Prakhar Birla

Prakhar Birla

Hello All,

I am new to MySensors and have decided to use this platform for creating a sensor network to monitor greenhouse crops. I have spent a fair bit of time reading the forums and the website. I am still undecided about which RF Module (& supplier) to use.

I'm based in India, we have a non standard ISM band allocation so 868 & 915Mhz are not available for public use while 433 requires a HAM radio licence to operate which leaves only 2.4Ghz.

There has been lots of discussions on problems with NRF24 clones, and now there are the new NRF51 & Nrf52 ICs that don't need a separate MCU which I want to avoid atm because it's new hardware with much to learn.

I have listed down the ebyte red modules and one with a SMA connector for the gateway along with the itead nrf24l01+ modules.

Which to use to have a stable sensor network?

Thanks
Sorry for the long post l

Prakhar Birla

Hey @sundberg84,

Thanks for the clarification! I checked the spec docs for the MYSX connectors but they didn't mention any fixed pins, just the purpose/pin type. Anyway, for different MCU it will inevitably be different pins. On Arduino Pro Mini since there are only two external interrupts there's no escaping D2, the analog pin on the other hand in an easy fix either use a different pin for battery measurement (A6/A7 is only a via away) or a different pinout on the MYSX.

I couldn't find any instructions for the flash memory, please share a link when you can. Also is it possible to add it without the footprint on the PCB?

PS. I just ordered a set of 10 PCBs through Open Hardware

Cheers

Prakhar Birla

@sundberg84 said in Easy/Newbie PCB (RFM69 HW/W edition) for MySensors:

This has now been updated to rev. 10. There are still some images left to change.

The gerbers has been updated and sent to manufacturer but it will take some days before they update.

Make sure it says rev5 before ordering.

Hello,

Thanks for creating these PCBs, it's great to have a stable base to work upon!

I want to make a daughter board using the MYSX connector but the pin choices are a little inconvenient. Like A0 is used by the battery voltage measure circuit, D2 is used by the RFM69 radio. Could you share your reasons for using these pins and whethe it is possible to use different pins?

Finally, I couldn't find instructions for adding the flash memory. That is a great addition to this board!

Cheers,
Birla

Prakhar Birla

@hard-shovel Parasitic power mode uses only two wires i.e. Data & GND, the sensor "parasitically" takes power from the Data line. In the second picture, VCC is connected as well so it might not be the parasitic power mode.

Prakhar Birla

@jkandasa Thanks for sharing! Which vendor do you buy from?

Prakhar Birla

@jkandasa said in 2.4Ghz RF Module for new users [2018]:

@prakhar-birla Hi I too from India. Recently I have pushed a PR to use India standard for RFM69. You may have a look at https://github.com/mysensors/MySensors/issues/1184

Hello! This a great, I didn't bother checking the range in the data sheet. Now I need to get some RFM69 ones too. Are you using any yourself?

Prakhar Birla

@alowhum said in 2.4Ghz RF Module for new users [2018]:

The red eByte modules are a good choice.

Great, will order a bunch of those. Thanks for sharing your experience.

For the gateway should I use the same chip or a different eByte with an external antenna?

Prakhar Birla