MySensor + Whisper Node + RFM69



  • Hello,

    I tried to post similar question at the Domoticz forum but I think it's a bit quiet over there, so I trying to post over here.

    I just downloaded the Domoticz and I'm trying to configure my Whisper Node (https://talk2.wisen.com.au/product-talk2-whisper-node-avr/) as a Node and serial Gateway connected to my Rasbperry PI. I can see a "define" to change the module from NRF24 to RFM69 on the example (https://www.mysensors.org/build/serial_gateway), but where I define details for the RFM69 driver like frequency, power, encryption, etc?

    Also, I'm trying to find details about the protocol between a MySensor node and the Gateway as well, so I can try to write my own Remote Node for non-standard uses, as well to optimize for very low-power consumption. My plan is to run few nodes using two AA batteries and others using CR2032 coin-cell. At the moment I only found documentation about the Serial protocol (https://www.mysensors.org/download/serial_api_20).

    Meanwhile I'll keep digging into the code, still getting familiar with the libraries. Any help is appreciated, thanks.


  • Hardware Contributor



  • Thanks for that scalz. With the provided details I already got things working fine with the additional RFM69 settings. I'll move on to create some customized nodes and message types and try to integrate with Domoticz.



  • @Moebius-Lutching were you ever able to get these working? I am not able to get the whisper node's to see each other when I have one setup as a serial gateway and the other as a simple relay actuator. I get an FPAR error on the sensor node, meaning it can't find a parent. On the GW side, I never see a radio message arrive.


  • Mod

    @jfeger
    have you set a node ID or a parent ID?

    PS is this board really worth 25$?



  • @jfeger hey... I don't have it in this computer, I sort of moved away from it and I'm using my own "protocol" and code. but i'll try to find the working mysensor sketches on the company's laptop and post here. From the top of my head I don't remember changing anything apart from the RFM69 config parameters documented for the "mysensors".

    @gohan it worth for me... I thought the same initially, but after lots of time spending building my own nodes, which were never 100% and some quick maths I believe it's a good board for low power nodes.

    RFM69: $4; Arduino Mini Pro: $2.5 - $3; Step-up Regulator: $3.5; 4Mbit Flash: $2 - $3; SMA 2dBi Whip Antenna: $5 - $8; SMA Connector + LEDs + Buttons: $3 - $4; PCB Headers + Passives: $1.5... Total $21.5+?!

    That's what the board comes with (I assume). I must say that I would never build my node with all of the components, for me I prefer to focus on my project instead of build nodes from a Mini Pro, soldering the step-up and the RFM69 and testing everything... plus the whole thing look like a Frankenstein 😛


  • Mod

    @Moebius-Lutching
    You have a point but it depends on the project, as I probably would not use all the stuff you mentioned that's in the whisper.



  • @Moebius-Lutching Thank you. I think I got it working, as I added the RFM config, but also needed to comment out a few other things (I forget which). Ill still take a look at your sketches if you don't mind. Out of curiosity, why did you move away from MySensors?

    @gohan The board and documentation are quite good. The quality of the board assembly is very impressive. I also think Mike has done a great job in terms of support and responsiveness when I had questions. Does that make it worth $25? To me, yes. However, like Moebius suggested, the board has a lot to it that I likely won't need for each sensor, but I am going to stick with them for now. I can solder, and I do a decent job, but I simply don't like taking the time to do it anymore, especially if I can support creativity like Mike @ Talk2. If I were about to do a lot of nodes, I would probably look for a cheaper solution, but for a few things here and there, the Whisper Node has been great. Clean power, LOW power consumption, and a small footprint.



  • Hi jfeger, sorry I can't find the sketches anymore... if I end-up finding it I post here.

    So, I decided to use bare Arduino with the RadioHead RFM69 lib and parts of the Talk2 library. I just didn't feel the need for the whole framework and doing this I was able to customize a bit more the low-power usage and easily integrate with other third-party libraries which weren't playing nice together with MySensor.

    In terms of messages, protocol I just follow the Talk2 example and I'm using their "Message" format. I just assigned the "id" to a kind of message by convention and use the 8 bytes payload for the data... I normally use only 1 to 4 bytes actually.


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