Best posts made by Samuel235

So here we have it guys, Revision 2 is now complete, tested and working perfectly! Its been a grueling process but so rewarding. I plan on making a few tiny little changes, including some headers/jumpers to allow ISP uploads while the radio is attached and pull-up resistors to the switch lines. I will get these all ironed out in the next few days and get the designs sent off to get the final boards manufactured. However, I don't feel that there is a great rush for this last board as the upgrades are very minor ones that won't effect its usability right now. The files on the original post are all up to date and relevant including the schematic. I'm yet to test the current draw, I'm trusting that it is sleeping in between the switch toggles, would this be tested via the current draw, if so where should it be measured to confirm this?

Here are a few photographs of the final board attached to a switch plate:

And in full swing of prototyping, as promissed:

With a little open-heart surgery, the board becomes alive! While I'm yet to actually burn any bootloader to the uC itself, I have no got the circuitry working.

The known issues:

• Capacitor on the SPI Header was incorrectly connected. I had wired it like a resistor/diode.
• The VCC line from the SPI was connected to the uC through the resistor of the RESET circuit.
• Battery holder is connected in reverse.

I have attached images for anyone interested in following this project with actual pictures of the progression through the revisions of this node. I have now made some alterations in my documentations regarding Rev1, listed the known issues and made some possible improvements:

• Remove one 47uF capacitor.
• Move the 47uF capacitor closer to battery terminal, and have all power traces coming through that capacitor, reducing the chance of the battery being drained through large spikes in draw.
• Add capacitor to FTDI VCC to stop spikes when connecting programming board.
• Increase silkscreen labels for document data such as pinouts and node info.
• Remove the 100uF capacitor on the nRF24l01+, add a 4.7uF footprint and 0.1uF footprint. Only populate if needed.
• Turn around the switch terminals, room should allow this.
• Bring the 0.1uF capacitors closer to the VCC inputs on the uC.

This week I will be aiming to get the designs and re-routes for Rev2 sorted out, and then get them ordered, with express shipping this time hopefully. The 3 weeks of waiting killed me!

Please give your feedback, if you have any.

This is mine in the clean state, a decent working size but its not a dedicated area, it has to server as my office too. I'm looking to extend the desk round to the left under the window and have a dedicated electronics area. I will upload a image of the desk in action in the near future.

Some little Ni-Cad cells in the right storage hole as you can see, this is the only electronic piece out at the moment

BINGO!!

We have a working coin cell powered light switch.

I will upload some decent images later on tonight or tomorrow.

I'de just like to talk everyone that has contributed to this thread/post and enabled me to create my first of many embedded projects. I'm applying for a University course in september for Computer Science (Smart Technologies), all about embedded systems, drones, home automation etc etc. This is just the beginning!

I'll get this project up on OpenHardware.io asap as Version 1 and we can build on this as a base plate for futher projects.

The first of many new tools to reside on my desk/bench!

And the first of many to arrive is the Figaro Carbon Monoxide sensor.

I think we should get a tooling topic going, what major testing equipment we all have and what we wish to gather in the future (if any) and then recommended tooling for new comers to purchase to help get their hobby off to a good start. Yes, I'm in that later category.

I will get one made within the next week if no one does it before me. Too busy right now unfortunately, so would appreciate if someone else did it but if they don't I will see to it asap!

Here is the schematic for the sensor:

@sundberg84 - Thank you for spending your time to iron out all the information floating around the internet currently regarding this topic, to some it seems very overwhelming when researching to design a module, myself included struggle with this topic. Your time spent will help others save time and effort, again, thank you!

The current sensors have areived so i've thrown the high voltage section together on the board and about to 'idle' test the device.

First test will be a 1 hour period of no attached devices and no low voltage circuitry in place. Purely testing the high voltage side.

@scalz - Thank you for providing that link. I've now just realise how easy this module could potentially be. I also don't like the idea of it costing nearly £20 for that sensor that sticks onto the LED. If we want a dumb node option, this sensor on the front relaying back to MySensors like the example sketch does right now, but i'm thinking a sensor like that small round module that sticks onto the meter, connected to the arduino (possibly through a 3.5mm jack to make it simple for remove and install) and then a custom made atmega board in a box sending off the data to MySensors.

I think i may have my next project already! I may make this nRF24l01 and RFM69 compatible rather than just the nRF24l01 that i use. We could get this stuck on the front with some simple velcro tape cut in the same shape as the light sensor module to be neat, a little 3D printed case with another custom made board holding the light sensor circuitry inside.

I'm going to draft up some ideas for this and publish here for you guys to see.

Awwwww yeahhhh! Here we go, lets see more hardware being designed, manufactured, tested and shared around us. Community driven is best!

@HouseIOT - From my understanding of a varistor: it stops voltage spikes and voltage spikes are the things that causes arcs and therefore shorts on the board. I would include one, i do on my modules anyway.

Hello.

My first contribution to MySensors is going to be a Light Switch node that meets a few lines of criteria. To my knowledge, this hasn't been developed yet and feel that there would be a fair few people that would benefit from a very simple switch node that actually fits in a location where an existing switch does, that way there is no signs of home automation on the switch front. Yes we have scene controllers that can be mounted onto the wall, but this starts to become bulky and obvious that there is some sort of technology there controlling something, what about if you simply just want to switch a light on with natural instincts without having to look at what you're doing? This is where I personally think this Product would prove itself worthwhile. There are currently two other projects like this going on here at the MySensors forum:
@sundberg84's In Wall PCB - This is a node using two PCB's stacked together that will sit inside of Swedish style wall appliance box and have its own power fed to it.
@martinhjelmare's: Box for In Wall PCB - This is a box that simply sits inside of the socket to contain all the open high voltages of electricity if being reduced down from 240v on the PCB itself.

If there is any electricians roaming around here, please, advise me of any serious, specific implications, rules and regulations that this would need to meet that i haven't stated so. I will be getting some mock schematic and PCB designs sorted out for you guys to look at for a starting point. I will make it very obvious now that I'm not a profession electronics guy, nor am i someone that has experience in designing PCB's, electronic designs or anything. This is a huge learning curve for me, but as a community i do believe we can put together some awesome products, alongside of @sundberg84 and @martinhjelmare's proposed outcomes.

Product Criteria:

1. Fits inside of a slimline (25mm depth) UK Wall metal AND plastic back box/dry lining box.
2. Able to be powered via Battery and/or mains electricity, either 240v straight from the power circuit or have it transformed down to the 5v in a central location/outside of the socket box then fed into the box for application.
3. Allowing you to keep existing wires in the box, but terminated. This would allow us backward capabilities of reverting our alterations in case of selling the property.
4. Form factor/Footprint must be a small as possible to remove any possible issues on the space allocated.

The Product itself:
The product itself will be based around an Arduino Mini Pro powered via either a cell coin battery, AA batteries or a mains electric feed reduced down to the required voltage, I'm thinking 5v step down outside of the box (in a central location, maybe even in the electric room (where your main breaker is located) then stepped down from 5v to 3.3v on the board itself. The whole system will be created and located onto a custom PCB that i propose to be all SMD, to allow for a smaller form factor for the already challenging installation size. This product will start out to be a simple ON/OFF switch, a dimming version will be the first upgrade offered to the product. The product will include a nRF24L01 radio transceiver to deal with its networking, so that is going to need some revision for the metal back box version to allow the transceiver to work with the metal, if it has issues that is.

Currently, I have a breadboard setup with an Arduino Nano, a light switch faceplate doing the switching and an nRF24L01 doing the transmitting back to my MQTT gateway. So currently outside of the Arduino, all that is needed is terminals for the switch itself and a resistor for the switch. Then we will need the power solution, so a coin cell holder, resistors, caps whatever is needed to feed a stable 3.3v to the micro controller. The mains connection, this is going to need screw terminals, and again caps, resistors and whatever else is needed to reduce down the power (I'm still thinking to bring the mains in at 5v, so step them down outside of the application). If anyone feels like pointing me in the right direction in terms of whats needed to bring mains power down, feel free. I will continue to research the correct ways to do such a thing in the meantime.

Environment Design work:
I have made a pretty accurate design in google sketchup as a starting environment for the first installation of this product detailing sizes that we have to work with to enable us to fit this inside of the existing wall back box.

The Environment for the Product:
For example, the below images show a light switch placement that i currently have, hopefully this will give some indication the room that we have to work with here to allow the existing cables to be terminated and left where they are for future needs. A normal back box or dry lining box installed now would be 35mm to sometimes even 50mm boxes, however we must allow for such situations that arise where the plasterers (Like myself) have had no choice but to install a 25mm box.

DISCLAIMER: I did not install the current switch, which as you can see is a pretty poor installation to say the least. I will be using an electrician to do any mains electrical work, and therefor I'm not going to allow anything below the national standard to be installed into my property.

DISCLAIMER: I do not advise you in any way to make/install this product into a property and therefore I take no responsibility for any issues, problems you have or even health implications that you endure while completing the installation or even using the product after installing.

UPDATES

24th December 2015 - Version 1.1 Revision 1 boards have been ordered and currently being produced with ITead.cc.
24th December 2015 - Parts have been ordered for the production of 1 evaluation node.
14th January 2016 - Version 1.1 Revision 1 board has arrived, populated with components.
23rd January 2016 - Version 1.1 Revision 2 boards have been ordered and currently being produced with ITead.cc.
13th February 2016 - Version 1.1 Revision 2 boards have been received and populated.
19th February 2016 - Version 1.1 Revision 2 boards are currently going through their first 24-Hour long testing period.
21st February 2016 - Version 1.1 Revision 2 boards are undergoing troubleshooting work.
5th March 2016 - Version 1.1 Revision 2 boards are completed and power usage tests are currently taking place.
19th March 2016 - Version 1.1 Revision 2 has been uploaded to https://www.openhardware.io/view/48/Homini-In-Wall-Battery-Powered-Light-Switch-Module

FILES
Current Eagle Files - Homini_Light_Switch_Node_Version_1.1_Revision_2.zip
Schematic PDF - 1_1457169973710_HominiSwitchNode1.0Rev2_Sch.pdf
Board PDF - 0_1457169973709_HominiSwitchNode1.0Rev2_Brd.pdf
Gerber Files - 0_1457460927449_Rev2 Gerbers.zip
BOM - 0_1457593789223_HominiSwitchNode1.0Rev2BOM.csv

• Mains powered version of the sensor works as planned.
• Controller works on mains power and battery power.

Awaiting my LDRs, soon as they arrive I will get the battery version tested and will mark this build as complete. I will also make the device available for sale as a complete kit from myself. Will include links on openhardware.io soon as this becomes available.

In the kit you will receive:
1 x Battery or mains version of the sensor including enclosure and cable.
1 x Controller board (nRF24l01 version) including enclosure.

All kits are available to purchase completely ready to use OR as component kits for you to solder yourself (to save some cost). Not sure on pricing yet, will release that at the time of product release.

I will only supply the nRF24L01 version at the moment as that is all that i have capability of testing.

All questions are welcome in the mean time, and all suggestions for future upgrades are considered.

@sundberg84 This is awesome progress dude!

So in my honest opinion, from a professional tradesman plastering, tiling, stud walls, plaster boarding are my specialties, I would firstly test this inside of a back-box, outside of a wall with the front attached (like it would be in a real-life situation). Then once that passes your expectations and requirements, I would then test it inside of a back-box located inside of a wall but without the front plate screwed on. Then once that passes, I would connect the front plate and manually monitor the temps inside of the controller.

If your question was aimed more towards how to test it electronically, then i'm sorry i can't help in that department, as you already know, I'm pretty weak at electronics at the moment still.

Its awesome to see your project coming on, very swiftly too. Keep up the good work!

Good morning guys, just a little bit of 'news', off topic here though.

Every morning I make my oatmeal and sitdown for 20 minutes in front of my computer either reading news, electronics or watching a youtube video. This morning I came across some Atmel news on Hackaday, ATMEL ATmega328PB. Not sure how old the news is, whether or not you have already seen it but I just thought I would post it here to let people know if they haven't found out about the new model already

UPDATE

So then guys. I feel I have the sensing side of the board all designed out, I will include a schematic here for you to see. Just due to my inexperience of electronics still, i'm sure there will be a few faults/things you guys would like me to change around. Please point anything of any concern out to my attention and i will amend accordingly.

Sensors

Light: OPT3001
Motion: HC-SR501 Module
Temperature & Humidity: SHT21
Carbon Monoxide: TGS5042
Smoke1: Custom Photoelectric Circuit
Smoke2: MQ-2.

The smoke sensors can both be fitted or one or the other. They will differ in applications, what area the module is being used in. They both detect different types of smoke/fires. I will included more detailed information on this for the release of the product.

Powering

I'm still yet to design the powering side of this, it will be 240VAC converted to 5VDC then regulated as and when needed. I Will include some way to externally power this module while we're programming it since it will draw more than i'm comfortable providing through a PC USB Socket. So there will be no VCC lines coming onto the board from the USB programmers, this way we can't cause any damage to your PC USB sockets/serial lines. I'm yet to work out the overall typical power consumption, which i do plan on calculating today so i can get the powering converters specified for the current needed.

Prototyping

If there is any pins left, currently have 5 pins (3 Analog and 2 Digital) left over, however i'm very tempted to have status LEDs on this module so therefor that will be 3 gone and will only leave possibly 2 empty analog pins. These will have VIAs located so we can use them for prototyping.

By no means is this schematic anywhere near completion, there may be floating connections or missing components. Please point them out if so.

Excuse the unfinished power circuit at the top of the schematic, this is where i've got to so far before i ran out of time. Currently just placed the varistor and the AC/DC Converter. Will keep updating as and when time allows.

Self Powered Inline AC Double Relay Module

I've come up with the designs for a double relay module for AC power that can monitor/sense the current of the module and its attached relays. The primary use for these would be as lighting controllers/relays, being all powered from the same AC input, this should allow to be installed on the lighting circuit that you wish to control and allow for one more circuit to be controlled/isolated. Being the size that it is (50mm square) we are able to fit this into the ceiling or wall, away from sight and allow for 2 manual switches to be wired directly onto the module itself or allowing the use for another type of switch, even that of the wireless light switch module i have previously created here.

Module Requirements

• Be small as possible.
• Be as safe as possible.
• Allow for use in sheltered outdoor applications.
• Sense and monitor its current usage.
• Have 2 external switch terminals, manual switching may be needed.
• Have Atsha204 signing for security in outdoor applications.

So after many nights of researching, designing and brainstorming I have completed the first drafts of designs for this module. The module includes; Slow blow fuse, AC transformer to generate 5V DC power on-board, 2 x 2A fuses for the relays to allow safety on-board rather than on the electricity main ring, Atsha204A signing, ACS712 current sensor and nRF24L01+ radio (Which is located in such a way that you can switch this out for the more powerful version if needed).

The module will fit on a 50mm x 50mm board to allow for cheaper production and smaller, more compact encasing. Most traces for the DC side of the board are all done in 6mm, I may increase the power lines slightly, if space allows. Vias are all done in a 0.3mm drill size, again i may attempt to increase these slightly if space allows. The below image of the board layout shows how untidy the routing is, it took me a while to get it all connected up and will be looking to tidy up my signal lines before production commences.

Upload Methods

The upload methods that i have included are FTDI and ISP. However, to gain advantage of either of these you will need to use POGO PINS or an alternative as there is no room for the physical header pins at the moment.

Images

Schematic:

Board View:

Board-Top View:

Board-Bottom View:

Files

HominiACPoweredRelay(2)Module.zip

All suggestions are more than welcome, they are encouraged actually.

@maghac - I have been speaking to a couple of people, one of which is Jkandasa himself, to my understanding, using MYSBootloader does not enable us to issue a firmware update and then to automatically reboot itself. However, as you suggested, there is a reboot option in MyController. As far as I understand (I may be slightly wrong here, but i don't think i am) every time a MYSBootloader enabled node boots up, it asks MyController if there is a firmware update for it (is there a linked firmware to me that i do not have?) and if so, it goes ahead and downloads it.

I'm happy to confirm i have this all working now.

A vague outline of what we have to do:

• Install MyController.
• Edit the conf files (On linux its: <MYCONTROLLER INSTALL LOCATION>/conf/mycontroller.properties) to change the port that it uses from 8443 to anything you wish, i have set mine to 9443 and save the changes to that conf file.
  issue the start command inside of the /bin folder and then use your browser to go to https://<IPOFMYCONTROLLERMACHINE>:<PORTNUMBER> then you should be greeted with the login page for your mycontroller install.
• log in with admin and admin (change these).
• Navigate to the Settings>MQTT Broker page and disable the MQTT broker functionality.
• Navigate to Resources>Gateway and then click Add gateway. This is where you enter the MQTT settings to enable MyController to find your gateway and nodes.
• Give the gateway a name, then select the MySensors type and MQTT. Add your details here for the MQTT server.
• Once added, you can select your gateway and in the drop down menu (top right above the list of gateways) you can select discovery, this should automatically discover your nodes.

To send a new firmware to the node, follow the guide on MySensors to create the hex file. then follow the section related to firmware on the user guide of MyController. Once you have saved a new firmware, you then go into the nodes list and associate that node with the new firmware by editing the settings on that node and there should be a firmware box that your able to drop down and select an uploaded firmware. Then you can select the node and issue a reboot from the drop down at the top right of the list of nodes. The version control of the firmware files that you upload is really awesome! I must thank @jkandasa for that!

If you have any issues at all, please ask more questions here, i'm willing to help. I may even write a little more in-depth guide for others to use. That way we can always link people to this thread for the information to do such.

I have a few little bits of config left to do in terms of security of the server and then i'm all set.

I have just published my Double relay board that is powered with an on-board AC-DC converter and two on-board switches. Please use this thread for hardware discussion regarding the module's hardware and upgrade/improvements that us hardware guys would like to see on this module. Just simply to keep the thread linked below for users to discuss and possibly troubleshoot.

Openhardware.io link: https://www.openhardware.io/view/345/Homini-AC-Powered-Relay-2-Module
https://forum.mysensors.org/topic/6332/homini-ac-powered-relay-2-module

I will edit this post with more information as needed.

Is anyone interested in helping with the software development for this project to allow us to do the listed things in the description as 'to-do's'?

Here are the renders for my enclosure, will be printing in the morning and will report back with some more progress photos.

I did try to get the font into the same font as we use for the official logos of MySensors but the font really didn't correspond with solidworks, there are missing faces and lines all over the generated font and therefor it wasn't an option. If anyone knows a work around or something i could do to make it look remotely like the logo then please inform me. At some point i may attempt to put our little man logo on there instead of the opensource hardware logo, maybe.

I have designed the cable inlet with ethernet cable in mind, that may change too, not sure yet. I'm going for the cheap and locking/latching RJ45 rather than something that could slip out of socket as most of us use our electric cupboards for other uses as well such as cloakrooms for coats and such in the UK.

Would anyone like to see anything on here that i haven't thought about? I'm open to criticism.

Good morning guys, i have just stumbled across this competition that is supported and sponsored by Arduino and Microsoft. The winning contestants get the brand new arduino board.

Sorry if this is in the incorrect area, I couldn't find a more fitting forum section.

Competion Info

And there you go, the forever informative @GertSanders has andwered your questioning

@mfalkvidd - It is still seeming to repeatedly reconnect to the MQTT server. I've issued a ping command to the arduino from the mqtt server and its constantly pinging without an issue, even while the serial monitor shows that its reconnecting. I'de be interested to know if anyone else is running the MQTT client gateway with MySensors V2.1. I used to run it when it was first introduced into the development environment in 1.6 and its been fine for over a year, but i upgraded to V2.1 and now i get this. So, i don't actually know if it is supposed to keep reconnecting to the MQTT server. I have read somewhere here that it sends a wake/refresh packet/message to the mqtt server just to keep it alive, but they said that was every 15 seconds by default. This is happening every 5/6 seconds.

IP: 192.168.0.22
0;255;3;0;9;Attempting MQTT connection...
0;255;3;0;9;MQTT connected
0;255;3;0;9;Sending message on topic: Gateway1-out/0/255/0/0/18
0;255;3;0;9;Message arrived on topic: Gateway1-in/4/1/1/0/2
0;255;3;0;9;TSF:MSG:SEND,0-0-4-4,s=1,c=1,t=2,pt=0,l=1,sg=0,ft=0,st=OK:0
IP: 192.168.0.22
0;255;3;0;9;Attempting MQTT connection...
0;255;3;0;9;MQTT connected
0;255;3;0;9;Sending message on topic: Gateway1-out/0/255/0/0/18
0;255;3;0;9;Message arrived on topic: Gateway1-in/4/1/1/0/2
0;255;3;0;9;TSF:MSG:SEND,0-0-4-4,s=1,c=1,t=2,pt=0,l=1,sg=0,ft=0,st=OK:0
IP: 192.168.0.22
0;255;3;0;9;Attempting MQTT connection...
0;255;3;0;9;MQTT connected
0;255;3;0;9;Sending message on topic: Gateway1-out/0/255/0/0/18
0;255;3;0;9;Message arrived on topic: Gateway1-in/4/1/1/0/2
0;255;3;0;9;TSF:MSG:SEND,0-0-4-4,s=1,c=1,t=2,pt=0,l=1,sg=0,ft=0,st=OK:0

Fantastic! Now, the only thing i want different is to use OpenHAB over Domoticz. And for that to work i just simply use the MQTT. I think the MQTT isnt that hard to sort out, the big struggle for me is in the radio communication.

I have a feeling that with a little research on this site i might be able to see that openhab can use a serial connection. I will have a look now

Thank you for going to the extent of an image, that brings back so much faith in my to complete this project now.

I do often wonder if I'm honest with you. As you have probably noticed, I have referenced His/Her work a fair bit throughout my light switch development. I was using their information before I eventually found you guys, which let me tell you took too long! My skill set and confidence has increased many times over the last few months being here

@scalz, I had a quick look at their services the other day after they added me on facebook, I was quite impressed with what they claimed they could offer. I will be sure to try them out ASAP.

Ahh i see what it is it; its set to not send if it hasn't changed.... how much of a silly error that was from me. The wattage is way below 1000 but because i'm using a normal LED on another arduino flashing at a constant rate to set my node up, its not changing the watt value.

Back to solving my initial issue now >.<

Thank you.

This is where we create stable ones for your socket boxes, then i'll attempt to lay something out in terms of design if possible for a UK version. Lets get a working and stable version of yours going first and we could take it from there i guess.

@scalz, It is nice to be active. Keeps us feeling younger!

I have literally just got this working with help from some sketch mods found here: https://forum.mysensors.org/topic/3088/pulse-power-meter-with-openhab/4

I'm aiming to get this more available for us on the build page or even a link to my own documentation for it.

@scooter217, from a quick inspection of the .brd file and a look around the internet for the datasheets it would seem that sundberg has allowed for any screw terminal block that uses a 5mm pin pitch. So you would need a 3 terminal 5mm pin pitch screw terminal. Please allow @sundberg84 some time to reply to ensure I am correct.

I have attached the Board and Schematic mock-ups. Would it be possible to hear your opinions on what needs to be changed, if anything that is. All being well the RF Module fits where i intend it too, sitting just above the chip itself.

Does that capacitor look okay being grounded to the ground line rather than directly onto the ground pin of the RF module (To stabilize the vcc and ground of the RF module).

A quick little list to show what is what on the board:
AVR CONNECT - Connection for AVR Programmer to bootload.
SW1 - Screw terminals for Switch 1.
SW2 - Screw terminals for Switch 2.
SW3 - Screw terminals for Switch 3.
ATMEGA328P-AU - The obvious, ATMEGA328P-AU.
NRF24L1 - NRF24l01+, will use header pins and solder so its sitting just abover the ATMEGA.
C2 - 4.7uF Capacitor to bridge the VCC and GND on the radio.
BAT1 - Cell coin holder (CR2450)

I don't need any mounting holes at the moment so that isn't an issue. I plan on elevating it off of the metal back box to stop any chance of shorting too.

Would you say that i need to be wiring the terminals for the switch using VCC and a resistor or would a input pin to ground be okay? I've seen so many people people do it both ways in the forums and on the general internet, what is the preferred method?

I'm more than happy with receiving any sort of criticism on this board, as this is my first attempt of a custom PCB and my first attempt of using Eagle software.

Just like the Your workshop topic, lets have some information regarding each others setups in regards to tooling and testing equipment. This includes all of your tools, but mainly your soldering, power supply and testing equipment that you use to produce your electronics. Try and provide 3 things in your posts:

1. An image of your current tools.
2. A list of your tools (and maybe what you use them for).
3. Some possible upgrades for yourself.
4. And finally, tools that you would classes as vital and necessary. This will help the new comers to develop an electronics setup to allow them to learn the field well.

Lets see what we can produce!

@scalz, fantastic revision upgrades. I love seeing your contributions, learning so much as i see each and every one. Thanks for the continued support!

UPDATE!

Just a little update to keep you all posted; I have sent my Gerber files off, they have been confirmed to be of the correct format and my boards are now being produced. I ordered the parts last night, enough for backups/errors, soon as everything arrives i will get this made up and give you another update on the situation of the board. The only thing i wasn't comfortable with was the price of the screw terminal and the fact i used a through hole capacitor for the 100uF (C7). The next revision of the board i will be using a surface mount 100uF capacitor for this, now i managed to find it. The terminal for the switches, I'm looking at maybe having a crimped push connector on the switch that just slots onto some sort of header pin on the board instead of a screw terminal.

Either way, Homini Light Switch Node Version 1.1 Revision 1 is on its way!

@GertSanders I'm yet to 'label' mine but it has 3.3, 5 and 12v. I too have a switch aswell. I will get a full tooling setup done this weekend to join you guys.

I have had the materials arrive to attempt to get the latest fixes sorted for this board. Hopefully this will allow us to serial upload while the radio is soldered permanently onto the board. I will update soon as i have attempted this. Keep you posted!

Ahh okay, thats useful information to know. Thank you @GertSanders!

I'm currently having a read through this PDF, more specifically page 15 reads:

External Interrupts
Pins:
INT0 and INT1 – range of event options
INT0 – PORT D [2]
INT1 – PORT D [3]
PCINT[23:0] – any signal change (toggle)
PCINT[7:0] – PORT B [7:0]
PCINT[14:8] – PORT C [6:0]
PCINT[23:16] – PORT D [7:0]
Pulses on inputs must be slower than I/O clock rate

So, would you advise me attaching the 3 switches to pins INT0, INT1 and any pin on that port B range. Then if i ever needed 4 switches, I could then go to any pin in port C range. Because the PCINT pins are inside of different port ranges from each other, as long as save the state of the switch/pin in a variable I should have no issue with it waking the uC up when the switch is toggled?

I hope i'm understanding your information correctly guys

Damn you sweedish guys! I need one of those lighted magnifying workstations. I might move there just to get this sale haha.

UPDATE

We have a working node. We're now able to serial upload and monitor the module with thanks to @GertSanders and his bootloader.

So the node currently has 2 switch inputs and that would be the maximum for the hardware interrupt, i may do some investigating to get another port for interrupt to enable us to have 3 switches on the one node.

I will upload this device to Openhardware.io as soon as i have it built up and the basic functionality working. Hopefully then it will become much easier for the starting MySensor budding builders to understand and follow. I may do a 'basic build instructions' that can be followed on how to get this working, including putting the hardware together.

I have set up a slack chat room area for the MySensors community. My initial thoughts was to have an external instant messaging chat room for all of us to hang-out and chat there to throw some ideas and discussions around and once an idea/solution has been discovered we then head back to here to drop the information as new threads, just as we use it now. The idea is to have a instant messaging chat room for us to just communicate and make a tighter-knitted community where everyone knows each other a little more than we currently do. Its not an official MySensors project, its just something i'm currently trialing for us. I currently have the invitations clamped down and need to invite each person to the group. If you are interested please drop your email address and real first and second name as a comment below and i will get you included.

Link for the Slack room: mysensors.slack.com

@zeblong

As per the forum user guidelines, point 6 at the following link, https://forum.mysensors.org/topic/610/forum-user-guidelines, states;

"6. As this is an English-speaking community, we require that posted content be in the English language, so that it can be well received and properly monitored."

Please communicate using English spoken language, if anything it will help you get a response that is relevant.

@mfalkvidd - Alrighty

Just to let people know, i think that where i went wrong here is the fuses. Even though i burnt my fuses before the bootloader to the correct fuses that i want, I think that i didn't restart Arduino IDE after i saved the boards.txt file. Just make sure you don't do this! Always restart the IDE after altering any info in boards.txt.

@ahmedadelhosni I have now turned to the W5100 shield myself. Works a charm, super smooth!

Any sort of manipulation, including regulators and boosters, added to any module i would always attempt to filter and smooth the input AND the output of the devices. The noise from the boosters would technically be reaching your radio from those traces. I'm not sure if a diode would stop it from feeding back to the radio, but either way if it did i would still prefer to smooth and filter the power instead of stopping it coming backwards.

@jacikaas

Firstly, thank you for showing so much interest!

To answer your questions:

1. Yes you're correct, in theory.
2. In my relay module i use a NPN transistor to bring the load off of the arduino/uC itself and to create a 'boost' for the SSR to properly register the switch. However, i do use a standard SSR, not a on-board style one. (this is the one i use).

Me and Sundberg have shown interest in each others projects, hopefully soon i will be moving onto a module that will incorporate in-wall powering for itself and its sensors, that i hope to work with @sundberg84 to develop a solution that i have a feeling many of people will like here.

Your next questions:

1. I'm not very confident in answering this question right now and i hope that Sundberg will assist you here with that.
2. The smart approach (Which i do plan on creating at some point) would be to create a board that has the relays on board along with screw terminals for 4 switches, so one ground and 4 digital input pins. Because these switches will be local to the relays, the board itself wont need to sleep at all, so then this means the only limit on the amount of switch you use are the amount of pins available. Right now my limit of 2 switches is dictated by the amount of interrupt pins we have on board of the ATmega328p-au. If the module sleeps to save energy the only way to have a switch work is to attach it to an interrupt enabled pin, which we only have two of.

There seems to be a slight miss understanding with a few people around here on the duty of this module. This is simply a slave to a relay module because i can not round a cable/wire all the way from the desired location of my relay module, acting as a second switch as i also have a locally connected switch to the relay module, shown in my previous image/sketch.

I found these a while back, and was very tempted to go the route of modding these to work with mysensors with a nRF24L01 inside rather than the poor 433mhz transceiver.

However, for a few reasons i went the route of creating my own wireless light switch that can be used with any rocker/momentary switch front. Project can be found here.

I'm currently in the process of finding some sleek way of making a capacitive touch front plate for this module to make it look somewhat like these Livolo glass switches. It may come to purchasing these just for the face-plate and then removing the rest of the product.

@HouseIOT - Not for a second was I point out mistakes to make you feel your first project wasn't good enough dude. Its a very nice project and i'm interested in using it to develop one myself. I'm just giving you my perspective on where to develop this board on your next revision, that is all

@GertSanders talking about that, i may add some flash to my latest sensor board. Just a thought.

Well, i for one appreciate the help that you're injecting back into the community. I've had a lot of help from people like you around here and its my aim to provide help back too. I try to get everything documented that people help me on just so there is information written down for people to see and get help from themselves. If one person has struggled on something, i'm pretty sure others are too and this is why I attempt to document and share everything that others help me on.

Firstly, i can't read the structure the way you have posted your sketch. You should use the code function in the reply, the icon looks like "</>" above where you make your reply. Put your code in there for us to have any chance of reading it at all.

Secondly, I don't think that this is the place to be posting this issue. For a start, this isn't an issue relevant to the bootloader in this thread and secondly, it doesn't even have anything to do with MySensors.

Fantastic - Works a treat, i shall update the topic title.

Really, thank you! Another piece of valuable learning has taken place this morning. Really appreciate the time you took to inform me of this, thank you again!

@mfalkvidd said:

You're welcome Note: I added a second set of measurements. Seems there is som variation in the manufacturing process.

I just noticed those. I will put the pin pitch at around the 7.7mm mark to allow for variation either side and can bend them as needed.

I've added some renders for the PCB of the controller box. The designs are complete and will get the gerber files and BOM generated today and get the products ordered.

@alexsh1 - I have just dropped Figaro an email direct. So lets hope we get some leads to a company/source over here. I will keep you posted if i hear anything in return

The PCBs for version one have arrived and will proceed with testing as soon as i get some time. Will update this thread and the Openhardware.io page along with my github repo.

The remaining parts have been ordered to get the prototyping under way. Plan of attack will be:

1. Prototype each circuit on breadboards separately to make sure each is working as intended and giving the correct results.
2. Combine all of the circuitry apart from the powering options onto breadboard as one working module, get some software written up with the help of a few guides, tutorials and a fellow member of our community being interested in joining me on this module.
3. Generate PCB designs and have them manufactured.
4. Test the AC/DC conversion circuitry for a few weeks while the PCB is on order.
5. Receive the PCBs and populate with the breadboarded circuit.
6. Fashion some sort of enclosure, hoping to have purchased a 3d printer by then.

Does anyone have any experience with a prusa I3 3d printer?

Sensor board looking nice and 'sharp', testing slowly in progress:

@Matt, by the sounds of everything you have described here i would be very tempted to modify this little module to fit your purpose better, or even create your own.

Firstly, the fact that you have to be so precise with your location is due to the fact, like you state here, this module is using a basic LED to detect the light. While this is fine in most cases it does mean that the beams of light from the LED on the meter has to shine straight at the receiving LED. I would firstly decide to change this to a photo transistor over a normal LED on the receiver. This will allow you to detect the light at any angle to the photo transistor (within acceptable reasons). This may need some tweaking to the circuitry on the module though.

To determine which photo transistor to use you need to know the wavelength. Doesn't need to be perfectly exact, if you did you can purchase a optical spectrum analyzer. But i wouldn't have thought you would need to be that accurate if i'm honest. From a quick search online, a generic red LED is either 600nm, 633nm and 635nm.

Sources: Link1, Link2

Therefor i would be looking at attempting to find a photo transistor that likes to detect this wavelength in its optimum wavelength detection wave.

Just from 5 minutes worth of looking i would suggest trying something like this. If you look at its datasheet, on page 3, figure 7 shows a graph of Relative Spectral Sensitivity vs. Wavelength. You can see that its around 0.9 sensativity for your wavelength, it also has a nice 60 degrees viewing angle.

This might be worth a try. Keep me updated on your route

Testing and updating can resume now my first year at university has finished and I now have 4 months worth of MySensors development to get started on!

I since purchased some TLC272CP OP AMPS and with the basic measurement circuit, specified by the datasheet of the Figaro Sensor, i can confirm this sensor is working perfectly!

UPDATE!

Figaro TGS5042 Electrochemical Carbon Monoxide Sensor - Working.

Prototype work complete for the carbon monoxide sensor, using the OP AMP style measurement system which includes just 1 Resistor, 1 Capacitor, an OP AMP (Model featured above) and the Sensor itself.

Improvements?

Currently reading through the appnotes given by Figaro for this sensor, heck its a long but interesting read! While it would be great to run with this current setup of 4 components for this circuit, there are things like polarity precautions on the sensor to be taken into consideration. So, with this being said, I'm currently in the process of maybe adding another OP AMP or just a resistor to the keep the sensor shorted out incase the device is isolated from power for any reason. Then there is the accuracy to take into account...

Question

I'm very tempted to amplify the sensors output enough to get to a PPM that is dangerous and then send the alarm off, meaning that at 5v out of the OP AMP it would be enough to send the sensor off and therefor we have a much a higher accuracy between safe and dangerous readings but it would not be able to go over what would be deemed as 'unsafe' levels. OR would you rather me have it so it can read to quite high CO levels despite the 'dangerous' level being around 2/3v out rather than 5v? So, would you rather a high range of readings but lower accuracy or a more accurate but lower range, still enough to detect the dangerous level?

I will be posting images and schematics for the completed parts of the module ASAP for you guys to check out.

UPDATE!

The sensor circuitry is now complete to give me a baseline voltage of 0.93V. This will allow for any variation in the sensor and the offset created by the op amp. I have used a double op amp system, the second op amp is performing a voltage follower role to remove any current interference from the voltage divider i have put in place to create the baseline to allow for errors to occur. The below schematic is for this section of the module. Getting close to getting the hardware side complete now. Just a few little things to iron out.

Currently completed hardware:

Carbon Monoxide Sensor
Motion Sensor
Voltage Regulation
Buzzer
Radio
Programming Headers

Currently working on:

Smoke Sensors (Optical and ionization, i may switch to particle detection though)
Temperature
Humidity
Ambient Light
AC Power connection
DC Power connection

Recommendations - Does anyone have anything else they would to see included onto this module?

Atsha204 signing?
External Flash?
EEPROM?
Status LEDs?

@scalz, I think i will be adding in what i can with the space, so i'll try and get it all included, EEPROM, ATSHA and if i have any pins left, i will get some debugging LEDs on, not holding my breath though.

As you have experience in using the I2C components i'm using here, could you have a quick look at the following at just let me know that they are okay and will not be conflicting on the I2C lines. I have looked into the addressing and i hope i have done accordingly.

If the Temp reading is completely off the accuracy due to its location i will just use it to compensate for the temp on the Carbon Monoxide sensor.

The last sensor to be configured and to actually even get working now is the optical smoke sensor. I'm currently having some issues and troubles with even getting the concept of the reflective IR optical sensor to work. Been attempting for days now, hopefully will get this issue sorted ASAP as this is the really holding the module still now. Once this is done, i have a little work on the external powering to do but that shouldn't be too trivial and we can get the board sent off to the board house for manufacturing then.

I have just purchased some photo diodes rather than photo transistors to attempt to get this working. From what i have been reading, the photo transistors are around 100 times more sensitive than photo diodes and therefor i'm thinking that it could be this that is causing me an issue with trying to record the reflecting IR Light off of the smoke.

UPDATE

We have a working node. We're now able to serial upload and monitor the module with thanks to @GertSanders and his bootloader.

So the node currently has 2 switch inputs and that would be the maximum for the hardware interrupt, i may do some investigating to get another port for interrupt to enable us to have 3 switches on the one node.

@GertSanders, get him here and lets all buy him cake and beer!

I'm mid process of making a double relay board to automate some lighting around the house and in the garden. The issues that i'm facing here is the use of fuses. Because i'm supplying the AC power from the AC INPUT on the board itself the only fuse protection that the attached device will have is back at the ring main fuse board in the house. The schematic is below (In image and .sch file in case you can't see the image clearly enough), just in case I'm not completely explaining properly. There will not be any motors or pumps attached to this and therefor i'm thinking that there will never be a current overload on this module, the only thing that i'm worried about it issues with the circuits attached, such as shorting out for some reason or even if its a garden module, the lighting casing could fail and cause a short circuit via rain or something maybe.

As you can see in the schematic shown below, the relay power is coming from the input AC power (top left).

The module isn't finished yet, i'm still to put on security and then maybe a current sensor along with a temperature sensor for inside of the enclosure maybe, however if it gets too hot the thermal fuse will do its job anyway, so not seeing much need for the temp sensor. The current sensor would be installed on the input terminal before the AC power gets used for anything so it can monitor the overall current used on the module itself including the relays attached.

HominiACPowered(2)RelayModule.sch

@m26872 This is exactly why i made this thread to be honest. I had bad feelings about that information and wanted to do two things; make others aware of this, and get some more information for myself. I have read that post from Sundberg before, i forgot all about it. I will take another read tonight. Thank you.

To keep you guys updated regarding the progress of this module;

I've been having some issues with creating a chamber that is capable of holding the diodes, transistors and the smoke without letting ambient light in (Due to materials and method, not due to design ability). So I decided to purchase a cheap (£10) Optical Smoke Detector from my local merchants, turns out to be a pretty nice device for the price. I have opened up the unit to find the smoke chamber and various other electronics inside, looks pretty nicely made. After a few google searches i have discovered what appears to be a full blown MCU inside of there, i will do some more investigation and post some part numbers up here soon for you guys to have a look around for interest sake. But normally i see smoke application specific IC's inside of these, so i was shocked at the MCU that is in there with no mention to smoke on the datasheet from what i could see. I'm now wondering if there would be some what to interface with this MCU to my ATMEGA. We will see with some further investigations.

My initial plans for this now were to rip out the chamber and the detection hardware inside of this chamber, and allocate a space on my module to receive this hardware rather than making my own, saving time and hassle as this is already a proved to work method.

P.S - I'm working on a double relay board that uses its own AC INPUT line to feed the live power to the relays and therefor not needing multiple AC supply to power something. This module is allowed to power two devices at a maximum of 2A on each relay, protected through 2 2A SMD fuses. I will release details very soon

@Tore-André-Rosander said:

This looks realy nice, but isnt the thermal fuse supposed to be glued to the hi-link?

This would make the fuse blow to the tightest of sensitive changes IMO, i will trial without gluing to the HLK, and find some more information supporting this before i go ahead and commit to this suggestion.

It turns out, after getting the board completely populated, we have a short to ground on the vcc line on the Radio socket. Time to re-design the board and send off for for the new revision.

Revision 2 upgrades:

1. Remove VCC short to GND on the radio socket
2. Add some more detailed silkscreen that was left off by accident
3. Make 1 device footprint bigger, allowing for easier soldering.

Update: I have tried MySensors versions V2.0, V2.1.1 and even the development branch. From what I can work out, V1.6 when it was a development branch got released as V2.0. But that isn't working either, not sure what state it was in before I changed to V2.1.1 as i never monitored the gateway before i reinstalled the new version.

Either way, none are working, they're all giving me the same result. Therefor i'm attempting to find an issue else where on the network other than MySensors. I'm going to try a new MQTT broker, on a different machine. If this gives the same result then its time to troubleshoot my network. Then if that doesn't show anything i think its safe to revert back to looking through my Gateway software.

UPDATE: The issue has been resolved.

I have no clue why it has only just became and issue because my OpenHAB hasn't been upgraded or modified since day one. But the issue was that the OpenHAB install was attempting to join the MQTT broker (on the same system) with the same ID as the MySensors Gateway. Once i changed my config of OpenHAB MQTT connection, its all working perfect now.

Please, if you see anyone having this issue, point them to this message. I may add it to the controller section or ask a MOD/ADMIN to add it to the OpenHAB controller page if they feel its something that maybe worth pointing out.

Thank you all for your continued help with this. Now, time to get back to the issue at heart. I will be testing the use of MyController today without having to disconnect OpenHAB at all.

@scalz - I know its not going to be huge savings but any amount smaller is what i want to get for the rest of the community tbh. I would like to make it a complete product to then possibly hand over to the team here to then sell on the store for themselves or to put it on the build page as a nice, complete product like the sensebender or such.

What are your views on DIN Rail mounting things, do many people on MySensors do it do you think, is it something that you like the look of and would contemplate doing in your electric cupboard? I don't do it simply due to location of the electricity cupboard in my house, not really possible for myself.

@gohan I think we're all thinking that pulse is the better option for overall monitoring. I'm going to get to some designs asap!

@Yveaux I'm attempting to

Rough designs have been started.

@scalz - I might as well just leave it to you >.<

Nice, solidworks is what i'm using at the moment too. Fancy sharing the files or is it just a quick rough idea that you're not sticking with?

Would be nice to compare the two designs together for the circuit. I might see about getting a board produced at my Uni on the routing machine. Lets both make our versions and would be nice to compare them side by side. (I'm thinking about sending you one of mine once its produced, and you're welcome to scrutinise it to help me improve)

Out of interest, i'm looking at either 3.5mm audio jack or RJ45 (RJ45 looks to be a slightly cheaper route) to connect back to the 'arduino' box. What are you thinking of doing for connectivity?

@Yveaux - Oh, i know what this guy is capable of, at no point do i underestimate him. I'm actually very jealous

@scalz - I wouldn't be jealous of me, my school is pretty bad to be honest with you. But it gets me a degree! I'm actually working/studying in the robotics field, so not just electronics We have a PCB router at school and I'm trying to get permission to use this for our projects here too, only for prototyping ofc. Finished boards will be ordered from a board house for a more professional feel, but it allows me to get an idea of the size of board we can get our designs down too and such.

I've also given up with KiCAD for now, it feels so unprofessional to get libraries and such made. Individual addons/programs inside of KiCAD to do different aspects just feels so clunky to me right now, eagle has my attention until i get my hands on solidworks PCB.

I'm pretty impressed with how it handeling that overhang on the logo considering there wasn't much vertical space under it to the bed i expected it to droop down to the bed. I like it! Ignore the little cunk out at the cable entry part, my glue held it too hard on the bed. The cable grip is a little too small, reprinting it with a more pronounced grip now (Didn't want it too large as it would damage the cable, but its not enough at the moment).

@scalz - I made it with a comparator for two main reasons:

1. I wasn't sure how much the frequency fluctuated from country to country and instead of spending days on end doing research for that, I just chose to go safe rather than sorry.
2. If there is another application that we're not thinking of that would take advantage of a fast/high frequency light detector, this would fit perfectly.

Thanks for uploading the files, will check them out today, although i pretty much have mine done now, just not got the design penalised onto the PCB to get 4 out of the 50x50 prototype order.

I will get it made at University to test the board too.

I have just posted my solution so far:

Forum thread: https://forum.mysensors.org/topic/6460/homini-pulse-meter-monitor
Openhardware.io: https://www.openhardware.io/view/356/Homini-Pulse-Meter-Monitor#tabs-comments

The sensor part is designed, currently working on the custom microcontroller board - You're more than welcome to use an arduino or any other solution for a microcontroller module.

@Hek, @jens-persson - If you don't get it resolved drop me a message at around 5pm UK time and i will drop my PCBWay rep a message and ask for you guys.