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Build your own IoT/MQTT node for less than $2
- benj111 8y agoFor those new to this, you can get little esp8266 based modules with usb, header pins etc for about the same price. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/NodeMCU https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/NodeMCU Arduino software compatible too.
- rzzzt 8y agoThose are really cool. Here's an esp8266 framework primarily intended for home automation: https://github.com/xoseperez/espurna https://github.com/xoseperez/espurna
- StavrosK 8y agoI use this in about ten devices (one of which is a custom-built dog feeder) and love it. I hate using closed-source IoT devices and this is a perfect alternative.
- neeleshs 8y agoPlease do tell more! Is there a blog?
- StavrosK 8y agoMy site is at https://www.stavros.io/ https://www.stavros.io/ and various smaller projects at https://www.makerfol.io/stavros/ https://www.makerfol.io/stavros/. The particular dog feeder is mostly my dad's build, I only provided the software and relays to trigger it, so it's not written up anywhere. I can post some photos if you like.
- narag 8y agocustom-built dog feeder You better not hook up to the amplifier. There's a slight possibility for overload. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjX1jU9pQeY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjX1jU9pQeY
- CharlesW 8y ago> Arduino software compatible too. The Moddable JavaScript (ES2017) runtime[1] works great on ESP8266 and ESP32 microcontrollers as well. [1] https://github.com/Moddable-OpenSource/moddable https://github.com/Moddable-OpenSource/moddable
- StavrosK 8y agoI would go with the Lolin D1 mini, it's better designed and has a more convenient form factor, in my opinion.
- carbocation 8y agoHaving worked with a ton of ESP8266 variants, I agree with this. (The D1 Mini Pro has more RAM and is great.) The ESP32 is good out of the box, and can be even better if you need dual core or Bluetooth.
- diafygi 8y agoIs there an hobby equivalent for Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)? Wifi tends to be power hungry for battery-operated devices. With BLE, you can get months of lifespan while still being able to connect to it with your phone. I was looking at the micro:bit, but it's still $15. Anything in the $2 range for BLE?
- makomk 8y agoThere are some cheap nRF51822 modules from China which come close to that price range. You might even be able to get them working with the open source Apache Mynewt stack, though I never got around to trying.
- zokier 8y agoESP32 does BLE
- StavrosK 8y agoTry the ESP32, it might fit the bill, although I've never worked with its Bluetooth capabilities and don't know much about them.
- wybiral 8y agoI've experimented with those ESP32 chips from a few sources on a handful of boards (lots of cheapo knockoffs floating around) and haven't been happy with the performance or reliability of any of them for BLE. So far Nordic nRF52 holds the lead in my experience (they do cost a bit more though).
- jsjohnst 8y agoNordic is good, but STM32 is also affordable and quite decent.
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- samstave 8y agoCan someone ELI5 what can be accomplished with these devices? I am not familiar with them, and the build looks simple - but what do once created? Is it simply a BLE beacon?
- blackfawn 8y agoThe ESP8266 is wifi. The slightly more expensive ESP32 adds Bluetooth and some extra features. You can use them to run mini web server, MQTT, etc. Think of them like a supercharged Arduino with connectivity built in.
- samstave 8y agoAhh - so coupled with whatever sensor you have, you can have a wifi broadcast capability at extreme low cost... So, ostensibly - if you have these all participate in an SSID of e.g. "sensors", then you can place these all over and have a low-cost mechanism to deliver the reads to your (already) existing wifi infra... So the key, then, is the family of sensor types you want to place on them. The limitations in the case of this object are power and size.... So given that - whats the minimum size battery req'd to run this little guy? Then What is the power req of the sensors you attach -- then whats the lifespan of that power budget and then servicability to replace it? I like this... a lot. I have a bunch of BLE sensor beacons from china which cost ~8 but they are dumb as rocks. This provides a heck of a lot more functionality than those... Unless there are gotcha's which I am naive to?
- general8bitso 8y agoBattery depends more on what you are doing. Most boards and sensors use either 5 or 3.3 volts DC. You can put the device in a sleep or hibernate mode and have it only connect to wifi periodically or when triggered. Also, using encryption, like WPA2 increases battery use.
- beardyw 8y agoThe esp8266 module itself runs at 3.3V but seems happy with a couple of AA batteries. Tried with CR3032 but it can't deliver enough current. After all, it is doing WiFi.
- blattimwind 8y agoI don't get why DIY/Maker folks are so extremely bent on finding and buying the cheapest shit from China in every regard of their builds.
- megaremote 8y agoAre you serious? It make it easier for everyone to get into, especially kids. Also makes it so you can use it on small projects that might not work and not worry about it failing, or losing it.
- sokoloff 8y agoOr make it so you just buy a handful of them to have on hand when an idea strikes, when you wonder if you burned up a GPIO, when you want to give one away to a friend or interested kid, when you want a few to talk in a mesh project, etc. Price is a product feature in a lot of cases.
- wybiral 8y agoThe downside is that they tend to be less reliable in terms of obeying the specs and break unexpectedly. I've been doing reviews of different dev boards on my channel and have had to send multiple cheap Chinese boards back because they were broken out of the box and a few others were dead within a few weeks of testing them. For contrast, I have other chips that have lasted for years without issue... And their performance matches the spec (because they aren't cheap knock-off components). You get what you pay for and with the cheapo ones you're usually trading paying a bit more once for paying a bit less multiple times.
- devereaux 8y agoQuantity is a quality on its own
- seangrant 8y agoBecause cost is prohibitive.
- tomcam 8y ago
- NicoJuicy 8y agoI recently found out about Sonoff-Tasmota ( https://github.com/arendst/Sonoff-Tasmota https://github.com/arendst/Sonoff-Tasmota ), i hate it. Because now i bought for 300 € of Sonoff products for home-automation based on the MQTT protocol. (The project allows you to flash the Sonoff products with custom firmware) They also have an IR module, for customizing your remote. Anyone else has other ideas that are similar for home automation without adjusting your electronic wiring?
- whitlock 8y agoLike you hinted, flashing Sonoff-Tasmota firmware on ESP8266 hardware lets you get A LOT of home automation equipment for fairly little. They make many devices and someone getting started should checkout the Sonoff-Tasmota for supported devices AND check out Sonoff. If you don't want to use a Sonoff Basic or maybe the bigger 4 channel option, I'd suggest getting some of their wall adapters like the S31 (think Wemo wall plug). There is a confirmed flash for Sonoff-Tasmota & ESPurna for it and would let someone dip their toes into cheap home automation with MQTT.
- JshWright 8y agoYeah, but on the plus side, if you were buying "polished" products, 300 € would get you a hub and two lightbulbs...
- Z1515M8147 8y agoIt's cheap but what's the 0power consumption? This tutorial from Eric Tsai covers a similar architecture but a lot more extensible, with a lot more explanation, and each end node can be powered from a coin cell for many years: https://www.hackster.io/erictsai/lora-tooth-small-ble-sensors-over-wifi-lora-gateways-0aa109 https://www.hackster.io/erictsai/lora-tooth-small-ble-sensor...
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- albert007_d 8y agoESP-12f module running with tasmota firmware consumes around 30mA when measured on the 5V side, if you want to go further down, deep-sleep option of ESP8266 is the way to go, but tasmota firmware doesnt support deep-sleep(may be you need node-mcu firmware to achieve sub-mA consumption). There are CR-123 3v battery powered ESP8266 temperature/humidity products which use deep-sleep mode and report the sensor samples every hour so that devices operates atleast a year on battery power(check out shelly H&T product)
- shinymark 8y agoThat was a very useful article. Thank you for the link.
- drudru11 8y agoThis is interesting. What chip do ESP12F's have for USB? I did a quick search and nothing came up. Most ESP8266 projects refer to the node mcu board rather than the module. Those boards usually have a USB <-> serial chip.