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    qqlapraline

    @qqlapraline

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    Best posts made by qqlapraline

    • RE: Low power Distance Sensor - Hardware issues

      Here is the schematics (freshly made for you :))
      0_1496348113224_upload-8af864a8-ed84-400a-ad21-5adc67c72da4

      And here the part list:

      • Arduino pro mini (3.3v with BOD disabled) or Sensebender Micro
      • Ultrasonic sensor: ME007-ULS (available here)
      • NRF24L01+ (I use the PA - LNA version for long range communication)
      • NPN Transistor: BC548 (the B version if prefered)
      • Base resistor: 1k
      • 3.3V Step-up Voltage regulator: NCP1402 (available here)
      • Logic Level Converter (available here😞 it says 3.3/5 but actually it's any to any voltage.
      • Waterproof case (available here)

      And finally here is my code (not cleaned, sorry).
      0_1496348693347_DistanceSensebenderMicro.ino
      And the Eagle SCH
      0_1496348714531_Low power Distance Sensor.sch

      And now, I realize that it may have been wise to upload that to openhardware.io 🙂

      Regards,

      QQ.

      posted in Hardware
      qqlapraline
      qqlapraline
    • Pellet burner Monitoring

      I'm following-up on this thread Sensor for pellet burner.
      On my side, I have started to monitor my pellet burner about 1-year ago.
      I'm measuring global power consumption of the boiler as well as departure and return temperature of the heating circuit.
      Even though, I do that since one year only, I've been thinking about how to monitor pellet consumption for at least 5 years (yeah, failure is an option 🙂 ).
      What I have tested:

      • IR sensor on the fan of the pellet convoying motor: it failed because it was too far
      • Magnetic sensor on this same fan: same failure for the same reason
      • Vibration sensor: the heater vibrates ...all the time 🙂

      Now, I'm about to test something quite simple: mains presence at the convoying motor. This one is quite easy (I will show you how) to design and relates quite easily to the pellet consumption: 1 second equals x grams of pellet.

      How do I know the time mains are activating the motor ? Well, a zero-crossing detector.
      0_1515932396714_b2440fa1-25f0-40fc-a390-e7f030ba09a7-image.png

      Beware, main resistance values are key: they depend on mains value, optocoupler characteristics and ..their power. Using the displayed value (56k) will keep the power under 1/4W. The optocoupler is a LTV-814 (cheap and efficient !).

      Here is a quick schema of such a detector. I will keep you posted with the results.

      Hope my experience will help others.

      QQ.

      posted in General Discussion
      qqlapraline
      qqlapraline
    • RE: Low power Distance Sensor - Hardware issues

      Oh, for whom is interested, here is a (very very bad) schema of the setup 🙂

      0_1477256371969_SenseBender - Distance Sensor 2.png

      posted in Hardware
      qqlapraline
      qqlapraline
    • RE: Low power Distance Sensor - Hardware issues

      The finale update !
      After numerous tests (using used batteries, adapted software and a lot of patience), it appears that the step up booster was not working under a certain voltage (around 2.7v).
      Futhermore, the sleep time before distance measure was very variable.

      I have questionned myself a lot and finally, my doubts went to the capacity of the Arduino to feed the dc-dc converter with enough current.
      To fix this issue, I have used a BC548B transistor with a base resistor of 1K to drive the step-up converter. And, miracle, it works !
      My finale test was with a set of used batteries delivering 2 V !

      Now, I have a sensor that tests distance, temp/hum and battery level every 15 minutes. The average power consumption is 55 µA (25 µA during sleep time and 15 mA for 1 second during measures).

      QQ.

      posted in Hardware
      qqlapraline
      qqlapraline
    • RE: Sensebender Micro - Abnormal power consumption

      I've found it...Yep, several months later, I've found it.
      Actually, there were some ghost connections. I have cleaned the different soldering flows using an Exacto. Furthermore, I have re-done the connection (to the NRF and the batteries) using a pump...
      And...tadah ! now the sleep current consumption is around 25µA.

      😉

      posted in Hardware
      qqlapraline
      qqlapraline
    • RE: Find Parent (yeah, I know)

      You are right, @NeverDie. Actually, my power supply is coming from a french power meter, that means a lot of noise - as I'm DC from a 50Khz AC :). So, I did two things. Adding a 330 pF capacitor at the entry point of my board and a 47µF right next to the NRF24.
      Finally, I've upgrade my design to add a tantalium capacitor right next to the smd pads.
      Global view:
      IMG_1911.jpg

      Zooming the back with the polarized capacity (old fashion):
      IMG_1912.jpg

      Front view:
      IMG_1913.jpg

      New design:
      b602470d-a44b-4657-a992-0abecbc15cf9-image.png

      Cheers,

      QQ

      posted in Troubleshooting
      qqlapraline
      qqlapraline
    • RE: Distance / Time measure and clock tuning

      Well, I've adapted the NewPing library in order to handle different clocks (using inline definition of millis(), micros(), ...) and....it works perfectly !
      Now I have a low power, low clock ultrasonic sensor that will last for years on a set of 2 AA batteries.
      If I'm not too busy, I might packed it up and publish it 🙂

      QQ.

      posted in Development
      qqlapraline
      qqlapraline
    • RE: Low power Distance Sensor - Hardware issues

      A quick update on this topic.
      I have pimped it up using a ME-007 ULS sensor. This one is waterproof, more acurate and can measure longer distances (up to 8 meters).
      After some issues related to delay between measures, it works like a charm.

      posted in Hardware
      qqlapraline
      qqlapraline
    • RE: Pellet burner Monitoring

      With please. Here is a global schema of the pellet burner:
      0_1515945785318_02f852a5-91a8-40f2-a1c7-fdb98d8cb25f-image.png

      I have circled the part displaying the beginning of the pellet conveyor and the motor.

      posted in General Discussion
      qqlapraline
      qqlapraline
    • RE: Distance / Time measure and clock tuning

      I will publish my voltage curve once I get enough history.

      And yes, I do shut down the sensor (and the booster, and the logic level adapter) between measures 😉

      Qq.

      posted in Development
      qqlapraline
      qqlapraline

    Latest posts made by qqlapraline

    • RE: Which PCB fab do you currently like the best?

      @NeverDie I have ordered 10 pieces each time.

      Qq

      posted in General Discussion
      qqlapraline
      qqlapraline
    • RE: Which PCB fab do you currently like the best?

      For the past 2 weeks, I had the opportunity to challenge PCBWAY and JLCPCB at almost the same time for the same boards including turnkey components and PCBA.
      Here is the short version of the story:
      PCBWAY:

      • Ordered on October, 12th
      • PCB finished on October, 14th - 37 hours later
      • Components sourced on October, 18th
      • PCBA finished on October, 21st
      • Parcel shipped on October, 21st
      • Parcel received on October, 25th
      • Price: $208.61 including VAT and shipping ($35.73)

      JLPCB:

      • Ordered on October, 20th
      • PCB finished on October, 21th - 20 hours later
      • Components sourced on October, 20th (yes)
      • PCBA finished on October, 21st - 8 hours after PCB !
      • Parcel shipped on October, 22nd
      • Parcel received on October, 24th !
      • Price: $82.98 including VAT and shipping ($24.19)

      At the arrival, all the boards have been tested successfully from both providers.
      So, basically, JLCPCB is the winner. Oh by the way, the quality of JLCPCB is a little higher than PCBWAY: black PCB.

      QQ.

      posted in General Discussion
      qqlapraline
      qqlapraline
    • RE: Pellet burner Monitoring

      After a 4 years work, here are some samples of my pellet consumption.

      chart (2).png chart (3).png

      Now, guess when I usually stop the boiler ..:)

      Cheers,

      QQ.

      posted in General Discussion
      qqlapraline
      qqlapraline
    • RE: Find Parent (yeah, I know)

      You are right, @NeverDie. Actually, my power supply is coming from a french power meter, that means a lot of noise - as I'm DC from a 50Khz AC :). So, I did two things. Adding a 330 pF capacitor at the entry point of my board and a 47µF right next to the NRF24.
      Finally, I've upgrade my design to add a tantalium capacitor right next to the smd pads.
      Global view:
      IMG_1911.jpg

      Zooming the back with the polarized capacity (old fashion):
      IMG_1912.jpg

      Front view:
      IMG_1913.jpg

      New design:
      b602470d-a44b-4657-a992-0abecbc15cf9-image.png

      Cheers,

      QQ

      posted in Troubleshooting
      qqlapraline
      qqlapraline
    • RE: Find Parent (yeah, I know)

      @mfalkvidd guess what…the capacity strikes again. I’ve soldered a 47uF right on the nrf24l01+ pins and…it works.
      Would someone explain me the logic there ? The traces between the pins and the capacity were like 10mm long max.
      Oh well.

      Qq.

      posted in Troubleshooting
      qqlapraline
      qqlapraline
    • RE: Find Parent (yeah, I know)

      @qqlapraline here are the pictures of my PCB. Front and Back.
      image0.jpeg image1.jpeg

      QQ.

      posted in Troubleshooting
      qqlapraline
      qqlapraline
    • RE: Find Parent (yeah, I know)

      @mfalkvidd I think I did.

      • Photos of the nodes will arrive this evening
      • I have tried various distances as well as various power settings on the node
      • the node was tested using serial adapter power (3.3V)
      posted in Troubleshooting
      qqlapraline
      qqlapraline
    • RE: Find Parent (yeah, I know)

      @mfalkvidd absolutely. I have 6 various nodes (temp, power, ..) with period of update from 20 to 90 seconds..

      posted in Troubleshooting
      qqlapraline
      qqlapraline
    • Find Parent (yeah, I know)

      Hello guys,

      It's been a while since my last posting.
      I have setup a new sensor using my own PCB that is pretty much the same as this one.

      I have tried many setups and now I'm using a basic node code

      // mysensors
      
      #define DEBUG_ENABLED
      #define DEBUG_TI
      
      // Enable debug prints to serial monitor
      #define MY_DEBUG 
      
      #define MY_RADIO_RF24
      
      #define MY_RF24_PA_LEVEL RF24_PA_LOW
      
      #define RELEASE "0.0.1"
      
      #include <MySensors.h>
      
      //#define MY_NODE_ID 36
      
      #define OPEN 1
      #define CLOSE 0
      #define CHILD_ID 1
      
      MyMessage msg(CHILD_ID, V_TRIPPED);
      
      uint8_t value = OPEN;
      
      void presentation()
      {
        Serial.println("Presentation");
        present(CHILD_ID, S_DOOR);
      }
      
      void setup() {
        // put your setup code here, to run once:
        Serial.begin(115200);
        Serial.println("End setup");
      }
      
      void loop() {
        // put your main code here, to run repeatedly:
        value = value == OPEN ? CLOSE : OPEN;
        Serial.println("Sending message");
        send(msg.set(value));
        Serial.println("Sleeping");
        sleep(10000);
      }
      

      But, guess what: my node is not getting any parent response.

      Here is the output I get from the serial port on my node:

      18096 TSM:FAIL:RE-INIT
      18098 TSM:INIT
      18104 TSM:INIT:TSP OK
      18106 TSM:FPAR
      18110 ?TSF:MSG:SEND,255-255-255-255,s=255,c=3,t=7,pt=0,l=0,sg=0,ft=0,st=OK:
      20119 !TSM:FPAR:NO REPLY
      20121 TSM:FPAR
      20123 ?TSF:MSG:SEND,255-255-255-255,s=255,c=3,t=7,pt=0,l=0,sg=0,ft=0,st=OK:
      22132 !TSM:FPAR:NO REPLY
      22134 TSM:FPAR
      22136 ?TSF:MSG:SEND,255-255-255-255,s=255,c=3,t=7,pt=0,l=0,sg=0,ft=0,st=OK:
      24147 !TSM:FPAR:NO REPLY
      24150 TSM:FPAR
      24152 ?TSF:MSG:SEND,255-255-255-255,s=255,c=3,t=7,pt=0,l=0,sg=0,ft=0,st=OK:
      26161 !TSM:FPAR:FAIL
      26163 TSM:FAIL:CNT=2
      26165 TSM:FAIL:DIS
      26167 TSF:TDI:TSL
      

      and the one on the gateway:

      Oct 03 23:06:37 DEBUG TSF:MSG:READ,255-255-255,s=255,c=3,t=7,pt=0,l=0,sg=0:
      Oct 03 23:06:37 DEBUG TSF:MSG:BC
      Oct 03 23:06:37 DEBUG TSF:MSG:FPAR REQ,ID=255
      Oct 03 23:06:37 DEBUG TSF:PNG:SEND,TO=0
      Oct 03 23:06:37 DEBUG TSF:CKU:OK
      Oct 03 23:06:37 DEBUG TSF:MSG:GWL OK
      Oct 03 23:06:37 DEBUG ?TSF:MSG:SEND,0-0-255-255,s=255,c=3,t=8,pt=1,l=1,sg=0,ft=0,st=OK:0
      Oct 03 23:06:38 DEBUG GWT:RFC:C=0,MSG=0;0;3;0;18;PING
      Oct 03 23:06:39 DEBUG TSF:MSG:READ,255-255-255,s=255,c=3,t=7,pt=0,l=0,sg=0:
      Oct 03 23:06:39 DEBUG TSF:MSG:BC
      Oct 03 23:06:39 DEBUG TSF:MSG:FPAR REQ,ID=255
      Oct 03 23:06:39 DEBUG TSF:CKU:OK,FCTRL
      Oct 03 23:06:39 DEBUG TSF:MSG:GWL OK
      Oct 03 23:06:39 DEBUG ?TSF:MSG:SEND,0-0-255-255,s=255,c=3,t=8,pt=1,l=1,sg=0,ft=0,st=OK:0
      Oct 03 23:06:41 DEBUG TSF:MSG:READ,255-255-255,s=255,c=3,t=7,pt=0,l=0,sg=0:
      Oct 03 23:06:41 DEBUG TSF:MSG:BC
      Oct 03 23:06:41 DEBUG TSF:MSG:FPAR REQ,ID=255
      Oct 03 23:06:41 DEBUG TSF:CKU:OK,FCTRL
      Oct 03 23:06:41 DEBUG TSF:MSG:GWL OK
      Oct 03 23:06:42 DEBUG ?TSF:MSG:SEND,0-0-255-255,s=255,c=3,t=8,pt=1,l=1,sg=0,ft=0,st=OK:0
      Oct 03 23:06:43 DEBUG TSF:MSG:READ,255-255-255,s=255,c=3,t=7,pt=0,l=0,sg=0:
      Oct 03 23:06:43 DEBUG TSF:MSG:BC
      Oct 03 23:06:43 DEBUG TSF:MSG:FPAR REQ,ID=255
      Oct 03 23:06:43 DEBUG TSF:CKU:OK,FCTRL
      Oct 03 23:06:43 DEBUG TSF:MSG:GWL OK
      Oct 03 23:06:44 DEBUG ?TSF:MSG:SEND,0-0-255-255,s=255,c=3,t=8,pt=1,l=1,sg=0,ft=0,st=OK:0
      
      

      Any help would be rewarded by a coffee, beer and may be by a bottle of Chablis if you have the answer 🙂

      QQ.

      ps: yes, I have a great 33µF capacity right next to my radio
      pps: yes, I have tried a different NRF24L01+ module
      ppps: isn't it tiring to have multiple "PS" ? 🙂

      posted in Troubleshooting
      qqlapraline
      qqlapraline
    • RE: Arduino Nano Every problem

      I was wondering the kind of modification needed to support ATMEGA4808/4809.
      I have read again the MyConfig.h and MySensors.h, they look quite good.
      Though, there might be some updates to be done in the hal/architecture/AVR folder ..😲

      posted in Hardware
      qqlapraline
      qqlapraline