💬 Easy/Newbie PCB for MySensors

[sundberg84]

@dark-nico The nrf24 doesnt go outside the PCB so much, and therefore its smaller. But because of that i had to move the 5 to 3.3volt regulator. Nothing else should be different.

[dark-nico]

@sundberg84 Thanks for the quick reply.
I've ordered a protopack, I'll let you know when I receive/test it.

[lxz]

I also just ordered the rev8 board.
Thanks for sharing, will post my results asap!

[scooter217]

Looks like chinese new year is coming. On Dirtypcbs site: NEW ORDERS SHIP AFTER FEB. 16TH! IT IS SPRING FESTIVAL, CHINA IS CLOSED. YOU SHOULD KNOW THIS, IT IS THE BIGGEST COUNTRY AND ECONOMY IN THE WORLD, THEY MAKE ALLZ YOUR STUFFS! WE WILL NOT ANSWER ANY EMAILS ABOUT ORDERS PLACED IN THIS PERIOD! NO EXCEPTIONS, NO EMERGENCIES, NO NOTHING. A BIG NOTHING BURGER. GOT IT?!?!

[Alexander]

@sundberg84 thanks for the nice design!
I was not really aware of 'official' and 'unofficial' version (and version at all..) so just after the post of ar91 I followed the link to dirtypcbs and ordered 10 Rev6 boards. I will share my experiences here as soon as they arrive and see if it is worth while to order the rev8's. I like it that it is even smaller withour loosing functionality.

[BastienVH]

@sundberg84
Hey, I've been trying to get my boards to work, but without succes so far.
They are revision 7 and have mounted 2 boards with a pro mini and the radio but they're not working.
For the second one I actually checked both the arduino and radio beforehand to see if they functional, which they were.
Now with them mounted, I still get the "radio init fail" message in the arduino serial monitor.
The first board, I mounted with the cap, the second one not yet (I ran out of solder wire).

Any ideas how to troubleshoot this?
Should I upload some pictures so you can check the solderjob?

[sundberg84]

Hi @BastienVH

Do you use 3.3 or 5v arduino?
How do you power it?
Did you solder the pinheader / jumper?

I have rev7 myself, and those works great for me.

[BastienVH]

I have a 3.3v arduino.
At the moment it's powered the FTDI232 connected to my computer.
I will transfer to battery once I'm done.
Do you mean the "BAT" / "REG"?
I haven't soldered that. I'm guessing that's necessary?

Also, while I have you hear ;-) , if I want to use the battery measuring, do I have to add the 0.1uF capacitor?
What advantage does it provide?

Thanks for your help!

[sundberg84]

If you use the FTDI connector, make sure its the 3.3v and connect it to Gnd/Pwr on the PCB and not Arduino FDTI connector.
You could just exclude those pins and connect a battery directly and use that as power and the FDTI as programmer/serial debug only

Bat or Reg is nessecary!
See this picture for battery use: https://www.openhardware.io/view/4/EasyNewbie-PCB-for-MySensors
https://www.openhardware.io/uploads/568ed84b60aa3f8965fbf095/image/3.jpg
All components in the image is needed (except battery measurment).
If you dont want to use booster you need to bypass that one with a wire/jumper (or set the jumper on REG instead of BAT but that kills the logic).

The battery doesnt "need" the 0,1uF but see here:https://www.mysensors.org/build/battery
"The tap point could be bypassed with a 0.1 uF capacitor to keep the noise level low, at this otherwise high impedance point. "

[BastienVH]

@sundberg84
Thanks for the explanation!
I think I've got it now.
Will test and get back with the results when I've gotten my hands on some more solder wire!

[Anticimex]

Hi,
I see you use CERN OHL but I do not find the required files.
Where do you store those?
According to the CERN OHL 1.2 howto, you need to provide the following documentation with your project:
LICENSE.PDF
cern_ohl_v_1_2_howto.pdf
PRODUCT.TXT
CHANGES.TXT

Please check the howto closely for how to use the license, or pick another license. If it is not used according to spec, others don't need to follow it either since it is invalid, so you won't be "protected" by it.

[BastienVH]

@BastienVH
Replying to myself to follow up on my assembly-issues.
I have been able to get the board to work.
I don't have my 0.1µF caps yet, so I just put a little blob of solder in the holes so the current could run through.
Now I've got myself 2 working board. I just have to find a good way to attach my PIR, dallas temp, ... to them.

Thanks for the work and help!

[ErrK]

I'am now finnish with my first rev7 node.
It is a Arduino 5V with DHT-22 and a HC-SR501 sensor.

Good work @sundberg84 for the PCB

[sundberg84]

@BastienVH Good to hear - its not essential to have to 0.1uF cap on the voltage retulator, it will work without but its good to keep noice out.
@ErrK Nice, I see you run through RAW pin and using the internal voltage regulator on the arduino - I have not tested that much, does it work ok?

[BastienVH]

@sundberg84
When I get the caps, I'll place them on the board.
I did notice alot of noise when I was reading battery state on a breadboard in an earlier build, so I will get that sorted.
Only problem is I can't find them locally, so have to get them from China.
Will take a while...

[ErrK]

@sundberg84 yes it's working good. But the problem is that it's eating up the batteries :)
It was up for only 15days.

I will now test with a arduino that i have removed the led and volt regulator.

[sundberg84]

Sounds good @ErrK - dont forget to power it through REG and not RAW on the PCB and add a jumper on REG since it wont work if you use the same setup as in the images and remove voltage regulator.

[ErrK]

Thank you @sundberg84. I will think of that.

[Barna]

Hi,
Why have you redesigned from rev7 to rev8?
When will the rev8 be tested ?

[sundberg84]

@Barna - I just wanted to make it smaller, with the radio not sticking out so much.
I ordered them a while ago, so if they made it out of china before their new year I think it will be tested soon.