tssk

tssk

Hello,

few days ago I accidentally came across mysensors (how is it that I did not find it earlier as I am looking into rpi, arduino and home automation for about 2 years?) and I was exited from the first moment . For some time now I was working on several small sensors for my home but did not really like any of the solutions I met so far - my idea was ethernet + poe + rest api + simple progressive mobile UI. Closest I got was arduino pro mini with W5500 + 5V poe splitter + custom sketch using webduino to provide REST API + mozilla iot gateway.

I had (nearly) finished the HW for my window/door reed switches. But I got into trouble with REST API + mozilla iot gateway. Testing the REST API worked ok from browser but somehow the mozilla iot gateway was unable to load all the presented switches reliably. I have to say that until this problem I had quite a good experience with it - I had it connected to few thermometers and relays to operate heating.

I saw the sample sketches for mysensors + mycontroller.org and it "just clicked" to my idea. I edited the sketch and installed mycontroller and successfully tested both Ethernet Gateway and MQTT Gateway in few hours. I think I will stick with MQTT for more compatibility (I did not find any description about the mysensors communication protocol so I have no idea how standardized it is).

So I want to share my HW + say thanks for the great project!

Designed to be powered over usb micro (so it can run without poe) as these chargers are everywhere now.

The barrel connector is temporary until I modify the poe splitter output to usb micro.

Sample connection - I have such reed switches installed in my windows and doors.

Of course I will be happy for any constructive criticism and suggestions (I do not have any education in electronics so try not to be very harsh about my circuit design and soldering though ).

tssk

@zboblamont said in Which radio / wireless module to choose? Please recommend:

All my Nodes have 2xAA and are still going after 2 years..

So you think that something like Arduino Pro Mini 3.3V + DHT22 or BME280 + 433/868 radio module would run on 2x1.5V AA battery ok? No extra components (like step up) or modifications like removing LED or regulator from Arduino?

tssk

@zboblamont The reasoning for putting the GW in the attic were:

most of the sensors I plan would be in the house level just under which has wooden ceiling so there would be good connection
if ignoring one brick wall there would be "line" of sight to the beehives position
I have no problem going to attic in case something breaks on the GW and it would be connected by ethernet sending data to MQTT broker

But I would like to use as good communications modules as possible because in the future I would like to add more sensors around the house where also thick concrete ceilings are. And I would not like to run anither type of radio for that.

tssk

@mfalkvidd Thank you for your suggestions! Can I please have additional questions?

Can be bought for different frequency bands

I am in Europe/Czech Republic so it should be 433MHz / 868MHz. Is there any difference between these two especially regarding range / antenna complexity?

Should I look for specific chip vendor or is the quality all the same?

Could you help me understand why different modules for GW and node are mentioned by @NeverDie said in Second setup, choosing a radio ? I can reach every corner of our property with a RFM69HCW on the GW and a non-amplified RFM69CW on the node.

If you pay the extra royalty to Semtech for LoRa, do not use FSK.

Do I understand it correctly that LoRa technical parameters (especially power consumption and range) are better than FSK mode (altough more expensive and lower throughput - but that is probably not important for transmitting few numbers)?

( I already have two SX1278 433Mhz chips and two SX1276 868Mhz chips that I bought for testing. But I was little bit disappointed when I found out that RH_RF95 does not support the FSK mode as it limited my options to choose what mode to use. Also I notice that 433Mhz modules were provided with a little different spring antennas than 868Mhz ones. )

A 9V battery is not a good choice.

I do not understand the electricity stuff much more than + - and number of volts (discovering Arduino onboard regulator was like Christmas for me!) so I wanted to keep things simple (not to add additional modules like step up convertor) and better give a bit more juice than less (I am not sure how would all the sensors and radio module work with 2x1.5V). Would the 9V really so inefficient? What about 3x1,5V?

tssk

Hello,

(sorry if this is a duplicate but I could not quite find answers for my questions)

I would like to build radio/wireless sensors running on battery and I am not sure what radio / wireless modules to choose. I would like to achieve:

sensors based on Arduino Pro Mini 3.3V or 5V (I like the size)
sensors powered by 9V battery (seem easy to connect and powerful enough to me)
about 7 or 10 temperature sensors inside my house (13m x 7m 2 stores)
if possible I would like to put simillar sensors approx 50m from the house inside beehive
not too expensive as ( plan to buy about 10 modules )
easy to solder/connect to standard 2,54mm DPS

My idea was to put the gateway to attic at the side were the beehives are.

I prefer to use same module for everything but from some forum post I got impression that the GW might better use different module?

Should I use LoRa mode or FSK mode?

Could someone please recommend modules I should buy? And what kind of antenna?

In case you have some comment for my preferences I will be happy to head them as I am new to this.

Thank you very much

Tomas

tssk

@Yveaux Thanks for the tips

you could have used a nano (saves separate usb socket)

That is a good point, but I already bought 10x Pro Mini because I plan to also make some sensors where size matters (I would like to have sensors in standard light switch box). And my idea was to use the same HW as much as possible because of spare parts (I have no idea how reliable these things are - this is why did not solder it directly but used the headers) and also I can reuse experience from each sensor build for another (I expect that there are small details than might differ between different boards).

I wonder how you go with all the cabling from here? I usually prefer a more decentralized approach, where each (or maybe a couple) sensor has its own node. These can then be battery powered and cabling will be minimal.

I already have the wiring ready from the time when I build my house, actually these reed switches are drilled in to the window frame and all the cables lead to the same place - shed under stair that I call "server room" Original idea was that it will be connected to some standard alarm system like Paradox or Honeywell.

But with the planned room sensors I will most probably go for the battery powered sensors with some sort of radio connection (another aspect that mysensors solution will easily provide) as leading the cables now to each room would be very complicated and messy.

tssk