💬 Easy/Newbie PCB for MySensors

[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!

[Matt]

Hi Sundberg.
First of all thanks for what you have done here, and hi from New Zealand.
I have a problem though, sorry to be a hassle.
I assembled my first board tonight and I dont get 3.3v across the NRF. It starts at 0.07V then falls down to 0 on my cheap meter. Same on the MYSX1.4 connector at 3.3 and gnd. Am getting 3.3 on the mini as well as VCC and GND on the MYSX area so the regulator is working. May be a short? Or a bad solder? Although they look good to me.... If so what solder joints should I redo? Any other ideas?
Also, Ive traced back the VCC from the NRF and I cant see where it connects to a power source, either the battery in or the boost converter?

Thanks,
Matt