I thought I'd share a part of my 'workshhop'. Only part of it due the rest being in a bit of a mess at the moment, so here is the 'good' bit......

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.....

@ben999 said in nrf24+ module with stick antenna:

@skywatch oh great :+1: thanks for that !

by removing the smd then the signal becomes "compatible" with a 2.4ghz stick antenna ?

It completely removes the strip antenna on the pcb as well as the matching stub. The component is likely a zero ohm resistor. So you will be taking the RF from the point before the antenna and it should work.

or shall i go with wire and adjust length ?

That is up to you! You could always try both and see what works best for you. It's only a few minutes work. Don't forget to post your findings for others to learn from...

@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.

@TheStaticTurtle You are using an older version of mysensors. 2.3.2 is current so first of all upgrade to that.

Second, looking at the node log it never finds the gateway. FPAR is "find parent" and it never does, so nowhere to send the data. The "!TSM:FPAR:FAIL" is also a clue as to no comms with the gateway.

Why this is I don't know as you haven't posted your code.

Just to say I wish you all good health in 2021 and thanks for the stimulating discussions and friendly forum.

god Jul och Gott Nytt År!

There are 2 ways of doing this.

First is to have a 'dumb' node that sends data to the controller. Then the controller decides if the relay has to be on or off and sends a signal to make it happen. This is how many systems work.

The down side to this is that if the gateway becomes unavailable or the controller crashes, the relay state will not change.

Personally I prefer to make the node as smart as possible, collecting data, doing calaculations and performing actions while sending the results to the controller for display. The controller can still send commands to the node but if the gateway or controller fail the realy will still operate as expected.

You could even have the nodes request/send data to each other to confirm the status of the realy or anything else for that matter. That's really a third option ;)

So I would approch it by haing node 1 get temp, send to controller and node 2. Have node 2 decide on realys status, switch relay and inform node 1 and controller of the status change. I am sure you can think of variations on this as well because you know best how you want things to work.

Just to wish those who celebrate it a Happy Christmas and of course a Happy New Year to you all!

Lets hope 2022 is better than 2021 ;)

@Knightan

I believe that your problem may be related to this block of code. See my thoughts as comments....

 if (message.type == V_STATUS) {  //This is true for all messages received
   // Change relay state
    state_1 = message.getBool(); //This sets state for state_1 to the received value. 
    digitalWrite(LED_PIN_Channel_1, state_1?RELAY_1_ON:RELAY_1_OFF);
    // Store state in eeprom
    saveState(CHILD_ID_5, state_1);
    
     // Write some debug info
     Serial.print("Incoming change for sensor: STATE 1");
     Serial.print(message.sensor);
     Serial.print(", New status: ");
     Serial.println(message.getBool());
   } 

if (message.type == V_STATUS) {
   // Change relay state
    state_2 = message.getBool();  //This sets state for state_2 to the received value. 
    digitalWrite(LED_PIN_Channel_2, state_2?RELAY_2_ON:RELAY_2_OFF);
    // Store state in eeprom
    saveState(CHILD_ID_6, state_2);
    
     // Write some debug info
     Serial.print("Incoming change for sensor: STATE 2");
     Serial.print(message.sensor);
     Serial.print(", New status: ");
     Serial.println(message.getBool());
   } 

It seems to me that state_1 = message.getBool(); AND state_2 = message.getBool(). So they both get set to the incoming value.

I think you need to not set both to the same value and instead differentiate them to unique values. I could be wrong as I have not had chance to do anything related to mysensors for a long time now - I also don't use Domoticz.

Have a look at the code on this page, it might help you a lot.... https://www.mysensors.org/build/relay

@BearWithBeard You beat me to it by a minute! ;)

@wallylama

I already did that! :o - That's why I now need to make it all work!!! :)

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/

This depends on a number of factors.

1. Tip size and shape will change the optimum temp for soldering.
2. Thermal inertia of the soldering iron station controller.
3. Heating element used inside soldering iron.
4. Type and brand of solder used.
5. Type of solder pad you are soldering to.

It goes on and on. But I usually use 350-380 for that. I prefer a quicker heating of the spot to get a good flow and then done. The lower the temperature the longer you need to apply the heat and the more chance there is of overheating and dry joints.

So it is all down to experience and a little trial and error, which is exactly what you are doing! :)

Thanks for all the input and ideas - I'll go with cr2032 and see how it goes. Batteries, holders and ceramic caps are all on their way, so time will tell on this one.

Thanks all! :)

@pl_rekin It's great when the 'penny drops' - Learning is not so bad when you can admit not knowing something and move on with enhanced knowledge! :)

@noclue You could start right here, but we can't help much without knowing what you want to sense etc.