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    Posts made by masfak97

    • RE: My Slim 2AA Battery Node

      @m26872 Thank you for your suggestions. I have now tried them (and many more) but still can't it to work. It's really not a big problem since I can program them using an Uno as ISP instead but it's really annoying that I can't get it to work.

      I have checked my chips, they are all at mega328P-PU and I have tried many of them with the same result. I have soldered many nodes, thinking that I didn't make the solder connect through the holes but without any luck. I have tried different sockets to make the connections better and I have traced the entire node without finding any broken connections.

      To get the sketch loaded I use Nick Gammons board_programmer with an Uno and use the LilyPad boot loader which enables the internal 8 MHz (Using pin 9 as clock instead of an external crystal). After that I program the Uno with ArduinoISP, set the programmer to Arduino as ISP and upload the sketch with "Burn with programmer" command.

      I have switched USB-cable, USB outlet on the mac, breadboards, dupont cables, capacitors (different ceramic but all show too little capacitance), Atmegas and FTDI programmers. I have tried all combinations with 3.3 and 5 v without any luck. Programming Arduino Pros with the FTDI works fine.

      I have tried the Mincore and Gert Sanders OptiBoot. I have tried to manually reset the chip connecting the reset pin to ground briefly when programming. I have tried lowering the baud rate to 9600. I have tried to load the Uno bootloader together with a 16 MHz crystal and 2 x 22pf capacitors and then the FTDI. I have tried larger electrolytic capacitors.

      Last week, when mimicking the slim node on a breadboard, I managed to get the FTDI to work a few times but can't really say exactly what I did. Now I can't get it to work anymore.

      All in all I have spent many hours trying to figure this out but without any luck. My nodes look just like the ones I see in your pictures.

      Could it be that the internal 8 Mhz is too unstable to work?
      Capacitors being too small? I've seen some reporting that they succeeded with larger...
      Bad connection somewhere > momentary voltage drop?
      Cheap FTDIs?
      Mac USB-power maxing out?
      Bad atmegas?

      Please help me solve this annoying problem.

      posted in My Project
      masfak97
      masfak97
    • RE: My Slim 2AA Battery Node

      @m26872 I finally got to try your suggestions and loaded the Blink-sketch to my nodes. The power consumtion is then cut to ~4mA. Scrolling back through the forum, I copied the sketch from a user with low power consumption and - Finally - I get an idle comsumtion of 1,9 uA! Connecting the FTDI I can also debug and check for proper function.

      I do have another problem I haven't managed to solve; With an UNO and a breadboard I can easily load the bootloader using Nick Gammons sketch and then the sketch with the UNO as ISP. Using the FTDI I can read the serial stream without any problem but I can't seem to load any bootloader or sketches! I keep getting a sync error. I understand the principle of DTR going low and that the capacitor between DTR and reset and the resistor between +5 and reset will make the LOW into a low-pulse and then back to high. With the FTDI I can program a Pro Mini without any problems but it fails constantly with the nodes.

      I have no scope so I can't visualize the signal but with the meter I can see that the voltage on the reset is ~3,3v, the resistance between +5 and reset is 10 kOhm and the capacitor reads 83 uF although branded 100uF.

      I use Gert Sanders versions of Optiboot at 8Mhz and the one with 38400 NO LED (Thank you for that). I have tried several FTDIs and nodes, checked all connetions, tried to control the reset manually using a breadboard but can't get it to work. I have tried the FTDI at 5v instead (no nRF connected) and tried different boards and speeds. I have tried 1 MHz, 16Mhz.

      Is it possible that 83 uF is too small? Any other tips? When building more nodes it would be great to be able to program them without dismantling.

      posted in My Project
      masfak97
      masfak97
    • RE: My Slim 2AA Battery Node

      I have thought about running it as a pure arduino and to use the debug function, but can't quite get the FTDI to work. I have used this before to upload code to arduino pros. I have a previous node that has all the pins soldered but simply won't be recognized with the USB FTDI. I have also tried switching USB-FTDI but still no luck. Is the FTDI supposed to work if all the pins are there?

      I have also bought a USBtinyISP but haven't read up on how to use it.

      Currently I install a first boot loader with Nick Gammons sketch running on a UNO connected to a breadboard and the 328. After that has been installed, I install the 8 MHz boot loader by Gert Sanders (thank you of it) and finally upload the code using "Upload using programmer". I currently have no way of reading the serial debug from the node.

      I checked the node without the nrf but still power-hungry in the mA.

      posted in My Project
      masfak97
      masfak97
    • RE: My Slim 2AA Battery Node

      If I disconnect the battery, there is continuity between D3 and VCC with a resistance of around 20 kOhm. So when the door sensor is shut (no resistance), I connect GND through 20 kOhm to VCC. The current should be 0,165 mA. Too high by reading previous posts but still much less than what I get if I measure. Then I get roughly 18 mA! (Far from a Fluke though but has proven reliable before). Am I misunderstanding things?

      I have tried different nodes and sketches with pull-ups both enabled and disabled but I doesn't seem to matter. I have tried different radio modules but still the same, unless I use the bigger! antenna-version. Then the current goes up to 24-25 mA.

      I have done/am doing something really wrong although they seem to work just fine. Tomorrow I will try more radio modules to see if I can find any difference.

      3_1504391407612_IMG_4745.jpeg 2_1504391407612_IMG_4748.jpeg 1_1504391407612_IMG_4747.jpeg 0_1504391407611_IMG_4746.jpeg

      posted in My Project
      masfak97
      masfak97
    • RE: My Slim 2AA Battery Node

      Hi,
      Thank you for all the hard work put into this project. I have built a few door sensor nodes and have some issues. At first I had pull-ups connected as shown in previous pictures but at a logic 1, when there should have been 3.3V there was only roughly half, 1.7V. I am no expert but I take it there has to be a current leak through the D3 pin for this to happen. I have this on all my nodes. I have tried different code but still the same. When I remove the external pull-up the node works properly but instead the batteries run out in a week or so. Have I made a mistake soldering these and maybe shorted something? I have looked at them closely but can't see anything wrong.

      Does anyone else have this problem? Any tips?

      posted in My Project
      masfak97
      masfak97