Tag Archives: 915MHz

TinyCLR OS LoRa library Part4

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Transmit Basic

I had a couple of Armtronix IA005 SX1276 loRa nodes sitting on my desk from a recent post so I used one of them running a modified version of the Arduino LoRa library LoRaSetSyncWord example to receive messages from my device.

Armtronix and FEZT18-N TinyCLR testrig
/*
  LoRa Duplex communication with Sync Word
 
  Sends a message every half second, and polls continually
  for new incoming messages. Sets the LoRa radio's Sync Word.
 
  Spreading factor is basically the radio's network ID. Radios with different
  Sync Words will not receive each other's transmissions. This is one way you
  can filter out radios you want to ignore, without making an addressing scheme.
 
  See the Semtech datasheet, http://www.semtech.com/images/datasheet/sx1276.pdf
  for more on Sync Word.
 
  created 28 April 2017
  by Tom Igoe
*/
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <LoRa.h>
const int csPin = PA4;          // LoRa radio chip select
const int resetPin = PC13;       // LoRa radio reset
const int irqPin = PA11;         // change for your board; must be a hardware interrupt pin
 
byte msgCount = 0;            // count of outgoing messages
int interval = 2000;          // interval between sends
long lastSendTime = 0;        // time of last packet send
 
void setup() {
  Serial.begin(9600);                   // initialize serial
  while (!Serial);
 
  Serial.println("LoRa Duplex - Set sync word");
 
  // override the default CS, reset, and IRQ pins (optional)
  LoRa.setPins(csPin, resetPin, irqPin);// set CS, reset, IRQ pin
 
  if (!LoRa.begin(915E6)) {             // initialize ratio at 915 MHz
    Serial.println("LoRa init failed. Check your connections.");
    while (true);                       // if failed, do nothing
  }
 
  LoRa.setSyncWord(0x12);           // ranges from 0-0xFF, default 0x34, see API docs
 
  LoRa.dumpRegisters(Serial);
  Serial.println("LoRa init succeeded.");
}
 
void loop() {
  if (millis() - lastSendTime > interval) {
    String message = "HeLoRa World! ";   // send a message
    message += msgCount;
    sendMessage(message);
    Serial.println("Sending " + message);
    lastSendTime = millis();            // timestamp the message
    interval = random(1000) + 10000;    // 10-11 seconds
    msgCount++;
  }
 
  // parse for a packet, and call onReceive with the result:
  onReceive(LoRa.parsePacket());
}
 
void sendMessage(String outgoing) {
  LoRa.beginPacket();                   // start packet
  LoRa.print(outgoing);                 // add payload
  LoRa.endPacket();                     // finish packet and send it
  msgCount++;                           // increment message ID
}
 
void onReceive(int packetSize) {
  if (packetSize == 0) return;          // if there's no packet, return
 
  // read packet header bytes:
  String incoming = "";
 
  while (LoRa.available()) {
    incoming += (char)LoRa.read();
  }
 
  Serial.println("Message: " + incoming);
  Serial.println("RSSI: " + String(LoRa.packetRssi()));
  Serial.println("Snr: " + String(LoRa.packetSnr()));
  Serial.println();
}

The FEZT-18N application

   class Program
   {
      static void Main()
      {
         Rfm9XDevice rfm9XDevice = new Rfm9XDevice(FEZ.GpioPin.D10, FEZ.GpioPin.D9);
         int SendCount = 0;

         // Put device into LoRa + Sleep mode
         rfm9XDevice.RegisterWriteByte(0x01, 0b10000000); // RegOpMode 

         // Set the frequency to 915MHz
         byte[] frequencyWriteBytes = { 0xE4, 0xC0, 0x00 }; // RegFrMsb, RegFrMid, RegFrLsb
         rfm9XDevice.RegisterWrite(0x06, frequencyWriteBytes);

         // More power PA Boost
         rfm9XDevice.RegisterWriteByte(0x09, 0b10000000); // RegPaConfig

         while (true)
         {
            rfm9XDevice.RegisterWriteByte(0x0E, 0x0); // RegFifoTxBaseAddress 

            // Set the Register Fifo address pointer
            rfm9XDevice.RegisterWriteByte(0x0D, 0x0); // RegFifoAddrPtr 

            string messageText = $"Hello LoRa {SendCount += 1}!";
               
            // load the message into the fifo
            byte[] messageBytes = UTF8Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes(messageText);
            rfm9XDevice.RegisterWrite(0x0, messageBytes); // RegFifo

            // Set the length of the message in the fifo
            rfm9XDevice.RegisterWriteByte(0x22, (byte)messageBytes.Length); // RegPayloadLength

            Debug.WriteLine($"Sending {messageBytes.Length} bytes message {messageText}");
            /// Set the mode to LoRa + Transmit
            rfm9XDevice.RegisterWriteByte(0x01, 0b10000011); // RegOpMode 

            // Wait until send done, no timeouts in PoC
            Debug.WriteLine("Send-wait");
            byte IrqFlags = rfm9XDevice.RegisterReadByte(0x12); // RegIrqFlags
            while ((IrqFlags & 0b00001000) == 0)  // wait until TxDone cleared
            {
               Thread.Sleep(10);
               IrqFlags = rfm9XDevice.RegisterReadByte(0x12); // RegIrqFlags
               Debug.WriteLine(".");
            }
            rfm9XDevice.RegisterWriteByte(0x12, 0b00001000); // clear TxDone bit
            Debug.WriteLine("Send-Done");

            Thread.Sleep(30000);
         }
      }

When I ran the FEZ application in Visual Studio

'GHIElectronics.TinyCLR.VisualStudio.ProjectSystem.dll' (Managed): Loaded 'C:\Users\BrynLewis\source\repos\RFM9X.TinyCLR\TransmitBasic\bin\Debug\pe\..\GHIElectronics.TinyCLR.Native.dll'
'GHIElectronics.TinyCLR.VisualStudio.ProjectSystem.dll' (Managed): Loaded 'C:\Users\BrynLewis\source\repos\RFM9X.TinyCLR\TransmitBasic\bin\Debug\pe\..\GHIElectronics.TinyCLR.Devices.Gpio.dll'
'GHIElectronics.TinyCLR.VisualStudio.ProjectSystem.dll' (Managed): Loaded 'C:\Users\BrynLewis\source\repos\RFM9X.TinyCLR\TransmitBasic\bin\Debug\pe\..\GHIElectronics.TinyCLR.Devices.Spi.dll'
'GHIElectronics.TinyCLR.VisualStudio.ProjectSystem.dll' (Managed): Loaded 'C:\Users\BrynLewis\source\repos\RFM9X.TinyCLR\TransmitBasic\bin\Debug\pe\..\TransmitBasic.exe', Symbols loaded.
The thread '<No Name>' (0x2) has exited with code 0 (0x0).
Sending 13 bytes message Hello LoRa 1!
Send-wait
.
.
.
.
Send-Done
Sending 13 bytes message Hello LoRa 2!
Send-wait
.
.
.
.
Send-Done
Sending 13 bytes message Hello LoRa 3!
Send-wait
.
.
.
.
Send-Done
Sending 13 bytes message Hello LoRa 4!
Send-wait
.
.
.
.
Send-Done
Sending 13 bytes message Hello LoRa 5!
Send-wait
.
.
.
.
Send-Done

I could the see the messages arriving at the Armtronix device in the Arduino monitor.

19:22:28.445 -> Message: Hello LoRa 1!
19:22:28.445 -> RSSI: -36
19:22:28.479 -> Snr: 9.50
19:22:28.479 ->
19:22:29.362 -> Sending HeLoRa World! 48
19:22:40.390 -> Sending HeLoRa World! 50
19:22:50.654 -> Sending HeLoRa World! 52
19:22:58.484 -> Message: Hello LoRa 2!
19:22:58.484 -> RSSI: -36
19:22:58.553 -> Snr: 9.25
19:22:58.553 ->
19:23:01.254 -> Sending HeLoRa World! 54
19:23:11.873 -> Sending HeLoRa World! 56
19:23:22.103 -> Sending HeLoRa World! 58
19:23:28.558 -> Message: Hello LoRa 3!
19:23:28.558 -> RSSI: -31
19:23:28.592 -> Snr: 9.75
19:23:28.592 ->
19:23:32.307 -> Sending HeLoRa World! 60
19:23:42.929 -> Sending HeLoRa World! 62
19:23:53.392 -> Sending HeLoRa World! 64
19:23:58.622 -> Message: Hello LoRa 4!
19:23:58.622 -> RSSI: -36
19:23:58.655 -> Snr: 9.75
19:23:58.655 ->
19:24:03.629 -> Sending HeLoRa World! 66
19:24:14.299 -> Sending HeLoRa World! 68
19:24:24.989 -> Sending HeLoRa World! 70

This PoC code is getting a bit nasty with magic numbers and no error checking. The next step is getting a basic packet receive working…

Meadow LoRa Radio 915 MHz Payload Addressing client

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This is a demo Wilderness Labs Meadow client that uploads temperature and humidity data to my Azure IoT Hubs/Central, AdaFruit.IO or MQTT on Raspberry PI field gateways.

Bill of materials (Prices Jan 2020).

//---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
// Copyright (c) January 2020, devMobile Software
//
// Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
// you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
// You may obtain a copy of the License at
//
//     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
//
// Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
// distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
// WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
// See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
// limitations under the License.
//
//---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
namespace devMobile.IoT.FieldGateway.Client
{
   using System;
   using System.Text;
   using System.Threading;

   using devMobile.IoT.Rfm9x;

   using Meadow;
   using Meadow.Devices;
   using Meadow.Foundation.Leds;
   using Meadow.Foundation.Sensors.Atmospheric;
   using Meadow.Hardware;
   using Meadow.Peripherals.Leds;

   public class MeadowClient : App<F7Micro, MeadowClient>
   {
      private const double Frequency = 915000000.0;
      private readonly byte[] fieldGatewayAddress = Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes("LoRaIoT1");
      private readonly byte[] deviceAddress = Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes("Meadow");
      private readonly Rfm9XDevice rfm9XDevice;
      private readonly TimeSpan periodTime = new TimeSpan(0, 0, 60);
      private readonly Sht31D sensor;
      private readonly ILed Led;

      public MeadowClient()
      {
         Led = new Led(Device, Device.Pins.OnboardLedGreen);

         try
         {
            sensor = new Sht31D(Device.CreateI2cBus());

            ISpiBus spiBus = Device.CreateSpiBus(500);

            rfm9XDevice = new Rfm9XDevice(Device, spiBus, Device.Pins.D09, Device.Pins.D10, Device.Pins.D12);

            rfm9XDevice.Initialise(Frequency, paBoost: true, rxPayloadCrcOn: true);
#if DEBUG
            rfm9XDevice.RegisterDump();
#endif
            rfm9XDevice.OnReceive += Rfm9XDevice_OnReceive;
            rfm9XDevice.Receive(deviceAddress);
            rfm9XDevice.OnTransmit += Rfm9XDevice_OnTransmit;
         }
         catch (Exception ex)
         {
            Console.WriteLine(ex.Message);
         }

         while (true)
         {
            sensor.Update();

            Console.WriteLine($"{DateTime.UtcNow:HH:mm:ss}-TX T:{sensor.Temperature:0.0}C H:{sensor.Humidity:0}%");

            string payload = $"t {sensor.Temperature:0.0},h {sensor.Humidity:0}";

            Led.IsOn = true;

            rfm9XDevice.Send(fieldGatewayAddress, Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes(payload));

            Thread.Sleep(periodTime);
         }
      }

      private void Rfm9XDevice_OnReceive(object sender, Rfm9XDevice.OnDataReceivedEventArgs e)
      {
         try
         {
            string addressText = UTF8Encoding.UTF8.GetString(e.Address);
            string addressHex = BitConverter.ToString(e.Address);
            string messageText = UTF8Encoding.UTF8.GetString(e.Data);

            Console.WriteLine($"{DateTime.UtcNow:HH:mm:ss}-RX PacketSnr {e.PacketSnr:0.0} Packet RSSI {e.PacketRssi}dBm RSSI {e.Rssi}dBm = {e.Data.Length} byte message {messageText}");
         }
         catch (Exception ex)
         {
            Console.WriteLine(ex.Message);
         }
      }

      private void Rfm9XDevice_OnTransmit(object sender, Rfm9XDevice.OnDataTransmitedEventArgs e)
      {
         Led.IsOn = false;

         Console.WriteLine("{0:HH:mm:ss}-TX Done", DateTime.Now);
      }
   }
}

The Meadow platform is a work in progress (Jan 2020) so I haven’t put any effort into minimising power consumption but will revisit this in a future post.

Meadow device with Seeedstudio SHT31 temperature & humidity sensor
Meadow sensor data in Field Gateway ETW logging
Meadow Sensor data in Azure IoT Central

RFM9X.Meadow on Github

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After a month or so of posts the source code of V1.0 of my Wilderness Labs Meadow RFM9X/SX127X library is on GitHub. I included all of the source for my test harness and proof of concept(PoC) application so other people can follow along with “my meadow learning experience”.

I initially started with a Dragino LoRa Shield for Arduino and jumper cables. I did this so only the pins I was using on the shield were connected to the Meadow.

Dragino LoRa Shield for Arduino based test harness

I then moved to an Adafruit LoRa Radio FeatherWing RFM95W 900MHz RadioFruit and Adafruit LoRa Radio FeatherWing – RFM95W 433 MHz – RadioFruit.

Adafruit FeatherWing based test harness

Using the jumper configuration above, the RFM9X constructor parameters are

  • Chip Select D9 (yellow wire)
  • Reset Pin D10 (grey wire)
  • Interrupt pin D12 (brown wire)
//---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
// Copyright (c) January 2020, devMobile Software
//
// Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
// you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
// You may obtain a copy of the License at
//
//     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
//
// Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
// distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
// WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
// See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
// limitations under the License.
//
//---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
namespace devMobile.IoT.Rfm9x.LoRaDeviceClient
{
   using System;
   using System.Diagnostics;
   using System.Text;
   using System.Threading.Tasks;

   using Meadow;
   using Meadow.Devices;
   using Meadow.Hardware;

   public class MeadowApp : App<F7Micro, MeadowApp>
   {
      private const double Frequency = 915000000.0;
      private byte MessageCount = Byte.MaxValue;
      private Rfm9XDevice rfm9XDevice;

      public MeadowApp()
      {
         try
         {
            ISpiBus spiBus = Device.CreateSpiBus(500);
            if (spiBus == null)
            {
               Console.WriteLine("spiBus == null");
            }
            rfm9XDevice = new Rfm9XDevice(Device, spiBus, Device.Pins.D09, Device.Pins.D10, Device.Pins.D12);

            rfm9XDevice.Initialise(Frequency, paBoost: true, rxPayloadCrcOn: true);
#if DEBUG
            rfm9XDevice.RegisterDump();
#endif

            rfm9XDevice.OnReceive += Rfm9XDevice_OnReceive;
#if ADDRESSED_MESSAGES_PAYLOAD
            rfm9XDevice.Receive(UTF8Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes("AddressHere"));
#else
            rfm9XDevice.Receive();
#endif
            rfm9XDevice.OnTransmit += Rfm9XDevice_OnTransmit;
         }
         catch (Exception ex)
         {
            Console.WriteLine(ex.Message);
         }

         Task.Delay(10000).Wait();

         while (true)
         {
            string messageText = string.Format("Hello from {0} ! {1}", Environment.MachineName, MessageCount);
            MessageCount -= 2;

            byte[] messageBytes = UTF8Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes(messageText);
            Console.WriteLine("{0:HH:mm:ss}-TX {1} byte message {2}", DateTime.Now, messageBytes.Length, messageText);
#if ADDRESSED_MESSAGES_PAYLOAD
            this.rfm9XDevice.Send(UTF8Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes("AddressHere"), messageBytes);
#else
            this.rfm9XDevice.Send(messageBytes);
#endif
            Task.Delay(10000).Wait();
         }
      }

      private void Rfm9XDevice_OnReceive(object sender, Rfm9XDevice.OnDataReceivedEventArgs e)
      {
         try
         {
            string messageText = UTF8Encoding.UTF8.GetString(e.Data);

#if ADDRESSED_MESSAGES_PAYLOAD
            string addressText = UTF8Encoding.UTF8.GetString(e.Address);

            Console.WriteLine(@"{0:HH:mm:ss}-RX From {1} PacketSnr {2:0.0} Packet RSSI {3}dBm RSSI {4}dBm = {5} byte message ""{6}""", DateTime.Now, addressText, e.PacketSnr, e.PacketRssi, e.Rssi, e.Data.Length, messageText);
#else
            Console.WriteLine(@"{0:HH:mm:ss}-RX PacketSnr {1:0.0} Packet RSSI {2}dBm RSSI {3}dBm = {4} byte message ""{5}""", DateTime.Now, e.PacketSnr, e.PacketRssi, e.Rssi, e.Data.Length, messageText);
#endif
         }
         catch (Exception ex)
         {
            Console.WriteLine(ex.Message);
         }
      }

      private void Rfm9XDevice_OnTransmit(object sender, Rfm9XDevice.OnDataTransmitedEventArgs e)
      {
         Console.WriteLine("{0:HH:mm:ss}-TX Done", DateTime.Now);
      }
   }
}

My library works but some issues (Dec 2019) with the Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) ReadRegister method, Debug.WriteLine and Console.WriteLine mean it should be treated as late beta.

The wilderness labs developers are regularly releasing updates which I will test with as soon as they are available.

.Net Meadow RFM95/96/97/98 LoRa library Part4

Posted on by

Transmit Basic

I had a couple of Armtronix IA005 SX1276 loRa nodes sitting on my desk from a recent post so I used one of them running a modified version of the Arduino LoRa library LoRaSetSyncWord example to receive messages from my Meadow device.

/*
  LoRa Duplex communication with Sync Word
 
  Sends a message every half second, and polls continually
  for new incoming messages. Sets the LoRa radio's Sync Word.
 
  Spreading factor is basically the radio's network ID. Radios with different
  Sync Words will not receive each other's transmissions. This is one way you
  can filter out radios you want to ignore, without making an addressing scheme.
 
  See the Semtech datasheet, http://www.semtech.com/images/datasheet/sx1276.pdf
  for more on Sync Word.
 
  created 28 April 2017
  by Tom Igoe
*/
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <LoRa.h>
const int csPin = PA4;          // LoRa radio chip select
const int resetPin = PC13;       // LoRa radio reset
const int irqPin = PA11;         // change for your board; must be a hardware interrupt pin
 
byte msgCount = 0;            // count of outgoing messages
int interval = 2000;          // interval between sends
long lastSendTime = 0;        // time of last packet send
 
void setup() {
  Serial.begin(9600);                   // initialize serial
  while (!Serial);
 
  Serial.println("LoRa Duplex - Set sync word");
 
  // override the default CS, reset, and IRQ pins (optional)
  LoRa.setPins(csPin, resetPin, irqPin);// set CS, reset, IRQ pin
 
  if (!LoRa.begin(915E6)) {             // initialize ratio at 915 MHz
    Serial.println("LoRa init failed. Check your connections.");
    while (true);                       // if failed, do nothing
  }
 
  LoRa.setSyncWord(0x12);           // ranges from 0-0xFF, default 0x34, see API docs
 
  LoRa.dumpRegisters(Serial);
  Serial.println("LoRa init succeeded.");
}
 
void loop() {
  if (millis() - lastSendTime > interval) {
    String message = "HeLoRa World! ";   // send a message
    message += msgCount;
    sendMessage(message);
    Serial.println("Sending " + message);
    lastSendTime = millis();            // timestamp the message
    interval = random(1000) + 10000;    // 10-11 seconds
    msgCount++;
  }
 
  // parse for a packet, and call onReceive with the result:
  onReceive(LoRa.parsePacket());
}
 
void sendMessage(String outgoing) {
  LoRa.beginPacket();                   // start packet
  LoRa.print(outgoing);                 // add payload
  LoRa.endPacket();                     // finish packet and send it
  msgCount++;                           // increment message ID
}
 
void onReceive(int packetSize) {
  if (packetSize == 0) return;          // if there's no packet, return
 
  // read packet header bytes:
  String incoming = "";
 
  while (LoRa.available()) {
    incoming += (char)LoRa.read();
  }
 
  Serial.println("Message: " + incoming);
  Serial.println("RSSI: " + String(LoRa.packetRssi()));
  Serial.println("Snr: " + String(LoRa.packetSnr()));
  Serial.println();
}

The Meadow application

	public class MeadowApp : App<F7Micro, MeadowApp>
	{
		private Rfm9XDevice rfm9XDevice;

		public MeadowApp()
		{
			ISpiBus spiBus = Device.CreateSpiBus(500);
			if (spiBus == null)
			{
				Console.WriteLine("spiBus == null");
			}

			rfm9XDevice = new Rfm9XDevice(Device, spiBus, Device.Pins.D09, Device.Pins.D11);

			// Put device into LoRa + Sleep mode
			rfm9XDevice.RegisterWriteByte(0x01, 0b10000000); // RegOpMode 

			// Set the frequency to 915MHz
			byte[] frequencyWriteBytes = { 0xE4, 0xC0, 0x00 }; // RegFrMsb, RegFrMid, RegFrLsb
			rfm9XDevice.RegisterWrite(0x06, frequencyWriteBytes);

			// More power PA Boost
			rfm9XDevice.RegisterWriteByte(0x09, 0b10000000); // RegPaConfig

			while (true)
			{
				rfm9XDevice.RegisterWriteByte(0x0E, 0x0); // RegFifoTxBaseAddress 

				// Set the Register Fifo address pointer
				rfm9XDevice.RegisterWriteByte(0x0D, 0x0); // RegFifoAddrPtr 

				string messageText = "Hello LoRa!";

				// load the message into the fifo
				byte[] messageBytes = UTF8Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes(messageText);
				foreach (byte b in messageBytes)
				{
					rfm9XDevice.RegisterWriteByte(0x0, b); // RegFifo
				}

				// Set the length of the message in the fifo
				rfm9XDevice.RegisterWriteByte(0x22, (byte)messageBytes.Length); // RegPayloadLength

				Console.WriteLine("Sending {0} bytes message {1}", messageBytes.Length, messageText);
				/// Set the mode to LoRa + Transmit
				rfm9XDevice.RegisterWriteByte(0x01, 0b10000011); // RegOpMode 

				// Wait until send done, no timeouts in PoC
				Console.WriteLine("Send-wait");
				byte IrqFlags = rfm9XDevice.RegisterReadByte(0x12); // RegIrqFlags
				while ((IrqFlags & 0b00001000) == 0)  // wait until TxDone cleared
				{
					Task.Delay(10).Wait();
					IrqFlags = rfm9XDevice.RegisterReadByte(0x12); // RegIrqFlags
					Console.Write(".");
				}
				Console.WriteLine("");
				rfm9XDevice.RegisterWriteByte(0x12, 0b00001000); // clear TxDone bit
				Console.WriteLine("Send-Done");

				Task.Delay(30000).Wait();
			}
		}

When I ran the meadow application after some messing around with the jumper wires.

'App.exe' (CLR v4.0.30319: DefaultDomain): Loaded 'C:\WINDOWS\Microsoft.Net\assembly\GAC_64\mscorlib\v4.0_4.0.0.0__b77a5c561934e089\mscorlib.dll'. 
'App.exe' (CLR v4.0.30319: DefaultDomain): Loaded 'C:\Users\BrynLewis\source\repos\RFM9X.Meadow\TransmitBasic\bin\Debug\net472\App.exe'. Symbols loaded.
'App.exe' (CLR v4.0.30319: App.exe): Loaded 'C:\Users\BrynLewis\source\repos\RFM9X.Meadow\TransmitBasic\bin\Debug\net472\Meadow.dll'. 
The program '[37572] App.exe: Program Trace' has exited with code 0 (0x0).
The program '[37572] App.exe' has exited with code 0 (0x0).
.
.
DirectRegisterAccess = True
.
.
Sending 11 bytes message Hello LoRa!
Send-wait
Send-Done
Sending 11 bytes message Hello LoRa!
Send-wait
.
Send-Done

I could the see the messages arriving at the Armtronix device in the Arduino monitor (the other messages in the monitor are my solar powered weather station and soil moisture monitoring node).

12:47:55.198 -> Sending HeLoRa World! 10
12:48:05.745 -> Sending HeLoRa World! 12
12:48:06.663 -> Message: ⸮LoRaIoT1Maduino2at 85.8,ah 19,wsa 5,wsg 8,wd 123.38,r 0.00,
12:48:06.730 -> RSSI: -71
12:48:06.730 -> Snr: 10.00
12:48:06.730 ->
12:48:08.770 -> Message: Hello LoRa!
12:48:08.770 -> RSSI: -47
12:48:08.804 -> Snr: 9.00
12:48:08.804 ->
12:48:16.555 -> Sending HeLoRa World! 14
12:48:26.847 -> Sending HeLoRa World! 16
12:48:37.154 -> Sending HeLoRa World! 18
12:48:39.469 -> Message: Hello LoRa!
12:48:39.469 -> RSSI: -46
12:48:39.536 -> Snr: 9.00
12:48:39.536 ->
12:48:47.311 -> Sending HeLoRa World! 20
12:48:58.094 -> Sending HeLoRa World! 22
12:49:07.748 -> Message: ⸮LoRaIoT1Maduino2at 86.0,ah 19,wsa 5,wsg 15,wd 155.63,r 0.00,
12:49:07.817 -> RSSI: -71
12:49:07.817 -> Snr: 9.50
12:49:07.817 ->
12:49:08.464 -> Sending HeLoRa World! 24
12:49:10.097 -> Message: Hello LoRa!
12:49:10.097 -> RSSI: -46
12:49:10.130 -> Snr: 9.75
12:49:10.130 ->
12:49:19.373 -> Sending HeLoRa World! 26
12:49:30.125 -> Sending HeLoRa World! 28
12:49:40.262 -> Sending HeLoRa World! 30
12:49:40.671 -> Message: Hello LoRa!
12:49:40.671 -> RSSI: -46
12:49:40.705 -> Snr: 9.25
12:49:40.705 ->
12:49:50.725 -> Sending HeLoRa World! 32
12:50:01.081 -> Sending HeLoRa World! 34
12:50:08.800 -> Message: ⸮LoRaIoT1Maduino2at 85.6,ah 19,wsa 5,wsg 11,wd 159.00,r 0.00,
12:50:08.868 -> RSSI: -72
12:50:08.868 -> Snr: 10.00
12:50:08.868 ->
12:50:11.219 -> Message: Hello LoRa!
12:50:11.219 -> RSSI: -46
12:50:11.252 -> Snr: 9.25
12:50:11.252 ->
12:50:11.526 -> Sending HeLoRa World! 36
12:50:21.731 -> Sending HeLoRa World! 38
12:50:32.696 -> Sending HeLoRa World! 40
12:50:41.741 -> Message: Hello LoRa!
12:50:41.741 -> RSSI: -46
12:50:41.775 -> Snr: 9.25
12:50:41.775 ->
12:50:43.685 -> Sending HeLoRa World! 42
12:50:54.566 -> Sending HeLoRa World! 44
12:51:05.604 -> Sending HeLoRa World! 46
12:51:09.852 -> Message: ⸮LoRaIoT1Maduino2at 85.3,ah 19,wsa 2,wsg 8,wd 150.75,r 0.00,
12:51:09.954 -> RSSI: -71
12:51:09.954 -> Snr: 9.50
12:51:09.954 ->
12:51:12.400 -> Message: Hello LoRa!
12:51:12.400 -> RSSI: -46
12:51:12.433 -> Snr: 9.00
12:51:12.433 ->
12:51:16.511 -> Sending HeLoRa World! 48
12:51:27.530 -> Sending HeLoRa World! 50
12:51:37.796 -> Sending HeLoRa World! 52
12:51:42.968 -> Message: Hello LoRa!
12:51:42.968 -> RSSI: -45
12:51:43.003 -> Snr: 9.25
12:51:43.003 ->
12:51:48.389 -> Sending HeLoRa World! 54
12:51:59.052 -> Sending HeLoRa World! 56
12:52:09.251 -> Sending HeLoRa World! 58
12:52:10.912 -> Message: ⸮LoRaIoT1Maduino2at 85.1,ah 19,wsa 2,wsg 6,wd 84.00,r 0.00,
12:52:11.013 -> RSSI: -70
12:52:11.013 -> Snr: 9.75
12:52:11.013 ->
12:52:13.546 -> Message: Hello LoRa!
12:52:13.546 -> RSSI: -46
12:52:13.581 -> Snr: 9.75
12:52:13.581 ->

This PoC code is getting a bit nasty with magic numbers and no error checking. The next step is getting a basic packet receive working…

.Net Meadow RFM95/96/97/98 LoRa library Part1

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After writing Windows 10 IoT Core & .NetMF RFM9X libraries I figured a port to a Wilderness Labs Meadow device shouldn’t be “rocket science”.

To get started I used a Dragino LoRa shield for Arduino which looked compatible with my Meadow device.

Dragino shield schematic

The shield ships with the SPI lines configured for ICSP so the three jumpers diagonally across the shield from the antenna connector need to be swapped to the side closest to the edge of the shield.

Dragino Arduino shield based test harness
//---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
// Copyright (c) Dec 2019, devMobile Software
//
// Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
// you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
// You may obtain a copy of the License at
//
//     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
//
// Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
// distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
// WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
// See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
// limitations under the License.
//
//---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
namespace devMobile.IoT.Rfm9x
{
   using System;
   using System.Threading.Tasks;
   using Meadow;
   using Meadow.Devices;
   using Meadow.Hardware;

   public class MeadowApp : App<F7Micro, MeadowApp>
   {
      const byte RegVersion = 0x42;
      ISpiBus spiBus;
      SpiPeripheral sx127xDevice;
      IDigitalOutputPort spiPeriphChipSelect;

      public MeadowApp()
      {
         ConfigureSpiPort();
         //ReadDeviceID();
         ReadDeviceIDDiy();
      }

      public void ConfigureSpiPort()
      {
         try
         {
            spiBus = Device.CreateSpiBus(500);
            if (spiBus == null)
            {
               Console.WriteLine("spiBus == null");
            }

            Console.WriteLine("Creating SPI NSS Port...");
            spiPeriphChipSelect = Device.CreateDigitalOutputPort(Device.Pins.D09);
            if (spiPeriphChipSelect == null)
            {
               Console.WriteLine("spiPeriphChipSelect == null");
            }
   
            Console.WriteLine("sx127xDevice Device...");
            sx127xDevice = new SpiPeripheral(spiBus, spiPeriphChipSelect);
            if (sx127xDevice == null)
            {
               Console.WriteLine("sx127xDevice == null");
            }

            Console.WriteLine("ConfigureSpiPort Done...");
         }
         catch (Exception ex)
         {
            Console.WriteLine("ConfigureSpiPort " + ex.Message);
         }
      }

      
      public void ReadDeviceID()
      {
         Task.Delay(500).Wait();

         while (true)
         {
            try
            {
               Console.WriteLine("sx127xDevice.ReadRegister...1");

               byte registerValue = sx127xDevice.ReadRegister(RegVersion);

               Console.WriteLine("sx127xDevice.ReadRegister...2");

               Console.WriteLine("Register 0x{0:x2} - Value 0X{1:x2} - Bits {2}", RegVersion, registerValue, Convert.ToString(registerValue, 2).PadLeft(8, '0'));
            }
            catch (Exception ex)
            {
               Console.WriteLine("ReadDeviceID " + ex.Message);
            }

            Task.Delay(10000).Wait();
         }
      }

      public void ReadDeviceIDDiy()
      {
         var txBuffer = new byte[2];
         var rxBuffer = new byte[2];

         Task.Delay(500).Wait();

         while (true)
         {
            try
            {
               Console.WriteLine("spiBus.ExchangeData...1");

               txBuffer[0] = RegVersion;

               spiBus.ExchangeData(spiPeriphChipSelect, ChipSelectMode.ActiveLow, txBuffer, rxBuffer, 2);

               Console.WriteLine("spiBus.ExchangeData...2");

               byte registerValue = rxBuffer[1];

               Console.WriteLine("Register 0x{0:x2} - Value 0X{1:x2} - Bits {2}", RegVersion, registerValue, Convert.ToString(registerValue, 2).PadLeft(8, '0'));
            }
            catch (Exception ex)
            {
               Console.WriteLine("ReadDeviceIDDiy " + ex.Message);
            }

            Task.Delay(10000).Wait();
         }
      }
   }
}

After some trial and error (using beta 3.6) I found that the ReadRegister method didn’t work as expected (possibly related to this issue) and I had to manually assemble the request to read the SX127X RegVersion register.

'App.exe' (CLR v4.0.30319: DefaultDomain): Loaded 'C:\WINDOWS\Microsoft.Net\assembly\GAC_64\mscorlib\v4.0_4.0.0.0__b77a5c561934e089\mscorlib.dll'. 
'App.exe' (CLR v4.0.30319: DefaultDomain): Loaded 'C:\Users\BrynLewis\source\repos\RFX9X.Meadow\FeatherWingSPI\bin\Debug\net472\App.exe'. Symbols loaded.
'App.exe' (CLR v4.0.30319: App.exe): Loaded 'C:\Users\BrynLewis\source\repos\RFX9X.Meadow\FeatherWingSPI\bin\Debug\net472\Meadow.dll'. 
The program '[22324] App.exe: Program Trace' has exited with code 0 (0x0).
The program '[22324] App.exe' has exited with code 0 (0x0).
.
.
DirectRegisterAccess = True
==========================================================
Ignore the exceptions generated by the DateTime call here.
==========================================================
.
Creating SPI NSS Port...
sx127xDevice Device...
ConfigureSpiPort Done...
spiBus.ExchangeData...1
spiBus.ExchangeData...2
Register 0x42 - Value 0X12 - Bits 00010010
spiBus.ExchangeData...1
spiBus.ExchangeData...2
Register 0x42 - Value 0X12 - Bits 00010010
spiBus.ExchangeData...1
spiBus.ExchangeData...2
Register 0x42 - Value 0X12 - Bits 00010010
spiBus.ExchangeData...1
spiBus.ExchangeData...2

Armtronix IA005 SX1276 loRa node

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A month ago I ordered a pair of IA005: SX1276 Lora node STM32F103 devices from the Armtronix shop on Tindie for evaluation. At USD18 each these devices were competitively priced and I was interested in trialling another maple like device.

Bill of materials (Prices as at December 2019)

  • IA005 SX1276 loRa node USD36 (USD18 each)
  • Grove – Temperature&Humidity Sensor USD11.5
  • Grove – 4 pin Female Jumper to Grove 4 pin Conversion Cable USD3.90
Armtronix device with Seeedstudio temperature & humidity sensor

I used a modified version of my Arduino client code which worked after I got the pins sorted and the female jumper sockets in the right order. 

/*
  Copyright ® 2019 December devMobile Software, All Rights Reserved

  THIS CODE AND INFORMATION IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY
  KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE
  IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND/OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR
  PURPOSE.

  You can do what you want with this code, acknowledgment would be nice.

  http://www.devmobile.co.nz

*/
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <LoRa.h>
#include <TH02_dev.h>

//#define DEBUG
//#define DEBUG_TELEMETRY
//#define DEBUG_LORA

// LoRa field gateway configuration (these settings must match your field gateway)
const char FieldGatewayAddress[] = {"LoRaIoT1"};
const char DeviceAddress[] = {"ArmTronix01"};
const float FieldGatewayFrequency =  915000000.0;
const byte FieldGatewaySyncWord = 0x12 ;

// Payload configuration
const int ChipSelectPin = PA4;
const int InterruptPin = PA11;
const int ResetPin = PC13;

// LoRa radio payload configuration
const byte SensorIdValueSeperator = ' ' ;
const byte SensorReadingSeperator = ',' ;
const int LoopSleepDelaySeconds = 30 ;

const byte PayloadSizeMaximum = 64 ;
byte payload[PayloadSizeMaximum];
byte payloadLength = 0 ;


void setup()
{
  Serial.begin(9600);
#ifdef DEBUG
  while (!Serial);
#endif
  Serial.println("Setup called");

  Serial.println("LoRa setup start");
  
  // override the default chip select and reset pins
  LoRa.setPins(ChipSelectPin, ResetPin, InterruptPin); 
  if (!LoRa.begin(FieldGatewayFrequency))
  {
    Serial.println("LoRa begin failed");
    while (true); // Drop into endless loop requiring restart
  }

  // Need to do this so field gateways pays attention to messsages from this device
  LoRa.enableCrc();
  LoRa.setSyncWord(FieldGatewaySyncWord);

#ifdef DEBUG_LORA
  LoRa.dumpRegisters(Serial);
#endif
  Serial.println("LoRa Setup done.");

  // Configure the Seeedstudio TH02 temperature & humidity sensor
  Serial.println("TH02 setup start");
  TH02.begin();
  delay(100);
  Serial.println("TH02 setup done");

  PayloadHeader((byte*)FieldGatewayAddress,strlen(FieldGatewayAddress), (byte*)DeviceAddress, strlen(DeviceAddress));

  Serial.println("Setup done");
  Serial.println();
}


void loop()
{
  float temperature ;
  float humidity ;

  Serial.println("Loop called");

  PayloadReset();

  // Read the temperature & humidity & battery voltage values then display nicely
  temperature = TH02.ReadTemperature();
  Serial.print("T:");
  Serial.print( temperature, 1 ) ;
  Serial.println( "C " ) ;

  PayloadAdd( "T", temperature, 1);

  humidity = TH02.ReadHumidity();
  Serial.print("H:");
  Serial.print( humidity, 0 ) ;
  Serial.println( "% " ) ;

  PayloadAdd( "H", humidity, 0) ;

#ifdef DEBUG_TELEMETRY
  Serial.print( "RFM9X/SX127X Payload len:");
  Serial.print( payloadLength );
  Serial.println( " bytes" );
#endif

  LoRa.beginPacket();
  LoRa.write( payload, payloadLength );
  LoRa.endPacket();

  Serial.println("Loop done");
  Serial.println();
  delay(LoopSleepDelaySeconds * 1000l);
}


void PayloadHeader( byte *to, byte toAddressLength, byte *from, byte fromAddressLength)
{
  byte addressesLength = toAddressLength + fromAddressLength ;

#ifdef DEBUG_TELEMETRY
  Serial.print("PayloadHeader- ");
  Serial.print( "To len:");
  Serial.print( toAddressLength );
  Serial.print( " From len:");
  Serial.print( fromAddressLength );
  Serial.print( " Header len:");
  Serial.print( addressesLength );
  Serial.println( );
#endif

  payloadLength = 0 ;

  // prepare the payload header with "To" Address length (top nibble) and "From" address length (bottom nibble)
  payload[payloadLength] = (toAddressLength << 4) | fromAddressLength ;
  payloadLength += 1;

  // Copy the "To" address into payload
  memcpy(&payload[payloadLength], to, toAddressLength);
  payloadLength += toAddressLength ;

  // Copy the "From" into payload
  memcpy(&payload[payloadLength], from, fromAddressLength);
  payloadLength += fromAddressLength ;
}


void PayloadAdd( const char *sensorId, float value, byte decimalPlaces)
{
  byte sensorIdLength = strlen( sensorId ) ;

#ifdef DEBUG_TELEMETRY
  Serial.print("PayloadAdd-float ");
  Serial.print( "SensorId:");
  Serial.print( sensorId );
  Serial.print( " Len:");
  Serial.print( sensorIdLength );
  Serial.print( " Value:");
  Serial.print( value, decimalPlaces );
  Serial.print( " payloadLen:");
  Serial.print( payloadLength);
#endif

  memcpy( &payload[payloadLength], sensorId,  sensorIdLength) ;
  payloadLength += sensorIdLength ;
  payload[ payloadLength] = SensorIdValueSeperator;
  payloadLength += 1 ;
  payloadLength += strlen( dtostrf(value, -1, decimalPlaces, (char *)&payload[payloadLength]));
  payload[ payloadLength] = SensorReadingSeperator;
  payloadLength += 1 ;
  
#ifdef DEBUG_TELEMETRY
  Serial.print( " payloadLen:");
  Serial.println( payloadLength);
#endif
}


void PayloadAdd( const char *sensorId, int value )
{
  byte sensorIdLength = strlen( sensorId ) ;

#ifdef DEBUG_TELEMETRY
  Serial.print("PayloadAdd-int ");
  Serial.print( "SensorId:");
  Serial.print( sensorId );
  Serial.print( " Len:");
  Serial.print( sensorIdLength );
  Serial.print( " Value:");
  Serial.print( value );
  Serial.print( " payloadLen:");
  Serial.print( payloadLength);
#endif  

  memcpy( &payload[payloadLength], sensorId,  sensorIdLength) ;
  payloadLength += sensorIdLength ;
  payload[ payloadLength] = SensorIdValueSeperator;
  payloadLength += 1 ;
  payloadLength += strlen( itoa( value,(char *)&payload[payloadLength],10));
  payload[ payloadLength] = SensorReadingSeperator;
  payloadLength += 1 ;
  
#ifdef DEBUG_TELEMETRY
  Serial.print( " payloadLen:");
  Serial.println( payloadLength);
#endif
}


void PayloadAdd( const char *sensorId, unsigned int value )
{
  byte sensorIdLength = strlen( sensorId ) ;

#ifdef DEBUG_TELEMETRY
  Serial.print("PayloadAdd-unsigned int ");
  Serial.print( "SensorId:");
  Serial.print( sensorId );
  Serial.print( " Len:");
  Serial.print( sensorIdLength );
  Serial.print( " Value:");
  Serial.print( value );
  Serial.print( " payloadLen:");
  Serial.print( payloadLength);
#endif  

  memcpy( &payload[payloadLength], sensorId,  sensorIdLength) ;
  payloadLength += sensorIdLength ;
  payload[ payloadLength] = SensorIdValueSeperator;
  payloadLength += 1 ;
  payloadLength += strlen( utoa( value,(char *)&payload[payloadLength],10));
  payload[ payloadLength] = SensorReadingSeperator;
  payloadLength += 1 ;

#ifdef DEBUG_TELEMETRY
  Serial.print( " payloadLen:");
  Serial.println( payloadLength);
#endif
}


void PayloadReset()
{
  byte fromAddressLength = payload[0] & 0xf ;
  byte toAddressLength = payload[0] >> 4 ;
  byte addressesLength = toAddressLength + fromAddressLength ;

  payloadLength = addressesLength + 1;

#ifdef DEBUG_TELEMETRY
  Serial.print("PayloadReset- ");
  Serial.print( "To len:");
  Serial.print( toAddressLength );
  Serial.print( " From len:");
  Serial.print( fromAddressLength );
  Serial.print( " Header len:");
  Serial.println( addressesLength );
#endif
}

To get the application to download I had to configure the board in the Arduino IDE

Then change the jumpers

Initially I had some problems deploying my software because I hadn’t followed the instructions (the wiki everyone referred to appeared to be offline) and run the installation batch file (New dev machine since my previous maple based project).

15:40:56.207 -> LoRa Setup done.
15:40:56.207 -> TH02 setup start
15:40:56.307 -> TH02 setup done
15:40:56.307 -> PayloadHeader- To len:8 From len:11 Header len:19
15:40:56.354 -> Setup done
15:40:56.354 -> 
15:40:56.354 -> Loop called
15:40:56.354 -> PayloadReset- To len:8 From len:11 Header len:19
15:40:56.408 -> T:23.9C 
15:40:56.408 -> PayloadAdd-float SensorId:T Len:1 Value:23.9 payloadLen:20 payloadLen:27
15:40:56.508 -> H:70% 
15:40:56.508 -> PayloadAdd-float SensorId:H Len:1 Value:70 payloadLen:27 payloadLen:32
15:40:56.608 -> RFM9X/SX127X Payload len:32 bytes
15:40:56.655 -> Loop done
15:40:56.655 -> 
15:41:26.647 -> Loop called
15:41:26.647 -> PayloadReset- To len:8 From len:11 Header len:19
15:41:26.684 -> T:24.0C 
15:41:26.730 -> PayloadAdd-float SensorId:T Len:1 Value:24.0 payloadLen:20 payloadLen:27
15:41:26.784 -> H:69% 
15:41:26.784 -> PayloadAdd-float SensorId:H Len:1 Value:69 payloadLen:27 payloadLen:32
15:41:26.884 -> RFM9X/SX127X Payload len:32 bytes
15:41:26.931 -> Loop done
15:41:26.931 -> 
15:41:56.904 -> Loop called
15:41:56.904 -> PayloadReset- To len:8 From len:11 Header len:19
15:41:56.948 -> T:24.1C 
15:41:56.982 -> PayloadAdd-float SensorId:T Len:1 Value:24.1 payloadLen:20 payloadLen:27
15:41:57.054 -> H:69% 
15:41:57.054 -> PayloadAdd-float SensorId:H Len:1 Value:69 payloadLen:27 payloadLen:32
15:41:57.157 -> RFM9X/SX127X Payload len:32 bytes
15:41:57.191 -> Loop done
15:41:57.191 -> 
15:42:27.211 -> Loop called
15:42:27.211 -> PayloadReset- To len:8 From len:11 Header len:19
15:42:27.258 -> T:24.1C 
15:42:27.258 -> PayloadAdd-float SensorId:T Len:1 Value:24.1 payloadLen:20 payloadLen:27
15:42:27.343 -> H:69% 
15:42:27.343 -> PayloadAdd-float SensorId:H Len:1 Value:69 payloadLen:27 payloadLen:32
15:42:27.427 -> RFM9X/SX127X Payload len:32 bytes
15:42:27.481 -> Loop done
15:42:27.481 -> 
15:42:57.504 -> Loop called
15:42:57.504 -> PayloadReset- To len:8 From len:11 Header len:19
15:42:57.504 -> T:24.1C 
15:42:57.550 -> PayloadAdd-float SensorId:T Len:1 Value:24.1 payloadLen:20 payloadLen:27
15:42:57.604 -> H:68% 
15:42:57.604 -> PayloadAdd-float SensorId:H Len:1 Value:68 payloadLen:27 payloadLen:32
15:42:57.704 -> RFM9X/SX127X Payload len:32 bytes
15:42:57.755 -> Loop done
15:42:57.755 ->

I configured the device to upload to my Azure IoT Hub/Azure IoT Central gateway and it has been running reliably for a couple of days.

Azure IoT Central temperature and humidity values

Initially I had some configuration problems but I contacted Armtronix support and they promptly provided a couple of updated links for product and device documentation.

Maduino LoRa Air Temperature and Soil Moisture

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This is a demo MakerFabs Maduino LoRa Radio 868MHz client (based on Maduino LoRa 868MHz example) that uploads telemetry data to my Windows 10 IoT Core on Raspberry PI AdaFruit.IO and Azure IoT Hub field gateways.

The code is available on github

Sample hardware
Azure IoT Central data visualisation

The Maduino device in the picture is a custom version with an onboard Microchip ATSHA204 crypto and authentication chip (currently only use for the unique 72 bit serial number) and a voltage divider connected to the analog pin A6 to monitor the battery voltage.

There are compile time options ATSHA204 & BATTERY_VOLTAGE_MONITOR which can be used to selectively enable this functionality.

I use the Arduino lowpower library to aggressively sleep the device between measurements

// Adjust the delay so period is close to desired sec as possible, first do 8sec chunks. 
  int delayCounter = SensorUploadDelay / 8 ;
  for( int i = 0 ; i < delayCounter ; i++ )
  {
     LowPower.powerDown(SLEEP_8S, ADC_OFF, BOD_OFF);  
  }
  
  // Then to 4 sec chunk
  delayCounter =  ( SensorUploadDelay % 8 ) / 4;
  for( int i = 0 ; i < delayCounter ; i++ )
  {
     LowPower.powerDown(SLEEP_4S, ADC_OFF, BOD_OFF);  
  }

  // Then to 2 sec chunk
  delayCounter =  ( SensorUploadDelay % 4 ) / 2 ;
  for( int i = 0 ; i < delayCounter ; i++ )
  {
     LowPower.powerDown(SLEEP_2S, ADC_OFF, BOD_OFF);  
  }

  // Then to 1 sec chunk
  delayCounter =  ( SensorUploadDelay % 2 ) ;
  for( int i = 0 ; i < delayCounter ; i++ )
  {
     LowPower.powerDown(SLEEP_1S, ADC_OFF, BOD_OFF);  
  }
}

I use a spare digital PIN for powering the soil moisture probe so it can be powered down when not in use. I have included a short delay after powering up the device to allow the reading to settle.

  // Turn on soil mosture sensor, take reading then turn off to save power
  digitalWrite(SoilMoistureSensorEnablePin, HIGH);
  delay(SoilMoistureSensorEnableDelay);
  int soilMoistureADCValue = analogRead(SoilMoistureSensorPin);
  digitalWrite(SoilMoistureSensorEnablePin, LOW);
  int soilMoisture = map(soilMoistureADCValue,SoilMoistureSensorMinimum,SoilMoistureSensorMaximum, SoilMoistureValueMinimum, SoilMoistureValueMaximum); 
  PayloadAdd( "s", soilMoisture, false);

Bill of materials (Prices Nov 2019)

  • Maduino LoRa Radion (868MHz) 18.90
  • SHT20 I2C Temperature & Humidity Sensor (Waterproof Probe) USD22.50
  • Pinotech SoilWatch 10 – Soil moisture sensor USD23
  • Elecrow 1 Watt solar panel with wires USD3.80
  • 500 mAh LI-Ion battery

The software could easily be modified to support additional sensors.

Grove-VOC and eCO2 Gas Sensor (SGP30)

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In preparation for a project to monitor the fumes (initially Volatile Organic Compounds) levels around the 3D Printers and Laser Cutters in a school makerspace I purchased a Grove -VOC and eCO2 Gas Sensor (SGP30) for evaluation.

Seeeduino Nano easySensors shield and Grove VOC & eCO2 Sensor

Seeeduino Nano devices have a single on-board I2C socket which meant I didn’t need a Grove Shield for Arduino Nano which reduced the size and cost of the sensor node.

I downloaded the sample code from the Seeedstudio wiki and modified my Easy Sensors Arduino Nano Radio Shield RFM69/95 Payload Addressing client to use the sensor.

My first attempt failed with an issues accessing an Analog port to read the serial number from the Microchip ATSHA204 security chip. After looking at the Seeed SGP30 library source code (based on Sensiron samples) I think the my Nano device was running out of memory. I then searched for other Arduino compatible SGP30 libraries and rebuilt he application with the one from Sparkfun,

/*
  Copyright ® 2019 August devMobile Software, All Rights Reserved

  THIS CODE AND INFORMATION IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY
  KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE
  IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND/OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR
  PURPOSE.

  You can do what you want with this code, acknowledgment would be nice.
  http://www.devmobile.co.nz

  Seeedstudio Grove - VOC and eCO2 Gas Sensor (SGP30)
  https://www.seeedstudio.com/Grove-VOC-and-eCO2-Gas-Sensor-SGP30-p-3071.html

  Seeeduino Nano 
  https://www.seeedstudio.com/Seeeduino-Nano-p-4111.html
  
  Polycarbonate enclosure approx 3.5" x 4.5"
    2 x Cable glands
    1 x Grommet to seal SMA antenna connector
    3M command adhesive strips to hold battery & device in place
   
*/
#include <stdlib.h>
#include "SparkFun_SGP30_Arduino_Library.h" 
#include <LoRa.h>
#include <sha204_library.h>

//#define DEBUG
//#define DEBUG_TELEMETRY
//#define DEBUG_LORA
#define DEBUG_VOC_AND_CO2

#define UNITS_VOC "ppb"
#define UNITS_CO2 "ppm"

// LoRa field gateway configuration (these settings must match your field gateway)
const byte DeviceAddressMaximumLength = 15 ;
const char FieldGatewayAddress[] = {"LoRaIoT1"};
const float FieldGatewayFrequency =  915000000.0;
const byte FieldGatewaySyncWord = 0x12 ;

// Payload configuration
const int ChipSelectPin = 10;
const int ResetPin = 9;
const int InterruptPin = 2;

// LoRa radio payload configuration
const byte SensorIdValueSeperator = ' ' ;
const byte SensorReadingSeperator = ',' ;
const unsigned long SensorUploadDelay = 60000;

// ATSHA204 secure authentication, validation with crypto and hashing (currently only using for unique serial number)
const byte Atsha204Port = A3;
atsha204Class sha204(Atsha204Port);
const byte DeviceSerialNumberLength = 9 ;
byte deviceSerialNumber[DeviceSerialNumberLength] = {""};

SGP30 mySensor; //create an object of the SGP30 class

const byte PayloadSizeMaximum = 64 ;
byte payload[PayloadSizeMaximum];
byte payloadLength = 0 ;


void setup()
{
  Serial.begin(9600);

#ifdef DEBUG
  while (!Serial);
#endif
 
  Serial.println("Setup called");

  Serial.print("Field gateway:");
  Serial.print(FieldGatewayAddress ) ;
  Serial.print(" Frequency:");
  Serial.print( FieldGatewayFrequency,0 ) ;
  Serial.print("MHz SyncWord:");
  Serial.print( FieldGatewaySyncWord ) ;
  Serial.println();
  
   // Retrieve the serial number then display it nicely
  if(sha204.getSerialNumber(deviceSerialNumber))
  {
    Serial.println("sha204.getSerialNumber failed");
    while (true); // Drop into endless loop requiring restart
  }

  Serial.print("SNo:");
  DisplayHex( deviceSerialNumber, DeviceSerialNumberLength);
  Serial.println();

  Serial.println("LoRa setup start");

  // override the default chip select and reset pins
  LoRa.setPins(ChipSelectPin, ResetPin, InterruptPin);
  if (!LoRa.begin(FieldGatewayFrequency))
  {
    Serial.println("LoRa begin failed");
    while (true); // Drop into endless loop requiring restart
  }

  // Need to do this so field gateway pays attention to messsages from this device
  LoRa.enableCrc();
  LoRa.setSyncWord(FieldGatewaySyncWord);

#ifdef DEBUG_LORA
  LoRa.dumpRegisters(Serial);
#endif
  Serial.println("LoRa Setup done.");

  // Configure the DF Robot SHT20, temperature & humidity sensor
  Serial.println("SGP30 setup start");  
  Wire.begin();
  if(mySensor.begin() == false)
  {
    Serial.println("SQP-30 initialisation failed");
    while (true); // Drop into endless loop requiring restart
  }
  mySensor.initAirQuality();
  delay(1000);  
  Serial.println("SGP30 setup done");

  PayloadHeader((byte *)FieldGatewayAddress,strlen(FieldGatewayAddress), deviceSerialNumber, DeviceSerialNumberLength);

  Serial.println("Setup done");
  Serial.println();
}


void loop()
{
  unsigned long currentMilliseconds = millis();  

  Serial.println("Loop called");

  mySensor.measureAirQuality();

  PayloadReset();  

  PayloadAdd( "v", mySensor.TVOC, false);
     
  PayloadAdd( "c", mySensor.CO2, false);
  
  #ifdef DEBUG_VOC_AND_CO2  
    Serial.print("VoC:");
    Serial.print( mySensor.TVOC ) ;
    Serial.print( UNITS_VOC ) ;
    Serial.print(" Co2:");
    Serial.print( mySensor.CO2 ) ;
    Serial.println( UNITS_CO2 ) ;
  #endif

  #ifdef DEBUG_TELEMETRY
    Serial.println();
    Serial.print("RFM9X/SX127X Payload length:");
    Serial.print(payloadLength);
    Serial.println(" bytes");
  #endif

  LoRa.beginPacket();
  LoRa.write(payload, payloadLength);
  LoRa.endPacket();

  Serial.println("Loop done");
  Serial.println();

  delay(SensorUploadDelay - (millis() - currentMilliseconds ));
}


void PayloadHeader( const byte *to, byte toAddressLength, const byte *from, byte fromAddressLength)
{
  byte addressesLength = toAddressLength + fromAddressLength ;

  payloadLength = 0 ;

  // prepare the payload header with "To" Address length (top nibble) and "From" address length (bottom nibble)
  
  payload[payloadLength] = (toAddressLength << 4) | fromAddressLength ;
  payloadLength += 1;

  // Copy the "To" address into payload
  memcpy(&payload[payloadLength], to, toAddressLength);
  payloadLength += toAddressLength ;

  // Copy the "From" into payload
  memcpy(&payload[payloadLength], from, fromAddressLength);
  payloadLength += fromAddressLength ;
}


void PayloadAdd( const char *sensorId, float value, byte decimalPlaces, bool last)
{
  byte sensorIdLength = strlen( sensorId ) ;

  memcpy( &payload[payloadLength], sensorId,  sensorIdLength) ;
  payloadLength += sensorIdLength ;
  payload[ payloadLength] = SensorIdValueSeperator;
  payloadLength += 1 ;
  payloadLength += strlen( dtostrf(value, -1, decimalPlaces, (char *)&payload[payloadLength]));
  if (!last)
  {
    payload[ payloadLength] = SensorReadingSeperator;
    payloadLength += 1 ;
  }
  
#ifdef DEBUG_TELEMETRY
  Serial.print("PayloadAdd float-payloadLength:");
  Serial.print( payloadLength);
  Serial.println( );
#endif
}


void PayloadAdd( char *sensorId, int value, bool last )
{
  byte sensorIdLength = strlen(sensorId) ;

  memcpy(&payload[payloadLength], sensorId,  sensorIdLength) ;
  payloadLength += sensorIdLength ;
  payload[ payloadLength] = SensorIdValueSeperator;
  payloadLength += 1 ;
  payloadLength += strlen(itoa( value,(char *)&payload[payloadLength],10));
  if (!last)
  {
    payload[ payloadLength] = SensorReadingSeperator;
    payloadLength += 1 ;
  }
  
#ifdef DEBUG_TELEMETRY
  Serial.print("PayloadAdd int-payloadLength:" );
  Serial.print(payloadLength);
  Serial.println( );
#endif
}


void PayloadAdd( char *sensorId, unsigned int value, bool last )
{
  byte sensorIdLength = strlen(sensorId) ;

  memcpy(&payload[payloadLength], sensorId,  sensorIdLength) ;
  payloadLength += sensorIdLength ;
  payload[ payloadLength] = SensorIdValueSeperator;
  payloadLength += 1 ;
  payloadLength += strlen(utoa( value,(char *)&payload[payloadLength],10));
  if (!last)
  {
    payload[ payloadLength] = SensorReadingSeperator;
    payloadLength += 1 ;
  }
  
#ifdef DEBUG_TELEMETRY
  Serial.print("PayloadAdd uint-payloadLength:");
  Serial.print(payloadLength);
  Serial.println( );
#endif
}


void PayloadReset()
{
  byte fromAddressLength = payload[0] & 0xf ;
  byte toAddressLength = payload[0] >> 4 ;
  
  payloadLength = toAddressLength + fromAddressLength + 1;
}


void DisplayHex( byte *byteArray, byte length) 
{
  for (int i = 0; i < length ; i++)
  {
    // Add a leading zero
    if ( byteArray[i] < 16)
    {
      Serial.print("0");
    }
    Serial.print(byteArray[i], HEX);
    if ( i < (length-1)) // Don't put a - after last digit
    {
      Serial.print("-");
    }
  }
}

The code is available on GitHub.

11:32:52.947 -> Setup called
11:32:52.947 -> Field gateway:LoRaIoT1 Frequency:915000000MHz SyncWord:18
11:32:53.085 -> SNo:01-23-21-61-D6-D1-F5-86-EE
11:32:53.118 -> LoRa setup start
11:32:53.118 -> LoRa Setup done.
11:32:53.153 -> SGP30 setup start
11:32:54.083 -> SGP30 setup done
11:32:54.117 -> Setup done
11:32:54.117 -> 
11:32:54.117 -> Loop called
11:32:54.152 -> VoC:0ppb Co2:400ppm
11:32:54.187 -> Loop done
11:32:54.187 -> 
11:33:54.092 -> Loop called
11:33:54.127 -> VoC:0ppb Co2:400ppm
11:33:54.195 -> Loop done
11:33:54.195 -> 
11:34:54.098 -> Loop called
11:34:54.133 -> VoC:17ppb Co2:425ppm
11:34:54.201 -> Loop done
11:34:54.201 -> 
11:35:54.109 -> Loop called
11:35:54.142 -> VoC:11ppb Co2:421ppm
11:35:54.210 -> Loop done
11:35:54.210 -> 
11:36:54.109 -> Loop called
11:36:54.143 -> VoC:3ppb Co2:409ppm
11:36:54.212 -> Loop done
11:36:54.212 -> 
11:37:54.135 -> Loop called
11:37:54.135 -> VoC:12ppb Co2:400ppm
11:37:54.204 -> Loop done
11:37:54.204 -> 
11:38:54.126 -> Loop called
11:38:54.161 -> VoC:11ppb Co2:439ppm
11:38:54.231 -> Loop done

To configure the device in Azure IoT Central (similar process for Adafruit.IO, working on support for losant, ubidots and MyDevices) I copied the SNo: from the Arduino development tool logging window and appended c for the CO2 parts per million (ppm), v for VOC parts per billion (ppb) unique serial number from the ATSHA204A chip. (N.B. pay attention to the case of the field names they are case sensitive)

Azure IoT Central configuration

Overall the performance of the VoC sensor data is looking pretty positive, the eCO2 readings need some further investigation as they track the VOC levels. The large spike in the graph below is me putting an open vivid marker on my desk near the sensor.

eCO2 and VOC levels in my office for a day

Bill of materials (prices as at August 2019)

  • Seeeduino Nano USD6.90
  • Grove – VOC and eCO2 Gas Sensor (SGP30) USD15.90
  • EasySensors Arduino Nano radio shield RFM95 USD15.00

DF Robot Temperature & Humidity Sensor(SHT20) trial

Posted on by

In preparation for a project to build weather stations to place at a couple of local schools I purchased a DF Robot SHT20 Temperature & Humidity Sensor for evaluation.

Seeeduino Nano, EasySensors Shield & DF Robot Sensor test rig

The Seeeduino Nano devices I’m testing have a single on-board I2C socket which meant I didn’t need a Grove Shield for Arduino Nano which reduced the size and cost of the sensor node.

To test my setup I installed the DFRobot Arduino SHT20 library and downloaded a demo application to my device.

I started with my Easy Sensors Arduino Nano Radio Shield RFM69/95 Payload Addressing client and modified it to use the SHT20 sensor.

/*
  Copyright ® 2019 August devMobile Software, All Rights Reserved

  THIS CODE AND INFORMATION IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY
  KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE
  IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND/OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR
  PURPOSE.

  You can do what you want with this code, acknowledgment would be nice.
  http://www.devmobile.co.nz

  DF Robot SHT20 Temperature & Humidity sensor   https://www.dfrobot.com/wiki/index.php/SHT20_I2C_Temperature_%26_Humidity_Sensor_(Waterproof_Probe)_SKU:_SEN0227  

  Seeeduino Nano 
  https://www.seeedstudio.com/Seeeduino-Nano-p-4111.html
  
  Polycarbonate enclosure approx 3.5" x 4.5"
    2 x Cable glands
    1 x ufl to SMA connector
    3M command adhesive strips to hold battery & device in place
   
*/
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <DFRobot_SHT20.h>
#include <LoRa.h>
#include <sha204_library.h>

//#define DEBUG
//#define DEBUG_TELEMETRY
//#define DEBUG_LORA
//#define DEBUG_TEMPERATURE_AND_HUMIDITY

#define UNITS_HUMIDITY "%"
#define UNITS_TEMPERATURE "°c"

// LoRa field gateway configuration (these settings must match your field gateway)
const byte DeviceAddressMaximumLength = 15 ;
const char FieldGatewayAddress[] = {"LoRaIoT1"};
const float FieldGatewayFrequency =  915000000.0;
const byte FieldGatewaySyncWord = 0x12 ;

// Payload configuration
const int ChipSelectPin = 10;
const int ResetPin = 9;
const int InterruptPin = 2;

// LoRa radio payload configuration
const byte SensorIdValueSeperator = ' ' ;
const byte SensorReadingSeperator = ',' ;
const unsigned long SensorUploadDelay = 60000;

// ATSHA204 secure authentication, validation with crypto and hashing (currently only using for unique serial number)
const byte Atsha204Port = A3;
atsha204Class sha204(Atsha204Port);
const byte DeviceSerialNumberLength = 9 ;
byte deviceSerialNumber[DeviceSerialNumberLength] = {""};

// SHT20 Air temperature and humidity sensor
DFRobot_SHT20 sht20;

const byte PayloadSizeMaximum = 64 ;
byte payload[PayloadSizeMaximum];
byte payloadLength = 0 ;


void setup()
{
  Serial.begin(9600);

#ifdef DEBUG
  while (!Serial);
#endif
 
  Serial.println("Setup called");

  Serial.print("Field gateway:");
  Serial.print(FieldGatewayAddress ) ;
  Serial.print(" Frequency:");
  Serial.print( FieldGatewayFrequency,0 ) ;
  Serial.print("MHz SyncWord:");
  Serial.print( FieldGatewaySyncWord ) ;
  Serial.println();
  
   // Retrieve the serial number then display it nicely
  if(sha204.getSerialNumber(deviceSerialNumber))
  {
    Serial.println("sha204.getSerialNumber failed");
    while (true); // Drop into endless loop requiring restart
  }

  Serial.print("SNo:");
  DisplayHex( deviceSerialNumber, DeviceSerialNumberLength);
  Serial.println();

  Serial.println("LoRa setup start");

  // override the default chip select and reset pins
  LoRa.setPins(ChipSelectPin, ResetPin, InterruptPin);
  if (!LoRa.begin(FieldGatewayFrequency))
  {
    Serial.println("LoRa begin failed");
    while (true); // Drop into endless loop requiring restart
  }

  // Need to do this so field gateway pays attention to messsages from this device
  LoRa.enableCrc();
  LoRa.setSyncWord(FieldGatewaySyncWord);

#ifdef DEBUG_LORA
  LoRa.dumpRegisters(Serial);
#endif
  Serial.println("LoRa Setup done.");

  // Configure the DF Robot SHT20, temperature & humidity sensor
  Serial.println("SHT20 setup start");  
  sht20.initSHT20();
  delay(100);
  sht20.checkSHT20();    
  Serial.println("SHT20 setup done");

  PayloadHeader((byte *)FieldGatewayAddress,strlen(FieldGatewayAddress), deviceSerialNumber, DeviceSerialNumberLength);

  Serial.println("Setup done");
  Serial.println();
}


void loop()
{
  unsigned long currentMilliseconds = millis();  
  float temperature ;
  float humidity ;

  Serial.println("Loop called");

  PayloadReset();  

  humidity = sht20.readHumidity();          
  PayloadAdd( "h", humidity, 0, false);

  temperature = sht20.readTemperature();               
  PayloadAdd( "t", temperature, 1, false);
  
  #ifdef DEBUG_TEMPERATURE_AND_HUMIDITY  
    Serial.print("H:");
    Serial.print( humidity, 0 ) ;
    Serial.print( UNITS_HUMIDITY ) ;
    Serial.print("T:");
    Serial.print( temperature, 1 ) ;
    Serial.println( UNITS_TEMPERATURE ) ;
  #endif

  #ifdef DEBUG_TELEMETRY
    Serial.println();
    Serial.print("RFM9X/SX127X Payload length:");
    Serial.print(payloadLength);
    Serial.println(" bytes");
  #endif

  LoRa.beginPacket();
  LoRa.write(payload, payloadLength);
  LoRa.endPacket();

  Serial.println("Loop done");
  Serial.println();

  delay(SensorUploadDelay - (millis() - currentMilliseconds ));
}


void PayloadHeader( const byte *to, byte toAddressLength, const byte *from, byte fromAddressLength)
{
  byte addressesLength = toAddressLength + fromAddressLength ;

  payloadLength = 0 ;

  // prepare the payload header with "To" Address length (top nibble) and "From" address length (bottom nibble)
  
  payload[payloadLength] = (toAddressLength << 4) | fromAddressLength ;
  payloadLength += 1;

  // Copy the "To" address into payload
  memcpy(&payload[payloadLength], to, toAddressLength);
  payloadLength += toAddressLength ;

  // Copy the "From" into payload
  memcpy(&payload[payloadLength], from, fromAddressLength);
  payloadLength += fromAddressLength ;
}


void PayloadAdd( const char *sensorId, float value, byte decimalPlaces, bool last)
{
  byte sensorIdLength = strlen( sensorId ) ;

  memcpy( &payload[payloadLength], sensorId,  sensorIdLength) ;
  payloadLength += sensorIdLength ;
  payload[ payloadLength] = SensorIdValueSeperator;
  payloadLength += 1 ;
  payloadLength += strlen( dtostrf(value, -1, decimalPlaces, (char *)&payload[payloadLength]));
  if (!last)
  {
    payload[ payloadLength] = SensorReadingSeperator;
    payloadLength += 1 ;
  }
  
#ifdef DEBUG_TELEMETRY
  Serial.print("PayloadAdd float-payloadLength:");
  Serial.print( payloadLength);
  Serial.println( );
#endif
}


void PayloadAdd( char *sensorId, int value, bool last )
{
  byte sensorIdLength = strlen(sensorId) ;

  memcpy(&payload[payloadLength], sensorId,  sensorIdLength) ;
  payloadLength += sensorIdLength ;
  payload[ payloadLength] = SensorIdValueSeperator;
  payloadLength += 1 ;
  payloadLength += strlen(itoa( value,(char *)&payload[payloadLength],10));
  if (!last)
  {
    payload[ payloadLength] = SensorReadingSeperator;
    payloadLength += 1 ;
  }
  
#ifdef DEBUG_TELEMETRY
  Serial.print("PayloadAdd int-payloadLength:" );
  Serial.print(payloadLength);
  Serial.println( );
#endif
}


void PayloadAdd( char *sensorId, unsigned int value, bool last )
{
  byte sensorIdLength = strlen(sensorId) ;

  memcpy(&payload[payloadLength], sensorId,  sensorIdLength) ;
  payloadLength += sensorIdLength ;
  payload[ payloadLength] = SensorIdValueSeperator;
  payloadLength += 1 ;
  payloadLength += strlen(utoa( value,(char *)&payload[payloadLength],10));
  if (!last)
  {
    payload[ payloadLength] = SensorReadingSeperator;
    payloadLength += 1 ;
  }
  
#ifdef DEBUG_TELEMETRY
  Serial.print("PayloadAdd uint-payloadLength:");
  Serial.print(payloadLength);
  Serial.println( );
#endif
}


void PayloadReset()
{
  byte fromAddressLength = payload[0] & 0xf ;
  byte toAddressLength = payload[0] >> 4 ;
  
  payloadLength = toAddressLength + fromAddressLength + 1;
}


void DisplayHex( byte *byteArray, byte length) 
{
  for (int i = 0; i < length ; i++)
  {
    // Add a leading zero
    if ( byteArray[i] < 16)
    {
      Serial.print("0");
    }
    Serial.print(byteArray[i], HEX);
    if ( i < (length-1)) // Don't put a - after last digit
    {
      Serial.print("-");
    }
  }
}

The code is available on GitHub.

20:52:09.656 -> Setup called
20:52:09.690 -> Field gateway:LoRaIoT1 Frequency:915000000MHz SyncWord:18
20:52:09.794 -> SNo:01-23-21-61-D6-D1-F5-86-EE
20:52:09.828 -> LoRa setup start
20:52:09.828 -> LoRa Setup done.
20:52:09.862 -> SHT20 setup start
20:52:09.932 -> End of battery: no
20:52:09.932 -> Heater enabled: no
20:52:09.965 -> Disable OTP reload: yes
20:52:09.999 -> SHT20 setup done
20:52:09.999 -> Setup done
20:52:09.999 -> 
20:52:09.999 -> Loop called
20:52:10.067 -> H:60%T:20.0°c
20:52:10.136 -> Loop done
20:52:10.136 -> 
20:53:09.915 -> Loop called
20:53:10.019 -> H:61%T:20.5°c
20:53:10.088 -> Loop done
20:53:10.088 ->

To configure the device in Azure IoT Central (similar process for Adafruit.IO, working on support for losant, ubidots and MyDevices) I copied the SNo: from the Arduino development tool logging window and appended p10 for PM 1 value, p25 for PM2.5 value and p100 for PM10 value to the unique serial number from the ATSHA204A chip. (N.B. pay attention to the case of the field names they are case sensitive)

When I moved the sensor indoors it appeared to take a while to warm up and after a while the metal body still felt cold. The sensor element is surrounded by quite a bit of protective packaging for outdoors use and I that would have a bit more thermal inertia the than the lightweight indoor enclosure.

It would be good to run the sensor alongside a calibrated temperature & humidity sensor to see how accurate and responsive it is.

Bill of materials (prices as at August 2019)

  • Seeeduino Nano USD6.90
  • Grove Screw Terminal USD2.90
  • DF Robot SHT20 I2C Temperature & Humidity Sensor USD22.50
  • EasySensors Arduino Nano radio shield RFM95 USD15.00

Grove – Laser PM2.5 Sensor(HM3301) trial

Posted on by

In preparation for a project to monitor the particulates levels around the 3D Printers and Laser Cutters in a school makerspace I purchased a Grove -Laser PM2.5 Sensor (HM3301) for evaluation.

Seeeduino, Grove HM3301 and easysensors shield

The Seeeduino Nano devices I’m testing have a single on-board I2C socket which meant I didn’t need a Grove Shield for Arduino Nano which reduced the size and cost of the sensor node.

To test my setup I installed the Seeed PM2.5 Sensor HM3301 Software Library and downloaded the demo application to my device.

I started with my Easy Sensors Arduino Nano Radio Shield RFM69/95 Payload Addressing client and modified it to use the HM3301 sensor.

After looking at the demo application I stripped out the checksum code and threw the rest away. In my test harness I have extracted only the PM1.0/PM2.5/PM10.0 (concentration CF=1, Standard particulate) in μg/ m3 values from the sensor response payload.

/*
  Copyright ® 2019 August devMobile Software, All Rights Reserved

  THIS CODE AND INFORMATION IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY
  KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE
  IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND/OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR
  PURPOSE.

  You can do what you want with this code, acknowledgment would be nice.

  http://www.devmobile.co.nz

*/
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <LoRa.h>
#include <sha204_library.h>
#include "Seeed_HM330X.h"

//#define DEBUG
//#define DEBUG_TELEMETRY
//#define DEBUG_LORA

const byte SensorPayloadLength = 28 ;
const byte SensorPayloadBufferSize  = 29 ;
const byte SensorPayloadPM1_0Position = 4;
const byte SensorPayloadPM2_5Position = 6;
const byte SensorPayloadPM10_0Position = 8;

HM330X sensor;
byte SensorPayload[SensorPayloadBufferSize];
  
// LoRa field gateway configuration (these settings must match your field gateway)
const byte DeviceAddressMaximumLength = 15 ;
const char FieldGatewayAddress[] = {"LoRaIoT1"};
const float FieldGatewayFrequency =  915000000.0;
const byte FieldGatewaySyncWord = 0x12 ;

// Payload configuration
const int ChipSelectPin = 10;
const int ResetPin = 9;
const int InterruptPin = 2;

// LoRa radio payload configuration
const byte SensorIdValueSeperator = ' ' ;
const byte SensorReadingSeperator = ',' ;
const unsigned long SensorUploadDelay = 60000;

// ATSHA204 secure authentication, validation with crypto and hashing (currently only using for unique serial number)
const byte Atsha204Port = A3;
atsha204Class sha204(Atsha204Port);
const byte DeviceSerialNumberLength = 9 ;
byte deviceSerialNumber[DeviceSerialNumberLength] = {""};

const byte PayloadSizeMaximum = 64 ;
byte payload[PayloadSizeMaximum];
byte payloadLength = 0 ;


void setup()
{
  Serial.begin(9600);

#ifdef DEBUG
  while (!Serial);
#endif
 
  Serial.println("Setup called");

  Serial.print("Field gateway:");
  Serial.print(FieldGatewayAddress ) ;
  Serial.print(" Frequency:");
  Serial.print( FieldGatewayFrequency,0 ) ;
  Serial.print("MHz SyncWord:");
  Serial.print( FieldGatewaySyncWord ) ;
  Serial.println();
  
   // Retrieve the serial number then display it nicely
  if(sha204.getSerialNumber(deviceSerialNumber))
  {
    Serial.println("sha204.getSerialNumber failed");
    while (true); // Drop into endless loop requiring restart
  }

  Serial.print("SNo:");
  DisplayHex( deviceSerialNumber, DeviceSerialNumberLength);
  Serial.println();

  Serial.println("LoRa setup start");

  // override the default chip select and reset pins
  LoRa.setPins(ChipSelectPin, ResetPin, InterruptPin);
  if (!LoRa.begin(FieldGatewayFrequency))
  {
    Serial.println("LoRa begin failed");
    while (true); // Drop into endless loop requiring restart
  }

  // Need to do this so field gateway pays attention to messsages from this device
  LoRa.enableCrc();
  LoRa.setSyncWord(FieldGatewaySyncWord);

#ifdef DEBUG_LORA
  LoRa.dumpRegisters(Serial);
#endif
  Serial.println("LoRa Setup done.");

  // Configure the Seeedstudio CO2, temperature & humidity sensor
  Serial.println("HM3301 setup start");
  if(sensor.init())
  {
    Serial.println("HM3301 init failed");
    while (true); // Drop into endless loop requiring restart
  
  }
  delay(100);
  Serial.println("HM3301 setup done");

  PayloadHeader((byte *)FieldGatewayAddress,strlen(FieldGatewayAddress), deviceSerialNumber, DeviceSerialNumberLength);

  Serial.println("Setup done");
  Serial.println();
}

void loop()
{
  unsigned long currentMilliseconds = millis();  
  byte sum=0;
  short pm1_0 ;
  short pm2_5 ;
  short pm10_0 ;

  Serial.println("Loop called");

  if(sensor.read_sensor_value(SensorPayload,SensorPayloadBufferSize) == NO_ERROR)
  {
    // Calculate then validate the payload "checksum"
    for(int i=0;i<SensorPayloadLength;i++)
    {
        sum+=SensorPayload[i];
    }
    if(sum!=SensorPayload[SensorPayloadLength])
    {
        Serial.println("Invalid checksum");
        return;
    }    

    PayloadReset();
    
    pm1_0 = (u16)SensorPayload[SensorPayloadPM1_0Position]<<8|SensorPayload[SensorPayloadPM1_0Position+1];
    Serial.print("PM1.5: ");
    Serial.print(pm1_0);
    Serial.println("ug/m3 ") ;

    PayloadAdd( "P10", pm1_0, false);
    
    pm2_5 = (u16)SensorPayload[SensorPayloadPM2_5Position]<<8|SensorPayload[SensorPayloadPM2_5Position+1];
    Serial.print("PM2.5: ");
    Serial.print(pm2_5);
    Serial.println("ug/m3 ") ;

    PayloadAdd( "P25", pm2_5, 1, false);

    pm10_0 = (u16)SensorPayload[SensorPayloadPM10_0Position]<<8|SensorPayload[SensorPayloadPM10_0Position+1];
    Serial.print("PM10.0: ");
    Serial.print(pm10_0);
    Serial.println("ug/m3 ");

    PayloadAdd( "P100", pm10_0, 0, true) ;

    #ifdef DEBUG_TELEMETRY
      Serial.println();
      Serial.print("RFM9X/SX127X Payload length:");
      Serial.print(payloadLength);
      Serial.println(" bytes");
    #endif

    LoRa.beginPacket();
    LoRa.write(payload, payloadLength);
    LoRa.endPacket();
  }
  Serial.println("Loop done");
  Serial.println();
  
  delay(SensorUploadDelay - (millis() - currentMilliseconds ));
}

void PayloadHeader( const byte *to, byte toAddressLength, const byte *from, byte fromAddressLength)
{
  byte addressesLength = toAddressLength + fromAddressLength ;

  payloadLength = 0 ;

  // prepare the payload header with "To" Address length (top nibble) and "From" address length (bottom nibble)
  
  payload[payloadLength] = (toAddressLength << 4) | fromAddressLength ;
  payloadLength += 1;

  // Copy the "To" address into payload
  memcpy(&payload[payloadLength], to, toAddressLength);
  payloadLength += toAddressLength ;

  // Copy the "From" into payload
  memcpy(&payload[payloadLength], from, fromAddressLength);
  payloadLength += fromAddressLength ;
}

void PayloadAdd( const char *sensorId, float value, byte decimalPlaces, bool last)
{
  byte sensorIdLength = strlen( sensorId ) ;

  memcpy( &payload[payloadLength], sensorId,  sensorIdLength) ;
  payloadLength += sensorIdLength ;
  payload[ payloadLength] = SensorIdValueSeperator;
  payloadLength += 1 ;
  payloadLength += strlen( dtostrf(value, -1, decimalPlaces, (char *)&payload[payloadLength]));
  if (!last)
  {
    payload[ payloadLength] = SensorReadingSeperator;
    payloadLength += 1 ;
  }
  
#ifdef DEBUG_TELEMETRY
  Serial.print("PayloadAdd float-payloadLength:");
  Serial.print( payloadLength);
  Serial.println( );
#endif
}

void PayloadAdd( char *sensorId, int value, bool last )
{
  byte sensorIdLength = strlen(sensorId) ;

  memcpy(&payload[payloadLength], sensorId,  sensorIdLength) ;
  payloadLength += sensorIdLength ;
  payload[ payloadLength] = SensorIdValueSeperator;
  payloadLength += 1 ;
  payloadLength += strlen(itoa( value,(char *)&payload[payloadLength],10));
  if (!last)
  {
    payload[ payloadLength] = SensorReadingSeperator;
    payloadLength += 1 ;
  }
  
#ifdef DEBUG_TELEMETRY
  Serial.print("PayloadAdd int-payloadLength:" );
  Serial.print(payloadLength);
  Serial.println( );
#endif
}

void PayloadAdd( char *sensorId, unsigned int value, bool last )
{
  byte sensorIdLength = strlen(sensorId) ;

  memcpy(&payload[payloadLength], sensorId,  sensorIdLength) ;
  payloadLength += sensorIdLength ;
  payload[ payloadLength] = SensorIdValueSeperator;
  payloadLength += 1 ;
  payloadLength += strlen(utoa( value,(char *)&payload[payloadLength],10));
  if (!last)
  {
    payload[ payloadLength] = SensorReadingSeperator;
    payloadLength += 1 ;
  }
  
#ifdef DEBUG_TELEMETRY
  Serial.print("PayloadAdd uint-payloadLength:");
  Serial.print(payloadLength);
  Serial.println( );
#endif
}

void PayloadReset()
{
  byte fromAddressLength = payload[0] & 0xf ;
  byte toAddressLength = payload[0] >> 4 ;
  
  payloadLength = toAddressLength + fromAddressLength + 1;
}

void DisplayHex( byte *byteArray, byte length) 
{
  for (int i = 0; i < length ; i++)
  {
    // Add a leading zero
    if ( byteArray[i] < 16)
    {
      Serial.print("0");
    }
    Serial.print(byteArray[i], HEX);
    if ( i < (length-1)) // Don't put a - after last digit
    {
      Serial.print("-");
    }
  }
}

The code is available on GitHub.

20:45:38.021 -> Setup called
20:45:38.054 -> Field gateway:LoRaIoT1 Frequency:915000000MHz SyncWord:18
20:45:38.156 -> SNo:01-23-8C-48-D6-D1-F5-86-EE
20:45:38.190 -> LoRa setup start
20:45:38.190 -> LoRa Setup done.
20:45:38.224 -> HM3301 setup start
20:45:38.292 -> HM3301 setup done
20:45:38.292 -> Setup done
20:45:38.292 -> 
20:45:38.325 -> Loop called
20:45:38.325 -> PM1.5: 10ug/m3 
20:45:38.359 -> PM2.5: 14ug/m3 
20:45:38.359 -> PM10.0: 19ug/m3 
20:45:38.393 -> Loop done
20:45:38.393 -> 
20:46:38.220 -> Loop called
20:46:38.220 -> PM1.5: 10ug/m3 
20:46:38.255 -> PM2.5: 15ug/m3 
20:46:38.255 -> PM10.0: 20ug/m3 
20:46:38.325 -> Loop done
20:46:38.325 -> 
20:47:38.181 -> Loop called
20:47:38.181 -> PM1.5: 10ug/m3 
20:47:38.181 -> PM2.5: 14ug/m3 
20:47:38.216 -> PM10.0: 19ug/m3 
20:47:38.250 -> Loop done
20:47:38.284 -> 
20:48:38.123 -> Loop called
20:48:38.123 -> PM1.5: 10ug/m3 
20:48:38.158 -> PM2.5: 14ug/m3 
20:48:38.158 -> PM10.0: 19ug/m3 
20:48:38.193 -> Loop done
20:48:38.227 -> 
20:49:38.048 -> Loop called
20:49:38.082 -> PM1.5: 10ug/m3 
20:49:38.082 -> PM2.5: 14ug/m3 
20:49:38.117 -> PM10.0: 19ug/m3 
20:49:38.151 -> Loop done
20:49:38.151 -> 
20:50:38.010 -> Loop called
20:50:38.010 -> PM1.5: 9ug/m3 
20:50:38.010 -> PM2.5: 13ug/m3 
20:50:38.045 -> PM10.0: 18ug/m3 
20:50:38.079 -> Loop done
20:50:38.079 ->

To configure the device in Azure IoT Central (similar process for Adafruit.IO, working on support for losant, ubidots and MyDevices) I copied the SNo: from the Arduino development tool logging window and appended p10 for PM 1 value, p25 for PM2.5 value and p100 for PM10 value to the unique serial number from the ATSHA204A chip. (N.B. pay attention to the case of the field names they are case sensitive)

Azure IoT Central telemetry configuration

The rapidly settled into a narrow range of readings, but spiked when I took left it outside (winter in New Zealand) and the values spiked when food was being cooked in the kitchen which is next door to my office.

It would be good to run the sensor alongside a professional particulates monitor so the values could be compared and used to adjust the readings of the Grove sensor if necessary.

Hour of PM1, PM2.5 & PM10 readings in my office early evening
CO2 and particulates values while outside on my deck from 10:30pm to 11:30pm

Bill of materials (prices as at August 2019)

  • Seeeduino Nano USD6.90
  • Grove – Laser PM2.5 Sensor (HM3301) USD29.90
  • EasySensors Arduino Nano radio shield RFM95 USD15.00