Raw infrared to serial and back – one interface for every IR protocol my air conditioners, TVs and media gear happen to speak.
Installing emoncms’s “events” module
Installing emonCMS’s events module – rule-based alerts and actions on top of the telemetry my sensors already log.
Micro IoT gateway RFM12B shield update
The new uIoT RFM12B shield adds a plug-on OLED port – gateway and status display in one stack.
Flood alarm
A wireless flood alarm after my father’s leaking pipe flooded his place for days and cost thousands of Euro – cheap insurance.
Funky v2 revision 2
Funky v2 revision 2 adds a reset button – no more unrecoverable boards when a sketch disables USB to save power.
Wireless body temperature monitor/logger
A wearable wireless body temperature monitor for sick kids – remote logging plus a bedside status display with an alarm.
OLED analog clock
Adding an analog clock face to my OLED status display, plus a bitmap thermometer tracking the solar water tank temperature.
Raspberry Pi email/SMS doorbell notifier + picture of the person ringing it
Step-by-step Raspberry Pi doorbell notifier: email/SMS plus a webcam snapshot of whoever is ringing. A simpler follow-up to my SMS doorbell.
Reducing RFM12B transmission power
Reducing RFM12B transmission power to stop overloading nearby receivers – better link quality and lower battery drain.
Temperature to color encoding for visual status display using RGB LED
Encoding temperature as RGB LED color – read the solar hot water status from across the room, no display needed.
Miniature OLED status display with Funky v2
A miniature 128×64 serial OLED as a status display for the Funky v2 – bright pixels, near-180° viewing angle, 30x28mm PCB.
Testing the RFM12B shield on a WorkerB! – swapping radio modules on the same board works as intended.
nRF24L01+ range testing
nRF24L01+ range testing with a ping-pong sketch pair between a WorkerB! and my dirt cheap wireless sensor node.
The WorkerB!
Meet the WorkerB! – the ATmega32U4 + nRF24L01 board gets a name and 5 test PCBs, its job is to collect and transmit data.
3D printed Stevenson screen
A 3D printed Stevenson screen for my Funky+DHT22 – proper airflow instead of a black box with a few drilled holes and 99.9% RH readings.
7 months of sending and still going
7 months on the same CR2032 and the Funky+DS18B20 room temperature node is still transmitting – live chart included.
Logging manualy entered values to emonCMS using keypad
Logging body weight to emonCMS with a keypad and a coin-cell Funky v2 – punch in the scale readout, get a weight history graph.
Running on ‘dead’ batteries
Running Funkys on ‘dead’ AA batteries – the LTC3525 boost keeps them alive down to 0.8V, squeezing out a second life.
Re-vamping my Daikin Internet Air-conditioner controller
A new IR blaster shield for the uIoT gateway – SD slot, FTDI pinout, TMP36 sensor, and a re-vamped Daikin Internet AC controller.
Funky v2 now poses as LilyPad Arduino USB
The Funky v2 now poses as a LilyPad Arduino USB – same VID/PID, so the stock Arduino IDE accepts it without modifications.
New ATMega32U4 board to use with nRF24L01
A new ATmega32U4 board for the nRF24L01+ – USB, 8MHz/3.3V, and a boost regulator that runs the whole thing off a single AAA battery.
nRF24L01+ power consumption footprint
Scoping the nRF24L01+ during transmissions to measure the real power footprint of my dirt cheap low power wireless sensor node.
Dirt Cheap Low Power Wireless Sensor Node using nRF24L01+ 2.4GHz
A dirt cheap wireless sensor node: $3 nRF24L01+ modules and blank DIP ATmega328s on veroboard – how low can the parts bill go?
Cheap USB to 3.3V TTL FTDI Cable goes to the trash bin
My cheap ebay ‘FTDI’ cable outputs 5V on the supposedly 3.3V lines – scope proof, two dead RFM12Bs, straight to the trash bin.
Scooter tail light mod
Modding a scooter tail light with an ATtiny85 – a couple of hours from blog inspiration to fancy blinking.
Interfacing with Paradox home security system
Tapping into my Paradox home security system to read armed/disarmed state and zone statuses – free presence data for home automation.
Low power serial keypad
Trying out a cheap ebay matrix keypad as a low power serial keypad – groundwork for battery powered input projects.
Crazy high frequency PWM with ATMega32U4
Toying with Timer 4 on the ATmega32U4: PLL-driven PWM up to 8MHz, verified on the scope.
Scope screenshots
First scope screenshots: measuring the Funky v2’s current consumption via the voltage drop over a not-quite-10-ohm resistor.
Oscilloscope
I finally bought an oscilloscope – a Rigol DS1052E at 309 EUR delivered – and spent the evening exploring what I’d been missing.
Trying out Funky v2 with the LTC3108 energy harvesting board
Funky v2 with a MOSFET controlling the RFM12B’s power – trying to start cleanly from the LTC3108 energy harvester’s slow voltage ramp.
Funky v2 rev 1
Funky v2 rev 1: solving the RFM12B’s 0.68mA startup draw that kept my nodes from booting off the energy harvesting board.