My Slim 2AA Battery Node). ############################################################## apm96.name=APM Optiboot internal 1MHz noBOD 9600baud apm96.upload.tool=avrdude apm96.upload.protocol=arduino apm96.upload.maximum_size=32256 apm96.upload.speed=9600 apm96.bootloader.tool=avrdude apm96.bootloader.low_fuses=0x62 apm96.bootloader.high_fuses=0xde apm96.bootloader.extended_fuses=0x07 apm96.bootloader.path=optiboot_v50 apm96.bootloader.file=atmega328_1a.hex apm96.bootloader.unlock_bits=0x3F apm96.bootloader.lock_bits=0x2F apm96.build.mcu=atmega328p apm96.build.f_cpu=1000000L apm96.build.core=arduino apm96.build.variant=standard.
- GertSanders Hardware Contributor last edited by GertSanders
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- GertSanders Hardware Contributor last edited by GertSanders

- sundberg84 Hardware Contributor last edited by
@Matt-Pitts - Not that hard if you read about it. Here are some good links:
@Tom71
well I have not yet started to use the Mysensor specific bootloader. When I use the optiboot, I upload sketch with my USBtiny (so no FTDI), and when I use FTDI for uploading sketch I used the "Arduino Pro or pro mini (3,3V, 8MHz) w/ATmega328"
.
- sundberg84 Hardware Contributor last edited by
Difference is that if you use a ISP programmer you will use the complete memory. You can use ISP to upload a bootloader which is required to burn a sketch with ftdi into remaining memory but its possible to use a ISP to flash a sketch without bootloader as well.
@Matt-Pitts
Depending of your Arduino, the USBtiny is easy to use. Maybe your Aeduino have the pinheader so then only click the cable and burn bootloader. I use Arduino Pro Mini and have an adapter ZIF socket that fits my Arduino ProMini
.
@Tom71
Can you burn the bootloader+sketch with an USBtiny on an bare Atmgea328p?
I have no idea - I have never tried this.
My originally point is that I have had similar problem to upload a sketch with a FTDI on an Arduino Pro Mini that have been flashed with Optiboot, and when flashed with a "normal" bootloader I could easily upload a sketch with FTDI. I mainly use Arduino Pro Mini 3,3V 8MHz...and that have the crystals etc in place
I have ordered these. Hopefully they can get here soon-ish. All my prototyping is done and the WAF is dropping steadily with all the wires and components lying around.
One question on this - separating the individual boards from the panel: dremel tool with cuter blade fine? Or do I need to use some other method?
@wergeld I just make two small cuts from each side by a side cutter, then a gentle bend over some sharp edge like the table or a cutting board.
Just got a notification from DirtyPCB's that mine shipped - placed the order 9 days ago so give it some time. When I ordered mine, they were just re-opening from being closed for a week; I think it was Chinese new year or something.
Hello, I ordered it too yesterday
Can't wait to step forward from my breadboards with a lot wires to PCB without wires
@m26872 Thanks for sharing it!
@drock1985 Right. I waited until a week after Chinese new year to order. Let the hangovers end and the trainstations empty . I am looking forward to finalizing my sensor network with cases as well. I have several old plastic/wood boxes lying around waiting for a less rats-nest setup.
now I finally set up my first sensor board, and, as expected, I don´t receive any data from it on my gateway :suspect:
I uploaded the sketch following the instructions from here: using a 16MHz Crystal.
The sketch should run, but it doesn´t. Any ideas how to troubleshoot now?
edit: I opened the serial monitor after I uploaded the sketch using the mwthod mentioned above and I get the message "radio init fail".
The same sketch works on my UNO and I have no radio problem.
Do I have to upload the sketch without the 16MHz Crystal to get it work proper?
- Since external crystal isn't this designs standard, I think you should describe your hardware a bit more.
- Uno fuses and bootloader?
- "radio init fail" means nRF wiring issue in 99% of all cases.
I just installed the NRF module at it´s desired place as well as the two capacitors and the resistors as described above. The crystal is only used for uploading the sketch to the Atmega328 chip, described here:
So a wiring issue should not be the problem. Also, the code should have been uploaded well, because when I put the chip back to the breadboard and fire up my Arduino I at least receive the "radio init fail" message.
I just wonder if you guys upload your sketches the same way or if you use a different setup. I know there is a way to upload the sketch without the 16MHz crystal and I would like to know if this could be the problem.
edit: I´ve re-read your first post and also this thread ...
Do I have to burn the bootloader using 1MHz or 8 MHz? I don´t get why this makes a difference, only that the batteries would drain faster the higher the MHz rate is.
I already uploaded a bootloader on my chips with a 16MHz crystal. Could I just re-upload a new bottloader using 1 or 8 MHz and overwrite the 16MHz bootloader?
@siod The lowered MHz is not to drain battery slower. To save power we want to run wihtout buck- or boost (step-up or step-down) voltage regulators. When we do that, we need to ensure all circuit components work in whole battery voltage range. A good trade-off/design is then to make the Atmega work down to the same lower limit as the nRF24L01+, which is ~1.9V. Unfortunately the Atmega is unstable at high frequencies with low voltages. That why we need a low frequency. An external 4MHz should be low enough, but an easier, cheaper and usually good enough solution is to by the ATmega "fuse settings" activate an 8MHz internal crystal together with a "divide by 8" prescaler.
To fascilitate the use of noob-friendly Arduino IDE and concept of loading sketches and debug through a serial interface, we need to have a "bootloader" on the Atmega. The procedure you're referring to is how you put this bootloader to the ATmega. I would strongly recommend a beginner to start with ready made Arduinos in projects before starting to play with blank/bare ATmegas.
Whether you need the 16MHz crystal, 8MHz or none depends it's current fuse settings. Bootloader and fuse settings determine how you load, debug and run your sketch.
I think the guides, project threads, links and references provided here in the forum should be enough when you've come to the point where you can make it all the way.
Did anybody tested this board with an ATSHA204A on A2? The ATSHA204A works with 2.0 to 5.5 V.
@Tom71
I'm waiting on my PCBs/ATmegas but thats exactly something I'm wondering as well. I'm just trying to think of how the wires look in my head while waiting for everything to get delivered.
ok guys, I finally set up my first sensor and it´s communicating well. I´ve attached two reed switch which work fine, only my temp snesor DHT11 doesn´t work. Are there any known issues with this sensor?
pls have a look at my setup and my code, thank you:
// Simple binary switch example // Connect button or door/window reed switch between // digitial I/O pin 3 (BUTTON1_PIN below) and GND. #include <MySensor.h> #include <SPI.h> // Define Node ID #define MY_NODE_ID 1 //Kontaktschalter #include <Bounce2.h> #define CHILD1_ID 1 // Kontaktschalter 1 #define CHILD2_ID 2 // Kontaktschalter 1 #define BUTTON1_PIN 5 // Kontaktschalter 1 #define BUTTON2_PIN 6 // Kontaktschalter 2 //Tempsensor #include <DHT.h> #define CHILD_ID_HUM 3 #define CHILD_ID_TEMP 4 #define HUMIDITY_SENSOR_DIGITAL_PIN 4 unsigned long SLEEP_TIME = 30000; // Sleep time between reads (in milliseconds) MySensor gw; //Kontaktschalter Bounce debouncer1 = Bounce(); Bounce debouncer2 = Bounce(); int oldValueReed1=-1; int oldValueReed2=-1; //tempsensor DHT dht; float lastTemp; float lastHum; boolean metric = true; //Messages //); void setup() { gw.begin(NULL, MY_NODE_ID, true); //Tempsensor dht.setup(HUMIDITY_SENSOR_DIGITAL_PIN); // Setup Kontaktschalter 1 pinMode(BUTTON1_PIN,INPUT); // Activate internal pull-up digitalWrite(BUTTON1_PIN,HIGH); // Setup Kontaktschalter 2 pinMode(BUTTON2_PIN,INPUT); // Activate internal pull-up digitalWrite(BUTTON2_PIN,HIGH); // After setting up the button, setup debouncer debouncer1.attach(BUTTON1_PIN); debouncer2.attach(BUTTON2_PIN); debouncer1.interval(5); debouncer21_ID, S_DOOR); gw.present(CHILD2_ID, S_DOOR); //Tempsensor gw.present(CHILD_ID_HUM, S_HUM); gw.present(CHILD_ID_TEMP, S_TEMP); metric = gw.getConfig().isMetric; } // Check if digital input has changed and send in new value void loop() { //Kontakstschalter 1 debouncer1.update(); // Get the update value int valueReed1 = debouncer1.read(); if (valueReed1 != oldValueReed1) { // Send in the new value gw.send(msgReed1.set(valueReed1==HIGH ? 1 : 0)); Serial.println("Button 1 geschaltet"); oldValueReed1 = valueReed1; } //Kontakstschalter 2 debouncer2.update(); // Get the update value int valueReed2 = debouncer2.read(); if (valueReed2 != oldValueReed2) { // Send in the new value gw.send(msgReed2.set(valueReed2==HIGH ? 1 : 0)); Serial.println("Button 2 geschaltet"); oldValueReed2 = valueReed2; } //Tempsensor.sleep(SLEEP_TIME); //sleep a bit }
@siod my understanding was that the voltage which is provided by the slim node wouldn't be suitable for the DHT11 and DHT22, as they require a minimum of 3.3v. There is some discussion here on the DHT22, which I understand has the same voltage requirements as the DHT11.
Oh man, one problem solved, next just comes up...
So what can I Do now? Just upload the 8MHz bootloader and just use 8MHz instead of 1MHz?
edit: Ok, tested it, it works with the 8MHz Bootloader!
please explain one more time if I could just use the 8MHz Bootloader, I still could not fully understand why I should use the 1 MHz Bootloader (maybe because of my bad english and also my lack of electronics knowledge). Thank you very much!!
edit2: I measured 0,02 Ampere consumption, isn´t that too much?
@siod Either your Atmega328p or you DHT22 will work unstable as your battery drain and voltage drops. I haven't tested and don't remember the specs, but my guess is that DHT will stop working very soon with battery <3V.
I suggest you choose this or this design.
OK thx for the hint, I guess I will just add a third AA battery, that should solve my problem...
I really don't want to spam this thread...
But from my arduino Uno the nrf24l01 module is also powered by 5V!?!
Edit : ah ok, the arduino is going to regulate down to 3.3v... Then I cant use 3AAs
@siod I was in much the same position as you, but the simple suggestion is to use the SI7021, as per this thread. Otherwise, the links in the other thread are for the 5v builds.
I wasn't aware that the nrf24l01 is so sensitive to voltage higher than 1.9v. I would like to have a sensor design to which I can add different sensors, just for the purpose I need it right now. So most sensors need 3.3v or 5v and I have to decide if I use 3v cells, which are more expensive or use step up / step down regulators which will drain my batteries. I just want to keep the flexibility to add any sort of sensor to my board... What would you suppose to do, also I think I am not the only one who faces those problems. Of course I am a beginner and still have a lot to learn but I also just want to finish this project as I am working on it for a very long time now...
when you are gonna to use some power up/down converter, them will need more power, so your battery will be faster empty.
If you make your circuit so simple as possible, so you can reach the longest battery time.
I wasn't aware that the nrf24l01 is so sensitive to voltage higher than 1.9v.
Typo? I suppose you mean 3.3V.
I would like to have a sensor design to which I can add different sensors...
Please reply why you don't like those two designs I linked to in my last post above.
5V as a supply voltage had been the standard for many decades.
As integrated circuits have become more compact and more efficient, 3.3V and 1.8V as supply voltages have become standards as well. 3.3V for most components, 1.8V is more recent and only used in some very highly integrated circuits.
For sensornodes based on batteries, the 3.3V standard is very usefull and most sensors are available for this working voltage.
If you really need 5V for a particular sensor, then think about AC or USB powered nodes. 5V sensors are a bad choice for battery based nodes. The 5V sensors are mostly old designs, and very inefficient when looking at them from a powerconsumption point of view.
So you can want to combine 3.3V and 5V sensors, but our experience is NOT to combine and make a choice for low power (modern) 3.3V sensors when trying to build battery based sensor nodes.
OK guys, thanks for the explanation. In this case I need to buy new temp sensors...
The 3.7v batteries are no option for me because they are too expensive in my eyes. I didn't want to buy new temp sensors as I already bought a couple of the DHT 11 sensors but it seems like there is no other chance now.
I just think the next time I encounter problems is, when I try to setup a new sensor node with attached pir motion sensor... I will read the data sheet of it first and look out for power consumption
Is there any motion sensor that work on 3.3 V ? I tried powering the below one with 3.3 but it was acting crazy and keeps reporting motions.
It is written that V range is 3-5 but it worked well with 5v only.
@ahmedadelhosni Haven't you seen the motion example sensors in the first post of this thread?
@m26872 yeah I know you have a topic but actually was concerned with door and window sensors that time and forgot to check it again when I needed it
I can't program my slim node through ISP, is there a reason it isn't working.
I use USBASP with jumper 3 connected.
But it can't find the node.
someone have a clue how to solve this.
it doesn't recognise the avr.
This is the error i get:
avrdude: error: programm enable: target doesn't answer. 1
avrdude: initialization failed, rc=-1
Double check connections and try again, or use -F to override
this check.
avrdude done. Thank you.
When i use a ziff programming board, the avr is programmeble. so usbasp is working.
Finally got my v2 (red) boards in. Ended up with 30 of them. Will start wiring them up this week!
When i use a ziff programming board, the avr is programmeble. so usbasp is working.
This is solved, with the use of the right boards.txt file i now can burn the bootloader from within arduino.
Below is my first sketch with this awsome 2aa battery powerd board.
i didn't measure the current. but i tryed to be as efficient with the power as possible.
my avr is running on 8Mhz, this is becaus the DTH22 doesn't run on 1Mhz.
#include <SPI.h> #include <MySensor.h> #include <DHT.h> #include <Vcc.h> #define CHILD_ID_TEMP 1 // Child id for temperatur #define CHILD_ID_HUM 2 // Child id for humidity #define CHILD_ID_VOLT 3 // Child id for battery reading #define HUMIDITY_SENSOR_DIGITAL_PIN 3 // Where is my DHT22 data pin connected to int node_id=6; // What is my node id unsigned long SLEEP_TIME =30000UL; // Sleep time between reads (in milliseconds) int sleepcycle=1; // Counter to count the amout of time not sending data int humoffset=2; // only data is send if humidity is changed for this amout int tempoffset=0.5; // only data is if temperature is changed for this amout int gwsendtimout=20; // each 20*sleep_time (10 minutes) data will be send const float VccMin = 1.5; // Minimum expected Vcc level, in Volts. const float VccMax = 3.0; // Maximum expected Vcc level, in Volts. const float VccCorrection = 1.0/1.0; // Measured Vcc by multimeter divided by reported Vcc Vcc vcc(VccCorrection); MySensor gw; DHT dht; //Store last values float lastTemp = 0 ; float lastHum = 0 ; float batteryV=0; int oldBatteryPcnt = 0; boolean lastTripped = false ; boolean metric = true; boolean gwsend = true; // to determin if data has to be send MyMessage msgHum(CHILD_ID_HUM, V_HUM); MyMessage msgTemp(CHILD_ID_TEMP, V_TEMP); MyMessage msgVolt(CHILD_ID_VOLT, V_VOLTAGE); void setup() { gw.begin(NULL,node_id,false); dht.setup(HUMIDITY_SENSOR_DIGITAL_PIN); // Send the Sketch Version Information to the Gateway gw.sendSketchInfo("Humidity", "1.1",true); // Register all sensors to gw (they will be created as child devices) gw.present(CHILD_ID_HUM, S_HUM,"Humidity douche"); gw.present(CHILD_ID_TEMP, S_TEMP,"Temperatuur douche"); gw.present(CHILD_ID_VOLT, S_MULTIMETER,"Battery voltage"); metric = gw.getConfig().isMetric; } void loop() { // get the battery Voltage batteryV = vcc.Read_Volts(); int batteryPcnt = vcc.Read_Perc(VccMin, VccMax); if (oldBatteryPcnt != batteryPcnt) { // Power up radio after sleep gwsend=true; oldBatteryPcnt = batteryPcnt; } delay(dht.getMinimumSamplingPeriod()); float temp1 = dht.getTemperature(); float humidity = dht.getHumidity(); if (isnan(temp1)) { // Serial.println("Failed reading temperature from DHT"); } else if ((temp1 <= lastTemp-tempoffset)||(temp1 >= lastTemp+tempoffset)) { lastTemp = temp1; if (!metric) { temp1 = dht.toFahrenheit(temp1); } gwsend=true; } if (isnan(humidity)) { // Serial.println("Failed reading humidity from DHT"); } else if ((humidity <= lastHum-humoffset)||(humidity >= lastHum+humoffset)) { lastHum = humidity; gwsend=true; } if (sleepcycle>gwsendtimout){ gwsend=true; } if (gwsend){ gw.sendBatteryLevel(oldBatteryPcnt); gw.send(msgVolt.set(batteryV, 1)); gw.send(msgTemp.set(lastTemp, 1)); gw.send(msgHum.set(lastHum, 1)); gwsend=false; sleepcycle=1; } sleepcycle++; gw.sleep(SLEEP_TIME); }
Finally had time to solder it. Not my best job, I admit. One of the caps I tried to mount was not flush enough so I had to clip it off. Hopefully not a critical component! I made the radio removable using some header strips. Now to figure out what temp sensor to use. I have currently used just a thermister. Can DHT22 work down at ~1.9V?
Anyway this was fun - highly recommend a needle point solder tip!
@wergeld congratulations
For the temp sensor I suggest a si7021 board. Almost the same price as as dht22 but more accurate, reliable and versatile. It uses the I2C bus (pin A4, A5)
@wergeld congratulations
For the temp sensor I suggest a si7021 board. Almost the same price as as dht22 but more accurate, reliable and versatile. It uses the I2C bus (pin A4, A5)
@AWI I saw the si7021 on another forum. Ordered a couple of the low voltage ones as I want to make my nodes with as few components as possible. I could still use my thermistor while I wait. This is a fun build!