$8 Lamp (Outlet) "Smart Plug" Module

[sundberg84]

Hi @petewill!
I made this :) Great video :+1:

I think i get bad reception or something because it works the first 5-6 times and then nothing...

In the end you describe an cat5 wire added as antenna because of bad reception.
Do you remove the plastic/shielding so its just copper?
Im afraid to short anything out with a long uncovered antenna if thats the case...

and if i hear you right its 3,28 inches which should be 33,31200 millimeters on the antenna?

[petewill]

@sundberg84 said:

Hi @petewill!
I made this :) Great video :+1:

I think i get bad reception or something because it works the first 5-6 times and then nothing...

This could also be a power or a wiring issue. But, the antenna is an easy modification so it wouldn't hurt to try this first. Another test is to move the device closer to your gateway. If it still stops after 5-6 times then it probably isn't communication issues.

In the end you describe an cat5 wire added as antenna because of bad reception.
Do you remove the plastic/shielding so its just copper?
Im afraid to short anything out with a long uncovered antenna if thats the case...

No, I left the shielding on the wire. Sorry, I should have specified that.

and if i hear you right its 3,28 inches which should be 33,31200 millimeters on the antenna?

I think 3.28 inches is 83.312 millimeters (at least that's what google says it is).

[AWI]

I have these lockups all the time and have not been able to get rid of them. I tried:

• separated power supplies
• capacitors
• shielding

Most probably (in my case) is the spike introduced by the coil of the relay. This somehow puts the radio in a sleep (or half dead) state. By moving away from mechanical to triac (ssd) 'relays' I was finaly able to solve it. If you find a solution please post.

[sundberg84]

@AWI Hmm, ok... will give it a try and report back if i find anything...

It seems to be both range and spikes? The sensor works great without anything connected to 240v out but as soon as i connect anything like a lamp it fails within 5 on/off. Also when i move it close to the gw but then atleast it works without any 240v connected.

The SSD relays, is that something like this?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1pcs-5V-DC-1-Channel-Solid-State-Relay-Board-module-High-Level-fuse-for-arduino-/191563980850?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_2&hash=item2c9a1a6032

Any downsides with SSR relays?

[AWI]

@sundberg84 I have never found these before. Sounds like an interesting option. Made myself boards like these
The 'downside' of these is that there can be a leak voltage when the output is left open.

[sundberg84]

@AWI Your link didnt work (typo)
Ill give these a try and let post if they are any good.

[petewill]

@AWI said:

I have these lockups all the time and have not been able to get rid of them. I tried:

• separated power supplies
• capacitors
• shielding

Most probably (in my case) is the spike introduced by the coil of the relay. This somehow puts the radio in a sleep (or half dead) state. By moving away from mechanical to triac (ssd) 'relays' I was finaly able to solve it. If you find a solution please post.

Strange. I have been using mine for months without any issues. It is triggered by motion in my family room so it is used every day multiple times. Were you powering the relay from the Arduino or directly from the 5v?

[sundberg84]

@petewill In my case from VCC from arduino. I try to change incoming to raw and see if that makes any differens.

[petewill]

@sundberg84 said:

@petewill In my case from VCC from arduino. I try to change incoming to raw and see if that makes any differens.

Yeah, let me know. It's been a while, so I don't remember what project I had issues with, but I had issues with power when I was using the Arduino 5V. I always try to pull power from the source (not Arduino) whenever I can now. Hopefully this will help your issue.

[sundberg84]

Now the relay powers up, and i can switch (led turns on) but no click/coil activation so no 240v power out. Changed the relay but same result. I have 5v relay vcc and 5v on in but nothing... strange.

[Moshe Livne]

@sundberg84 try the relay by itself first - connect to 5v and gnd and give it signal (even by just touching a wire to the signal leg). I had a run of several dead relays (was because of non rectified power supply so they switched on and off 50 times a second... one of the best ways to kill a relay I think)

[petewill]

@sundberg84 said:

Now the relay powers up, and i can switch (led turns on) but no click/coil activation so no 240v power out. Changed the relay but same result. I have 5v relay vcc and 5v on in but nothing... strange.

Wow, that is strange. I am using 5 or so different relays all around my house every day and I've never had this issues. I always connect them to 5v directly from the dc transformer (old cell phone chargers).

[Mohsin Hassan]

Hi,

any possibility of including a push button to manually trigger the switch on and off as well?
And if possible update Vera on the status change.

This way i can make it Wife safe and not get kicked out of the house...

I'm not good with coding but if someone can point me in the right direction please...

[sundberg84]

There is a scetch in mysensors lib doing this. Relayaccuatorwithbutton or something. Download the examplescetches and have a look: http://www.mysensors.org/build/relay#relaywithbuttonactuator-example @Mohsin-Hassan

[sundberg84]

@petewill @Moshe-Livne . Coil activates when i try with a 9v battery, so either bad/cheap relays or to weak power plug. All measures +5v but its not enough. Ill order some new relays.

[Moshe Livne]

@sundberg84 IMHO 9v will fry the relay. max voltage is 5.5v if my failing memory serves. depends on your relay, naturally but this is the most common one. have a look at the datasheet https://www.ghielectronics.com/downloads/man/20084141716341001RelayX1.pdf
yes it is 5.5v - nominal 5v, max current is 110%. I am sure it can sustain 6 but 9v will be really pushing it IMHO

[sundberg84]

It was only to test coil failure and see if it was a power issue :)

[Moshe Livne]

@sundberg84 A self fulfilling prophecy :-)

[petewill]

@Mohsin-Hassan said:

Hi,

any possibility of including a push button to manually trigger the switch on and off as well?
And if possible update Vera on the status change.

This way i can make it Wife safe and not get kicked out of the house...

I'm not good with coding but if someone can point me in the right direction please...

We are discussing this over here: http://forum.mysensors.org/topic/1607/safe-in-wall-ac-to-dc-transformers

You want to be careful you use the right transformer so you don't burn your house down. :) The wife probably wouldn't appreciate that.

I really want to do this too. I'm just waiting for the experts to weigh in on which transformer is safe.

[petewill]

@sundberg84 said:

@petewill @Moshe-Livne . Coil activates when i try with a 9v battery, so either bad/cheap relays or to weak power plug. All measures +5v but its not enough. Ill order some new relays.

So strange that it's not working. What is the power rating of your 5V transformer? Do you have a picture of your set up?