💬 Sensebender Gateway

[alexsh1]

@FotoFieber This is a question for the MySensors dev team. Sensebender can handle both radios. Currently, there is a software restriction.

[alexsh1]

@FotoFieber No, you do have to hack the core if you want both radios to be handled properly, i.e. to handle message queues with corresponding radios. For example, sending a message is done via rfm69 only and not via nrf24l01+

[Anticimex]

The architecture we use would place this kind of situation to the controller to solve. One gw per network. So one gw for nrf and one for rfm.
HW is cheap, and library should be kept simple.

[FotoFieber]

@Anticimex
One gateway per radio, that is what I think is best. :+1:

What I try to do, is to implement a controller with arduino due for up to three serial gateways. If there would be a solution for ethernet&rfm69 I may not have invested time in this. :laughing:

[tbowmo]

@FotoFieber

Well sensebender GW supports rfm69 with ethernet ;)

[FotoFieber]

@tbowmo
Yes, that is really nice. :+1:

My other goal was to have a new MQTTClientGateway, as it existed with MySensors 1.1 (which is not only a gateway, but a controller too). It would have been really painful to add it to MySensors 2.1.x, as I would have to patch core files. It is much easier, to throw hardware at it. :laughing:

[alexsh1]

@tbowmo More practical question. I have received the GW and it already has MySensors 2.1.0 software. Excellent service by Itead. Can you please help me how to map LEDs in the GW sketch? I can see that they are connected to pins 38, 41, 42, 39, 40 as LED1, LED2, LED3, LED4 and LED5. Thanks

[tbowmo]

@alexsh1

you should be able to use LED_BLUE, LED_GREEN etc. defines (or even just LED_1, LED_2..) in your sketch, to access the different LED's on board the gateway. That is, if you are using the SenseBender GW hardware support files in arduino (installation instructions are here https://github.com/mysensors/ArduinoBoards)

Also, look at the board definition files, located here https://github.com/mysensors/ArduinoHwSAMD/blob/master/variants/mysensors_gw/variant.cpp
and here https://github.com/mysensors/ArduinoHwSAMD/blob/master/variants/mysensors_gw/variant.h

[alexsh1]

@tbowmo Excellent links, many thanks. BTW the board is working with the standard arduino samd, the problem I suppose comes with things LEDs.

[tbowmo]

@alexsh1

You might be able to compile with the standard arduino zero BSP files. But the IO mapping is not the same at all.. I have swapped some pins to make routing a bit easier. Also the SPI channels are configured a bit differently than the standard arduino, if I remember right. So I will advise to use the mysensors gateway BSP files..

[alexsh1]

@tbowmo it is already done. Thanks to your link I have now Sensebender Gateway board added.
Waiting for an ethernet board now, it has stuck in the post

[Fabien]

@tbowmo : Did you try to use this board with platformio ?

[tbowmo]

@Fabien

No, platformio is still on my bucketlist.. There is just not hours enough for everything :)

[Fabien]

@tbowmo Ok I will install arduino IDE to upgrade it to 2.1.1
Please post here iwhen you have more information. I think I will try but I have no experience with this architecture.

[delivereath]

Has anyone designed a case for the sensebender gateway ?

[tbowmo]

@delivereath

I designed one in freecad for the GW and a nrf24l01 with lna/pa and external antenna.

But I still have some fine tuning to do before releasing it, as the lid locking mechanism didn't turn out like expected.

[scalz]

Tea time..

Here is my custom box for your RFM69 Sensebender GW ! Beautiful board though ;)

No nail no screw :)

Last final minor check and i release the files, sure! (i've done one for nrf too in case..)

[alexsh1]

@scalz beautiful box!!!
Looking forward to print it too as soon as you publish it, but mine will be with nrf24l01+. Having been running both networks, I'm so much in favour of rfm69. It just works. No more caps to stabilise power or any other rf issues.

I have decided to use Moteino Mega with a built-in antenna as rfm69 gateway though - it is very small and goes inside into an RPi box. And has got more memory than atmega328p

[Fabien]

@scalz Yeah ! I will print this one.

[scalz]

Little gift.. :)

Custom box for the NRF non PA version:

A bit enlarged for NRF.

And here the 3d preview for both versions with my little cheat for bicolor as i've still not added this feature to my printer

You can see i've added a little slot near usb on the NRF version, it's for the leds indication in case box wouldn't be white (no need for white box, you can see it by transparency). I'll do the same for rfm69, and put variant stl with it or not.

Next Nrf PA version, and that'll be fine ;)