Mare & Gal Electronics

The described device is nearly matchbox-sized board (50 x 24 mm) packed with sensors. Auxilary board is 10x50mm with additional sensors. The module is developed around the Murata ABZ LoRa module, which integrates STM32L072 and samtech SX1276 in tiny 12.5 x 11.6 x 1.76 mm package. The main board is equipped with following sensors:

• Magnetic compass MAG3110
• Thermometer TMP75 for internal temperature measurements
• MPU unit is MPU6050
• RH and temperature sensor Si7013

Small section of the main board can be separated. There aqre 6 sensor on this part of the PCB:

• Thermometer TMP75
• RH sensor SHT31
• RH, T and pressure sensor BME280
• Another Si7013 for external RH and T measurement
• Ambient light sensor VEML6030
• UV sensor VEML6075

There are two 1Mbit EEPROMs on-board for local data logging. Additional pins are available for SPI, 2x UART and I2C interface, where even more sensors can be attached.

LoRa multisensor module

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There are many steps from c source code to cloud data storage. Let’s start…

“To get the end, you must go back to the start” – Grandmother Yelsh

In this contribution I will describe how I started using Espressif ESP8266 with Eclipse and some other details how to store data in “usual” web server. I will not talk about the hardware too much. To follow the tutorial it is enough to have any ESP8266 module connected to serial port on PC either via USB/UART virtual cvom port or directly (rare these days). Two most common possibilities are either module with the USB/UART integrated on-board or separated USB/UART + ESP8266-xx module (usually on breadboard with some additional periphery):

Two most common types of dev.boards for ESP8266

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This is Raspberry Pi GPIO connector breakout board with some additional features:

• “Real” or “passive” PoE with 12V output
• 5V DC/DC module
• Additional 3,3V regulator
• ESD protection on all GPIO pins
• two additional pins for each pin on R.Pi 40 pin GPIO connector
• Separate UART and I2C headers
• 3,3V Supply for periphery is selectable: from R.Pi or from external regulator
• STM32F070 or similar in TSSOP-20 housing for controlling additional sensor or any other hardware
• Jumper for Cortex-M0 / R.Pi UART connection

First prototype

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The Pressure, temperature and humidity sensor based on MS5637 HDC1080 originally (Rev. 2) operates via RS485 interface and multidrop HDLC-like protocol.  I decided to simplify this for use with Raspberry Pi, arduion or any other mass platforms. First, I took away the RS485 transceiver and second, I simplified the communication.

First adaptation was easy:

Remove RS485 driver and connect Rx/Tx to A/B

Continue reading ‘Simple Rh, T and p sensor with UART communication’ »

Gal ordered some PCBs from PCB-Way a while ago. It was multiproject panel with several PCBs. One of the modules was double sided revision of the Pressure, temperature and humidity sensor based on MS5637 HDC1080 which was posted while ago.

Pressure, temperature and humidity sensor based on MS5637 HDC1080

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Once finished (deadline is end of January) this project will become open-source software and hardware.

My quadruple BDC driver for supports up to 4 brushed motors with encoders. Each motor is controlled by its individual closed loop and individual PID gain settings. Additionally, motor speed can also be individually addressed. Analog part of the driver is based on DRV8701P predriver and is controlled by STM32F4 microcontroller.

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This LED decoration is for beginners in microcontroller applications. It has 8 LEDs, audio generator and possibility to interconnect with other modules. The PCB is simplified to certain level in order to be manufacturable on a single sided substrate with minimum effort. There are only two wire bridges and one 0 ohm resistor in addition to other components. The LED decoration can be used in school projects or for new-years fun. Of course it’s not limited to X-mas tree. It can be used during Bodhi Day, Hanukkah, Id al-Adha, Winter Solstice celebration, Saturnalia, Yule, Kwanza, Omisoka or any other occasion which might come at the end of the year, when day is short and some LED blinking device might rise your mood.

The concept of this LED decoration:

LED decoration concept

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I recently received 1m of APA102C led strip with 144 leds per meter. I want to use the strip for rotary POV display so I cut the strip in half and tested the performance with a STM32L476RGT nucleo board. The results of the tests are surprising and very promising for my application.

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Our home vineyard delivers about 1000 liters of wine every year. It takes some effort to keep good quality and pleasure for all friends tasting the must, new wine and “senior” wine reserves. One of the most important tasks in wine quality management is controlling the biological and chemical state of the wine. The wine can be monitored in special laboratory or in home lab. Of course home lab become rational when quantity of the wine is high enough to justify expenses in special equipment.  There is some low cost equipment available for wine analysis, mostly with titration techniques, but chemical lab equipment is rather expensive and many hobby wineries avoid buying such equipment. I hope this post can contribute a bit to change that. I will describe the development of simple pH meter in detail.

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