6 ms·

My dad buys loads of this stuff from eBay and Aliexpress, we got a lot of plastic boxes just filled with modules like this. It's a shame I don't have any ideas

My dad buys loads of this stuff from eBay and Aliexpress, we got a lot of plastic boxes just filled with modules like this. It's a shame I don't have any ideas on what to do with them though, they just sit there doing nothing.

gigel82 5y ago
Son !?
paulkrush 5y ago
Yah, I bet there are 50 other people reading this wondering when their son started posting on HN.
- fnordfnordfnord 5y ago
  My sons aren't named Jason but I still feel called out a little bit.
tlack 5y ago
Here are some quick ideas: 1. Home automation 2. Garden management 3. Vehicle data logger incl OBD2 via CAN 4. Open wifi-based services like a bulletin board for a cafe 5. Mesh sensor network 6. Retro gaming 7. Autonomous vehicle experiments (ESP32 can run TensorFlowLite)
- epx 5y ago
  Any idea if this board supports BLE Mesh? I've been waiting for an affordable platform to play with Mesh (tried ZigBee but didn't like).
fullstop 5y ago
Here's a few things that I made with the esp8266: * Connected an accelerometer and hall effect sensor, used to know when the washing machine is in use and the state of the lid. I taped a magnet to the lid so that it can be sensed with the hall sensor, so no wires are moving / need to be managed. Sends a message if we've left clothes in the wash. * Fish tank lights with WS2812B strips * Water softener brine level sensor using an IR transmitter / receiver in the lid of the brine tank, lets me know when to add salt. * Plant moisture sensor, lets me know when to water. * 1x4 WS2812B lights that we can all use to mark ourselves as on a call, either through a web page or Telegram, so that we know to be quiet because someone is on some sort of video call. If you're using esp32 or esp8266 take a look at esphome.io for ideas -- you can do a ton of stuff without writing much code at all. Most of my projects are done with the Nodemcu framework because I have a soft spot for Lua, but I do use esphome.io to interact with some Mijia BLE temperature and humidity sensors.
- barbazoo 5y ago
  I'm for sure going to copy your first one, thanks for sharing.
  - fullstop 5y ago
    Good luck! I used a SS441R hall sensor. You don't need to use an ADC or anything like that since the output is the same level as what would be needed for GPIO and you can use an edge trigger interrupt to know when the state has changed. The accelerometer is a GY-521 breakout board. It was a little tricker to work with because orientation is important and they are sensitive. Different cycles on my washer result in different vibration patterns, and the "bulky" setting rests for several minutes with no motion. Overall, it's the one project which gets used the most and has saved us from having to re-wash stuff because it was forgotten and got kinda funky. Best of luck!
- blackfawn 5y ago
  Care to elaborate more on the IR sensor for a water softener? I had thought of doing something similar but with ultrasonic for level. I'm curious what you are doing with IR. I suppose resistance could be used based on dissolved salt but I like the non-contact options, when possible.
  - fullstop 5y ago
    Sure, it's purely optical. I don't know if this was the exact sensor since I salvaged it off of something else, but it was something like this one: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075FPR2VX/ https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075FPR2VX/ It's hooked up to the ADC of the ESP8266, and thankfully the output was between 0 and 3.3V since that's the range that the Wemos D1 boards can accept, as they have a built in voltage divider. It's measuring the distance between the lid and whatever reflects the IR back.
- Abundnce10 5y ago
  I love these ideas! I've always wanted to do home automation stuff but I worry about sending data to outside parties. Do you happen to know if Home Assistant monitors the things you have installed and/or keep track of the data your devices pass to each other?
triangleman 5y ago
The question is, if you did grab a box and tried to do something with it, how would your dad react?
zoomablemind 5y ago
> ... It's a shame I don't have any ideas on what to do with them though, they just sit there doing nothing. You've got the supply, that's good! Now, if you have the interest, then asking your dad to show how these components could be practically used for something interesting could as well be a beginning of a wonderful journey. Perhaps, your dad just needs such a signal from you. In my own experience, Snap Circuits set is currently providing this journey.
- jason0597 5y ago
  Oh I have interest in this stuff, it's just that it's pretty much useless for an engineering career. Plus, you can't really make any profit because a Chinese inventor will just copy your idea and scale it up and drive you out of whatever market you make. To be honest I understand more on how these components work than my dad does, he usually just clicks on the first results on Google and glues together Arduino/Hackaday projects. Whenever I talk to him about doing real low level stuff and writing actual drivers, it always goes over his head.
zoomablemind 5y ago
One of many resources about ESP32 and a quite informative overview of ESP32 realm is https://randomnerdtutorials.com/projects-esp32/ https://randomnerdtutorials.com/projects-esp32/ It also shows examples of projects to learn the use of the board.
toast0 5y ago
I've got 5 esp8266 based temperature/humidity probes hanging out around the house and collecting data once a minute. At some point, I'm going to use that to better control my central HVAC systems (mostly I want to run the fan more strategically), and alert on bad conditions. Also, another two to use as an alternative controller (with opensource firmware) on a video conversion board; but I only installed one, because it didn't satisfy my hopes.

gigel82 5y ago

Son !?

paulkrush 5y ago

Yah, I bet there are 50 other people reading this wondering when their son started posting on HN.

fnordfnordfnord 5y ago
My sons aren't named Jason but I still feel called out a little bit.

tlack 5y ago

Here are some quick ideas: 1. Home automation 2. Garden management 3. Vehicle data logger incl OBD2 via CAN 4. Open wifi-based services like a bulletin board for a cafe 5. Mesh sensor network 6. Retro gaming 7. Autonomous vehicle experiments (ESP32 can run TensorFlowLite)

epx 5y ago
Any idea if this board supports BLE Mesh? I've been waiting for an affordable platform to play with Mesh (tried ZigBee but didn't like).

fullstop 5y ago

Here's a few things that I made with the esp8266: * Connected an accelerometer and hall effect sensor, used to know when the washing machine is in use and the state of the lid. I taped a magnet to the lid so that it can be sensed with the hall sensor, so no wires are moving / need to be managed. Sends a message if we've left clothes in the wash. * Fish tank lights with WS2812B strips * Water softener brine level sensor using an IR transmitter / receiver in the lid of the brine tank, lets me know when to add salt. * Plant moisture sensor, lets me know when to water. * 1x4 WS2812B lights that we can all use to mark ourselves as on a call, either through a web page or Telegram, so that we know to be quiet because someone is on some sort of video call. If you're using esp32 or esp8266 take a look at esphome.io for ideas -- you can do a ton of stuff without writing much code at all. Most of my projects are done with the Nodemcu framework because I have a soft spot for Lua, but I do use esphome.io to interact with some Mijia BLE temperature and humidity sensors.

barbazoo 5y ago
I'm for sure going to copy your first one, thanks for sharing.
- fullstop 5y ago
  Good luck! I used a SS441R hall sensor. You don't need to use an ADC or anything like that since the output is the same level as what would be needed for GPIO and you can use an edge trigger interrupt to know when the state has changed. The accelerometer is a GY-521 breakout board. It was a little tricker to work with because orientation is important and they are sensitive. Different cycles on my washer result in different vibration patterns, and the "bulky" setting rests for several minutes with no motion. Overall, it's the one project which gets used the most and has saved us from having to re-wash stuff because it was forgotten and got kinda funky. Best of luck!
blackfawn 5y ago
Care to elaborate more on the IR sensor for a water softener? I had thought of doing something similar but with ultrasonic for level. I'm curious what you are doing with IR. I suppose resistance could be used based on dissolved salt but I like the non-contact options, when possible.
- fullstop 5y ago
  Sure, it's purely optical. I don't know if this was the exact sensor since I salvaged it off of something else, but it was something like this one: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075FPR2VX/ https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075FPR2VX/ It's hooked up to the ADC of the ESP8266, and thankfully the output was between 0 and 3.3V since that's the range that the Wemos D1 boards can accept, as they have a built in voltage divider. It's measuring the distance between the lid and whatever reflects the IR back.
Abundnce10 5y ago
I love these ideas! I've always wanted to do home automation stuff but I worry about sending data to outside parties. Do you happen to know if Home Assistant monitors the things you have installed and/or keep track of the data your devices pass to each other?

triangleman 5y ago

The question is, if you did grab a box and tried to do something with it, how would your dad react?

zoomablemind 5y ago

> ... It's a shame I don't have any ideas on what to do with them though, they just sit there doing nothing. You've got the supply, that's good! Now, if you have the interest, then asking your dad to show how these components could be practically used for something interesting could as well be a beginning of a wonderful journey. Perhaps, your dad just needs such a signal from you. In my own experience, Snap Circuits set is currently providing this journey.

jason0597 5y ago
Oh I have interest in this stuff, it's just that it's pretty much useless for an engineering career. Plus, you can't really make any profit because a Chinese inventor will just copy your idea and scale it up and drive you out of whatever market you make. To be honest I understand more on how these components work than my dad does, he usually just clicks on the first results on Google and glues together Arduino/Hackaday projects. Whenever I talk to him about doing real low level stuff and writing actual drivers, it always goes over his head.

zoomablemind 5y ago

One of many resources about ESP32 and a quite informative overview of ESP32 realm is https://randomnerdtutorials.com/projects-esp32/ https://randomnerdtutorials.com/projects-esp32/ It also shows examples of projects to learn the use of the board.

toast0 5y ago

I've got 5 esp8266 based temperature/humidity probes hanging out around the house and collecting data once a minute. At some point, I'm going to use that to better control my central HVAC systems (mostly I want to run the fan more strategically), and alert on bad conditions. Also, another two to use as an alternative controller (with opensource firmware) on a video conversion board; but I only installed one, because it didn't satisfy my hopes.