Posts made by pbcstudios

Is there a big advantage to upgrading? I feel like 1.54 meets my needs for motion sensors and light sensors. I've read the release notes, but does v2.0 offer increased reliability? Like most people, upgrading would be an all day event, especially since most of the sketches have been modified to meet my specific needs. My therapist is right when she says I'm afraid of trying new things and commitment.

I am 1.5 still. Way too many nodes to update. lol. So, how do I do it in 1.5 sketches?

The node is listed in Vera as 'Arduino repeater 1' with an Altid of 1;255 in the parameters. I will assume the sensor Id is 1 and to replace sensor variable in gwpresent as 1?

gw.present(1, S_LIGHT);

Is there anything else I need to do in the sketch?

Thanks for the response!

Greetings! I have a quick and hopefully simple question. One of my relay nodes failed because the board is fried. Can I reprogram a new arduino board with the same device Id or Node Id to replace it. This will save me updating my Luup code in my scenes.

If so, how and what numbers do I use from the Vera UI?

Thanks in advance,
Patrick

@hek Ahhh! Got it. Thank you. But can I use the original Gateway sketch with attached radio from the Master branch? My Serial gateway with a radio died this morning, which is why I started down this path. I figure if I have to start my Gateway from scratch I might as well try connecting my relays directly. Or do I have to re-install that library?

@hek Thank you. I see how the pins are in conflict, but I copy the sketch posted and still got errors when compiling (ie. 'sendSketchInfo' was not declared in this scope). What am I doing wrong?

Thank you for your reply. While I can understand the node sketches and alter them to fit my needs, the gateway sketch eludes me. I took the GatewaySerial.ino sketch in the development branch and inserted voidsetup and voidloop from the relay sketch. I guess it's not as easy as combining node sketches. When I compile I get a "gw not declared in this scope" error. I'm not even sure if I do get it working, if I create a new Mysensors plugin and hit Start to include or create a Relay device in Vera.

 /**
 * The MySensors Arduino library handles the wireless radio link and protocol
 * between your home built sensors/actuators and HA controller of choice.
 * The sensors forms a self healing radio network with optional repeaters. Each
 * repeater and gateway builds a routing tables in EEPROM which keeps track of the
 * network topology allowing messages to be routed to nodes.
 *
 * Created by Henrik Ekblad <henrik.ekblad@mysensors.org>
 * Copyright (C) 2013-2015 Sensnology AB
 * Full contributor list: https://github.com/mysensors/Arduino/graphs/contributors
 *
 * Documentation: http://www.mysensors.org
 * Support Forum: http://forum.mysensors.org
 *
 * This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
 * modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License
 * version 2 as published by the Free Software Foundation.
 *
 *******************************
 *
 * DESCRIPTION
 * The ArduinoGateway prints data received from sensors on the serial link. 
 * The gateway accepts input on seral which will be sent out on radio network.
 *
 * The GW code is designed for Arduino Nano 328p / 16MHz
 *
 * Wire connections (OPTIONAL):
 * - Inclusion button should be connected between digital pin 3 and GND  
 * - RX/TX/ERR leds need to be connected between +5V (anode) and digital pin 6/5/4 with resistor 270-330R in a series
 *
 * LEDs (OPTIONAL):
 * - To use the feature, uncomment MY_LEDS_BLINKING_FEATURE in MyConfig.h
 * - RX (green) - blink fast on radio message recieved. In inclusion mode will blink fast only on presentation recieved
 * - TX (yellow) - blink fast on radio message transmitted. In inclusion mode will blink slowly
 * - ERR (red) - fast blink on error during transmission error or recieve crc error 
 * 
 */

// Enable debug prints to serial monitor
#define MY_DEBUG 


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

// Set LOW transmit power level as default, if you have an amplified NRF-module and
// power your radio separately with a good regulator you can turn up PA level. 
#define MY_RF24_PA_LEVEL RF24_PA_LOW

// Enable serial gateway
#define MY_GATEWAY_SERIAL

// Flash leds on rx/tx/err
#define MY_LEDS_BLINKING_FEATURE
// Set blinking period
#define MY_DEFAULT_LED_BLINK_PERIOD 300

// Inverses the behavior of leds
//#define MY_WITH_LEDS_BLINKING_INVERSE

// Enable inclusion mode
#define MY_INCLUSION_MODE_FEATURE
// Enable Inclusion mode button on gateway
#define MY_INCLUSION_BUTTON_FEATURE

// Inverses behavior of inclusion button (if using external pullup)
//#define MY_INCLUSION_BUTTON_EXTERNAL_PULLUP

// Set inclusion mode duration (in seconds)
#define MY_INCLUSION_MODE_DURATION 60 
// Digital pin used for inclusion mode button
#define MY_INCLUSION_MODE_BUTTON_PIN  3 
#define RELAY_1  3  // Arduino Digital I/O pin number for first relay (second on pin+1 etc)
#define NUMBER_OF_RELAYS 1 // Total number of attached relays
#define RELAY_ON 1  // GPIO value to write to turn on attached relay
#define RELAY_OFF 0 // GPIO value to write to turn off attached relay


// Uncomment to override default HW configurations
//#define MY_DEFAULT_ERR_LED_PIN 4  // Error led pin
//#define MY_DEFAULT_RX_LED_PIN  6  // Receive led pin
//#define MY_DEFAULT_TX_LED_PIN  5  // the PCB, on board LED

#include <SPI.h>
#include <MySensor.h>  

void setup() { 
  // Setup locally attached sensors
    // Initialize library and add callback for incoming messages
  gw.begin(incomingMessage, AUTO, true);
  // Send the sketch version information to the gateway and Controller
  gw.sendSketchInfo("Relay", "1.0");

  }


void presentation() {
 // Present locally attached sensors 
   for (int sensor=1, pin=RELAY_1; sensor<=NUMBER_OF_RELAYS;sensor++, pin++) {
    // Register all sensors to gw (they will be created as child devices)
    gw.present(sensor, S_LIGHT);
    // Then set relay pins in output mode
    pinMode(pin, OUTPUT);   
    // Set relay to last known state (using eeprom storage) 
    digitalWrite(pin, gw.loadState(sensor)?RELAY_ON:RELAY_OFF);
}
}

void loop() {
  // Alway process incoming messages whenever possible
  gw.process();
}

void incomingMessage(const MyMessage &message) {
  // We only expect one type of message from controller. But we better check anyway.
  if (message.type==V_LIGHT) {
     // Change relay state
     digitalWrite(message.sensor-1+RELAY_1, message.getBool()?RELAY_ON:RELAY_OFF);
     // Store state in eeprom
     gw.saveState(message.sensor, message.getBool());
     // Write some debug info
     Serial.print("Incoming change for sensor:");
     Serial.print(message.sensor);
     Serial.print(", New status: ");
     Serial.println(message.getBool());
   } 
}

Yes, capacitors, regulated wall wart, etc...lol. Doesn't happen often and it's not the driving force behind wanting a direct connect. It just seems silly to have a transmitter next to a receiver.

I know that this has been asked before. I spend some time looking through the Forum and really couldn't find an answer. I have 2 relay switches that are sitting less than 6 inches from my serial Gateway and would like to see if there is a way to directly connect them to my Vera unit. My gateway, like most, is on a USB hub. I am not looking to add the relays to the Gateway I/O's, but would like to add a stand-alone relay that can be controlled directly through Vera. My search through the Forum has shown mixed results some people say it is possible others say it is not. I'm looking to see if anyone has actually successfully done this. I find my motion sensors and light sensors work great on the my sensors Network, however occasionally the two relays I have do not receive the signal to turn on or off from the gateway. I have found the serial Gateway sketch under the dev section on GitHub, but still was unable to make it work successfully. Any advice would be helpful.

I'm glad to hear people are still talking about this post. There are a lot of great suggestions. I'm really surprised that the home automation industry has not really figured out a way to do this. My original thought using the thermal sensors, specifically the Omron d6t, does not look like a promising option. Although the company that produces this item claims that static presence detection is a perfect use for it, I cannot seem to find anyone who actually uses the sensor in that manner. Further searching shows that the module is really only able to detect a present from a few feet away so putting it in a large room would be useless. This is further complicated by the fact that the module is sensitive to light coming in the windows. I will say the non-contact a thermal module posted yesterday does look promising for a few uses.

For me, I'm probably going to stay away from Bluetooth or RFID sensors because it assumes that everyone has a transmitter on their person. In the end it looks like custom sensors and customer logarithms for each room is really the only way to go. All I can say is I couldn't possibly afford to do that if it wasn't for the work of Henrick!

Thanks for the replies:

So basically, there really is no such thing as a smart home. Pleased to find out I'm not alone. Custom sensor and algorithms is the only way to go. I asked the question because I'm dating again and after the past year of living alone, I might have company sometime. To be honest, as a single occupant, I already have this figured out. Like the "Wasp in the box", it's easy to track my movements in the house.
Where am I?
Most likely in the room where the last sensor went off. Which means shut down all the lights in the house, except for that room. I guess if that special someone comes over, I'll have to override the system and leave a certain amount of scenes disabled. Thanks for the input.

I think the one problem I see the most with PIR is the lack of detection with stationary presence, whether it be watching tv, reading a book, etc. I have read posts where people have to "wave their hands in the air" to turn lights back on after timing out. I have a similar situation in my kitchen, where the lights turn off often while I am preparing a meal. I can reach everything I need while standing in one spot, only my hands are moving (sadly, this motion scenario can be applied to many rooms in my house.). So, I worked around this by setting up an ultrasound sensor to act as a motion sensor where I'm standing.

I am now working on a sensor to detect presence in my sun room based on sitting at the computer, opening doors, walking through the room, etc. using multiple sensors. I'm curious.... is this the solution? Is it the best or only solution? A custom sensor in each room to detect presence. What happens if I move to a new place? Or rearrange the room?

Is there a way to make a general sensor that works in every room that detects presence, moving or stationary? After all, turning lights on/off plays a large role in why most people automate their home.

So, how have others worked around this?

Has anyone looked into or played with thermal image sensors like Omron d6t? It can detect stationery human presence which would be a huge advantage over PIR or Ultrasound. The module is reasonably priced and is Ic2 output, so it should work with Arduino. Any thoughts?

After buying and being thoroughly let down by Veraedge, I will be returning to my VeraLite which works great. I thought the extra memory and slightly faster chip would be useful, but find the majority of my battery operated devices can hardly pair with Veraedge. (With hindsight, I purchased it 6 months ago factory refurbished and wonder if my unit itself is a lemon?... guess I'll take it up with Mios).

I upgraded because I found my Lite was a little sluggish with multiple versions of PLTS running. Even though my Lite is more stable (even with UI7), I am worried I will return to the same problem. So, it hit me. Why not offset some of the computing and calculations to my Arduino Nodes? Why use something with decent power as a simple motion detector? So, I combined PIRsense (swapping out the motion detector with an ultrasond detector for presence sensing) and Relay Node. Am I wasting my time? I haven't found any posts with similar ideas and wonder if I'm missing something.

It is pretty simple, the sketch presents a relay and motion sensor child devices. When the relay is "on" the sensor is considered "armed". When motion is detected, tripped = HIGH is sent. The off message is sent when no motion detected and the timer count down OR the relay reverts to "off".

Thoughts?
PLTS_FINAL.ino