Best posts made by gohan

Just wanted to share my tonight creation

It shows Send and Receive RSSI and vcc (that btw is measured via voltage divider and is spot on with my multimeter)

I'd say to make something with pogo pins if you really need it once

I am not a super skilled programmer, so may I ask how would this fit with MySensors?

In fact @sundberg84 usually advices to have the antenna sticking out of the pcb underneath as the ground planes tend to what they are made for: shielding EM. Also trace antenna orientation plays a role too

Mysensors can handle both rfm69 encryption and also signing

#define MY_TRANSPORT_WAIT_READY_MS 5000

I am currently testing a couple of concepts to power an outdoor node for temperature and humidity with readily available stuff:

• 2.7v: using this supercap + this module, just hook up any 6v solar panel to Vin and the supercap on the Vout with a diode in between that will block any reverse current and most important will drop voltage by ~0.7v to make it suitable for the supercap. Then I connected a standard EasyPCB from @sundberg84 with standard voltage divider, SHT31 sensor and this booster

• 5.5V: using 5 of theese connected directly to 6v solar panel with a diode in between for the above reasons, then connected them to the Vin of the buck-boost module and node connected to the Vout. This time I had to do some changes to EasyPcb: I shorted REG jumper, shorted Vin and Vout on the regulator footprint just above the Arduino and made a different voltage divider on the prototype area with R1 1.22M and R2 300K in order to read a maximum of 5.57v

((1e6+220e3+300e3)/300e3)*1.1 = Vmax = 5.57 Volts
5.57/1023 = Volts per bit = 0.005448028

5.5V inside

Finished: the solar panel has been glued with transparent silicon for the entire perimeter

I wanted to share my finding following my RFM69 signal scanner I previously built. I used 2 types of antennas:

• Coil Spring from alixpress

• Hand made like the one mentioned by @sundberg84 in [his project](https://www.openhardware.io/view/389/EasyNewbie-PCB-RFM69-HWW-edition-for-MySensors

I let them run several hours reporting TX power since the new rfm69 driver adjusts power output to the default target RSSI of -80db

The test was done on the same spot (my desk) and the gw about 5 meters away (1 floor difference, and a couple of walls in between; gw running the coil spring antenna).
I am currently testing the SMA antennas and results are better than the hand made antenna with a TX power of 35/40% instead of 55/60%. My guess is the hand made antenna had to be squeezed inside the box getting a wrong orientation, while the SMA one is outside and it can stay perfectly vertical.

As soon as you do the changes in myconfig.h before the MAKE, you are fine

It is actually very simple project: I followed this guide -> http://www.sysrun.io/2017/02/22/use-a-esp8266-to-control-your-ac-via-mqtt/ and used a pn2222a to boost the IR Led like I have seen in this picture

For the control user interface I used MQTT Dash: the app is very simple, just add the appropriate dashboard element to each of the topics.

For MQTT service I used Cloud MQTT and it works perfectly.
This project started as a request from my father to be able to control his Daikin heat pump / AC and since he is not a very computer enthusiast, I had to find something really simple and stand alone without any other additional controllers. The user interface had to be very simple so the only 4 main functions were used, since he was requiring just to be able to switch it on remotely without any time schedule.
Yesterday I did some tests and the communication is really instantaneous. I was a little disappointed as I was able to send commands from the other side of the room only with led pointing a the AC unit (from below the unit it was not a problem at all). Next step would be to open the unit and try to find a 3.3/5V source to power the Wemos and put it inside.

Of course the IR library supports other brands and I think it can be converted to mysensors use by replacing the MQTT communication with the usual mysensors functions.

It's a compromise between paying premium bucks for a branded charger and having a still tested certified charger still made in China (as per 99% of these kind of products)

3 kids are indeed time consuming, but don't sell those yet and use them to teach your kids how to solder and code

First you can set username and password, second the gateway is connecting to a broker while ethernet is accepting incoming connections in clear text and no security of any kind ; also if you are accepting connections it is more likely to have a security risk than only outgoing connections

I'd suggest you to look at Tasker app, otherwise it could get a little complicated and if you aren't very familiar with mains power it's better to stay away from it ️

If I remember well the send function returns a boolean according to the success of the send. You can check for the result and do a cycle

BTW, I noticed dietpi already has a 460MB tempfs mounted as /tmp so I changed domoticz script to use that for log and it is working

@edsteve

From Domoticz forum > if you edit /etc/init.d/domoticz.sh you can do this:

DAEMON_ARGS="-daemon -www 8080 -log /home/pi/log/domoticz.log -loglevel 0"

Just don't forget to put back the original config as the log file would grow quite a lot

Has anyone seen this solution for balancing the supercaps?
Active Balancing Supercapacitors With SAB Mosfets – 06:12
— Mad Electron Engineering

Make a route for irq with a couple of pads that you can bridge them to enable the irq to either d2 or d3 so that you can disable the irq feature in case you need those pins for something else.

Something like this? https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-amg8833-8x8-thermal-camera-sensor/overview

Since it is a community driven project, I see it as it has evolved according to the most common needs. I don't think there is any anti ESP8266 sentiment, it is just there hasn't been a strong interest for it for the purpose of the project.
Of course, as @Yveaux said, if there are people willing to help extend the project functionalities they will be more than welcome

you need to either delete or rename the Mysensors folder

you could count how many times you have ran the loop, if your turn off time is a multiple of sleeptime, when you receive a switch on command you just reset the counter.

I wonder how they achieve over charge protection

@sundberg84 said in Node sending req packets constantly (Packet type 2 on MQTT):

@Samuel235 - that has been my main problem - how to grab serial output for three nodes at different locations at the same time but thank you! I appreciate it and will do as soon as i have it.

I guess this is where esp8266 come in handy with their remote debug

Mqtt IR remote controller for air conditioning / heat pump

Quick interface design using Mqtt dash

Not mysensorized, but still a neat and cheap solution.

I added a comment; I hope my English is sufficiently clear

"Wait" will keep the rest of the GW functions running, it is not like "delay" that blocks the code execution

if you find a way to make it work, pls share the project

@wardur this is my stripped down code I use to read data from the BME280

Adafruit_BME280 bme; // I2C
uint8_t BME280_i2caddr = 0x76;
..
MyMessage msgHum(CHILD_ID_HUM, V_HUM);
MyMessage msgTemp(CHILD_ID_TEMP, V_TEMP);
MyMessage msgPress(CHILD_ID_BARO, V_PRESSURE);
..
void setup()
{
	Serial.begin(MY_BAUD_RATE);
	metric = getControllerConfig().isMetric;  // was getConfig().isMetric; before MySensors v2.1.1
	Wire.begin(); // Wire.begin(sda, scl)
	if (!bme.begin(BME280_i2caddr)) {
		Serial.println("Could not find a valid BME280 sensor, check wiring!");
		while (1);
	}
	// weather monitoring
	Serial.println("-- Weather Station Scenario --");
	Serial.println("forced mode, 1x temperature / 1x humidity / 1x pressure oversampling,");
	Serial.println("filter off");
	bme.setSampling(Adafruit_BME280::MODE_FORCED,
		Adafruit_BME280::SAMPLING_X1, // temperature
		Adafruit_BME280::SAMPLING_X1, // pressure
		Adafruit_BME280::SAMPLING_X1, // humidity
		Adafruit_BME280::FILTER_OFF,
		Adafruit_BME280::STANDBY_MS_1000);
	// suggested rate is 1/60Hz (1m)

	
}
void loop()
{
	bme.takeForcedMeasurement();
	float HUM = bme.readHumidity();
	float TEMP = bme.readTemperature();
	float BARO = bme.readPressure() / 100;
	send(msgHum.set(HUM, 2));
	send(msgTemp.set(TEMP, 2));
	send(msgPress.set(BARO, 1));

}

It is actually very simple project: I followed this guide -> http://www.sysrun.io/2017/02/22/use-a-esp8266-to-control-your-ac-via-mqtt/ and used a pn2222a to boost the IR Led.
Also the app is very simple: just link each item to one of the topics.
It was meant to be a simple stand alone solution, connected to an external mqtt broker so you can turn on heating/cooling before coming back home without using any complex Home automation system. It is still in the test phase as I just have the IR led transmitting something and I have to test if it is actually working with the Daikin unit I need to control (it is not in my house so I have to way for the real test)

I guess you are using a different dht library version

Have you considered the new nrf52?

use jumper wires

Start with some arduino kit with examples on how to use components, mysensors will come later

I finally got RFM69 and NRF24 working on the same RPI3 with dietpi running

there is a limit in voltage difference between vcc and GPIO pins, can't remember now exactly but it could be a cause.

Actually you can use a shut down script when you short a pin, you only need a voltage detector that triggers it when voltage goes below a certain value. Andreas Spiess made a video showing how to do it with a cheap battery indicator and 2 supercaps in series

Ok, the on board regulator should able to provide 250mA while the Rfm95 uses 120mA max, so that should be OK.

@tsunami said in having trouble with water flow sensor + relay + moisture:

#define CHILD_ID_MOISTURE 2
#define CHILD_ID_HUM 3
#define CHILD_ID_TEMP 4

try
#define CHILD_ID_MOISTURE 12
#define CHILD_ID_HUM 13
#define CHILD_ID_TEMP 14

Also delete node from controller if you still see the ID mixed up

I wouldn't do it if I were you. You are going to fry the radio

@miljume said in NRF24L01+ problems in 2.1.1 and 2.2.0 Beta:

./configure --my-transport=nrf24
./configure --my-gateway=ethernet --my-port=5003

it should be on a single line like this

./configure --my-transport=nrf24 --my-gateway=ethernet --my-port=5003

--my-controller-ip-address=127.0.0.1 is not needed

You don't need anything else.

I'm looking forward to this kind of solution. Keep up the good work

i got the new NRF24 modules and it looks they are working. it looks like they are clones but at least I am not getting errors on startup like the others. For reference on the chip the code is 1609AH

PS I did some tests on range with RF24_PA_MAX but I can get maximum 6-7 meters on same floor with 2 walls. Not as much as I would have expected.

Also DHt11is cheap but considering it reliable it's another story. Try searching SHT15 sensor and see yourself the prices they ask.

Just use 2 of the 4 batteries you have, solder a wire extra on the battery holder and you have 3v. If I were you I'd buy some 3.3v pro mini and some LiFePo4 AA batteries that have the correct voltage for everything.

just add some code in the nodes that if sensor data hasm't changed after 5 or 10 measurement, it will force the send of the value to make the controller aware that the sensor is still alive. Implementing a receive function on nodes it can be done but not for battery powered ones.

I added the missing code tag

The serial gateway is supposed to be connected via USB and it is sending data over the usb serial port, so for your project you would need an extra Arduino as a sensor node where you will connect the 2 sensors (look at the MySensors library examples) with a NRF24 module that will be sending data to the other Arduino with the other NRF24 configured as serial gateway and connected to the RPI3 via USB. MySensors library allows you to setup your gateway also as Ethernet (with a W5100 shield) or Ethernet with MQTT client (also need the W5100 shield).
If you want to add a controller, consider starting with Domoticz as it is very easy to connect to whatever gateway mode you chose.

I think you can have more than one gateway connected to home assistant, so you are not necessarily bound to just one type of radio.
If you look at the examples of the mysensors library, you will see there are 3 for ESP8266 and one of which is for MQTT. Also keep in mind that you can compile and run a gateway on the rpi that can save you from additional hw.

@sundberg84
I'll consider it thanks! The price is higher of course but still in the affordable range. You see, personally I find useless to collect data that is inaccurate even if it is cheap. I have been playing with the DHT11 because I found it in the arduino starter kit I bought last year, so for prototyping is ok, but for a real application I'd prefer more accuracy and reliability

You can downgrade libraries and use old examples, but I'd suggest to stick to the new version

Ok i got that, I meant to swap the radios just to check is the problem was the radio or not, because if the gateway is working it mean the wiring in that one is correct so you know the radio module has to work and if not then it is the module that has problem. After the test you put the NRF24L01 PA LNA back to the gateway

@martinhjelmare said in rpi+mqtt+hass: persistence_file - file does not exist or is not readable:

@monkee

Child id is not the same as node id. Use MY_NODE_ID if you want to set a static node id in the sketch.

woops, I missed that. I answered while at work and I was in a hurry

@Nca78

My colleague bought a box of 18 cr123a on Amazon branded keenstone for 26€

No, remove the black wire from supply to relay and put a red wire from the top AC to the middle contact of relay

When I had that problem I replaced the radio modules with different ones and it started to work. Did you put capacitor on the radio module?

Power fluctuations during transmission can trigger pir sensor: try using a 47-100 uF capacitor to stabilize power

I did look at the other topics like you suggested, but they were all quite old and the one you specified it looked not entirely relevant since it is detecting active beacons while I would like to scan for low energy devices, so I'm not entirely sure the hw is the same

@ronnyandre good, I always suggest to go with commercial product when people are not familiar when working with 220v: safety first!

Capacitor needs to go as close as possible to the vcc/gnd pins of the radio module as possible on both of them.

@Misna said in Getting started:

stick antenna.

Is it a PA LNA version?
Btw I guess it is normal that a normal nrf24 can't reach between 2 buildings that far. If you can use 2 PA LNA radios it should work better

@rozpruwacz
The problem is how do determine if lights are on or off? I mean in case the arduino restarts after a power failure or unexpected reset, how can it knows what was the last state? A normal realy you can choose to either switch it on or off regardless of last state.

Supply voltage for rfm69 is 1.8V-2.4V 17dBm or 2.4V- 3.6V 20dBm (from datasheet)

same problem here after recompiling with 2.1.1 i got same problem, after reverting back to 2.1.0 I got communication back to work.

with serial gateway you need to have the arduino connected to raspberry via USB port, the NRF24 module is wired on the arduino.
There is also the raspberry gateway option where you can compile a gateway program running on raspberry that will use the NRF24 directly on the GPIO. As raspberry gateway you can compile it with the 3 options serial/ethernet/mqtt just as the arduino counterpart.

@Samuel235
Of course it would need a bigger surface than an led diameter, but could be smaller in volume.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/2Pcs-Ultra-Capacitor-5-5v4f-Super-Capacitor-H-Style-for-Promotion-Now-Lowest-Price/32772347560.html

Have you noticed any difference between 2.0 and 2.1 library in terms of reliability and range?

It is mysensors forum with this section about mysensors used with HA, since your problem is about the installation of HA I think it is better to look at the official forum.

@scalz
the PCB is only designed, so it was't actually there inside the sensor, so my bed still stands

Maybe it is a question more for the raspberry forum. Anyway, there are multiplexer boards that allow you to use I2C devices that have same address. More than that I don't know, since the sensors isn't presenting itself you have to work on addresses or run all initialization sequence for all sensors and stop until you get a response for each address.

I am just trying to exclude all possible causes since the problem you are having only happens when connecting to pc. You could also try an older AVR board definition and recompile the node (that's should be easy to try)

If you revert back to stable, does it still work?

I am more into IT stuff, 3D modeling/printing and PCB design are still unknown subjects for me

I got mine hx711 with shield, I only need to buy a 2-3 hours extension for the daily 24 hours as it seems they are not enough lately

That happens because the voltage regulator from usb isn't able to supply enough current during transmission while when on battery probably it had sufficiently stable voltage for transmitting correctly.

Check yourself in the log parser page https://www.mysensors.org/build/parser

Your node is connected to gateway and reporting the values (look at the 413 - 412 -412 that were sent).
Also please use the Code TAG when posting code or logs as it makes it more readable.

I think it's not worth spending time on a half working solution when there is a working one that's very cheap

If anyone interested for some ideas of supercaps protection https://youtu.be/NsTAyD2i3rc

I think you are mixing things. If you want to read gpio from raspberry where openhab is installed, you don't need mysensors. If you have wireless pir sensors then you need a radio also for raspberry

I think because that is for mysensors version 1.5, you have to do a few mods to make it 2.x compatible. There is also a thread about that.

What did you expect from something that can transmits over hundreds of km instead of meters?

Maybe @sundberg84 could take inspiration for his easy pcb

I don't think you would benefit much from mysensors in this situation. This framework is more focused on small Arduino based sensors nodes that talk to a gateway and the gateway talks to a home automation controller. But maybe developers know some hack on the code

Domoticz is very simple to get it running and if you don't need fancy functions it's OK. Of course there are more powerful solutions but you need to learn more an extra language (either for scripts or programs). I was looking at node-red too, but I don't have time right now to start learning Javascript and same for Openhab you still need to learn the code.

yes, especially because esp8266 are easier to manage and diagnose problems than nrf24: you get some stats from the web page of the esp8266 that you can't have from other kind of radios, you can have remote debug, quick ota updates and so on. Finally you can have a very cheap relay already boxed. You see I am open to all possibilities according to my needs, if I need to make a sleeping node I'd probably go with nrf24 or rfm69. The nice things about DIY home automation is that you can choose whatever you want and have the controller handle everything.

I don't know if it is actually related, but I'll post the link to this programmer
adafruit.com/product/3571

@Vladimir-Dobrikov do a search in the forum, but I remember someone suggested 3AA batteries to power PIR sensor with voltage regulator removed

Domoticz is for sure not the best solution, but at least it works and it's easy to setup. There is a random bug where it splits temp+humidity sensors though

Agreed, and if you don't like them you haven't wasted too much money and time on building the nodes

Oh man, that sucks a lot. Best luck for your disaster recovery

PS if everything you are touching is failing, be careful when you are going to pee

I got that, I'm just trying to see if taking some steps back could get different results. I've learned many time that sticking too much to a certain idea is bad for troubleshooting.

@NeverDie no, both Domoticz and node-red are connecting to ethernet/mqtt gateway (I don't remember which one is supported), so they both get the same data coming from the gateway and would keep working independently

I advise you to make a fritzing diagram so we can understand how you connected everything, otherwise it is quite hard.

I would not save too much on something that may burn down your house

Actually I mean the serial debug of the node, not the mqtt log

It actually is part of domoticz events

@Samuel235 I work in IT but I don't have myself a rack with a server running at home