Posts made by bisschopsr

@samuel-wieczorek Hi Samuel. I positioned the sensor over the 1 liter wheel. I did not used the TCRT5000 module, but made a custom built PCB. Howver the principle is the same (in fact the schematics is 100% the same as the TCRT module.
If you go to https://www.openhardware.io/view/15/Itron-Aquadis-watermeter-sensor-V10 you can see pictures of the module. Some tips I can share with you:
Shield the sensor and the rotating disk area from incoming light. This influences the sensor. Use a piece of plastic tube for example. In NL we have electrical wire tubes that can be used (the grey ones)
Bring the sensor close to the disk. The reflection should do the rest. Setting up the TCRT is tricky as you have little room to manouver (considering reflection and the point where the schmit trigger swaps state)
Be aware that when the disk stops with the edge near the sensor you get false readings. That is why I swapped to a software driven solution using SW hysteresis on the arduino.
Hope this helps. If you can open it, I can share a DXF file with the sizes of the bottom plate I use. Let me know!

Ralph

Hi All,

Like the design thinking of this, although an older topic I did manage to get me one of these dishes. After taking it apart, I have one question that came to mind. Is the ventilation in the dish enough for the humity sensor? Is there any experience with that after running this sensor for a while?

Thx

Ralph

No hurries here! First celebrate the new year

Hi dbemowsk,

Can you post some more details on your projects, like schematics

Thanks in advance!

Ralph

Hi There Sineverba,

Can you post some more details on this project, like the schematics.

A more detailed BOM would also be great!

Thanks!

Ralph

Hi all,

I. m facing similar problems. like you. I was working on upgrading my network to 2.1.1. I got stuck with strange behaviour of the GW. I programmed it with:
IDE version: 1.8.4
Arduino AVR release: 1.6.20
The latest 2.1.1 downloaded libraries and the latest GW version.

After connecting the GW to my network, i was perfectly able to ping it. MYScontroller could connect, however sending a command to the gateway rusults in an error (ERROR 10054).

I've been fighting with it for a day, exchanging compontents, rebuilding SW, etc.

Here is what solved it!
Changed the AVR release to 1.6.11

I know there are problems in AVR 1.6.X, but these should have been solved in 1.6.18 and higher. Apperantly that is not the case.

I hope this helps!

Ralph

@Reza Ok, and you did check the library compiled with your sketch is the correct one? the error is exactly the same as I had, so it really looks like you are using a different library. This is a tricky thing, so please check. What IDE are you using?

@Reza Hi Reza, sorry for the little delay in replying. Anyway, read the response of @mfalkvidd 4 steps up. He gives the link for the correct library. If that does not work, there might be another problem with your libraries. Did you check if you really are using the correct one. Sometimes the old one is persistent, so you think you have the correct one, but in practice you don't. Compare the one you have downloaded with the one in your IDE to be sure.

Ralph

@xydix NRF modules are sensitive to power fluctuations, so take care that you have a stable source. Is the booster of good quality or producing noise on the power lines?. The converter can produce a high frequency signal on the powerline, also know as noise. You can try to filter the noise with a small capacitor like 100nF or maybee even smaller depending on the freqency of the noise coming from the booster.
My problem was/is the distance between the GW and the sensor currently, other problems were related to power as well, solved for now (see above my findings)

@rubyan Sounds like power trouble and/or distance between GW and sensor. Powering from the Nano is in genaral not a good thing. The supply might be to week. Use an external power source and some capacitors (see above) Also try to see if putting the GW and sensors at a distance helps.

@TheoL Agreed, better safe then sorry :-). I'm interested to see how the sensors will perform if they are close together (they will probably be in a class room kind of situation). I found that this is one of my biggest pitfalls. 1.5 was always ok, even on the same work bench. 2.0 is very critical in this in my experience. For myself I wonder how this is going to work in real life situations where sensors might be close range to eachother and to the GW. If have not enough sensors now to test this on 2.0 unfortunatly, but you will have I guess some during the workshop.

@TheoL Hi Theo, thanks for your feedback. Interesting workshop you do on Friday, unfortunately I can't participate due to work obligations. Regarding the cables, I understand your experience. When using Dupont cables, it's always good practice to keep the connections as short as possible. Capacitors are always a good addition. In designing electronics, its standard practice to at least add decoupling capacitors (generally around 100nF) closed to the power connections of your integrated circuits or modules. For the radio's in MySensors I would advise to add a larger capacitor of 4.7uF or 10uF over the power connections of the radio, preferably soldered on the radio module itself. I think this is also something to share with the participants coming Friday as design rules. Regarding the performance of mySensors V2.0.0, I have my thoughts. Version 1.5 was running flawless out of the box, V2.0.0 does not in my experience. Like to hear the thoughts and experiences you have especially after the workshop.

This indeed looks like a bad Nano. I rebuild it with a spare UNO and working. There is however one thing. The W5100 can be powered on 5V right? I do so on my "old" gateway. The W5100 does have its own step down regulator. This one is not working well at 5V. It's assigning the strangest IP adresses on 5V. On 3.3V it works ok. Anyone experienced this also, or is this also a bad W5100?

@tekka I more and more start to believe i'm dealing with a crappy Nano. Whatever power I use, I noticed it is assining a very strange IP address that is changing all the time. Also when I put it in my (exisiting) gateway board, it's getting hot.

@tekka Thx for the response. I will look into both in more details.
As for power: This is always a critical one, both gateway and nodes are power with a solid supply that I used before on all my nodes, so I don't expect much issues there. But I must say that I don't use 100uF as cap, so will see what that does.
As for interference: The GW and node are on one desk, so that might be a problem. I did not have this problem playing with earlier versions of MySensors, but since this is V2, there might be a change in comms that is of influence. Also there is GW on channel 76 nearby. This setup is on channel 1, so I don't know if the other GW gives interference. AP’s are all on a distance.

@mfalkvidd Aha clear, but the mismatch stays the same, isn't it? Anyway lets close this thread, DHT is running now, so I'm happy :-).

Hi All,

After stugling with V2.0.0 for a few days now, it's time to ask for help (again). I had troubles with radio's before, those are supposed to be fixed now.
I have A GW with W5100 (nano) and two sensors (Uno and Pro Mini) running. I changed the channel to 1 (#define MY_RF24_CHANNEL 1), as I also have a 1.5 network running on the standard channel 76. That is all I changed in the standard scripts.
The is no controller attached yet.

I now get the following log from the gateway (taken from MYSController):

[2016-08-30 14:44:27.217 Info] INFO	Connected to COM3
 [2016-08-30 14:44:28.705 Info] RX	0;255;3;0;9;Starting gateway (RNNGA-, 2.0.0)
 [2016-08-30 14:44:28.706 Info] CHILD	New child discovered, node id=0, child id=internal
 [2016-08-30 14:44:28.706 Info] RX	0;255;3;0;9;TSM:INIT
 [2016-08-30 14:44:28.706 Info] RX	0;255;3;0;9;TSM:RADIO:OK
 [2016-08-30 14:44:28.706 Info] RX	0;255;3;0;9;TSM:GW MODE
 [2016-08-30 14:44:28.707 Info] RX	0;255;3;0;9;TSM:READY
 [2016-08-30 14:44:29.008 Info] RX	IP: 192.168.0.211
 [2016-08-30 14:44:29.008 Info] ERROR	ErrorFlag=255, Msg=IP: 192.168.0.211
 [2016-08-30 14:44:32.017 Info] RX	VMDPV_1|1_VMDPV
 [2016-08-30 14:44:32.017 Info] ERROR	ErrorFlag=255, Msg=VMDPV_1|1_VMDPV
 [2016-08-30 14:44:32.017 Info] RX	0;255;3;0;9;No registration required
 [2016-08-30 14:44:32.017 Info] RX	0;255;3;0;9;Init complete, id=0, parent=0, distance=0, registration=1
 [2016-08-30 14:44:36.381 Info] RX	0;255;3;0;9;TSP:MSG:READ 1-1-255 s=255,c=3,t=7,pt=0,l=0,sg=0:
 [2016-08-30 14:44:36.382 Info] RX	0;255;3;0;9;TSP:MSG:BC
 [2016-08-30 14:44:36.382 Info] RX	0;255;3;0;9;TSP:MSG:FPAR REQ (sender=1)
 [2016-08-30 14:44:36.382 Info] RX	0;255;3;0;9;TSP:CHKUPL:OK (FLDCTRL)
 [2016-08-30 14:44:36.382 Info] RX	0;255;3;0;9;TSP:MSG:GWL OK
 [2016-08-30 14:44:36.962 Info] RX	0;255;3;0;9;!TSP:MSG:SEND 0-0-1-1 s=255,c=3,t=8,pt=1,l=1,sg=0,ft=0,st=fail:0
 [2016-08-30 14:44:38.447 Info] RX	0;255;3;0;9;TSP:MSG:READ 1-1-255 s=255,c=3,t=7,pt=0,l=0,sg=0:
 [2016-08-30 14:44:38.447 Info] RX	0;255;3;0;9;TSP:MSG:BC
 [2016-08-30 14:44:38.447 Info] RX	0;255;3;0;9;TSP:MSG:FPAR REQ (sender=1)
 [2016-08-30 14:44:38.449 Info] RX	0;255;3;0;9;TSP:CHKUPL:OK (FLDCTRL)
 [2016-08-30 14:44:38.449 Info] RX	0;255;3;0;9;TSP:MSG:GWL OK

The radio gives the following log (from direct serial log):

Opening port
Port open
Starting sensor (RNNNA-, 2.0.0)
TSM:INIT
TSM:RADIO:OK
TSP:ASSIGNID:OK (ID=1)
TSM:FPAR
TSP:MSG:SEND 1-1-255-255 s=255,c=3,t=7,pt=0,l=0,sg=0,ft=0,st=bc:
TSM:FPAR
TSP:MSG:SEND 1-1-255-255 s=255,c=3,t=7,pt=0,l=0,sg=0,ft=0,st=bc:
TSM:FPAR
TSP:MSG:SEND 1-1-255-255 s=255,c=3,t=7,pt=0,l=0,sg=0,ft=0,st=bc:
TSM:FPAR
TSP:MSG:SEND 1-1-255-255 s=255,c=3,t=7,pt=0,l=0,sg=0,ft=0,st=bc:
!TSM:FPAR:FAIL
!TSM:FAILURE
TSM:PDT 

As you can see failures on both ends. As the two nodes show the same behaviour, I suspect the problem lies with the GW.
Does anyone have a hint where to look.
Thx

Ralph

@mfalkvidd I agree, it's always difficult if your solution depends on external libraries. However if we use a modified version of DHT in our MySensors, we should not call it DTH, but something like MyDHT. That makes it specific for MySensors. Currently the risk is that a DHT library is in the library directory that is not standard, other sketches (non MySensors) might break on it.

I did download the full set you suggested already and applied it. The error is now gone. Now for me to sort out why radio's are not communicating, but that is off topic...

Ralph

@mfalkvidd This one: https://github.com/mysensors/MySensorsArduinoExamples/tree/master/libraries/DHT at the bottom is installation with a link to a ZIP file called DHT, this downloads the libray files.

Thx for the help by the way. Much appreciated!

Regards,
Ralph

@mfalkvidd: No, I only have one, I double checked. But you are write about the DHT lib, that is where it is going wrong. I see that you are looking in the branch itself, The version I used is from the ZIP (at the bottom of the read-me) That version differs a lot:

82  protected:
83  void readSensor();
84
85  float temperature;
86 float humidity;

That is where the error is, different version in the referenced ZIP. Confusing and put me on the wrong track :-(.

Thx
Ralph

@hek: I started with using the new DHT sketch (v1.1) from git. When opening the sketch in Visual Studio, it reports an error on: dht.readSensor(true); apperently this is not an allow function from the DHT library. The error message is:

I used the DHT library form mysensors Git.

Do you have any suggestions on this?

Thx

Ralph

@tekka: In addition: the setup is working now, but not flawless. No radio connection between the node and the GW. But of course this is a different topic.

@tekka: More or less. I wanted to know if the beta that was used in this thread still sticks with the content (does this make sense). It is supportive to my other question with the refered link.

Thx

Ralph

@mfalkvidd Thx: sometimes life is so simple. I totally did not notice that this slipped in...
Problem solved!

And to answer my other question myself: I don't need to enable softspi in the MyConfig.h I guess. Works without it apperently.

All,

I know its hasbeen discussed many times on the forum , but I'm completly stuck with my GW.
I have build the gateway acoording to the instructions https://www.mysensors.org/build/ethernet_gateway.
The problem I now have is that the radio fails. I checked the wiring many time, changed out all the part, same result over and over again radio fail. I'using the new 2.0.0 library's and took the sketch from the download example.

My settings are:

// Enable debug prints to serial monitor
#include <MyConfig.h>
#define MY_DEBUG 

// Enable and select radio type attached
#define MY_RADIO_NRF24
#define MY_DEBUG_VERBOSE_RF24
//#define MY_RADIO_RFM69

// Enable gateway ethernet module type 
#define MY_GATEWAY_W5100

// W5100 Ethernet module SPI enable (optional if using a shield/module that manages SPI_EN signal)
//#define MY_W5100_SPI_EN 4  

// Enable Soft SPI for NRF radio (note different radio wiring is required)
// The W5100 ethernet module seems to have a hard time co-operate with 
// radio on the same spi bus.
#if !defined(MY_W5100_SPI_EN) && !defined(ARDUINO_ARCH_SAMD)
#define MY_SOFTSPI
#define MY_SOFT_SPI_SCK_PIN 14
#define MY_SOFT_SPI_MISO_PIN 16
#define MY_SOFT_SPI_MOSI_PIN 15
#endif  

// When W5100 is connected we have to move CE/CSN pins for NRF radio
#ifndef MY_RF24_CE_PIN 
#define MY_RF24_CE_PIN 5
#endif
#ifndef MY_RF24_CS_PIN 
#define MY_RF24_CS_PIN 6
#endif

The error code are:
Opening port
Port open
0;255;3;0;9;Starting gateway (RNNGA-, 2.0.0)
0;255;3;0;9;TSM:INIT
0;255;3;0;9;RF24:write register, reg=0, value=14
0;255;3;0;9;RF24:write register, reg=3, value=3
0;255;3;0;9;RF24:write register, reg=4, value=95
0;255;3;0;9;RF24:write register, reg=5, value=76
0;255;3;0;9;RF24:write register, reg=6, value=39
0;255;3;0;9;RF24:read register, reg=6, value=255
0;255;3;0;9;RF24:read register, reg=5, value=255
0;255;3;0;9;RF24:Sanity check failed: configuration mismatch! Check wiring, replace module or non-P version
0;255;3;0;9;!TSM:RADIO:FAIL
0;255;3;0;9;!TSM:FAILURE
0;255;3;0;9;TSM:PDT
0;255;3;0;9;RF24:write register, reg=0, value=12
0;255;3;0;9;RF24:power down

I tried to change the myconfig.h (softspi) and without, result the same all the time.

So questions are:
Do I need to enable softspi in myconfig.h?
Is the pinout still as in the instructions?

Thanks for any help, puzzeling with this for days now.

Ralph

All,

Is the content of this topic still valid? All my wiring is according to the intructions (and this topic). I get the following errors:

0;255;3;0;9;Starting gateway (RNNGA-, 2.0.0)
0;255;3;0;9;TSM:INIT
0;255;3;0;9;RF24:write register, reg=0, value=14
0;255;3;0;9;RF24:write register, reg=3, value=3
0;255;3;0;9;RF24:write register, reg=4, value=95
0;255;3;0;9;RF24:write register, reg=5, value=76
0;255;3;0;9;RF24:write register, reg=6, value=39
0;255;3;0;9;RF24:read register, reg=6, value=255
0;255;3;0;9;RF24:read register, reg=5, value=255
0;255;3;0;9;RF24:Sanity check failed: configuration mismatch! Check wiring, replace module or non-P version
0;255;3;0;9;!TSM:RADIO:FAIL
0;255;3;0;9;!TSM:FAILURE
0;255;3;0;9;TSM:PDT
0;255;3;0;9;RF24:write register, reg=0, value=12
0;255;3;0;9;RF24:power down

Note: I did fiddle around with the radio channel settings in myconfig.h, reinstalled the original myconfig.h though.

Thx

Ralph

@Petjepet Yes, you are probably using this version for the GW (I know I am :-)). I have also see people hacking the original module by attaching a wire antenna instead of the on board printed antenna. The advantage of the other antenna based board is, you can actually bring the antenna to the outside. Something more difficult to do with a wire hack.

@Petjepet The metal is definitely influencing the radio performance. It’s 2.4 GHz like the home wifi signal, so you might understand the impact if you compare these two. A solution to use a radio with an external antenna that can be placed outside the metal case. There is a radio with ext. antenna available, you might need an additional extension cable of say 15-30 cm. Does this help.

Regards,

Ralph

@Yveaux As you might have understood, I'm not that experienced in the language. But I think I get the explanation you gave. Indeed pulseCount is of type volatile unsigned long. So if I change it to for example int32_t, will the Arduino compiler still understand and use a similar type as unsigned long? On the other hand, I guess this is related to the libraries of mySensors, isn’t it? So should the library not support unsigned long as well?

Thanks again,

Ralph

@hek: I agree with you, its not a float. I tried it to see how the interperter of VS responds. I did not mention this eralier, but I use the Visual Micro plugin in VS.
@Yveaux: I took a quick screenshot of the error message:

As I see it the interperter expects the function as it is, somehow it does report an error though.

Regards,
Ralph

@hek : I'm in the process of converting my sketch to the 2.0.0 release of mySensors. As I work in Visual Studio (instead of the standard IDE) I noticed that there is an error generated for the following line:

send(lastCounterMsg.set(pulseCount));

This line is also in the original (converted) sketch at line 140. If I change the line in line with the other send commands so something like this:

send(lastCounterMsg.set(pulseCount,3));

the error is gone.

So my questions are:
What is the correct way to write the code line?
Is the 2.0.0 release more critical to this?

Note: The standard IDE compiles the code without an error.
Thx in advance,

Ralph

@nemik I agree with you regarding the best use of this technology: with tags. However some people sleep with the Smartphone under the pillow, so they definitely take it anywhere they go and want to use it for positioning. Business wise I’m working with a lot of solutions for indoor positioning. We more and more see smartphones not being able to advertise. Especially the androids running on Android 6. And a sleeping iPhone is of the grid also.
Another question: looking at the documentation the nodes are operated on a wired power source. Can they be operated on batteries as well. What is be the power consumption and resulting on that the potential battery lifetime?

Following the comment of @hek i'm also interested to see how to deal with phones. As iPhones indeed stop advertising in sleep mode, more and more Android phones don't even allow advertising.

Hi @Yveaux thanks for bringing the meetup to my attention. I will look at it (found the thread). As this is very close to my summer holiday I will have to see if I can be there. I will keep you posted.

Thanks

Ralph

Hi All,

The sensor is finally in production on my home water meter. I just uploaded the latest version of the pcb documents to OpenHardware.io. Not bad only one small error in the PCB design. Easily fixed so no need for ordering new boards.

@Elfnoir Thank you very much. I found a local LED lamp with 3.6V 600mAh NiMh battery. I'm going to try and make a simular solution from that one.

Hi @sundberg84 Like this project. Looking forward to see the further developement and the design files! Keep up the good work

@Elfnoir You understood the question correct :). That was the answer I was looking for. So your battery is something like a 3.7V LiOn?
Thanks again
Ralph

Thanks for the anwer @Elfnoir. I looked back at your schedule and there is some logic between the solar panel, the batteries and the other components (as the power consumers). That logic in the middle is what I refered to as charge controller. I would like to know what part this is.
Thanks again.
Ralph

Hi @tbowmo: Nice project. I have a small question about the W5100 board. The board has a standard mail header connector. If I add a (standard) female header, I don't have enough height to compensate for the height of the RJ45 connector. How did you resolve that? Did you use a higher female header? I can't make it up from the pictures.

Thanks in advance,

Ralph

@gigi: Besides the already adressed error in the Fritzing I have anaother question. In the diagram there is a charge controller for 12V. The original design in this threat uses a 5V charging module. What module are you using or planning to use?
Thanks Ralph

Hi All,
Just to add a picture of the assembled sensor with its housing. The housing was a little strugle to get it to fit the meter. The top of the meter is not flat. Eventually I found the best fitting solution. The "housing" was laser cut and consists of three parts, a base plate, a plate to fit the PCB and a protective top plate with some text. The base plate has a screw to fixate the sensor to the meter.

I will post a picture of the sensor on the meter later.

Hi all,

I like this project, but it looks like the creator is mainly aiming at selling his boards, because there is hardly any documentation posted.
I would like to challenge the author to show that he is really into Openhardware by sharing more info of this design (like schematics as PDF for the non-eagle users.

Thx,

Ralph

Hi all I soldered the PCB's this week. There is one little error in the boards, so not to bad. Today I tested the board for the first time. It is working perfectly. I must however say that the board does not yet contain the EEPROM and the ATSHA, so that part is not tested (yet). I also have to adapt the sketch for the Temperature sensor (SI7021), so that parts also remains to be tested.
Herewith some pictures of the PCB.

@Klon: Hi Klon, I chacked the code. It might be that the flow is not sent becaus I disabled the interupt of D3. I will have to make some changes to the code to get it working again. I will look into it.

I just received the PCB's, so I will start to build the first proto somewhere this week. I will update the progress to the forum as soon as I have results.

@Klon This might be a Domoticz problem. DO you see water flow when you for instance connect with a tool like MYSController? My interest is about counting water consumption, so I did not pay attention to flow (yet). I dismantled the test setup a week ago, so can't test.

Hi Ceech,

Can you post the design files here as well, have seen them on Github, but it will make OpenHardware complete to have them here as well. Another request: can you post the schematic design as a PDF. I think you created the design with eagle? A lot of the people here use Kicad, so won't be able to read the eagle files.

Thanks in advance,

Ralph

Hi Suresh,

It would be great if you added the schematics of your design as a PDF file. I guess you created the design in Eagle?

Thanaks in advance,

Ralph

Thx Gert. Very helpful!

Ralph

Hi all,

the lamp used as a basis for this desing is now frequently offered at Aliexpress. Price is around $10,-. DOn't know about quality, but looks very simular.

Ralph

Hi Gert,
Looks like an interesting design. Would be great if you could add the schematics as PDF (for the no- eagle users)

Thx

Ralph

Just the let you know, the board is submitted for production (V0.10). Now I have to wait patiently. Meanwhile I probably will work on the sketch, get the parts not used anymore out. Also I need to further write the manual.

Hi All,

The water meter sensor has been running as of Jan 1st without a litre deviation compared to the actual water meter reading. That is 2 month! This week I received the most of the parts for the board. Made some final changed to the layout (see Github and Openhardware.io for the files). This week I will do a final quality check on the board. After that the order for the board goes out.

The lamp is not shipped to NL and many other countries . Did anyone find it in Europe?

Hi all,

The design and the sketch are on github. Link
https://github.com/rbisschops/mySensors/tree/master/Watermeter

This is an early stage design. Any feedback is welcome!

Ralph

Hi All,
Herewith an update of my effort to get this working correctly. I decided to try and work with the analogue value coming from the TCRT5000. I adapted the original MySensors watermeter sketch to enable the use of the analogue input. I put in a software hysteresis mechanism and ‘tools’ to check the values coming from the TCRT. This appeared to be very successful the setup has been running now 24/7 since January 1st. The result so fa is zero miscounts! The counter value is the same as the reading on the meter itself. I will post more details later and I will upload everything to Github, so the code, the pictures of the setup and the PCB I’m developing for this.

@rob.21 Thanks for the addition. This is indeed the original Itron device for enabling pulse counting on the standard Aquadis+. Although probably the best solution (no hassle, just fits, avoids miscounting) it's rather expensive. Also it's a hard to buy one and even more important, it runs on a non-replaceable battery. The ones I found on the market have a battery of 5 years old (I believe the battery should last for 10). And don't forget about the fun of building it yourself!

Hi All,

Resolved this with a simple funtion splitting the value in byte long parts. Bit shifting and OR are a perfect fit for this :-).

The code:

void storeEeprom(int pos, int value) {
	// function for saving the values to the internal EEPROM
	// value = the value to be stored (as int)
	// pos = the first byte position to store the value in
	// only two bytes can be stored with this function (max 32.767)
	gw.saveState(pos, ((unsigned int)value >> 8 ));
	pos++;
	gw.saveState(pos, (value & 0xff));
}

int readEeprom(int pos) {
	// function for reading the values from the internal EEPROM
	// pos = the first byte position to read the value from 

	int hiByte;
	int loByte;

	hiByte = gw.loadState(pos) << 8;
	pos++;
	loByte = gw.loadState(pos);
	return (hiByte | loByte);
}

Sound good! How can I write/read values over 255 to the EEPROM. This takes more then one byte.
If I write 255, I get: 255 0 (place 0 place 1)
256 will give: 0 255
257 will give: 1 255
etc.

Reading only reads the byte indicated with the function loadState()

Thanks in advance

Ralph

@salvato said:

Hi, I don't know if this is easy to do but if if the red needle and the mirror are in different positions you could use a sort of flip-flop having two sensors one that set the FF and the other that reset it.

I was looking into this. However I figured this might require another interupt capable pin which is not available anymore (if you want to do it from software). On the other hand a hardware solution might be feasable. The LM393 for one has two comperators.

@Yveaux said:

@bisschopsr I suspect your issue is a combination of 'bouncing' sensor levels when switching and possibly flaky readouts when the wheel just happens to stop right below the sensor.
Bouncing sensor levels can be fixed by monitoring the rate of change in a certain interval. E.g. when at maximum water usage you get one count every second, then any pulses coming in at a higher rate then once a second can be regarded fakes.
You currently don't know if these 950 litres are counted in one second, or one hour, correct?

Anyway, if you have access to an oscilloscope you could connect it to the water meter sensor and see what signal actually comes out of it.
Then you'll know what's causing the problem and you can start thinking of a solution.

Hi @Yveaux , I fully agree with your conclusion however this occurs only once every few days (I wish it was more often to enable analytics). I can do some analytics as the result is sent to my controller (Domoticz) every 5 minutes. That how I know it’s happening in a short timespan within the hour (in five minute frames). I believe it to happen when the silver dish or the red needle stops with the edge near the sensor. The sensor then starts floating slightly around the Schmitt triggers (LM 393) switch point. As the Schmitt trigger circuit has no hysteresis, this results inevitably in pulses to the Arduino. I’m considering two solutions. 1) built a hardware hysteresis around the LM393. 2) built in software hysteresis by using one of the analog pins of the Arduino. I prefer to do the latter since its more tuneable.

@Yveaux Hi, Thx for the feedback however IMHO I believe this won't solve it. At some point I had a miscount of 47 litre's. This is something that can actually happen in normal life. I do agree with you for the big deviations where 950 litre is counted in a span of 15 minutes.

@salvato said:

@bisschopsr said:

TCRT5000 module...
What happens if the mirror is barely in position to reflect and the counter stay at rest or is moving very slowly?
I'm afraid that it will trigger many false events instead of just one (maybe depending on the ambient light).
Probably using a couple of detectors and trigger only when both see the reflection can help.

That is what I was thinking also. It must happen when the dish is stopped with the edge close to the detector or really moving slow. I was also thinking about using a second detector and only trigger when both see the dish. This might however mean modding a TCRT5000 sensor. Ambient light will not be the problem. The sensor and the dish are shielded from external light sources.

Today I had another massive miscount. As expected this is happening random. I realigned the sensor 4 days ago. Until now the mismatch was 0. Today I had a +975 litre count in one hour. This is getting a little frustrating now. Any suggestions anyone?

@epierre Did not know this sensor. However for the Aquadis+ meter this does not look like a good solution. It should reflect the metal piece compared to the white background. Also the led might spread the light too much for the sensor.

@meijeren It seems like I get occasional massive miscounts. During the last four days I had a night with +87 litre and a night with +595 litre. I think this happens random although we did run the dishwasher during this nights. During all other times the count was in line with the actual meter readings. Did you change anything on the values for MAX_FLOW, attachInterrupt (currently on falling flank) or the 0.5sek debounce setting? I found some people do change this.

@epierre the initial value can be managed by changing the value in MySensors through MYSController by adding it as a command. Domoticz requires some database changes unfortunately.

Thats what I thought. The only thing I need to figure out is how to do this with Domoticz, my controller software. That however should not be to hard to do.

@meijeren Thanks! That helps and confirms my suspicion. I will keep it positioned this way. Did you change anything to the script fi. PULSE_FACTOR to 2000?

Hi all,

I started using the TCRT5000 module on my Aquadis+ water meter (see photo). The TCRT is connected to an Arduino Uno currently. After fiddling around with it for a while I found that the configuration actually counts two pulses for each litre of water. The TCRT is aligned on the metal disc, but I suspect it to also trigger on the red needle. Does anyone has the same experience with this water meter in this configuration?
Thanks in advance,

Ralph