Easy/Newbie PCB for MySensors
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I do have some questions :smiley:
I think i got it a bit. When i use a 3,3V mini then i do not need the 3,3V regulator and it is powered with a battery. If i use a 5V mini then i need the regulator. Is this correct?
Do i need the booster if batteries are used?
How about the RAW option? How does it go to 5V? i need the regulator to go to 3,3V so how do i loose the 6-12V :smiley:
@tlpeter said:
When i use a 3,3V mini then i do not need the 3,3V regulator and it is powered with a battery. If i use a 5V mini then i need the regulator. Is this correct?
Correct!! You need to add the jumper to BAT if you go with 3.3 and battery or REG if you go with 5v and voltage regulator.
Do i need the booster if batteries are used?
No, you can bypass it with a jumper/wire - but it will give you alot of extra. Without the booster the arduino 3.3v will die somewhere between 2.8 and 3 volts, with booster you can go down to 1.9v.
How about the RAW option? How does it go to 5V? i need the regulator to go to 3,3V so how do i loose the 6-12V :smiley:
There is a voltage regulater on board the pro mini that handels from 6-12v (be cautious using 12 v, 9v is max i recommend on clones). This will convert your RAW to 5v and provide the board with this. Then the external regulator will go from 5 to radio 3.3v.
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Ok, very clear.
So now i have a new question, i want to use a solar panel and a battery but this will go above the 3.7V when there is light and the battery pack is 3.7V so i must use the raw connection.
I also want to measure the battery and i think this needs PWR :smiley:Can i do this?
I want to build the solar powered mini weather station:
https://forum.mysensors.org/topic/841/solar-powered-mini-weather-station
Thanks already.
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Ok, very clear.
So now i have a new question, i want to use a solar panel and a battery but this will go above the 3.7V when there is light and the battery pack is 3.7V so i must use the raw connection.
I also want to measure the battery and i think this needs PWR :smiley:Can i do this?
I want to build the solar powered mini weather station:
https://forum.mysensors.org/topic/841/solar-powered-mini-weather-station
Thanks already.
@tlpeter You can use raw for 3.7V and make it down to 3.3 with the internal voltage regulator onboard the arduino, but you can not connect anything to PWR then because this will allready be 3.3V! The internal voltage regulator vill output 3.3v to the PCB from the arduino.
However, I think you can connect the battery directly to the battery measurment on the board as long as you use the same ground for both. You will need to make some new calculations (most are based on 2xAA = 3.0V) for your battery.
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I didn't use your board in this case (the weather station) but i will do in the future.
I did connect the battery to the raw pin and it is working fine.
Funny, a solar panel with a battery powering the pro mini with DHT22 and BMP180.
For now i will keep it simple but later on i want a rain gauge and windmeter too.
Rain sensor is on a different Nano as this needs to be powered all the time.
It will control my sunscreen later on. -
This board looks great! Definitely going to order some.
Just getting started with MySensors. Waiting for over 20 orders from eBay with stuff. Should be fun!
Already running Domoticz (Pi 2) with RFXtrx433, 1-wire and z-wave. Going to build a serial gateway for direct connection to the Pi.My last name before I married (now divorced) was Sundberg btw. Could have had Sundberg82 as nickname. ;)
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This board looks great! Definitely going to order some.
Just getting started with MySensors. Waiting for over 20 orders from eBay with stuff. Should be fun!
Already running Domoticz (Pi 2) with RFXtrx433, 1-wire and z-wave. Going to build a serial gateway for direct connection to the Pi.My last name before I married (now divorced) was Sundberg btw. Could have had Sundberg82 as nickname. ;)
@NiklasO - Thanks! I hope it will suite you well!
The wait is a pain, but well worth it in the end. Sounds like got alof going already!Hehe, we can create a forum group - "sundberg dreamteam!" ;)
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Recived my boards today and I love them, I ordered the white ones and they are looking really great
Thanks @sundberg84 !
MySensors MQTT Client Gateway, Openhab, Dashing, Razberry, 1-wire
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Recived my boards today and I love them, I ordered the white ones and they are looking really great
Thanks @sundberg84 !
@Martin-Tellblom - good luck with your projects!
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@NiklasO - Thanks! I hope it will suite you well!
The wait is a pain, but well worth it in the end. Sounds like got alof going already!Hehe, we can create a forum group - "sundberg dreamteam!" ;)
@sundberg84 said:
@NiklasO - Thanks! I hope it will suite you well!
The wait is a pain, but well worth it in the end. Sounds like got alof going already!Hehe, we can create a forum group - "sundberg dreamteam!" ;)
hehe yeah, just need to change my last name back to my original one but I don't know if my kids likes that idea. ;)
Where do you get your x to 3.3v boost converter? Found some on eBay but they are quite expensive if comparing to x to 5v versions.
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@sundberg84 said:
@NiklasO - Thanks! I hope it will suite you well!
The wait is a pain, but well worth it in the end. Sounds like got alof going already!Hehe, we can create a forum group - "sundberg dreamteam!" ;)
hehe yeah, just need to change my last name back to my original one but I don't know if my kids likes that idea. ;)
Where do you get your x to 3.3v boost converter? Found some on eBay but they are quite expensive if comparing to x to 5v versions.
@NiklasO - they are quite expencive yes, but i order the ones in the mysensors store
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Has anyone tried one of these boosters:
- They are sometimes much cheaper than the 3.3v ones
- Since they are adjustable, I would think you could optimize the output voltage for maximum battery.
I'm not sure, is there a problem using them with the PCB boards? I imagine the input and output ground would have to be connected together.
Thanks!
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Has anyone tried one of these boosters:
- They are sometimes much cheaper than the 3.3v ones
- Since they are adjustable, I would think you could optimize the output voltage for maximum battery.
I'm not sure, is there a problem using them with the PCB boards? I imagine the input and output ground would have to be connected together.
Thanks!
@ileneken3 - sorry never tried them.
The footprint looks different from the PCB so you need to connect this with wires to the PCB.Controller: Proxmox VM - Home Assistant
MySensors GW: Arduino Uno - W5100 Ethernet, Gw Shield Nrf24l01+ 2,4Ghz
MySensors GW: Arduino Uno - Gw Shield RFM69, 433mhz
RFLink GW - Arduino Mega + RFLink Shield, 433mhz -
@ileneken3 - sorry never tried them.
The footprint looks different from the PCB so you need to connect this with wires to the PCB.I took a chance and tried these boosters. After adjusting the pot to boost to 3.3V, and using wires to connect, they seem to work the same as the "recommended" ones. I am hoping they produce less noise for the radio - I seem to have trouble with that, even with adding the capacitors. (Maybe my radios are not good).
Another experiment - boosting them to just over the 2.8V fuse limit. I would think that would be more energy efficient. -
@ileneken3 in my experienxe the 3.3v booster gives a lot of problem with radio :-)
@jumping - correct, if you can make a node without its better for the radio but its easier to do with a booster, radio and a pre-made Arduino pro mini.
Controller: Proxmox VM - Home Assistant
MySensors GW: Arduino Uno - W5100 Ethernet, Gw Shield Nrf24l01+ 2,4Ghz
MySensors GW: Arduino Uno - Gw Shield RFM69, 433mhz
RFLink GW - Arduino Mega + RFLink Shield, 433mhz -
@jumping - correct, if you can make a node without its better for the radio but its easier to do with a booster, radio and a pre-made Arduino pro mini.
hi @sundberg84, if you have some free time you can see my post about a "new" PCB
https://forum.mysensors.org/topic/5314/pcbs-for-battery-based-sensor :-) -
@jumping - correct, if you can make a node without its better for the radio but its easier to do with a booster, radio and a pre-made Arduino pro mini.
It's definitely easier with a booster - but not cheaper or more reliable. (Why does the booster cost more than the Arduino?)
Everything is about tradeoff's. When you solve one problem, it can easily introduce another. At first, I ignored the whole booster thing. But after a lot of experiments, I ended up with a pile of 1.35 V batteries. So I tried the booster, and ended up with transmission problems (partially solved by capacitors). So then I tried changing the bootloader (1Mhz, no brown out), and it seems to be OK - but I know there will be other problems. Example: I now need to boost to 3.3V for sensors that require it. Also, are there compatibility problems with mysensors?
Even still, thanks for the great board - I've had a lot of fun and learned a lot with it!
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It's definitely easier with a booster - but not cheaper or more reliable. (Why does the booster cost more than the Arduino?)
Everything is about tradeoff's. When you solve one problem, it can easily introduce another. At first, I ignored the whole booster thing. But after a lot of experiments, I ended up with a pile of 1.35 V batteries. So I tried the booster, and ended up with transmission problems (partially solved by capacitors). So then I tried changing the bootloader (1Mhz, no brown out), and it seems to be OK - but I know there will be other problems. Example: I now need to boost to 3.3V for sensors that require it. Also, are there compatibility problems with mysensors?
Even still, thanks for the great board - I've had a lot of fun and learned a lot with it!
@ileneken3 - you are so right, and that is the fun with electronics! There is no right or wrong (more or less)!
Newbie/Easy PCB is what it sounds like and my only aim is to make it as easy as possible. Im happy to evaluate it but at the moment booster and a few non compatible sensors is the price i pay.I have probably 15 of these PCB with boosters now, and yes - there are times when the booster makes it unreliable but most of the times it works. I have maybe trashed 5 nodes in all which is fair less amount that I had to trash soldering wires. I have also tried bare atmegas in different shapes and even with them there are problems (not including flashing bootloaders and stuff you dont have to do with EasyPCB).
We also needs to remember this is DIY, not factory manufactured which can introduce alof of errors. We learn as we go and I hope EasyPCB can be a great platform for new people like you said. Nice to hear, thank you!
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Yesterday I have received Rev 9 of Newbie PCB board. I am a newbie and I purchased this board to make building easier. I have soldered a radio and Arduino Pro Mini 3.3 V to it and the radio module with a 47uF cap. The power is supplied using the FTD232 board. Because the radio module is not powered using the 3.3V of arduino I wired this using a separate wire. I also connected a DTH 11 with the resistor on the board (4K7). I used a test sketch to read the DTH 11 and this is working well.
When I load the MySensors sketch I get a radio failure. I have no Idea what this is? Bad wiring, not correct power?? Anyone can help me started?
0 MCO:BGN:INIT NODE,CP=RNNNA--,VER=2.1.1 4 TSM:INIT 4 TSF:WUR:MS=0 12 !TSM:INIT:TSP FAIL 14 TSM:FAIL:CNT=1 16 TSM:FAIL:PDT 10018 TSM:FAIL:RE-INIT 10020 TSM:INIT 10027 !TSM:INIT:TSP FAIL 10031 TSM:FAIL:CNT=2 10033 TSM:FAIL:PDT``` -
Yesterday I have received Rev 9 of Newbie PCB board. I am a newbie and I purchased this board to make building easier. I have soldered a radio and Arduino Pro Mini 3.3 V to it and the radio module with a 47uF cap. The power is supplied using the FTD232 board. Because the radio module is not powered using the 3.3V of arduino I wired this using a separate wire. I also connected a DTH 11 with the resistor on the board (4K7). I used a test sketch to read the DTH 11 and this is working well.
When I load the MySensors sketch I get a radio failure. I have no Idea what this is? Bad wiring, not correct power?? Anyone can help me started?
0 MCO:BGN:INIT NODE,CP=RNNNA--,VER=2.1.1 4 TSM:INIT 4 TSF:WUR:MS=0 12 !TSM:INIT:TSP FAIL 14 TSM:FAIL:CNT=1 16 TSM:FAIL:PDT 10018 TSM:FAIL:RE-INIT 10020 TSM:INIT 10027 !TSM:INIT:TSP FAIL 10031 TSM:FAIL:CNT=2 10033 TSM:FAIL:PDT```@martim said in Easy/Newbie PCB for MySensors:
Because the radio module is not powered using the 3.3V of arduino I wired this using a separate wire.
Can you show a picture of your setup and give more explanation on this sentence ? This part about connection of the radio smells fishy ;)
It seems the radio cannot be initialized, so I suppose the power supplied to it is not correct, but I'm not sure of what you did.
