💬 Easy/Newbie PCB for MySensors

[barduino]

@Samuel235 , @sundberg84 , thank you both

[Barna]

@sundberg84
Hi,
The suppler has an similar product, is it usable for the same purpose?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/5x-DC-2V-5V-3-3V-Boost-Buck-Converter-315M-433M-2-4G-RF-Wireless-Module-/181768067370?hash=item2a5238992a

0.8-3.3V v. 2-5V ?
thanks

[sundberg84]

@Barna Its possible to use this, but you want as low as possible and not 2V. This means using 2xAA (3v max) you only have a range down to 2V before the booster wont work anymore. At this point if you have not changed the fuses in the arduino it will fail. I guess you could use this with 3XAA (4.5V) as well if thats what you are aiming for.

[Barna]

@sundberg84
ok, thanks. In that case some power will be left in the AAs, Am I right?
what do you advice if I need 5V for some sensors but I would like to use battery?
3xAA, 4xAA, 9V with regulator - is the lifetime of battery is efficient in this case ?

[sundberg84]

@Barna
That is a hard question, because i try to do 3.3v for battery and 5v for regulated power.
I have 1 node at this point running on a 9v battery and 5v arduino (motion detector) but without booster and battery measurment. I have removed led and at this point i have had it run for 4 weeks. I have NO clue about batterylife but I do not expect it to work pretty long.

[Dylano]

mmmm i think that al this work, for a 4 weeks working sensor is not a good solution for a home automation system....
Why can a Zwave or 433Mhz motion sensor work for more then a year...
Is my biggest question..
Forum link

Is there relay now solution for a battery live for a year...
Other bord, other sketch, other regulator, other battery...

or...

[Sander Teunissen]

@Dylano Google for low power arduino mini. Or arduino mini on battery. I've got one running now for half a year on two aaa batteries. Only lost 10% or something.
(Quickest is to remove the led and the voltage regulator)

[sundberg84]

@Dylano Im not sure if I understand what you mean. This PCB does not support 433mhz or Zwave. You need to make that a question in the forum. I have nodes with this PCB now almost running for a year, and reporting good battery level.

As Sander told you above, remove led and voltage regulator on a 3.3v arduino and you will run a mysensor node for a year:

[Sander Teunissen]

This post is deleted!

[Alexander]

@Sander-Teunissen I have some rev6 that I am willing to sell. Let me know if you are interested.

[Oitzu]

If someone has one of these left in germany or nearby i'm willing to buy one for daugther-board dev purposes.

[lxz]

@sundberg84 said:

I have nodes with this PCB now almost running for a year, and reporting good battery level.

I see that battery measuring is not working in my case.
Can you post your sketch for a DHT22 or dallas sensor? Because readVCC.h does not work with a step up booster and 2x AA batteries connected, it seems..

[sundberg84]

@lxz This is my code (Note dev branch!) for DHT22 incl battery measuring (2xAA).
The reason for readVCC:h does not work is that you measure after the booster = always 3.3V!

// Enable debug prints
#define MY_DEBUG

// Enable and select radio type attached
#define MY_RADIO_NRF24
//#define MY_RADIO_RFM69
#define MY_NODE_ID 15

#include <SPI.h>
#include <MySensor.h>  
#include <DHT.h>  

#define CHILD_ID_HUM 0
#define CHILD_ID_TEMP 1
#define HUMIDITY_SENSOR_DIGITAL_PIN 3
unsigned long SLEEP_TIME = 600000; // Sleep time between reads (in milliseconds)

#define SKETCH_NAME "UtomhusHumSyd #15"                // Change to a fancy name you like
#define SKETCH_VERSION "1.0"                    // Your version

DHT dht;
float lastTemp;
float lastHum;
boolean metric = true; 
MyMessage msgHum(CHILD_ID_HUM, V_HUM);
MyMessage msgTemp(CHILD_ID_TEMP, V_TEMP);

//=========================
// BATTERY VOLTAGE DIVIDER SETUP
// 1M, 470K divider across battery and using internal ADC ref of 1.1V
// Sense point is bypassed with 0.1 uF cap to reduce noise at that point
// ((1e6+470e3)/470e3)*1.1 = Vmax = 3.44 Volts
// 3.44/1023 = Volts per bit = 0.003363075
#define VBAT_PER_BITS 0.003363075  
#define VMIN 1.9                                  //  Vmin (radio Min Volt)=1.9V (564v)
#define VMAX 3.0                                  //  Vmax = (2xAA bat)=3.0V (892v)
int batteryPcnt = 0;                              // Calc value for battery %
int batLoop = 0;                                  // Loop to help calc average
int batArray[3];                                  // Array to store value for average calc.
int BATTERY_SENSE_PIN = A0;                       // select the input pin for the battery sense point
//=========================

void setup()  
{ 
 analogReference(INTERNAL);             // For battery sensing

  delay(500); // Allow time for radio if power used as reset
  
  dht.setup(HUMIDITY_SENSOR_DIGITAL_PIN); 

  metric = getConfig().isMetric;
}

void presentation()  
{ 
  // Send the Sketch Version Information to the Gateway
 // Send the Sketch Version Information to the Gateway
  sendSketchInfo(SKETCH_NAME, SKETCH_VERSION);

  // Register all sensors to gw (they will be created as child devices)
  present(CHILD_ID_HUM, S_HUM);
  present(CHILD_ID_TEMP, S_TEMP);
}

void loop()      
{  
  delay(500); // Allow time for radio if power used as reset
  delay(dht.getMinimumSamplingPeriod());
 
  // Fetch temperatures from DHT sensor
  float temperature = dht.getTemperature();
  if (isnan(temperature)) {
      Serial.println("Failed reading temperature from DHT");
  } else if (temperature != lastTemp) {
    lastTemp = temperature;
    if (!metric) {
      temperature = dht.toFahrenheit(temperature);
    }
    send(msgTemp.set(temperature, 1));
    Serial.print("T: ");
    Serial.println(temperature);
  }
  
  // Fetch humidity from DHT sensor
  float humidity = dht.getHumidity();
  if (isnan(humidity)) {
      Serial.println("Failed reading humidity from DHT");
  } else if (humidity != lastHum) {
      lastHum = humidity;
      send(msgHum.set(humidity, 1));
      Serial.print("H: ");
      Serial.println(humidity);
  }
  batM();
  sleep(SLEEP_TIME); //sleep a bit
}

void batM() //The battery calculations
{
   delay(500);
   // Battery monitoring reading
   int sensorValue = analogRead(BATTERY_SENSE_PIN);    
   delay(500);
   
   // Calculate the battery in %
   float Vbat  = sensorValue * VBAT_PER_BITS;
   int batteryPcnt = static_cast<int>(((Vbat-VMIN)/(VMAX-VMIN))*100.);
   Serial.print("Battery percent: "); Serial.print(batteryPcnt); Serial.println(" %");  
   
   // Add it to array so we get an average of 3 (3x20min)
   batArray[batLoop] = batteryPcnt;
  
   if (batLoop > 2) {  
     batteryPcnt = (batArray[0] + batArray[1] + batArray[2] + batArray[3]);
     batteryPcnt = batteryPcnt / 3;
 
   if (batteryPcnt > 100) {
     batteryPcnt=100;
 }
 
     Serial.print("Battery Average (Send): "); Serial.print(batteryPcnt); Serial.println(" %");
       sendBatteryLevel(batteryPcnt);
       batLoop = 0;
      }
     else 
     {
     batLoop++;
     }
}```

[pkriek]

Hi

I also bought v8 of these boards. 2 sensors up an running perfect.

2 others modules on the other hand, I think I fried the arduino. I am using 5v mini's. They worked when programming thru the USB port. Also communication with domoticz. They stopped working when I attached the 6v external adapter. I connected these to the ground and power connector. Now lights go on, but nothing anymore also not on the serial monitor.

Should I have used the raw connector????

thanks for helping

[sundberg84]

Short answer - yes you should have used RAW. But at least you learned a lesson if you want to think positive. ☺

Try and see what happens if you change. Maybe they are still OK.

[pkriek]

thanks!, lessons learned indeed. . Great stuff though.

[scooter217]

what size terminal blocks do you buy? I bought some and they are the wrong size.

[Samuel235]

@scooter217, from a quick inspection of the .brd file and a look around the internet for the datasheets it would seem that sundberg has allowed for any screw terminal block that uses a 5mm pin pitch. So you would need a 3 terminal 5mm pin pitch screw terminal. Please allow @sundberg84 some time to reply to ensure I am correct.

[sundberg84]

@scooter217 : http://www.ebay.com/sch/sis.html?_nkw=20pcs+KF301-2P+2+Pin+Plug-in+Screw+Terminal+Block+Connector+5.08mm+Pitch&_id=181759858196&&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2658

[scooter217]

@sundberg84 Thank you, just ordered some from ebay!