@acb
Hi @acb and others, regarding "Do you know if there is a version of this board that is pad-compatible with the C-versions of these HopeRF RFM69s before I go searching? (Since I believe the C-versions are also pad-compatible with the RFM95sā¦)" - did you find any alternative?
I'm in the same boat looking for an adapter from NRF24 to the footprint of RFM69*C = RFM95/96.
Thanks, Joost
@Tommas Hi, now I've posted a device for sale on Tindie, if it's still relevant for you https://www.tindie.com/products/avikmen/usb-rf-gateway-with-stm32-and-nrf24-in-case/
@ndiwan you can check what kind of usb interface chip your nano clone uses: look at the bottom side of your nano, there should be only one chip. If it is a ch340 you will need the drivers given by Al.
Welcome to the club!
Regarding radio's: The RFM69's with a C in the type have a smaller form factor (which is pin compatible with the predecessor RFM12B). The the 'W' and "HW' versions are larger in size and have more programmable pins (which MySensors does not use) but have exactly the same functionality within MyS.
All the footprints on the boards available in OpenHardware.io are for the 'W' and 'HW' versions so I'd go with one of these.
The 'W' uses way less power than the 'HW' which would be good the for the battery life of your nodes. Sensors powered by the grid can be 'HW', but usually, in the house a 'W' delivers enough TX power to get the message across. It might be a good idea to make your gateway with a 'HW'.
Hope this gets you a bit further. Good luck and show us your results!
@fets So far, I have only built the 5x5 board (but the others should be schematically identical). The only issue I have found so far is that I cannot get the ISP port to work. But I have checked and I have an identical setup on the 1.0 board and that worked, so I suspect the programmer is too weak to drive the net on this one. So it is not a board-issue per se, and might only be an issue on the 5x5 board as routing is the most complex on that one due to the size.
Thanks again, learned a lot... I decide to give a try there, I also had a look on some components' datasheet and seems to be what I need... Let's see, if end up getting the boards I'll publish a review here later.