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    John

    @John

    Plugin Developer

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    Website www.pidome.org Location Netherlands Age 42

    John Follow
    Plugin Developer

    Best posts made by John

    • Yes, the project is still alive and kicking

      Oh wow, it has been a while since i was last here, and i truly apologize for this but it has been a very, very, very busy year for me.
      New job, writing a technical book, attending conferences, etc.. etc... it does not mean the project was at a standstill but has been progressing slower then anticipated. We have been expanding our team with a real UX and UI designer and will provide the PiDome backend engine to be used in a charity program.
      We have also been upgrading our support system to Jira and we have started to follow a more agile approach in the continuous development. The web interface has been cleaned up, our android app is finally in the play store (as alpha so you must be a tester), next to the android app there is an embedded (raspi), magic mirror and photo frame app in development. And not to forget, we also started with IOS.

      A while ago I gave the community time to come up with feature requests in a couple weeks period. I'm currently in process of implementing all these features and mature existing functionalities (like proper http2 support and move to secure only connections).

      With all the above i wanted to let the mysensors community know that you have not been forgotten. A big portion from the PiDome user base was/is coming originated from the mysensors community whom should not be let down as the dedication which is being put into it is awesome! I will soon start working towards supporting mysensors 2.0. I have to be honest, it will not be immediately, but it will happen ASAP.

      Cheers,
      John.

      posted in PiDome
      John
      John
    • RE: Simple Temp/Light/Time setup with LCD 1.4 (no beta anymore)

      I'm also busy with mysensors integration in the server i'm creating... below is a work in progress screenshot of a mysensors device to be added. All though it is shown in the screenshot, automatic node addressing is not yet supported. Also automatic device creation is not done yet, you will need first to define the device yourself (fields etc..).

      Add new mysensors device

      I'm also working on a desktop and mobile client.. This is how it looks in the desktop client when this specific device is added to the server and assigned to the floor planner with light intensity (LUX) enabled. Currently i only have one device active with lux (which is the device on this page).

      MySensors device in client

      I hope to get full mysensors implementation soon done, i will also include mysensor example devices to the mysensor device declarations.

      posted in My Project
      John
      John
    • RE: Meetup in the Netherlands - Saturday July 30th, in Breda!

      I should have paid better attention because i would have definitely joined!

      But to possible make it up a little bit, I will be present at the Eindhoven mini maker fair this weekend (10th and 11th) in case some want to shake hands.

      Cheers,
      John.

      posted in General Discussion
      John
      John
    • An important update for MySensors support, and some other stuff

      The last couple of months (at least 6 to 8 of them) have been quite busy for me, familiy mathers, got me a brand new daughter (https://pidome.wordpress.com/2015/05/23/baby-girl-born-our-road-to-expansion/), conferences to attend, and a lot of other exciting stuff.

      This caused me to have not only some stalling in supporting MySensors on the forum here, but also in the MySensors plugin development. But i have managed to catch up. So here some important updates regarding PiDome and MySensors support:

      Some weeks ago I wanted to upgrade jqwidgets (javascript framework), did not work out as expected (for the third time) so this is being removed from the server. With this removal we decided to open up everything that already has been build in in the server but not yet exposed. Every page where jqwdgets are removed are completely restyled and will also include all possibilities which should be there but could not be introduced yet because of the update pain with jqwidgets.

      The most important update, next to the mysensors update of course, is that the web interface menu ha been moved from the left to the top causing a lot of space to be utilized for example for the also newly introduced customizable dashboard: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_uOTYi01Is

      Moving away from jqwidgets has opened up possibilities and some implications on the web interface causing some small inconsistencies, but these will be resolved soon.

      The most important update of course is the MySensors support. I have bumped the support version to 1.4.1 which enables some extra options like for example the ability to show the sensor name which you are able to include within the presentation.
      This MySensors update co-exists with an update in the used device discovery page. The discovery method to include MySensors devices have not changed, but are made a bit easier. The last two weeks i have been working on remodeling the auto discovery feature which for MySensors has resolved into the following:

      The new discovery page
      newdiscovery.png

      It shows the new discovery page as well the new menu structure. This page can be found under "Management" > "Device discovery". It will show you a list of drivers which support discovery of new devices. They are now marked red because discovery is disabled. Clicking on a driver will show you a couple of discovery options:

      discoveryoptions.png

      The MySensors driver supports the discovery options as shown above. You can run discovery for a single device, which means when the first device is found. It stops the discovery. Use this only when your nodes are manually assigned an address in code. Why will be apparent when you keep on reading. Discovery can also be enabled for 1, 5, 10 or 30 minutes (and then turns off automatically). and indefinitely. There is also an option Scan, but because the driver does not supports it, it is not shown.
      The MySensors gateway supports inclusion mode, this is also supported within the MySensors driver. When you turn on inclusion mode on the gateway the discovery mode of the driver is turned on and will be running indefinitely until it is turned off again.

      discoveryfounddevice.png
      When discovery is turned on, the driver is marked green, behind the driver name will appear a "0" in blue of "0" found devices. When devices are found the number will change and an orange field will appear. The reason it is orange is because this device needs some actions. In this case the node is requesting an address. Just click on the field

      discoveryfounddeviceaddressrequest.png
      This device needs an address. The driver tries to find a free address and will suggest this to you. One of the biggest changes in this routine is that the display now really shows some extra information. I would suggest you read it :).

      IMPORTANT!
      When you press "Set address" the server will send the new address to the node. A change in the MySensors support is that the server will send a reboot request to the node after it has send the new address. This results in the node to disappear from the found devices window where it will reappear with the new address if the remote node has received it that is. If the remote node did not received the new address, it will reappear with the address 255 again. Try to assign the address again. If the device does not re-appear, restart the node manually.

      But, How do you know if a new address is assigned?
      discoveryfounddeviceaddrequest.png
      Well, when you press the orange field again, you will now be presented with the "add device" popup. You can now select the custm device you created in the "Custom device" editor (found under "Management" > "Devices" > "Custom device editor"). Set a name for this device, the location and category you would like to assign it.

      Another addition to this is that the device gathered information now also shows the description you have given to your sensor.

      This update comes with a couple of another updates like a notification list (message icon on the top right), page info button (the circle with the i ), a massive update of the packages page and some other stuff.

      This update is available immediately as well as on the build server and as a regular download. Any questions you have can be posted on the PiDome forum, and i will try to be here as much as possible.

      posted in PiDome
      John
      John
    • RE: Only works connected to USB

      In my opinion this would be fritzing http://fritzing.org/home/

      posted in Troubleshooting
      John
      John
    • Simple Temp/Light/Time setup with LCD 1.4 (no beta anymore)

      Have a simple setup with a standard hitachi 16x2 display showing temperature, light level and current server time and connection status. Not done yet because i want it to show current scene for the location where this setup is add. But scenes are not supported yet.

      The setup is using the 1.4 beta library setup.

      Simple sensors display

      The temperature and the light values are updated every ten seconds (approximately) and values are send to the server about every 59 seconds. Also every minute the time is updated by using the time request method and displays the time in current timezone and correct offset (daylight savings). It can be +59 or -59 seconds off because the server does not yet pushes the time on change and is set on request
      .
      On the display at the right top is a an antenna character which will blink of no data is received from the server. This is used in combination with the time request if there is no response within 3 seconds (quite a very large margin) the antenna will blink saying there is no server response. When the server responses again it will stop blinking. I on purpose set it on server responses and not at radio level, because both mean no server "connection" (interaction).

      posted in My Project
      John
      John
    • RE: PiDome Domotica/Home Automation

      Well, normally i do not brag about things, and this has nothing to do with MySensors, but i thought that this might be ok.

      Sunday night PiDome has received the Duke's Choice Award for being innovative. It is not only for the server but comprehends the whole PiDome platform (Server, Desktop OS like client, Android client, upcoming Raspberry Pi client which can be self designed on the server and the upcoming Netbeans PiDome Platform development plugin). They have not only looked at the current state of the project but also future promises and future platform part releases (from which there is code in progress)

      The price announcement included the following sentence: "Because it's so exceptional what your project has done, we decided to upgrade you to the duke's choice award instead."

      So we are proud as [FILL_IN].

      So yeah, i just wanted to brag about it 🙂

      posted in PiDome
      John
      John
    • RE: MySensors Contest 2015

      Congratulations to the winners! All the projects are really evolving and getting better and better!

      posted in Announcements
      John
      John
    • RE: Simple Temp/Light/Time setup with LCD 1.4 (no beta anymore)

      I have updated the support this evening and the implementation now also shows the last 20 messages being requested to be logged by the gateway.

      Alt text

      Also i have added the possibility to auto assign node ID's but can not test it because the project i started this post with is running live with a server instance and is used in triggers which control my lighting... Current method is to turn on a sensor node, take a look at the last 20 messages (refresh the page by clicking on the MySensors driver). If the log shows an address is assigned, restart the sensor node.

      Automatic creation of devices is put on hold because of thread: http://forum.mysensors.org/topic/304/unit-standardization-1-4 so devices still need to be created by hand.

      [EDIT]
      Maybe handy to create a different post about the mysensors support if that is allowed of course
      [/EDIT]

      posted in My Project
      John
      John
    • RE: PiDome Domotica/Home Automation

      We now have a forum available, so if you have questions which are not related to MySensors these can be posted over there. This way this forum can be kept clean and dedicated to mysensors ;).

      Cheers!

      posted in PiDome
      John
      John

    Latest posts made by John

    • Yes, the project is still alive and kicking

      Oh wow, it has been a while since i was last here, and i truly apologize for this but it has been a very, very, very busy year for me.
      New job, writing a technical book, attending conferences, etc.. etc... it does not mean the project was at a standstill but has been progressing slower then anticipated. We have been expanding our team with a real UX and UI designer and will provide the PiDome backend engine to be used in a charity program.
      We have also been upgrading our support system to Jira and we have started to follow a more agile approach in the continuous development. The web interface has been cleaned up, our android app is finally in the play store (as alpha so you must be a tester), next to the android app there is an embedded (raspi), magic mirror and photo frame app in development. And not to forget, we also started with IOS.

      A while ago I gave the community time to come up with feature requests in a couple weeks period. I'm currently in process of implementing all these features and mature existing functionalities (like proper http2 support and move to secure only connections).

      With all the above i wanted to let the mysensors community know that you have not been forgotten. A big portion from the PiDome user base was/is coming originated from the mysensors community whom should not be let down as the dedication which is being put into it is awesome! I will soon start working towards supporting mysensors 2.0. I have to be honest, it will not be immediately, but it will happen ASAP.

      Cheers,
      John.

      posted in PiDome
      John
      John
    • RE: Meetup in the Netherlands - Saturday July 30th, in Breda!

      I should have paid better attention because i would have definitely joined!

      But to possible make it up a little bit, I will be present at the Eindhoven mini maker fair this weekend (10th and 11th) in case some want to shake hands.

      Cheers,
      John.

      posted in General Discussion
      John
      John
    • RE: Added support for local MySensors RPI direct radio connection

      Yes, but this is mainly visuals, the routines all stay the same.

      Cheers!

      posted in PiDome
      John
      John
    • RE: PiDome Domotica/Home Automation

      Sorry for the late response, have you tried to change the datatype to string with the codes as the values?

      posted in PiDome
      John
      John
    • RE: Open Source Home Automation (Raspberry)

      @bjornhallberg Thanks for the change!

      P.S. i recently also added support for local /dev/tty* serial ports which weans that also the GPIO gateway solution is available (http://forum.mysensors.org/topic/2389/added-support-for-local-mysensors-rpi-direct-radio-connection). I know changes are a bit scattered but also is my implementation schedule, sorry ;).

      Cheers!

      posted in Controllers
      John
      John
    • RE: Guide: Setting up and testing MQTT Client Gateway

      All though this topic is related to the development branch, has the topic structure been fixed (except for prefix)?

      posted in Development
      John
      John
    • RE: Only works connected to USB

      In my opinion this would be fritzing http://fritzing.org/home/

      posted in Troubleshooting
      John
      John
    • RE: Only works connected to USB

      Maybe handy to post a schematic of your wiring.

      posted in Troubleshooting
      John
      John
    • Added support for local MySensors RPI direct radio connection

      Recently i added support for custom created serial ports. This also means support for the local MySensors RPI<->NRF connection using the RPI GPIO pins is supported. I have just tested it and can confirm it working, follow the screenshots below as a small howto for the connection.

      First, get the nrf working on the Raspberry Pi and make sure it talks to nodes.

      1. Add the custom port
        As PiDome works with libudev and is triggered an hardware added/disconnected signalling it also means that if you add a custom port (for example with /dev/ttyMySensorsGateway) which does not trigger hardware added signalling, the port is not recognized.
        So an option is added to PiDome to add a custom serial port.
        Go to Management > Peripherals
        step 1.png

      2. Click on the "Add custom port" button
        The server will traverse the /dev/ directory and look for /dev/tty* ports and show them in the drop down menu. Here you can select the MySensors local serial port and give it a name. It's like naming your own hardware 🙂
        step 2.png

      3. Click create Hardware (Future naming will be Create port link)
        The port reference is now created, it will get a yellow label with the text "Attentions/Settings" Which is normal as you need to supply connection settings. If /dev/ttyMySensorsGateway would be triggered automatically you step 1 and 2 where not needed but you would also get the yellow label.
        step 3.png

      4. Set your connection settings
        Click on the newly added MySensors port you have created with the yellow label, a popup with connection settings will appear. Set the connection settings as shown in the screenshot with of course the created port. And yes select the USB driver as it is compatible.
        step 4.png

      5. Press Set and start
        If all goes well you will see the same as below with a green success label.
        step 5.png

      6. Check the settings
        Not really an added step but handy to know you can check the connect settings by clicking on added mysensors driver. You will see something like shown below. P.S. This window is also used to disconnect the hardware. Just in case you had some wrong settings you can click disconnect and reconnect later on.
        step 6.png

      7. Check stuff works
        Got to Management > Drivers and click on the MySensors driver. When you see "Gateway Startup complete" You have made a successful connection. If not check your wiring and/or connection settings.
        step 7.png

      I have tested it with the PingPong sketch and the screenshot below conforms it working
      step 8.png

      There are two things:

      1. It is possible you will be seeing that the server load is 100% as a message in the web interface. This is due to the /dev/mysensorsgateway. When you connect the server with serial settings the load will lower.
      2. PiDome only works with the gateway when the gateway works. So if there is any issue, first check the gateway unless you have seen gateway started.

      Cheers!

      P.S. PiDome will remember the custom added port and the configuration is written to config/hardconf/cust_serial/. Normally the server would remove these links from it's configuration of they are non-existing. So when you reboot your PI the port reference still exists.

      If you want it all to go automatically after reboot make sure the pigateway is started before PiDome is started. Otherwise you have to set the connection settings manually again.

      posted in PiDome
      John
      John
    • RE: Open Source Home Automation (Raspberry)

      Hi @bjornhallberg,

      We have been updating our website from wordpress to a self hosted platform on http://pidome.org, This means the url pidome.wordpress.com will be obsoleted and http://pidome.org is the new location.

      Could you update the url?

      Thanks in advance and cheers,
      John.

      posted in Controllers
      John
      John