the function of the 918MHz base receiver that requires this type of timing?

Thanks!

[Felix]

It's connected through serial, not SPI...
And no I do NOT recommend interfacing RFM69 directly to Pi.