Best posts made by kalina

Oh yes, I forgot to share photos of my new project - Multinetwork Mysensors Gateway. The main idea of this gateway is that it can at the same time serve up to four different networks (Lora - RFM9X, 2.4 GHz - NRF24 and ISM band RFM69). These networks can be assembled in separate modules and each user can build own set of modules. The incoming stream will be connected via Ethernet on various ports, for example, the gate will have the IP address 192.168.1.128, and each subnet will be served on ports 5003 - the first subnet, 5004 - the second, and so on ...

Today i have assembled the latest revision of my Lighting X3 for DIN rail mounting.

Today I have finished work on control center for my smart home. The box includes a Raspberry Pi 3, gateway, ethernet switch, power supplies 5V and 9V. Audio input jack, ethernet and AC line cabels out from the box. Maybe, a GSM module should be included to the free space too (i will thinking about...). I am going to install this box in the near future.

I have received pcbs and i am waiting for components now for device testing.
PCBWAY.com sent me pcbs in less than 2 weeks, as always super quality, thanks to them!

I have assembled a few UPS ... now I am testing these hardware.

First soldered device:

And a small test:

I have finished an enclosure for the my MDMSPanel "Nextion" today.

@bjacobse said in What did you build today (Pictures) ?:

Yes it's very impressing what you have achieved

Thanks, the project is published already.

https://www.openhardware.io/view/676/MDMSPanel-Nextion

LED backlight for my CNC machine....

@tsjoender said in What did you build today (Pictures) ?:

Looks neat! How did you do the cutout of the sides of these enclosures?

No magic, this is the work of the CNC...)))

Nothing to explain. Openhardware.io is amazing site. If this feature is added, it will take the site to a new level.

What do you think about this?

P.S. If you agree, you can vote my post.

I have soldered the first sample of "xRoom" board.
TODO: testing and detail description of the project))

The first case is manufactured.

Some photos of my new device - MDMSPanel "Nextion". I have finished soldering an hour ago)) Next week i will public this project.

Today I received a printed circuit board from PCBWay.com and I will begin soldering the device tommorow.

@NeverDie EMI is a big topic. I think there will be no problems. I am going to do some tests of communication
quality for various modules and antennas. As for the antennas, I am going to fixed them to the body through the holes, but I have not yet decided on the location. As for connection antenna to the module you can see the on photo ...

Hi everyone!
Today i have completed the development of new design of the enclosure. The sticker is printed on Oracal film.

@Koresh Thank you for your detailed question and interest in my project. I will try to explain.
Firstly, as I wrote earlier, I design the device to control the LED and fluorescent lamps. The max power, which I hope to use, not more than 35-40 watts. Following this, the current through the triac should not exceed 0.2-0.3 A. So, the power dissipated in the triac will not exceed 0.5W.

Secondly, I created the special area on the pcb (as you can see in the picture, the polygons on the top and bottom sides + vias),

which provides heat distribution and dissipation.
Thirdly, the fuse have to provides safety. Value of fuse, if somebody wants, can be set 0.2A. Also, close to the triac I put a thermistor.
As soon as I get the pcbs and soldered, I’m going to test it carefully and I’ll share with the results.
And as about the size, you are right, it will be, at least, 20 mm.

I have already received the pcbs. I am sharing a few photos. Please, pay attention to the edge connector for programming, it looks good and technologically)). In the near future, I am going to solder device and start it testing!

First device is assembled and is under testing now... But i haven't diceded yet, which type of radios i wanna to use...

@hek This is my first complete device and I would like to know what else I have to add? Gerber files and scheme I have already added.

I have received the pcbs from PCBWAY. Quality as always on top + a small price (10$ - 10pcs). I am going to solder two versions with different radios ASAP. To be continued...

Luckily, the device has started up without problems. Yesterday I tested it, even the kettle worked through the device (9A). Now I can share the source files of the project (already are refreshed).

@hek Thanks for the clarification. All this time I have been thought that this resource is open hardware area for projects related to the MySensors technology.

I have received pcb from PCBWAY today. 11 pcs were in the box instead 10
As always, quality is excellent for little money! In a few days I'll assembly the boards.

@giltesa I order boards assembly in Ukraine. This is a small company that develops and small-scale production of electronics. The price is very different and depends on many factors, such as quantity and size of components, number of devices, etc. All questions are discussed individually.

I am going to production a new batch of gateways, but before that I want to upgrade it. Does anyone have any suggestions for improving current version MDMSGate?

@nagelc
OK, I will keep you informed of developments on this project ...

It works!!! I just have pressed on lamp picture

and my lamp (in the room) switched on
@mfalkvidd, thanks again.

Hi Koresh! First of all sorry for my English))) When i am soldering i use the soldering paste, plastic stencil and hot air gun. I have made some pictures which explain the process of soldering.

@bilbolodz said in NRF24L01 SMD to DIP converter:

Any ideas?

Yes, I have one - https://www.openhardware.io/view/449/DIP-to-SMD-NRF24L01-adapter

@mfalkvidd I would to say what this board is the most necessary for me at the moment. I tired of using various gadgets as a control panels for my nodes. Also, i want to try RS-485 in conjunction with MySensors. Next step is add RS-485 to my MDMSGate....

Two variants of MDMSNode "Lighting"

@alowhum Yes of course. I am going to publish this project this week.

@MiKa said:

What is the type of enclosure? some order number?

This type

@dbemowsk Yes, it is a factory case, and before the changing it looked like this :

At the moment this is termostat, but I will not limit myself to this)) The purpose of the panel will be determined by the software project loaded into it. I will describe this in more detail when I publish the project.

@mfalkvidd said:

Do you print the film yourself?

No, I don't. This sticker is printed by an advertising company.

@monte Not certainly in that way. In this project, everything is open source with the exception of the board with an ethernet (based on STM32). The ethernet board was developed by my partners and they are not ready to share it yet. But I hope I can persuade them to do it

Hi, I want to share good news in the my project. Lighting has become more safer.
Instead the enclosure, I use a heat shrink tubing 3M MDT-A-32/7.5.

Here's result.

@NeverDie said:

you can upload at a faster speed than you can with an FTDI.

I studied this question and knew that FTDI is more faster than CP2102....

@RonnieMace said in MDMSGate:

Hello Kalina, I'm new to the whole gateway and sensors world. Can I connect this gateway to a raspberry pi and then use the wifi and 868MHz at the same time? So I can use different types of sensors. Thanks in advance.

Hi @RonnieMace, sorry, but i will answer for your question some later, I want to draw a picture that explains the modes of operation and connection MDMSGate and i need some time. Right now I want to present my new device - MDMSNode "Power"....

@RonnieMace
USB, Wi-Fi and Ethernet are using only for connection to controller and you can't use it with different types of sensors. Instead this, you can build gateway which you need, just change jumpers position (and if you want to change radio network you have to change radios). I am drawing two examples of using gateway below.

I have made the firtst device with enclosure already...

@sundberg84, vias connect the AC traces on the TOP and BOT layers (see picture). This was done for reduce resistance of the conductors and distribute the heat caused by the flow of large currents through them.

Some news about project stages - I have received PCBs already and going to soldering devices...

New batch of devices is in stock and available now ...

@NeverDie Yes, file is there ....

@NeverDie said in DIP to SMD NRF24L01 adapter:

There seems to be a fault in those drilling instructions though.

Yes, I see. The problem is that I released the gerber files in the metric system. Now I have released a new drill file. You can try again.

@NeverDie said in DIP to SMD NRF24L01 adapter:

if you could center the 8 pin connector, it would be better from my point of view.

OK. I'll do it in my next revision of this adapter.

@lagrosso69 said in MDMSNode "Power":

hello have you a sample program to try MDMSNode power

Hi @lagrosso69. Do you mean a sketch? Did you order pcb and solder MDMSNode "Power" by yourself?

Hi @reinhold.

@reinhold said in DIP to SMD NRF24L01 adapter:

Also: Any reason you are "wasting" a lot of space on the board? I suppose you wanted to make the adapter the same width as the DIP nrf24l01+?

Yes, In this case, the size didn't matter

@reinhold said in DIP to SMD NRF24L01 adapter:

It seems @kalina is using the 10nF, 1µF + 10µF combo in his designs, so it's not neccessary for him to add them to the adapter.

You are absolutely right. In my projects there are all the necessary components for achieving good power. And in this adapter I only traced polygon pours for 3.3V, because in my opinion the radio module should not be powered by narrow conductors.

@reinhold said in DIP to SMD NRF24L01 adapter:

it would be nice to have the pads on the adapter in case one wants to add the capacitors directly with the wireless module

OK. I will take this into account for the following developments.

I found one significant drawback of this adapter - it is shorter in length compared to the original radio module (DIP). So if it (adapter+SMD NRF) is soldered into a board, then the antenna will be located directly above the copper layer. Communication in this case will be bad. So, I had to solder the connector between the adapter and the SMD radio module, so that the antenna of the radio has moved beyond the board's dimensions. Please, look at picture below, it will explains better...

@mfalkvidd said in Raspberry UPS (external):

@kalina does it support connecting both batteries at the same time, giving the lipo priority since it is rechargeable? or does the user choose to connect only one of the batteries?

Yes, both batteries can be connected at the same time. This is allowed by circuit design - separate channels with MOSFET (see pic below).

One of the tasks is develop the algorithm of functioning (priority and so on ..)

Today I have received a holder for DIN rail and i am trying to apply it for my enclosure now.

@giltesa said in MDMSGate:

My intention was to change the channel of the NRF24L01, the transfer speed, and configure the ATSHA204A.

You can make any changes that the MySensors library allows.

do you plan to release a second version?

I am completely satisfied with this version. But despite this,
i think about a new version all the time: RS485, Bluetooth, MQTT ... what else???, So, i still don't see "the main feature" of the second version. As soon as i will find it, second version will be released immediately.

Why is the sketch configured with MY_RF24_PA_LEVEL = RF24_PA_LOW?

Because RF24_PA_LOW configuration completely covers an area on which all my nodes are located. And I see no reason to increase the power.

The new batch of the MDMSGate (without an enclosure and cheaper) is already available....

I tested this device yesterday and found some issues. Now, I want to share results.

1. The analog comparator circuit must be modified. AIN0 should left floating (unconnected) and to this pin need connect the internal 1.1V bandgap reference. The 5V_Fail signal must be connected to AIN1 pin.

2. VD7 must be removed and DC-DC will be works all time except power save mode.

3. Need to add the MOSFET for manage LiPo charger, because this IC interrupts accumulator detecting signal (this signal always near 4..5 volts).

4. Need to add the 5V (external) detecting signal to the microcontroller .

5. Many of the components values should be revised.

All these remarks will be taken into account in the new revision.

Everything else works perfectly!
For the first revision of the device, I'm completely satisfied with the result.

The second revision of "Raspberry UPS" which now called "Single borad computer UPS" was received yesterday from PCBWAY.com

@jeremushka This project has some shortcomings. For this reason I have released a new, more advanced version - MDMSNode "Lighting" Rev 1.1. If you are interested, I have more than 10 pcs in stock.

@mfalkvidd Easy)) Already done.

@jeremushka Please look at the description MDMSNode "Lighting" Rev 1.1, everything is indicated there...

@jeremushka I developed this device and added functionality to it that can be useful for many users of MySensors technology. Personally, I use only the lamp on / off function. I do not use the wall switch, current flow detecting, etc. I can only theoretically answer on your questions. For confirmation it, is necessary to implement all this in the sketch.

@jeremushka said in MDMSNode "Lighting" Rev 1.1:

Do you detect in the firmware if the light is off or on with the ACS712 ?

It is possibility.

@jeremushka said in MDMSNode "Lighting" Rev 1.1:

Does the push switch from the wall will still be acting independently of this Mysensors board?

Wall switch must connect directly to terminal block. No other connections should be.

@jeremushka said in MDMSNode "Lighting" Rev 1.1:

Light status (on/off) will update when the physical switch will be pressed?

This needs to be controlled by the sketch.

Hi @animal64, we are glad to welcome you in the MySensors community.

I don't use MQTT, but one of users, who took the gateway, did some work in this direction, you can find on this link - https://gitlab.com/denissp/mdmsgate_mqtt/

Yes, for each type of radio module you need your own gateway, its own subnet. This means that two gateways are needed.

If you have any questions, please contact us, we will always be happy to help

The device is soldered and fully tested!