I would really like to get OTA working here as it's freezing outside and I have to go there to update the software in the greenhouse control system.

So please, can we have a 'how to' step-by-step guide to OTA? Please?

S.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all of you on (or behind) this forum.

Here's to 2018 and a much better year for us all!

Seasons greeting to all of you. Hope you have a nice festive season.

@bc123 said in I am in need of some programming help.:

I have a cool project

So does everyone else

I hired someone to do about a year ago, but it never worked entirely.

Why is that?

need some help with the programming.

Then post your code and the issues you are facing and someone might help you out.

Project: Driveway alert system, looooong driveway.

So it's just a basic 'alert system' - good.

I have 4 sensor beams shooting across the driveway and they are spaced about 100' apart from each other.

That is good if that is what you want/need for your cool project.

Each can provide a NO or NC contact.

Good.

I have conduit running between all 4 points

Good idea if you don't want jammable RF.....

and was planning to run Ethernet wire between them

So only empty conduit at the moment then?

The board has a LORA radio on it

Good.

and is transmitting to my Arduino receiver, which is tied to a pi running Domoticz.

Good.

I hired someone a year ago to build a system for me using 4 transmitters (one for each sensor),

You already told us this bit.

but I don't think he knew what he was doing.

Why is that?

We got several running temperature/humidity data

That wasn't the original 'alert' spec was it? Or maybe it was? Maybe it is supposed to be a driveway alert system with temperature and humidity sensors 100 feet apart? Who knows? What are you 'really' wanting to do here?

but, the input pins don’t work like they’re supposed to.

So is this faulty hardware issue then?

Why 4 sensors on the driveway? Eventually I’ll install my railroad signals and be able to direct one way traffic up and down the driveway! How cool is that!

If you really have that much traffic on your driveway then it might be a better idea to have a 2-lane driveway.

Help anyone? Happy to compensate for your efforts!

How can we help? You posted an 'alert' dream that later included temperature and humidity. Then it morphed into a traffic control system (either automatic or manually controlled, we don't know which at this stage).
Then you ask for programming help and don't even post a single line of code.

Yes that was all a bit 'tounge-in-cheek' but hopefully you get the idea.

First define what you actually want.
Post code you are trying to get working.
Post drawings of how it is all connected up.
Post photos of the project.

Where is the project located on this once fine planet?
Where do I get my compensation from?

The current NRF24 set up is more secure than bluetooth or wifi from attack.

I say this based on the fact that anyone with a laptop, mobile etc can have software to crack/hack/spoof/inject into bluetooth or wifi. It is not that difficult for kids to do.

The NRF is another matter as to achieve this on that radio module would require acquiring a module, setting it up with a pc/phone and then getting software to attack it.

People often go the easiest route and I am less worried about nrf24 than I would be if the system used bluetooth/wifi or cloud.

Just my thoughts on a dark and wet Monday morning.....

@Stevanov

Your best bet is still to simply change to a different unused channel.

Nrf24l01+ has over 100 channels available, why insist on using one in use by someone else nearby?

Even if you do encrypt all data the radios will still suffer due the the high level of signals around swamping the receiver front ends and reducing sensitivity adn increasing liklihood of packet collisions.

Far better to find a clear channel and use that, but it's up to you at the end of the day.

3D printing is quite a minefield at the moment. Technology is developing rapidly and new models appear all the time.

A few thoughts I can offer as a year long 3d printer owner are as follows......

How good are you at engineering? Are you happy taking the printer apart to clean the print head nozzle?
What are your expectations? what are you intending to use it to print?
What material do you want to print with? pla? abs? nylon? carbon fibre?
What sort of 3D printing do you have in mind? There are different types with wildly varying uses (and prices!).
How big is the biggest item you want to print?
How strong does the print have to be? WIll it be used outdoors? Does it need to be waterproof?
What is your budget - for the printer and the running costs including material used for printing?

If I were you I'd spend a week looking at you tube videos on the subject and look at a few dedicated online 3d printing forums to get a feel for it.

FWIW I went with a branded 'ready to use out the box' printer (flashforge finder) and it has given me a good introduction to 3d design and printing. There are occasions when I wish the build area was bigger, but often things can be made in sections and assembled into a larger item, but not always...

Hurrah!

Now I can sleep at night again

Good job!

I think it would be good to track users posts and then see when they stop posting to the forum.

From my personal experience, it will be failure and frustration that gets people down. They arrive at this site and it all looks really good.....until you come to try it and then you discover a whole nets of vipers just waiting.

I have hit brick walls in the past and given up to concentrate on project with a higher chance of success. I still come back and ech time get stuck again.

Most recently I wanted a temp sensor that sent temp every 2 mins and battery level every 1/2 hour. It didn't work and none of the helpful suggestions could make it work. So it's all sat there disconnected until I see a solution to the problem.

I also use MyController and have issuse with suddenly loosing all sensors except those internal to the pi. The MYSGW still gets data. At the moment I have nrf attached directly to the pi. The MyC team suggest adding an arduino and running it differently to solve the issue.

What would be aHuge improvement would be a traffic light system where each of the 'build' pages shows if it all works as expected under the current releases.
Green = all working as it should, Amber = minor problems but OK for most and Red = Stop, don't even bother just yet.

Just my experience/

@alowhum

Thank you for posting this..... I tried it today and it works well!

To test it I wondered where to get a source of co2 from, then an idea hit me......So I opened a beer
I tipped it into a pint glass and drank most of it. Then, when I remembered the reason for opening the beer, I dangled the sensor into the glass, well above the liquid, placed my hand on top to seal it and swirled the beer around to release the co2 that makes it fizzy - result?

Well in the room I was getting a constant reading of 395, but in the beer glass it went to 1711, 3055, 5000 !!! - So it works!

Removing the sensor back to normal room air and it dropped back to 396 within 90 seconds.

So quite impressed at the moment. So far this it the most expensive sensor I have used. About $18 for the 'B' version.

@amasterp1322 You will need to provide much more data I'm affraid.

1. Where in the world is 'the project'?
2. What type of sensors have you chosen or do you need help with this too?
3. What are you measuring the moisture of and to what level of accuracy do the measurements need to be?
4. What kind of distance is there between the sensors, relay, power source?
5. Does everything have to be water resistant or waterproof?
6. Is this an indoor or outdoor project?
7. How are the sensors going to send data?
8. What are the sensors sending the data to?
9. What relay is involved and how was it specified?
10. What is the relay activating and will you be following the electrical codes for your country/area?

I suspect this is a greenhouse watering system, but you haven't actually defined the project so maybe you can give it some more thought to help us help you.

@garfius According to this page.... https://www.mysensors.org/about/components#the-radio the only supported devices are listed as nrf24l01+, rfm69 and esp8266.

I guess if you are talented in programming you could add your own support for the items you listed and maybe share your success so that other can benefit too....

I can see no reason you cannot 'change the default frequencies' so long as the protocols stay intact and all nodes talking to the gw are on the same frequency.

@secantscope I understand - It is a few years since I looked into this and then the only conclusion I could make was to take a meter and interface with usb. It would be more work and my needs case didn't warrant that at the time.

I am sorry I could not be of more help in this, but it just seems to be the way things have been for a while. Maybe in the future things will change.

As @nagelc suggested a lesser sensor could be used and you could calibrate it yourself. Seems little other options really. (Now I said that you just wait for a killer posting with just the thing you want linked) !!!

@secantscope Many of the decibel meters have a USB connection for data out - maybe worth looking into that?

If size is an issue then you could dismantle a meter and use whats inside?

When I looked a long time ago I just got the basic sound modules and made do with them.

How accurate does the reading have to be and are there any legal implications in your intended use (e.g. in a place of work)?

@redcarpet https://www.mysensors.org/build/rs485

@tbowmo IR beam sensors can be used in many applications including security, so I doubt that you'll regret that decision!

But if that doesn't work I can only suggest a cattle prod.

@hek Is it my ageing eyes or has the font type/size changed? It seems harder to 'scan' messages now.

@NeverDie Sheesh, what a mess - and breadboard is fast and cheap.

@tbowmo I grinned when reading this!

I would try an infra red beam and try that first as it will have a longer service life than any laser I know.
Also, don't cut wifi to the whole house as you will 'punish' everyone else too (though it might generate some peer pressure it might also start a war).

You could set up a camera to catch the culprit and then send the photo and 'suitable advice' to their phone along with a message about posting it to their social media sites if corrective action is not taken. Hah!

@bc123 Read and understand the posting rules here.

I know this is your first post here... but how is that? How did you find your last 'programmer' for mys if not here> Just curious.

Post code in code tags (as per the instructions) - i.e. choose the </> in the options above. Then paste 'your' code (if the original code is under any NDS or copyright then you do so at your own risk).

Pictures of the wiring, as installed and wiring diagrams.

Oh, and a full spec of what you expect and how it is all supposed to work would be a good start.

Seasons greetings all the same to you.!

I'm off to drink more alcohol than any sane person would.... - Apparently it is 'that' time of year.