Recent posts

#61

CurrentRanger / Re: CurrentRanger User Guide?

Last post by Felix - September 03, 2025, 05:42:03 PM

It should not require anything.
What happens if you double click the reset button (not even sure if at that point one was mounted)?
Or try another computer/windows?
And you have only one CR?

#62

CurrentRanger / Re: Another OLED screen case b...

Last post by chrismower - September 02, 2025, 06:10:33 AM

I just realised that the Fusion360 file that I uploaded was not the fully parameterised version. This upload is fully parameterised so it is easier to modify to suit slightly different screen sizes. There is no other difference and the original STL file is fine.

#63

CurrentRanger / Re: CurrentRanger User Guide?

Last post by chrismower - September 02, 2025, 05:41:41 AM

Thanks for the reply. However my problem is that when the CR is connected via the USB it does not appear as a device on any computer that I have plugged it in to, PC or Mac. The USB cable is fine as it works with several other devices such as an RP2040 which appears just fine. So my question is, does something have to be done on the CR to enable it to appear as a device when plugged in?

#64

CurrentRanger / Re: Another OLED screen case b...

Last post by chrismower - September 02, 2025, 05:34:36 AM

That's correct. The R1 model has plated through hole sockets on the PCB but they are much larger than the pins on the OLED so soldering is called for. For me that is not a problem since the screen is to be a permanent fixture anyway.

#65

CurrentRanger / Re: Another OLED screen case b...

Last post by Felix - September 01, 2025, 12:28:42 PM

That looks cool, thanks for sharing the model.
From the looks of it, this will only fit the OLED soldered to the CR PCB?

#66

CurrentRanger / Re: CurrentRanger User Guide?

Last post by Felix - September 01, 2025, 12:26:33 PM

Yes the R1 is a very early revision, however it should have a serial menu where you can get logging enabled.
You can open the serial port at any baud (ex. from Putty or Arduino IDE), then type '?' + ENTER to bring up the available menu.

See these pages for more on that:
https://lowpowerlab.com/guide/currentranger/usb-serial-menu-options/
https://lowpowerlab.com/guide/currentranger/bluetooth-data-logging/

The firmware can be updated to the latest available (see Github repo). Make sure you read and follow the proper steps for updating the firmware - ie. ensure you backup your current firmware from the device before you replace it!

https://lowpowerlab.com/guide/currentranger/programming-firmware-updates/

#67

CurrentRanger / Another OLED screen case but l...

Last post by chrismower - September 01, 2025, 05:52:57 AM

I wanted a more low profile case for my CurrentRanger. I have uploaded the STL file for printing as well as the Fusion360 file for tweaking. The F360 file is parameterised to make tweaking easier.
I tried to post this a few minutes ago but for some reason it crashed, so you might see this twice.

#68

CurrentRanger / CurrentRanger User Guide?

Last post by chrismower - September 01, 2025, 05:06:25 AM

I have had my CurrentRanger (R1?) for some time and never actualy needed a user manual as using it with a Fluke 87 was pretty much intuitive. I recently added the OLED display which is amazing, and I don't know why I didn't do it earlier, which raised the question "Could I use it for data logging via USB?".

Unfortunately I could find no documentation describing how to do this. I plugged the CR into my Win11 pc but it does not show up as anything. I tried turning it on/off but still nothing shows up as a device or a com port.
Can anyone help here? Do I need to do something on the CR to enable it as a USB device? It is a reasonably early unit but it does have the reset button on the rear and has R1 written under the Current Ranger logo.

Thanks in advance for any help.

#69

General topics / Re: Dropped Packets with High ...

Last post by Felix - August 26, 2025, 09:12:04 PM

Do you use encryption?
There is no data whitening by default. It's good to ensure you don't have too much data that consists of repeated bits. Maybe play with the whitening and see if it yields any different results (bits 6-7 in register 37):

Code Select Expand

void RFM69::set300KBPS() {
  writeReg(0x03, 0x00);  //REG_BITRATEMSB: 300kbps (0x006B, see DS p20)
  writeReg(0x04, 0x6B);  //REG_BITRATELSB: 300kbps (0x006B, see DS p20)
  writeReg(0x19, 0x40);  //REG_RXBW: 500kHz
  writeReg(0x1A, 0x80);  //REG_AFCBW: 500kHz
  writeReg(0x05, 0x13);  //REG_FDEVMSB: 300khz (0x1333)
  writeReg(0x06, 0x33);  //REG_FDEVLSB: 300khz (0x1333)
  writeReg(0x29, 240);   //set REG_RSSITHRESH to -120dBm
  writeReg(0x37, 0b10010000); //DC=WHITENING, CRCAUTOOFF=0
  //                ^^->DC: 00=none, 01=manchester, 10=whitening
}

[data contents of the packet]

#70

General topics / Re: Dropped Packets with High ...

Last post by Aerokeith - August 12, 2025, 09:54:20 PM

I'm back again, still struggling and frustrated, with my deadline days away. But I have new data that will hopefully shed some light on the root cause. I'm sending packets continuously, and I'm seeing that the packet drop is heavily dependent on the data contents of the packet and the position of the data within the packet. For example, if a packet contains all zeros, I'll get a certain successful-receive rate (pkts/sec), and the rate remains fairly constant if the data isn't changed. If I change the first 5 or 6 bytes in the packet, the packet rate changes (sometimes up, sometimes down) and stabilizes. But if I change any bytes beyond byte 6-ish, the packet receive rate drops to zero and stays there.

I've seen this behavior from the beginning, and I thought there might be another cause (unrelated to the radio). But now I've created a more thorough test to measure the packet rate. I'm currently testing at 300 Kbps.

Does this give you any clues?