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  3. My Slim 2AA Battery Node

My Slim 2AA Battery Node

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  • M masfak97

    @m26872 Thank you for your suggestions. I have now tried them (and many more) but still can't it to work. It's really not a big problem since I can program them using an Uno as ISP instead but it's really annoying that I can't get it to work.

    I have checked my chips, they are all at mega328P-PU and I have tried many of them with the same result. I have soldered many nodes, thinking that I didn't make the solder connect through the holes but without any luck. I have tried different sockets to make the connections better and I have traced the entire node without finding any broken connections.

    To get the sketch loaded I use Nick Gammons board_programmer with an Uno and use the LilyPad boot loader which enables the internal 8 MHz (Using pin 9 as clock instead of an external crystal). After that I program the Uno with ArduinoISP, set the programmer to Arduino as ISP and upload the sketch with "Burn with programmer" command.

    I have switched USB-cable, USB outlet on the mac, breadboards, dupont cables, capacitors (different ceramic but all show too little capacitance), Atmegas and FTDI programmers. I have tried all combinations with 3.3 and 5 v without any luck. Programming Arduino Pros with the FTDI works fine.

    I have tried the Mincore and Gert Sanders OptiBoot. I have tried to manually reset the chip connecting the reset pin to ground briefly when programming. I have tried lowering the baud rate to 9600. I have tried to load the Uno bootloader together with a 16 MHz crystal and 2 x 22pf capacitors and then the FTDI. I have tried larger electrolytic capacitors.

    Last week, when mimicking the slim node on a breadboard, I managed to get the FTDI to work a few times but can't really say exactly what I did. Now I can't get it to work anymore.

    All in all I have spent many hours trying to figure this out but without any luck. My nodes look just like the ones I see in your pictures.

    Could it be that the internal 8 Mhz is too unstable to work?
    Capacitors being too small? I've seen some reporting that they succeeded with larger...
    Bad connection somewhere > momentary voltage drop?
    Cheap FTDIs?
    Mac USB-power maxing out?
    Bad atmegas?

    Please help me solve this annoying problem.

    m26872M Offline
    m26872M Offline
    m26872
    Hardware Contributor
    wrote on last edited by
    #459

    @masfak97 Wow. You work hard. Of course we must help you. I'm not familiar with your programming method. So that would be my quick wild first guess. I can't read that you've verified the fuse settings? Have tried different startup times e.g?
    Do I understand correctly if you're able to send and recieve commands to the Atmega with your FTDI after it is programmed ?

    1 Reply Last reply
    1
    • M Offline
      M Offline
      Mikepara
      wrote on last edited by
      #460

      Hi. I have a problem with my slim node with the sketch "temperature"
      with the slim pcb node and a DS18B20 in domoticz it does well the node presentation but neither the S_TEMP child arrives nor does it get any temperature afterwards of course.
      but if I mount the same sketch in an arduino nano and with power to 5v it works perfectly.
      please help

      m26872M 1 Reply Last reply
      0
      • M Mikepara

        Hi. I have a problem with my slim node with the sketch "temperature"
        with the slim pcb node and a DS18B20 in domoticz it does well the node presentation but neither the S_TEMP child arrives nor does it get any temperature afterwards of course.
        but if I mount the same sketch in an arduino nano and with power to 5v it works perfectly.
        please help

        m26872M Offline
        m26872M Offline
        m26872
        Hardware Contributor
        wrote on last edited by
        #461

        @Mikepara Please elaborate and post your code. Tell us also about power supply, fuse settings (clock speed) and your troubleshooting steps. See debug-faq-and-how-ask-for-help.

        1 Reply Last reply
        0
        • M Offline
          M Offline
          Mikepara
          wrote on last edited by Mikepara
          #462

          sorry. the sketch is the "temperature" of library and the bootloader configuration is:
          arduino ide 1.8.5 and usbasp, record the minicore bootloader on atmega328P, clock 8mhz internal, compiler LTO disabled, variant 328P, BOD disabled.
          thanks

          1 Reply Last reply
          0
          • M Offline
            M Offline
            martim
            wrote on last edited by
            #463

            Hi All,

            This Topic is a little old but hopefully still active. I am using the battery Duracell CR123 because it is small and fits in my case. Would this be an ok choice or does someone has other recommendations?

            Thanks for feedback.

            Marcel

            1 Reply Last reply
            0
            • gohanG Offline
              gohanG Offline
              gohan
              Mod
              wrote on last edited by
              #464

              Look also at AAA/AA size LiFePO4 as it will need just one cell instead of 2 as the normal alkaline/nimh ones

              M 1 Reply Last reply
              0
              • joaoabsJ Offline
                joaoabsJ Offline
                joaoabs
                wrote on last edited by joaoabs
                #465

                Hi,

                Maybe a silly question, but where did you get the library for the Vcc.h ?

                 #include <Vcc.h>
                                 ^
                compilation terminated.
                exit status 1
                Error compiling for board ATmega328.
                
                

                I couldn't find any VCC in the MySensors library set and also doing a search for vcc in the Arduino Library Manager I can't find it either...

                [EDIT] : Found it in other thread. Leaving here for reference: https://github.com/Yveaux/arduino_vcc

                Thanks

                1 Reply Last reply
                0
                • gohanG gohan

                  Look also at AAA/AA size LiFePO4 as it will need just one cell instead of 2 as the normal alkaline/nimh ones

                  M Offline
                  M Offline
                  martim
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #466

                  @gohan said in My Slim 2AA Battery Node:

                  LiFePO4

                  Thanks

                  1 Reply Last reply
                  0
                  • ร Offline
                    ร Offline
                    รอเรือ
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #467

                    I have 29 panels of the latest version of the PCB. It's more than I can use. Please PM me if you are interested in them.

                    1 Reply Last reply
                    0
                    • I Offline
                      I Offline
                      iteafreely
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #468

                      As information for everyone, I suggest that if you get sockets for the ATMEGA, that you get
                      these: alt text
                      rather than these: alt text

                      The reason being that the former have a much wider gap in the middle than the later. Because of that, the .1 puff #104 monolithic multilayer 5.08mm pitch capacitors called for in the BOM fit nicely. If you use the later ones, you will need to remove material from the socket to fit them.

                      1 Reply Last reply
                      0
                      • I Offline
                        I Offline
                        iteafreely
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #469

                        I just made a new case for a LiFePO4 magnetic sensor implementation of this. Thanks for the excellent work on this handy node design!
                        https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3034907!

                        a picture

                        1 Reply Last reply
                        2
                        • gohanG Offline
                          gohanG Offline
                          gohan
                          Mod
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #470

                          With 2 mini solar panels on the sides and an harvesting circuit, you could run it indefinitely 😁

                          1 Reply Last reply
                          0
                          • badmannenB Offline
                            badmannenB Offline
                            badmannen
                            wrote on last edited by badmannen
                            #471

                            Good evening!

                            I had a bit of a break from this forum (approx 3-4 years...) And just got back into it . I managed to put a bootloader into my 328p-pu chip

                            can anyone just confirm if it is OK to use this bootloader with the version 2.0 board here.

                            I understand that it should run at 8Mhz to be stable . so I assumed I could use the bootloader that comes with Arduino IDE ?

                            I flashed this one onto the chip at the moment and will start to solder some of my boards soon. but would like to be sure that it is correct before I go too far =)

                            ##############################################################

                            atmega328bb.name=ATmega328 on a breadboard (8 MHz internal clock)

                            atmega328bb.upload.tool=arduino:avrdude
                            atmega328bb.upload.protocol=arduino
                            atmega328bb.upload.maximum_size=30720
                            atmega328bb.upload.speed=57600

                            atmega328bb.bootloader.low_fuses=0xE2
                            atmega328bb.bootloader.high_fuses=0xDA
                            atmega328bb.bootloader.extended_fuses=0x05
                            #atmega328bb.bootloader.path=arduino:atmega
                            atmega328bb.bootloader.file=atmega/ATmegaBOOT_168_atmega328_pro_8MHz.hex
                            atmega328bb.bootloader.unlock_bits=0x3F
                            atmega328bb.bootloader.lock_bits=0x0F
                            atmega328bb.bootloader.tool=arduino:avrdude

                            atmega328bb.build.mcu=atmega328p
                            atmega328bb.build.f_cpu=8000000L
                            atmega328bb.build.core=arduino:arduino
                            atmega328bb.build.variant=arduino:standard

                            rPi 3 - UNO R3 - Mini - Nano - custom

                            NeverDieN 1 Reply Last reply
                            0
                            • badmannenB badmannen

                              Good evening!

                              I had a bit of a break from this forum (approx 3-4 years...) And just got back into it . I managed to put a bootloader into my 328p-pu chip

                              can anyone just confirm if it is OK to use this bootloader with the version 2.0 board here.

                              I understand that it should run at 8Mhz to be stable . so I assumed I could use the bootloader that comes with Arduino IDE ?

                              I flashed this one onto the chip at the moment and will start to solder some of my boards soon. but would like to be sure that it is correct before I go too far =)

                              ##############################################################

                              atmega328bb.name=ATmega328 on a breadboard (8 MHz internal clock)

                              atmega328bb.upload.tool=arduino:avrdude
                              atmega328bb.upload.protocol=arduino
                              atmega328bb.upload.maximum_size=30720
                              atmega328bb.upload.speed=57600

                              atmega328bb.bootloader.low_fuses=0xE2
                              atmega328bb.bootloader.high_fuses=0xDA
                              atmega328bb.bootloader.extended_fuses=0x05
                              #atmega328bb.bootloader.path=arduino:atmega
                              atmega328bb.bootloader.file=atmega/ATmegaBOOT_168_atmega328_pro_8MHz.hex
                              atmega328bb.bootloader.unlock_bits=0x3F
                              atmega328bb.bootloader.lock_bits=0x0F
                              atmega328bb.bootloader.tool=arduino:avrdude

                              atmega328bb.build.mcu=atmega328p
                              atmega328bb.build.f_cpu=8000000L
                              atmega328bb.build.core=arduino:arduino
                              atmega328bb.build.variant=arduino:standard

                              NeverDieN Offline
                              NeverDieN Offline
                              NeverDie
                              Hero Member
                              wrote on last edited by NeverDie
                              #472

                              @badmannen Welcome back. The good news is that there's now a mysensors bootloader, which is even better because it allows over-the-air firmware updates for the atmega328p: https://www.mysensors.org/about/fota

                              badmannenB 1 Reply Last reply
                              1
                              • badmannenB Offline
                                badmannenB Offline
                                badmannen
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #473

                                Daaaaang ... it is a good time to be alive and come back to this I see =) ... thanks a million to you guys that made that one .. that certainly makes changes a whole lot less painful!

                                rPi 3 - UNO R3 - Mini - Nano - custom

                                1 Reply Last reply
                                0
                                • NeverDieN NeverDie

                                  @badmannen Welcome back. The good news is that there's now a mysensors bootloader, which is even better because it allows over-the-air firmware updates for the atmega328p: https://www.mysensors.org/about/fota

                                  badmannenB Offline
                                  badmannenB Offline
                                  badmannen
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #474

                                  @neverdie Alright , that took me a couple of days of fighting with Arduino/Linux/windows/drivers/bootloaders etc etc etc but I got it all running with my updated gateway+repeater-node + mailbox-node. did not try the update function yet but surely it should work. just need one or two more repeater-nodes since I have way to thick cement walls here for this signal.

                                  rPi 3 - UNO R3 - Mini - Nano - custom

                                  1 Reply Last reply
                                  1
                                  • badmannenB Offline
                                    badmannenB Offline
                                    badmannen
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #475

                                    OK I had some fun the last couple of days and actually got something done =D !

                                    Managed to update my gateway and repeater-nodes to latest version and boot-loaded all nodes and future nodes so they are FOTA enabled .

                                    So far I managed to assemble 3 nodes and after a bit of swearing and soldering and de-soldering and re-soldering I got:
                                    1 - DHT11 TEMP / HUM node, on Battery (Slim 2AA) - surprisingly accurate actually

                                    2 - DOOR-SWITCH - on Battery (Slim 2AA) - to be used in my mailbox, got the idea from someone here in the forums, so thank you, I don´t remember who it was since I probably read a million posts by now =D

                                    3 - a 220V Relay switch, with the PA LN radio, and works as repeater ( runs on a NANO )

                                    just wanted to say a huge thanks to the MySensors group and all people here on the forum for helping me get started (Had a little break for a couple of years =)

                                    0_1573941605467_7883601d-ee83-4cf1-a4cf-48da54912bd8.jpg

                                    0_1573941554139_e0f66ec8-8ddf-4d79-9ab2-6947f0710e65.jpg

                                    rPi 3 - UNO R3 - Mini - Nano - custom

                                    1 Reply Last reply
                                    0
                                    • NeverDieN Offline
                                      NeverDieN Offline
                                      NeverDie
                                      Hero Member
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #476

                                      Let us know when you get it to FOTA update.

                                      badmannenB 2 Replies Last reply
                                      0
                                      • NeverDieN NeverDie

                                        Let us know when you get it to FOTA update.

                                        badmannenB Offline
                                        badmannenB Offline
                                        badmannen
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #477

                                        @neverdie
                                        Just tried it by mounting an "empty" 328P in the node just with the
                                        fuses set to:
                                        0xE2
                                        0xDA
                                        0xFE

                                        and with the MYSBootloader .

                                        Amazing ! . worked at the first try! (this time around =D )

                                        ( tried and failed a couple of times earlier, but I know I burned 0xFD instead of 0xFE so set the BOD to the wrong value, and that does not work )

                                        rPi 3 - UNO R3 - Mini - Nano - custom

                                        1 Reply Last reply
                                        1
                                        • NeverDieN NeverDie

                                          Let us know when you get it to FOTA update.

                                          badmannenB Offline
                                          badmannenB Offline
                                          badmannen
                                          wrote on last edited by
                                          #478

                                          @neverdie Actually... I run into another problem ..

                                          After I make a FOTA and upload a sketch . it runs as it should, no problem.

                                          But if I try to update it again , it never tries to upload the sketch to the node.

                                          The only thing I could find that was clever to do to make it work ok with a battery node was to use smartSleep();
                                          which I do ... is there anything else in the code that needs to be present ?

                                          rPi 3 - UNO R3 - Mini - Nano - custom

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