Arduino Nano + NRF24L01+ + MQTT + VMWare PC - missing link



  • Hi everyone

    I would really love to figure this out on my own but since I'm pushing this project away since a long time and I'm just missing the basic understanding I thought I ask before I push it further...

    I really love the easy getting started section but when it comes to the gateway I think there are missing some explanations.

    My goal:
    Having multiple of these sensors (see below) communicate with my Home Assistant installation without a USB cable and they should be battery powered.

    I started with the serial gateway setup:
    setup

    Everything works so far and I get the readings from the humidity sensor. Combining the different sensors would already be problem I assume.

    • As a starter: Why do I need a NRF24L01+ 2.4GHz Wireless Transceiver for a non wireless connection? I was always looking for a way to connect it to my network but obviously couldn't find any.

    • Is MQTT what I can use with my sensor setup (particular with the NRF24L01+)? I would follow this setup guide to install Mosquitto on my linux server: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsDHEDbyLfg

    • I read that I need to follow the ethernet setup (https://www.mysensors.org/build/ethernet_gateway) but don't get how this is related? Do I need a Ethernet module in order to use MQTT?

    • The MQTT page (https://www.mysensors.org/build/mqtt_gateway) talks about ethernet and the ESP8266. What does that tell me about my NRF24L01+?

    Would be great if someone could connect the dots for me.

    Best regards!


  • Mod

    • As a starter: Why do I need a NRF24L01+ 2.4GHz Wireless Transceiver for a non wireless connection? I was always looking for a way to connect it to my network but obviously couldn't find any.

    MQTT runs over tcp/ip. Running tcp/ip over Nrf24l01+ can be done but would be very inefficient and would result in bad battery time. Running tcp/ip over nrf24l01+ is not supported by MySensors. Therefore, something that supports tcp/ip is needed. Ethernet supports tcp/ip, and wireless lan supports tcp/ip.

    • Is MQTT what I can use with my sensor setup (particular with the NRF24L01+)?

    For MySensors, mqtt is supported by a mqtt gateway. This can be wired (ethernet, https://www.mysensors.org/build/mqtt_gateway) or wireless (esp8266)

    An overview of how gateways and sensors work in MySensors: https://www.mysensors.org/about/network

    You need something that supports tcp/ip. See explanation above.

    See the overview linked above. Yes, really read it. Doing that will save you many hours of confusion. But in short: nrf is used between sensors and the gateway. The nrf communication is very energy-efficient which means the sensors can be powered by battery. Mqtt is used from the gateway to anything you want.



  • @mfalkvidd

    Thank you for this guidance: https://www.mysensors.org/about/network
    I read this page a long time ago and skipped it on my retry (fatal mistake 😉 )

    I will not use the MQTT in this case. I assume now I can attach one Arduino Nano with a NRF24L01+ via USB to my Home Assistant server and all other sensors with a NRF24L01+ should be detected by the Home Assistant Controller. Thats correct, right?

    I will give this a shot! Thank you


  • Mod

    @AEkschen yes that's correct. Good luck!

    If you get stuck along the way, take a look at https://forum.mysensors.org/topic/666/debug-faq-and-how-ask-for-help - and you are of course welcome to post more questions in the forum if anything is unclear.


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