Looking for detailed description for hacking a sonoff
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One of the prices of the contest is a Sonoff. I really love the size of it. I've tried it and it works great.
What I'm not fond if, is the fact that the state and the logic are being stored on a website. I just like to keep things like that in my home.
I saw some articles that you can mod the sonoff to an mqtt device. But I've never worked with the ESP so I'm looking for a detailed step by step article to modifiy the sonoff.
B.t.w. nice gadget for a really low price ;-)
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This article shows you how to connect an FTDI to the sonoff
http://tech.scargill.net/itead-slampher-and-sonoff/
From there, I think this tutorial will get you going
https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-huzzah-esp8266-breakout/using-nodemcu-lua
leading well into this project on Github, which, I think, is what you were referring to for MQTT on the Sonoff (all of this, of course, removes the original cloud functionality)
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And then there is this:
https://community.smartthings.com/t/release-sonoff-5-wifi-switch-device-handler/45957
Would get you going pretty quickly (the FTDI explanation is a little more clear that the earlier link with the picture)
I haven't yet made a MySensors node with an ESP, but it's doable
http://forum.mysensors.org/topic/3583/mysensors-on-esp8266-esp01/4
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@TheoL I have just uploaded ESPEasy R78 stable firmware. It works really well on existing WiFi with Domoticz. The biggest advantage of it as a remote relay is that it reports its status to the virtual sensor in Domoticz. This is something z-wave devices do and something I've been missing with MySensors.
@hek I think the memory is only 1Mb (Wemos D1 mini - 4Mb) and I am not sure it would be enough for the GW (with signing and other stuff).
Price wise though this cannot beaten ($7 for the RF + ESP8266 version)
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How could we make this a MySensors node?
@Mark-Swift I do not think you can.
IMHO one needs to (a) upgrade EEPROM. This is doable but very tricky the flash chip is in a place not easily accessible by a soldering iron
(b) given that it is based on ESP, connect nrf24l01+ to it. Please see below how FTDI is connected - I think the same way you can connect Arduino Pro mini. I do not think you can connect nrf24l01+ directly as the GPIO number is limited (c) come up with a sketch for ESP8266 as a node.
In my view this is just not worth the effort.
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Couldn't you just run the MySensors ESP gateway on it (presenting it as a binary switch)?
@hek two issues with your proposal:
- ESP-12 which is used for MySensors ESP GW has got more GPIOs and 4Mb memory. Sonoff has a limited number of GPIOs and 1Mb memory marginally better than ESP-01. This can be upgraded, but not easy. I can do SMT, but here is a challenge. See below
- connect nrf24l01+ - I did not figure out how to do that given that GPIOs are limited. Sure Arduino can be connected, but it is not the same
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I hacked a sonoff dual:
https://itead.freshdesk.com/support/discussions/topics/11000006870It should be easy to upload a wifi gateway sketch. I made an MQTT integration.
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Thanks for the great replies.
I'm not currently using MQTT, I'm running the Ethernet gateway via a W5100. Can I use the ESP boards, i.e this or the nodemcu without the need for an NRF24?
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Thanks for the great replies.
I'm not currently using MQTT, I'm running the Ethernet gateway via a W5100. Can I use the ESP boards, i.e this or the nodemcu without the need for an NRF24?
@Mark-Swift how would you intend to use Sonoff with MySensors? Do you have the ESP GW?
I am using several Sonoffs with Domoticz via a JSON script. https://www.domoticz.com/wiki/Domoticz_API/JSON_URL's
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So - I agree re: Sonoffs - we've written our own software at the tech blog and though not quite step by step it is easy enough to use and ROMS are available to save you having to get into compiling code. We use Node-Red and MQTT as the base of everything - so you have a number of ESP sensors and relay controllers etc all talking to a Raspberry Pi - or something much cheaper like an Orange Pi Zero running Armbian for example - and basically you're sending simple MQTT messages around the house - nothing has to go outside unless of course you want remote control at a distance. Modifying Sonoffs is easy - I'm sitting in front of some now updating them with our software - just in the process of figuring our which port is used for the second relay in the DUAL product.
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@alexsh1 Replace the FLASH in the Sonoff - easier in the latest models as they've put the FLASH chip on the back (Sonoff TH16 etc) - on the originals it was jammed in next to the programming button and a pain to replace.
@peterscargill Peter, I am stuck with the previous model (WiFi + 433) and changing FLASH is literally impossible even with a small tip. Using a hot fan is not an option as it would melt down all plastic including the button.
