relay with delay feature

[punter9]

Hi everyone I have been reading and am struggling getting a grip with this situation.

I have
3 Binary switches - need to be read 2-4 times daily
2 Soil Moisture sensors - need to be read 4 times daily
1 relay - needs to work on demand

The issue I have right now is that my 3 binary switches and 2 moisture sensors are susceptible to electrolysis and the current read settings erode my terminals in less than 2 weeks.

I would like to put a wait/delay/whatever command to only cue those reading to happen 2-4 times a day, this should really extend the life of my cheap sensors!

What would be the best way to implement this in my code? Currently I have zero gateway sleep commands/delay/etc.

Below is the void loop and incoming message commands

void loop() 
{
  debouncer.update();
  // Get the update value
  int value1 = debouncer.read();
  int value2 = debouncer.read();
  int value3 = debouncer.read();
  int soilValue1 = analogRead(ANALOG_INPUT_SOIL_SENSOR1);
  int soilValue2 = analogRead(ANALOG_INPUT_SOIL_SENSOR2);

  value1 = digitalRead(BUTTON_PIN1);
  value2 = digitalRead(BUTTON_PIN2);
  value3 = digitalRead(BUTTON_PIN3);
 
  if (value1 != oldValue1) {
     // Send in the new value
     gw.send(msg1.set(value1==HIGH ? 1 : 0));
     oldValue1 = value1;
  }
  if (value2 != oldValue2) {
     // Send in the new value
     gw.send(msg2.set(value2==HIGH ? 1 : 0));
     oldValue2 = value2;
  }
  if (value3 != oldValue3) {
     // Send in the new value
     gw.send(msg3.set(value3==HIGH ? 1 : 0));
     oldValue3 = value3;
  }
  if (soilValue1 != lastSoilValue1) {
    Serial.println(soilValue1);
    gw.send(msg4.set(constrain(map(soilValue1, 1023, 250, 0, 100),0,100)));
    lastSoilValue1 = soilValue1;
  }
  if (soilValue2 != lastSoilValue2) {
    Serial.println(soilValue2);
    gw.send(msg5.set(constrain(map(soilValue2, 1023, 250, 0, 100),0,100)));
    lastSoilValue2 = soilValue2;
  }
  // Alway process incoming messages whenever possible
  gw.process();
} 

void incomingMessage(const MyMessage &message) {
  // We only expect one type of message from controller. But we better check anyway.
  if (message.type==V_LIGHT) {
     // Change relay state
     digitalWrite(message.sensor-1+RELAY_1, message.getBool()?RELAY_ON:RELAY_OFF);
     // Store state in eeprom
     gw.saveState(message.sensor, message.getBool());
     // Write some debug info
     Serial.print("Incoming change for sensor:");
     Serial.print(message.sensor);
     Serial.print(", New status: ");
     Serial.println(message.getBool());
   } 
}```

[TheoL]

I'm currently at work and cannot look to deep into your sketch. But a debouncer can only be used on one pin. You have to declare a debouncer for each digital input you want to debounce. And read the input like in the following snippet.

debouncer2.update();
int value2 = debouncer2.read();
debouncer3.update();
int value3 = debouncer3.update();

You can also delete these lines. Because you're reading the values from the debouncer:

  value1 = digitalRead(BUTTON_PIN1);
  value2 = digitalRead(BUTTON_PIN2);
  value3 = digitalRead(BUTTON_PIN3);

[punter9]

yea this code is messy, I am reworking it today. Any insight on the best way to delay those commands without impacting the relay?

[TheoL]

I use something like this

unsigned long nextEvent;

void setup() {
  nextEvent = millis() + ( 5 *  60 + 1000); // 5 hours
}

void loop() {
  if ( nextEvent <= millis() ) {
    // do reading
    nextEvent = millis() + ( 5 *  60 + 1000); // 5 hours
  }

  gw.wait( 500 ); // or whatever you want.
}

But that's just the algorithm

[martinhjelmare]

@punter9

I would implement some way of knowing time passed. Either by sleeping or waiting for a set time. Then each time the loop runs after wake-up, or similar, increment a counter. Define a variable setting the number the counter should have reached when you want to read the sensors. Then implement a function per sensor or sensor type. Call the functions in a conditional statement, checking the counter, in the main loop.

Check the sensebender micro sketch for example of a counter. That sketch sleeps the sensebender for 1 min in the end of each loop, default settting, so that way you know that at least 1 min has passed for each loop run. Each loop run it increments the counter, so +1 for the counter means +1 min, more or less.

edit

@TheoL beat me to it, with code example, even. =)