So many arduino and radio choices!

[Michael_K]

I'm just getting started in the world of MySensors, so I have some questions about which hardware to use.
I've settled on RFM69 for the radio. Trying to pick a model, I found many variations: W, CW, HW, and HCW. I believe that H is high-power. Is there any real difference between the W and CW? I know that they differ slightly in size, but I'm wondering about actual usage (e.g. pinouts, features).

Regarding the arduino, the site mentions that we could use the Uno, Nano, and Pro Mini. Can we use the other variants (e.g. Micro, Trinket, and Pro Trinket)? (Yes, I know that there are a bunch of other boards; I'm interested in alternatives to the small boards, for use with sensors and such.)

[mfalkvidd]

@Michael_K I haven't used the rfm radios so I can't comment much but this thread has some information https://forum.mysensors.org/topic/5433/rfm69-which-module-to-use/2

The Trinket is based on attiny85, which only has 8k flash. Fitting MySensors into that can be done but the options will be limited. See https://forum.mysensors.org/topic/333/attiny-supported/39 for more information.

Trinket pro is based on atmega328, just as Arduino Pro and Nano, so it will work just as fine.

https://forum.mysensors.org/topic/5531/where-do-you-place-your-sensors-or-how-do-you-hide-them-case/12 has links to two sites where Arduinos can be compared.

[DavidZH]

Welcome to the club!

Regarding radio's: The RFM69's with a C in the type have a smaller form factor (which is pin compatible with the predecessor RFM12B). The the 'W' and "HW' versions are larger in size and have more programmable pins (which MySensors does not use) but have exactly the same functionality within MyS.

All the footprints on the boards available in OpenHardware.io are for the 'W' and 'HW' versions so I'd go with one of these.
The 'W' uses way less power than the 'HW' which would be good the for the battery life of your nodes. Sensors powered by the grid can be 'HW', but usually, in the house a 'W' delivers enough TX power to get the message across. It might be a good idea to make your gateway with a 'HW'.

Hope this gets you a bit further. Good luck and show us your results!