My sensorboard MYS 1.0beta

[AtomicGrog]

Looking for 5 kits, 10 if that's not greedy.

[Mrlynx]

I am packing kits tonight and have decided that if you buy 5 kits you get them for 6$ each.
I will contact all who have shown interest in my kits within the next days.

[cygnus]

@Mrlynx : Do you have any kits left? If so, I'm interested in 5 kits!

[RJ_Make]

@Mrlynx
I'm in for 5 if there are any left.

[henno]

Got my five kits last week. Soldered the first one this weekend and I must say that I'm really glad I bought them. Very nice layout and easy to understand. The surface mounted resistors/capacitors where a bit tricky with my shaky hands and old greasy glasses but I managed to do it eventually.

[Mrlynx]

@henno Hi and thanks for the feedback.
I am allways interested if anyone see anything that is unclear or needs improvement.

[mvirsen]

I would like 5 kits if there's any left...

[RJ_Make]

@Mrlynx
Received my boards today.. Nice Boards, but Holy smoke...... those SMD components are freaking tiny.. I'll never get them soldered on..

[bjornhallberg]

Are those pads for 0805? I was just wondering if we could all agree on some sort of footprint for future designs. Would help when pre-ordering components ...

Also, I've been reading up on Eagle and I'm seeing a lot of older complaints about the footprint for 0805 resistors. Has this been fixed in newer versions of Eagle or should we use a custom library like the one from Adafruit?

[Mrlynx]

@ServiceXp look at this tutorial http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FO9CHjdqBr8

[Mrlynx]

@bjornhallberg yes I am using 0805 component as they seem to be easiest to source and you can still solder them by hand.
I can recomend getting a sortiment kit from ebay with resistors and capasitors for ~10-15$ for experimenting.
In my kit there is only some basic values resistors included 1K, 4,7K and 10K. When using the ADC other values may be needed for dividing input voltages. Maybe that I will add 100K to next batch of kits.
What is people complaining about eagle library files?

[bjornhallberg]

@Mrlynx said:

@bjornhallberg yes I am using 0805 component as they seem to be easiest to source and you can still solder them by hand.
I can recomend getting a sortiment kit from ebay with resistors and capasitors for ~10-15$ for experimenting.

Currently looking into just that. But I think I will try to find some more commonly used values instead of getting one of those broad kits that only has maybe 20 or 50 of each value and tons of values you'll never use. At least I wont before 0805 also becomes tragically oversized and unfashionable

Quick question, if you've ordered cheapo Ebay components like smd caps and resistors, did you notice anything compared to more expensive name brands?

In my kit there is only some basic values resistors included 1K, 4,7K and 10K. When using the ADC other values may be needed for dividing input voltages. Maybe that I will add 100K to next batch of kits.
What is people complaining about eagle library files?

If I understood this right, and the issue may have been resolved, the 0805 pads for resistors specifically (?) were a bit cramped, leaving too little space at the ends to apply heat and solder. Made them no easier than 0603 to some people, at least according to how Eagle drew them. But I guess that also depends on your specific soldering technique.

[RJ_Make]

@Mrlynx
Did I mention those SMD components are Freaking Tiny..?

[green9berry]

I also like to have 5 boards... Please tell me how to order and how you like the payment...

Thnx for the great work!

[twisted]

As above, if possible and still available I would like 5 boards too. Thanks

[leiff]

If possible I would like 5 kits.

[Dan S.]

Would like 5 too, if still available.

[Mrlynx]

I am soon out of boards to sell. Only got about 15 boards left.
ping @twisted if you still need boards please read your pm.
Because of that have I started ordering components for another batch of boards.
I have also started developing a LED pwm daugtherboard for easy dimming of led strips.
More info on that when first prototype is ready.

[Mrlynx]

I have ordered 300 more boards yesterday.
As soon as they arrive I hope to have my online ordering page ready.
I also going to sell the boards without components for you that want to source components yourself or are soldering everything directly on board without sockets.
Stay tuned.

[hek]

Will your release the Eagle files and share your project as Open Hardware?

[Mrlynx]

Yes when I stop providing the boards. After that am I going to release it as open hardware.
For now am I selling the boards and the money I making on them are spent on developing new boards.

[Yveaux]

@Mrlynx said:

After that am I going to release it as open hardware.

I think it would be a good idea to release the design files right now, as it allows people to get a detailed insight in your design and what they'll receive when ordering.
Furthermore every body can help improve the design, but you'll keep in charge of course.
The whole idea about MySensors (both software and hardware) is to be open so everybody will benefit in the long run.

[Mrlynx]

I now have 300 boards on my desk and have set up an online ordering system on my page http://www.sa2avr.se/mys-1-1/
After a discussion with @hek have I also released the board files for mys 1.1 on my page.

[ludoarchi]

Hi
I ve tried to order kit but i had an error message from paypal when i clicked on buy ,..
Does your paypal link correct ?
Thinks

[Mrlynx]

@ludoarchi Please try again.
I had edited the page to much last night.

[Dan S.]

@Mrlynx
I bought 5 of these as kits from the original order and am very pleased with them. Was a little apprehensive about soldering the small smd's for the 5 to 3.3 volt voltage drop down circuit but with a little practice plus the excellent instruction video referenced above, I was surprised at how easily it can be done. Do recommend using chisel point soldering tip.

The boards offer a lot of flexibility for just about any type of sensor--recently completed a temp humidity sensor (which required soldering an additional smd pullup resistor) and also hooked an Oled display to the available A4/A5 pins to display the temp and humidity.

Do have one question. Is a cap needed on the radio? I normally use one but the boards I have built seem to work fine without one (maybe because of the absence of long wire leads and the separate voltage drop down circuit)?

[Mrlynx]

@Dan-S.
Happy to hear that the boards work fine. Pictures of your completed sensors would be appreciated.
I recommend using at least one capasistor(C2) to get a stable voltage supply.
C1 is in parallell with a capasistor on the arduino but it should help filtering noise from power supply.

[Dan S.]

@Mrlynx

I did use both the c1 and c2 (1uf) caps you supplied on all of the boards I've constructed. I was referring to an additional decoupling cap directly across ground and 3.3v terminals on the radio which is recommended to be at least 4.7 uf in mysensors.org.

Your boards seem to work fine without an additional cap across the radio, and in one test the board worked better without an additional cap. So unless advised otherwise I will dispense with using any additional cap.

I'll get some pix of my completed sensors.

[Mrlynx]

@Dan-S.
Extra cap should only be needed when using radio module with PA+LNA.
data suggest it has a peek current of 115 mA.
I have made a test with a 10uf cap and it looked like it made no difference on a standard radio module.

[NotYetRated]

What are the exact dimensions of this board?

[Mrlynx]

@NotYetRated
50x50 mm

[Dan S.]

Here are 2 pix of sensors I built using the boards.

The first is a water sensor/alarm which in addition to triggering the Vera controller, will activate a buzzer as a warning of a water leak in the basement water heater/furnace area.

The second is a standard temp/humidity sensor augmented with an Oled display readout. The display and sensor are temporarily hooked up until I decide where/how to mount them.

[LaStrada]

Got the boards today. Thanks for fast shipping!

[Joey Edelstein]

Hi,
I ordered and received 5 kits' and am very happy to have them as last time I spent about 4 hr's soldering on to a prefboard.
But given that I'm nearly a total newbie to electronics I am finding following the assembly instructions nearly impossible.
Any chance somebody did a series of pictures while assembling that they can share? Or maybe a video of the process?
Thanks in advance
Joey

[Mrlynx]

@Joey-Edelstein I will try to update the instruction with pictures as soon as possible.

[Joey Edelstein]

@Mrlynx thanks that will be a big help.

[novicit]

@Mrlynx, last Saturday I received the 5 kits ordered from your web site, thanks! Nice simple board, and very flexible for different applications. Have assembled my first sensor using it and works perfectly. Don't miss all the wires it replaces. Although the 805 components are small, I prefer them to thru-hole. Again, thank you, and nice job! Love MySensors and the great community of support.

[novicit]

@Joey-Edelstein , Here is what I did for assembly: Do not begin assembling the board until deciding on what the node is and selecting all parts - not all parts are needed. My first node is a DS18B20 temp sensor. 1) I wanted sockets for the radio and arduino so cut and put in pile of parts to be used. 2) I know I need D3 for the DS18B20, so I cut header for J4. Also need pull up resister for same, so look at the schematic for the board and you see R14 is the pull-up for D3. Put the resister in the pile of parts. 3) I also am battery powering the board, and want to measure it thru A0. So I cut header for J5. Also need a V divider, so looking at the schematic can do that with resisters on R12 & R4. Also need a small capacitor on C6. Put these parts on the pile. Collect all needed parts. Don't need header on J6 for example, not using it. 4) Also soldered the power cap on C2 - did not need the volt regulator supplied in the kit as I am feeding 3.3V directly to J7. Then solder the smallest components first starting with those closest to the center of the board, and moving out. Then the big components such as the sockets, again start at the center of the board and move out. Depending on your application, only use components needed. Look at the schematic. Hope this helps get you started.

[Salmoides]

@novicit, Thanks for the guidance. I just ordered some boards myself, and as a novice, your explanation will be very helpful to me as I plan out my sensors.

[Sorg]

I have seen a MYSBootloader on the github . Is it specificallay related to this Board ?

[hek]

@Sorg

It is an optimized version (very reduced in size) done by the MYSController developer @tekka.

[Joey Edelstein]

@novicit thanks for tips but my problem is I don't really know what all the parts in the kit are. I really need some pictures or video guidance...

[Mrlynx]

@Joey-Edelstein
Now the instruction page is update with some photos.

[jesper]

Hi
Have a question.
if I want to buy YS1.1 pcb + components and YS1.1 pcb . How do I buy so only once shipping?

[Mrlynx]

@jesper Send me an email on robert@sa2avr.se

[Mrlynx]

MYS 1.1 pcb has now got a lower price.
If you by 5 or more boards the price is 2$ / board.
http://www.sa2avr.se/mys-1-1/

[pboye]

@Mrlynx do you have a components list for resistors and capacitors, the schematic shows only r1 c1 not the values.

Per Boye

[Mrlynx]

@pboye look at http://www.sa2avr.se/mys-1-1/ under parts list.

[pboye]

@Mrlynx I ave seen that, but as i se it:

First of all, this is a real nice project.

r1-r4 : ?
r5-r8 : ?
r9-r12 : ?
r13-21 : 4.7 K

part list say's : R1-R21 10×4.7K (472) 4x1K (102) 4x10K (103) 4x120k(124), if you add the numbers it give 22 pices

Per Boye

[Mrlynx]

It all depends on what sensor or actuator you are going to connect.
I chose a basic assortment of resistors to get you started and be able to build all examples on www.mysensors.org.
As this question have come up before am I going to write down some examples on http://www.sa2avr.se

[activemind]

Very useful PCB.
Had a question before placing the order for the pcb.
What is the pitch for the male/female headers and the screw terminals ?
Is it 2.54 mm (0.1") for header and 5.08 mm (0.2") for terminals ?
Thanks

[Mrlynx]

@activemind All headers are 2.54 mm and the screw terminals are 5.0 mm.

[activemind]

Excellent. Thanks for your response.

Also, you mentioned LED driver like PCB. I would be VERY interested in something like that. Do you have a thread which I can follow and maybe add in my cents or two?

-AM

[Mrlynx]

@activemind
No I dont have a thread on the subject yet.
I have a prototype but it contains errors I have to correct before it is useful.

[activemind]

Can you please start a thread on it so that people can take a look at what you are planning and provide input so that it can be generic and useful to a lot of people.

I also have a couple of requests/requirements that I would like to add.

It doesnt make sense to add them here and pollute this thread where that info would be lost.

-AM

[NewFolk]

Hello,
Are everybody ok with 5v arduino and 662k on U1? My sensor node refuse to work.
But on the breadboard everything is ok.
It looks like the problem is in radio power. On breadboard i used 2 different step down convertor board, but both of them was on AMS1117 the power was 3.264 and 3.287.
And on MYS 662k give 3.324. I tried to use capacitors 4.7uF - 100uF, without result.
I also tried to change to another 662k from the pack. But it shows the same result.

Could you give me any suggestion ?
Thank you

send: 1-1-0-0 s=255,c=0,t=18,pt=0,l=5,st=fail:1.4.1
send: 1-1-0-0 s=255,c=3,t=6,pt=1,l=1,st=fail:0
send: 1-1-0-0 s=255,c=3,t=11,pt=0,l=14,st=fail:Relay & Button
send: 1-1-0-0 s=255,c=3,t=12,pt=0,l=3,st=fail:1.0
send: 1-1-0-0 s=1,c=0,t=3,pt=0,l=5,st=fail:1.4.1

[hek]

It is actually your gateway that seems to have problems sending ack back to the node.

[n3ro]

Hey

What size are the SMD resistors and stuff?

Regards,
n3ro

[Mrlynx]

@n3ro Hi all caps and resistors are 0804 size.

[Heinz]

@hek I had the same problem. The sensor was received by the gateway but not vice versa. In the end I found out that the power level of the gateway is not set to max by default. After changing this to max everything worked fine. Is there a reason for this default?
As there are always the same problems here popping up in the forum: how about setting up a FAQ page?

[NewFolk]

I had NRF24L01+PA+LNA Antenna version on the gateway. And simple NRF24L01+ on node.
Today I tried to set GW PA Level to hight by changing MyConfig.h. After this I tried to change to another simple radio module.

/***
 * Configure Sensor Network
 */
#define RF24_CHANNEL	   84             //RF channel for the sensor net, 0-127
#define RF24_DATARATE 	   RF24_250KBPS   //RF24_250KBPS for 250kbs, RF24_1MBPS for 1Mbps, or RF24_2MBPS for 2Mbps
#define RF24_PA_LEVEL 	   RF24_PA_MAX    //Sensor PA Level == RF24_PA_MIN=-18dBm, RF24_PA_LOW=-12dBm, RF24_PA_HIGH=-6dBM, and RF24_PA_MAX=0dBm
#define RF24_PA_LEVEL_GW   RF24_PA_MAX //RF24_PA_LOW  //Gateway PA Level, defaults to Sensor net PA Level.  Tune here if using an amplified nRF2401+ in your gateway.
#define BASE_RADIO_ID 	   ((uint64_t)0xA8A8E1FC00LL) // This is also act as base value for sensor nodeId addresses. Change this (or channel) if you have more than one sensor network.

But result is the same. Works great on breadboard. But fail on MYS board.

@hek how could i check the problem in GW radio ? Is it possible to fix?

Could you give me some advice? I`m new to mysensors so it will be great for me if you could help me

[hek]

@NewFolk
Hard to say. Usually it helps switching power source and/or fiddle with capacitors.

@Heinz
Before lowering default power level on gateway we had much more support from people who were taking out too much power from their Nano Arduino (+PA+LNA) which resulted in failed transmissions. So of two bad things this is the best (for most people).
There is a troubleshooting section on the main site. Problem is most people don't read it before posting. Gladly accept more things to add to that list.

[Heinz]

@hek ah ok I see. Well that sounds reasonable to me. That could explain why a repeater node did not work with a nano but with an uno ... Thanx alot

[Mrlynx]

@NewFolk how are you powering your node and gateway?
battery, USB or wallwart?
Try changing powersource and see if it helps.
I have had som problem with nrf24L01+ clones that did not work well on highest powerlevels but worked better on RF_PA_HIGH.

[NewFolk]

@Mrlynx
I power node on MYS board from iPhone wall and with USB through FTDI both give me the same 3.324 on 3.3 pin.
And GW is powered thought RPI USB - original UNO / clone nano 5v - Adapter Board NRF24L01+ http://www.ebay.com/itm/200960749614?rmvSB=true

I have just tried to move antenna radio to node and simple radio to GW and it`s work.
Bud it bad workaround.

PS will try to change node and GW to RF_PA_HIGH

edit: change to hight and i saw same ok status. Then I change to

#define RF24_PA_LEVEL 	   RF24_PA_LOW

And get 3 successful initialization in a row. So I will test tonight with DHT22.
Thank you

[smokey1300]

Ordered 5 kits today looking forward to getting started. For the NRF24L01 you don't need a 4.7uf capacitor anymore?

[Mrlynx]

@smokey1300 I will pack them right away.
I have not found that a cap is making any difference on the radio modules I bought.

[smokey1300]

@Mrlynx I was thinking of 3v battery powering at least 2 of the boards. My sensors will be DHT11 and 18B20. Can you suggest any simple ways to conserve power on the circuit? Would it be better to just add a external boosting regulator for instance?

[Mrlynx]

@smokey1300 My best tip is to remove led and regulator off the arduino. Then use 3xAA batteries connected to VCC on MYS.

[Nicola Reina]

Anybody wanting 10 kits at a bargain price. I am sellling them at bargain price due to lack of time to play with them.
If you are in Rome I can hand it over directly . If you are at EU maker faire this week end even better see you there.
Otherwise I ship them too

KR

[jeti]

@Nicola-Reina said:

Anybody wanting 10 kits at a bargain price. I am sellling them at bargain price due to lack of time to play with them.
If you are in Rome I can hand it over directly . If you are at EU maker faire this week end even better see you there.
Otherwise I ship them too

KR

Still got the 10Kits?

[Mrlynx]

@jeti said:

@Nicola-Reina said:

Anybody wanting 10 kits at a bargain price. I am sellling them at bargain price due to lack of time to play with them.
If you are in Rome I can hand it over directly . If you are at EU maker faire this week end even better see you there.
Otherwise I ship them too

KR

Still got the 10Kits?

You can still buy these kits from my homepage.