Posts made by aproxx

@Soloam I'm actually not using 2 100nF capacitors, but 1 100nF and 100 uF capacitor. Exactly for the reason that scalz mentioned. I'm not saying these are the perfect values to use, but I came across similar values some time ago, and these give me a decent and stable voltage.

The width of my copper traces is 2mm for the entire high voltage circuit. I have used a trade width/thickness calculator, and it should be more than sufficient to power the HLK-PM01.
However, it is not sufficient for the traces between the relays and the connectors because it should be able to handle up to 2A (limiting factor of the solid state relays). That's why I have designed this board with open air traces between the relays and the connectors. That way it's possible to reinforce the traces with solder, after which it should be able to withstand 2 Amps.

And good luck with designing your version of the board! If there is a way to decrease the board size even further that would be great!

@jemish
It's on the middle of the board on the top side. 4 pins are present to use as switch inputs. 2 pins are ground, and then pin 4 and 7 are available as well.
By closing the connection between pin 4 and ground you will switch te status of relay 1. When closing the connection between ground and pin 7 you'll switch the status of relay 2.

@Samuel235
I assume you were referring to the 2 resistors at the high voltage circuit? These were actually used as placeholders for the temp cutoff and the slow blow fuse. As I didn't have these component in DipTrace I used resistors to replace them in the scheme. But I have updated the schematic to avoid any confusion!

As for the EAGLE software: Is does meet all the needed requirements, but I just find DipTrace to be way more user-friendly.

@Samuel235 At the moment I have one board (version 3.3.1, which is missing the temperature sensor) up and running for over a week. It's in a small closed box, and it has two lamps attached to it which are powered on every evening. So far everything seems to be ok. Temperature is still low inside this box after a few hours (couldn't perform any specific measurements yet, so that's why I added the temperature sensor in this one).

@Cliff-Karlsson I just soldered the thermal fuse really quick. But maybe some other kind of heatsink would be useful! So any suggestions are welcome for this.

@Samuel235 I have been using DipTrace to design all my PCBs, and I must admit that the schematic view in this software kit isn't the best.. I'll see what I can do to have the schematic quality improved! But all components which are on the schematic are on the PCB, so no components are missing on the board itself.

The latest version of this board is available here!
Because of the large number of request a second (optional) solid state relay has been added to the board. Enjoy!

@Sefi-Ninio
Yes, it will be perfectly possible to just install 1 relay on the board and it will still work fine.
More news in the next few days!

@jemish
Then your wait is almost over! I'm currently doing my latest tests on the board, and so far everything works perfectly. I'll try and see if I can post everything during next weekend.

Have you ever considered adding a weight/pressure sensor underneath the legs of your bed?
Lets say if the weight of your bed would be 100kg, that the arduino is configured set to toggle at 110kg?

Hi @shabba.
I assume you mean version 3.2.3 of the board?
Besides the silkscreen of the LE33 being the other way around, there are a few other things to keep in mind:

• The drill holes of the fuse/varistor on the 230v side might be a bit small. So it is advised to either make those holes a bit bigger, or to make the legs of the fuse/varistor a bit thinner using some sandpaper.
• Make sure to solder the components in the correct order (As mentioned in the Word document, which is part of the ZIP file of the opening post).

I'll update the first post of this topic in a few weeks, which includes the newer board version that fixes all the problems as stated above.

@jemish The boards were sent to me from China 5 days ago. I don't have a tracking number available, but usually it takes between 3 and 5 weeks before they reach me (Belgium). I already have all the necessary components, so within a week after I received the boards I'll provide this topic with an update.

Any chance you will be creating a 'panelized' version of this board? With these small sizes 4 boards can be fitted on a 5 by 5cm board, while still keeping the same price. I'd be happy to order a few if that's available!

@vil1driver said:

bad news then why have you fuse at home ? 400 000 V has security measures, why add more security ? it's juste our life, childs life !!
do you know what is a "security transformer" ? the hlk-pm01 isn't one.

It's not that I think that security isn't important, but I believe that no security on the low voltage side is safer than having a false sense of security. As I've read above, lots of the low voltage fuses were not reliable. And that's one reason I dropped it in the newer design.

All that aside: I never ever EVER intend to mount these boards on locations people can reach (unless they intend to). Everything is placed safely behind a light switch or in a completely closed plastic box. The only thing that COULD be touched is the wires to the switch itself (And even those will be out of reach if the lid of the switch is on). But since these switches are only connected to ground and a digital input, those wires don't do any harm.

But yes, I do know what a 'security transformer' is. And no, I completely agree the HLK-PM01 itself isn't a secure transformer. But considering the price, the added fuses and temp cutoffs, and the plan to mount these in a safe location, I believe the HLK-PM01 does the job well.

@hek That sounds as a great idea. I'll share it on OpenHardware as soon as I have confirmed that everything works as expected!

Wow, this thread has been really active in the past few months! I'm sorry for my absence, but I kind of got dragged into other projects..

A new version of the board will be shared soon! Compared to the current board following changes have been made:

• A second solid state relay has been added. This 2nd relay is optional, so if only 1 device needs to be controlled just 1 relay needs to be installed and everything will still work fine.
• The board size has been increased just a little bit to fit this 2nd relay. Size is still 5x5cm only.
• Some components have been moved in order to make it easier to solder them (This was a bit tricky on version 3.2.3 because some components were really close to each other).
• Traces between the relays and the connectors are now 'open air'. So there is no mask on top of the traces. This way it is possible to reinforce the traces. By doing this it shouldn't be any problem to connect a 2A load to the board.
• A temperature cut-off has been added to the board.
• The varistor for the low voltage circuit has been removed because it's not really needed anymore with all the extra security measures on the high voltage side of the board.

Currently this board is still on it's way from China, but as soon as I've received this board I'll share all the documentation and everything else which is needed on this forum! This will probably happen in 3-5 weeks from now, so stay tuned!

@mvdarend Thanks for the feedback! Happy to hear that it's working fine on your side as well. Although I do find it strange that the LE33 seems to be the other way around on your board? Maybe I just made a mistake with the silkscreen, and should the LE33 be on the bottom side? Anyway, I'll make sure to address this as soon as I possible (probably somewhere during next week). Sorry for the possible inconvenience, but thanks for pointing this out!

@sundberg84 The board dimension are about 4.2x4.7cm, so it is quite small. However, I'm afraid that because of the NRF24L01 module, and the 230v connections to it, it wouldn't really fit the box you have on that picture (assuming the board you have there is 5x5cm)..

Somewhere in the next week or 2 I'll try to design a custom 3d printable plastic box for the board that I've designed. Together with a 2-relay board as requested by @jemish .

@mvdarend I'm not sure if I completely understand what you mean by "pulse switch"..
I was planning on using a normal light switch, in order to have an on/off (open and closed) circuit.
But it shouldn't be a problem to modify the code a bit in case you're using some other buttons (like a push button for example). I'm sure me or somebody else on this forum can help you with your code in case it shouldn't work out as expected.

Depending on the country you would like to ship the soldering station, this one might be a good option as well:
LINK
But the shipping cost is highly dependent on the selected country, so it is better to check the shipping cost first.
It is a decent copy of the well known Hakko 936 soldering station.
I bought it about 6 months ago, and I'm absolutely happy with this one. And because it's a copy of a well known soldering station there are a bunch of different solder tips for this one available on AliExpress.

Thanks for the detailed information about this project! I was/am looking for a similar solution to check whether doors are opened or closed.
Have you ever considered drilling a hole in the top of the door, and placing the entire node inside this drilled hole like the video below? Similar to this video?
That was something I planned to do, but your solution seems really nice as well in case drilling a hole in the door doesn't work out as expected.

@Jan-Gatzke Indeed, most of my lights only consume like 10% of the maximum rated power, so I should be on the safe side for sure.

I have attached a ZIP file which contains all required information in one of my previous posts (HERE). That one contains a Word document with all components and an AliExpress/Ebay link.

I'll try and see if I can update the first post of this topic as well to include all important information.

@Jan-Gatzke I've used a similar calculator before and according to these calculation it isn't mandatory.

• Dirtypcbs.com claims to use 1oz/ft2 copper thickness (which seems to be 0.035mm).
• The traces between the solid state relay and connectors are all 2mm wide.
• Distance between the solid state relay and the connector on the edge is less than 20mm.

That would lead to the following calculations:

So you are right that it isn't mandatory to reinforce these traces. However, to be on the safe side I'm still planning to reinforce them. I know, it probably isn't necessary but it doesn't hurt putting this extra effort in, just to be completely safe.

@AWI Thanks for the kind words! I did my best on the soldering part, but the reinforcement of the 230v circuit could have done a bit better in my opinion. Next time I would use an isolated wire to reinforce the 230v traces, but for a prototype build this was sufficient.

For those who wanted to see some pictures of the board:

Small notice: These pictures are of a slightly older design. The newer design has a few minor changes like better component placement and a permanent fuse instead of this resettable fuse. But these pictures should at least give you an idea on how everything looks like, and shows how really small it actually is.
Also, I reinforced the traces of the 230v lines, which I absolutely recommend to do! (Although I do recommend to do it slightly more professional than I did on this prototype :))

@Yveaux: I'm using the standard Arduino Nano, but I agree that the 3D view looks a bit worrying. In real life it isn't needed to solder this row of pins to the Arduino, so it should be safe. So the assumption of @DrJeff is correct!
The only reason why these pins look connected to the board is because I couldn't find a 3D design of the Arduino nano without these 6 pins soldered.
But thanks for pointing this out, I'll add it to the documentation to make sure people aren't getting confused.

@AWI: I'll try and see if I can take some decent pictures when I get home (in approximately 12 hours) and post them up here!

As promised, I've got an update for this project. The board has been tested in the past week, and everything is working as expected. Compared to the previous board I've posted, I have updated the following:
• Solder pads of LE33CZ have been placed a little wider apart to avoid short circuit while soldering.
• Solder pads of the resettable fuse (Fuse2) has been placed closer together to better fit the fuses of the BOM.
• Moved the NRF24L01 connector a bit away from the solid state relay. Should make it easier to solder.
• Moved Fuse2 to another location on the board, away from the 230v circuit.

Some 3D pictures (Top and bottom):

Anyone who is interested can order the PCB HERE

Some documentation, and all gerber / DipTrace files (in case you would like to make some modifications) can be found here: MySensors board v3.2.3.zip.

I received the newly designed PCB last weekend, and have been soldering/testing the board since it arrived. Just a few minor changes to the layout (not the schematic) and the board should be completely finished! So far the results look promising.
@jemish: I'm currently re-working the design a bit and working on documentation, but I'll make sure to post the new and completely finished design by the end of the week!

@jemish : Yes, but that's already included in the design which I posted above.

@jemish : The design which I've posted 2 weeks ago (A few posts above this one) is the latest design I have.

@jemish
All components are at my desk at the moment. The only thing missing is.. The PCB itself.
DirtyPCBs' website states that the board was shipped to me at August 24. My packets from China usually arrive about 2 or 3 weeks after they have been sent from China, so I expect it to arrive somewhere next week.
After the boards have arrived I'll make sure to have it assembled in less than a week.

@jemish I've made some minor changes to the board (nothing functional has been changed, just some updated silk screen and modified the 90 degree angles to 45 degree angles.)

Please be aware that at this moment the board still isn't confirmed to be working. If you want to be 100% sure everything works properly, I strongly advise to wait for another 5-7 weeks. That way I can assemble the board myself and confirm everything is working as expected.

@scalz Yeah usually I'm going for 45 degree angles as well, but I guess I just forgot for those few. However I do have full confidence in Dirty PCBs, so I'm sure there wouldn't be any disruptions in the trace.

Regarding trace thickness/width: I've been doing some calculations as well, but with 1oz copper traces I would need extremely wide traces to come up with a decent copper volume. So my plan is to solder a thin wire at the bottom side of the PCB between the AC connection points. That's why I've got the AC and 5v DC circuits separated as much as possible.

But thanks for the feedback anyway! And congrats on taking the first step of ordering the board! I'll be doing the same tomorrow.

As promised: In the attachment of this post you can find all required information to build this board.
The zip file includes all required Gerber files, bill of materials, as well as the Schematic and PCB design (drawn using DipTrace).

One remark: I've slightly adjusted the design to optimize the reception for the NRF24L01. The antenna of this chip is now placed slightly next to the custom PCB. Hopefully this will result in a better RF reception.
Size is approximately 47 by 42mm.

Download (Please be aware that this board is still untested at this moment, so please doublecheck things yourself before ordering!):
Check latest post for updated version.

@jemish Of course I'll share the design and all related documents.. I hope to have it finished in a few days, and will sure give an update when completed!

@jemish Yeah it seems like I totally forgot to add the switch in the schematic, but I do have it in place in my PCB design
About adding a second relay.. I'm not sure about that yet. Maybe if I can still keep footprint of the board to a size less than 5 by 5 cm I'll add a second one. But it is certainly is a good idea though!

@scalz I'll definitely have a closer look at your PCB design! Seems really interesting, but unfortunately I don't have the proper tools to go for SMD. Soldering a single SMD component is doable, but I'm not going to start soldering SMD Atmel chips
About the resistor you mentioned: I assume the Solid State Relay which I mentioned doesn't need an external resistor between my arduino and the relay.. According to the datasheet the G3MB-202P-DC5 seems to have a build-in input resistor if I'm not mistaken.

Hi all,

After all input you guys gave me, combined with the findings of this topic, I decided to go back to the drawing board.

Before submitting my newly designed PCB I would like to make sure it doesn't contain any (obvious) mistakes.
Two questions I still have are:

• I assume it is correct that all ground pins are connected to each other? So both for the 5v parts of the circuit and the 3.3v circuit?
• The HLK-PM01 seems to provide a quite stable voltage somewhere between 4.9 and 5.1 volts. If I understand correctly I should directly connect this to VCC input of the Arduino Pro Mini, and NOT to the RAW input voltage?

Any other remarks on the current design are welcome as well of course!

Schematic

Components (from left to right)
J1 2 Pin screw terminal (Power input)
Fuse1 PTC Resettable Fuses 250V 1A TRF250-1000 PPTC Polymeric PTC PolySwitch
Varistor1 Varistor 10D391K 10D-391K VDR 10K391 Metal voltage dependent resistor
HLK-PM01 HLK-PM01 230v AC – 5v DC converter
Fuse2 PTC Resettable Fuses 250V 1A TRF250-1000 PPTC Polymeric PTC PolySwitch
Varistor2 SMD 1206 5.5V Varistor original Varistor resistor 100pcs/lot
C1 100nF capacitor
C2 100uF capacitor
U3 LE33ACZ 5v to 3.3v converter
C3 4.7uF capacitor
NRF24L01 Normal NRF24L01(+) module
Arduino Arduino Pro Mini 5v
K1 G3MB-202P 240V AC 2A Solid State relay
J2 2 Pin screw terminal

@Bertb I see what is getting both of us confused.
Apparently something was wrong in the link of my previous post, resulting in the 2nd varistor not being listed. So now your comment about the varistor only being good for the output makes sense as well.
I've fixed the link of my post above!

@Bertb Aaah yes now I see. It does seem to draw much more peak current than I expected! Then I'll just use the same component as I'm using for Fuse 2.
What do you mean by "The varistor is only good for the output."? You're using one as input and one as output in your diagram as well or am I missing something?

And yes, I know this is Chinese stuff again.. But single (chinese) components never failed on me (until now).

I'm really happy to hear that these HLK power modules are considered to be safe. I've been using them for a few weeks already, but didn't have a clue what was inside (and whether they were ACTUALLY safe).

One question regarding the varistor and PTC fuses though:
Any reason (or specifications) why you chose those specific components? I've been looking for myself as well, but came up with slightly different components.

Fuse1 and 2: PTC Resettable Fuses 250V 1A TRF250-1000

Varistor1: [10D391K 10K391 390V varistor diameter 10mm AC 250V DC 320V]
(http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Varistor-10D391K-10D-391K-VDR-10K391-Metal-voltage-dependent-resistor-50pcs-bag/1912418587.html)

Varistor2: [5.5V Varistor original Varistor resistor]
(http://www.aliexpress.com/item/SMD-1206-5-5V-Varistor-original-Varistor-resistor-100pcs-lot/32243046238.html)

If anyone with a bit more experience could have some feedback on these components, that would be really really appreciated!!

One option is to click on the link and download the file. After the file is completely downloaded, just add the extention .jpg to it.

The result is as following:

@Jan Gatzke There is a diode in place, but it just isn't visible in that current 3D design. I've used following schematic (minus the LED) to connect the relay to pin 3 of the Arduino :

What do you mean by "less likely to fail" about these relays? I've been using them for a while now, but never had any issues with these. Or do you think that they might show this problem when using them for a long time?

@sundberg84 Thanks for the kind words!
The new design (with relay) indeed has a few digital pins available. I've included the following in this design:

• 4 digital in and output pins. Pin 3, 4, 5 and 6. Pin 3 is also used to switch the relay, so 3 other digital pins are available to connect other things like motion sensors and switches.
• 1 Analog input pin. Pin A0.
• 2 5v pins.
• 2 Ground pins.
• A few extra empty pins which aren't connected to anything, but can be used to add some custom things if needed.

Bill of materials is available below, together with Gerber files, and DIP file (as I'm using Diptrace to design my PCBs).
Please keep in mind that this is only my second time designing PCBs, so if you'd like to be 100% sure it works I would recommend to wait until I've tested the board and confirmed that everything is working fine.
But feedback is always welcome!
Mysensors v2.1 UNTESTED.rar

@Jan-Gatzke You are absolutely right. No idea on why I've never thought about that!
I have now redesigned the board to fit a relay as well. Size is still limited to 45 by 45mm, so it should be quite easy to place them behind a light switch.

I hope to receive my PCB boards next week, after which I'll add all components to the board and start testing it. If all goes well, I'll be submitting the new design with relay to dirtyPCBs to have those printed too.
Just a sneak peak of the new board:
Top:

Bottom:

In the following days I'll start designing a 3d-printable casing to fit the board.
As soon as I have confirmed that the board with relay is working fine, I'll submit the PCB design here together with the 3d printable casing. Due to slow shipping and limited spare time I expect this to happen in about 4 to 7 weeks.

Hi All,

I'm not sure if I understand the 2-wire thing completely, but in my house (which is kind of standard I guess in Europe) I have 3 wires going from the electricity cabinet, to the light switch and then to the light bulb. These cables are Phase, Neutral and Ground.

As I don't want to rewire my entire grid, I decided to build these boards so I can reuse the current wiring. I ended up with the following "schematic" if I can call my paintskills like that.
The enclosure at the bottom of the drawing would be placed behind the current light switch, while the enclosure at the top of the drawing would be placed right above the light bulb. This requires little to no modification of my current wiring.

@ServiceXP, I'll update the title to include the 110v information.

Thanks for the positive feedback already! Last night I managed to replace some of the components in order to fit some extra pin-outs in case it is needed.

I still need to test the AC/DC converter+stepdown module, but I have high hopes on this one. I know that really cheap China transfos are cheaper and a bit smaller, but I'd rather go for something a bit more expensive, hopefully has a bit better components and has short circuit protection (it is supposed to be powered on for years and years).

@scalz , you project absolutely seems interesting as well! Unfortunately I don't feel confident enough to do any SMD soldering, so I'm currently sticking to regular Arduino Pro Mini Boards. Maybe I'll try adding an SMD microcontroller and relay in the future.

@Moshe-Livne No worries. AliExpress sure ins't the best source to get specific device information. Glad you found the datasheet!

Hi all,

**UPDATE April 17 2016 **
The latest version of this board is available HERE.

After spending a few months on this forum and a few prototypes later, I decided I wanted to build a small but cheap PCB which could be placed in either the wall behind the light switch, or above the lamp.

Besides the boards I've seen on this forum, I wanted these boards to contain a module to go from 230v AC to 5/3.3v DC in order to power an Arduino nano and the NRF module. I eventually ended up with a PCB which is about 4 by 4.5cm. So with all components attached I'm hoping to get in stuffed in a 5x5x3cm plastic printed case.

Modules which I've used to power the board:
[http://www.aliexpress.com/item/5-pcs-HLK-PM01-AC-DC-220V-to-5V-Step-Down-Power-Supply-Module-Intelligent-Household/32319202093.html?spm=2114.32010308.4.19.8oKfZg

UPDATE: 2015/09/18
As promised, I've got an update for this project. The board has been tested in the past week, and everything is working as expected. Compared to the previous board I've posted, I have updated the following:
• Solder pads of LE33CZ have been placed a little wider apart to avoid short circuit while soldering.
• Solder pads of the resettable fuse (Fuse2) has been placed closer together to better fit the fuses of the BOM.
• Moved the NRF24L01 connector a bit away from the solid state relay. Should make it easier to solder.
• Moved Fuse2 to another location on the board, away from the 230v circuit.

Some 3D pictures (Top and bottom):

Anyone who is interested can order the PCB HERE

Some documentation, complete list of required components and all gerber / DipTrace files (in case you would like to make some modifications) can be found here: MySensors board v3.2.3.zip.