Sources for Arduinos, sensors, etc.

[revo442]

My dream came true by finding this forum. my first noob question, I have a raspberry Pi ver B. where is the best place to get an arduino and sensors?

[demondreamer]

The Buono Uno R3 are Arduino clones Eric uses in his writeup. You can get them on eBay for $10 each from China, but expect a month or so for it to arrive.

Here's a link to the search on eBay:
www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2050601.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H0.Xbuono+uno.TRS0&_nkw=buono+uno&_sacat=0

                       papa: As of 5/23/2021m Buonos are no longer sold there ^^.

I've got about 8 now and they've all worked without any problem.

Sensors I've bought from Dealextreme.com and Banggood.com. There's more sensors than you can imagine and they are cheap. Be careful on these Chinese websites. It's kind of like being a kid in a candy store. You'll want everything. lol

You'll also probably want a solderless breadboard or 5 and don't forget to pickup Dupont cables in Male-Male, Male-Female and Female-Female

If you want quality, name brand, customer support and documentation, buy from Adafruit.com or Sparkfun.com.

-Demondreamer

[camblonie]

I agree w everything Dd said. Ebay is another great source for just about everything. Lately I get more small packages from China then regular mail.

[jemamena]

Try this website, they have good prices and all you need to get started:

aura-comms.com/shop/

[papa]

        This could be a useful thread to recommend vendors (or NOT) for the parts we need.

My use of eBay China vendors has been mostly reliable (working parts plus replacements & refunds for non-working parts) & inexpensive, but requiring long waits.

I've had good results from this eBay vendor in the U.S. whose prices are often best of U.S. sources, packages arrive soon, & service has been good to resolve occasional problems.

For parts, I also recommend Mouser & Digi-Key. They have bountiful inventories to search through & bulk pricing. I've also bought from Banggood.com.

I've bought breakaway female headers from cutedigi. << link updated 12/6/2017

For the Buono Uno, the Arduino clone switchable between 5 volts & 3.3 volts, search eBay for:
    "BUONO UNO R3 Compatible Arduino UNO R3 Improved 3.3V/5V Selectable Cable"
I've bought them 5 at a time.

See this thread for a variety of 3.3 volt Arduino compatibles being used successfully for this project.

Here's something to sense levels in petroleum & other chemical products (NOT cheap).  Pife mentioned it in this thread.  I don't know any more.

        What other vendors do you recommend or not?

[greginkansas]

I use a lot of these all in one boards.
www.anarduino.com/?cid=25

[papa]

Thanks, greg. I've also used some of those anarduino miniwireless, a small Arduino clone that can come with the RFM69 radio installed. I have one inside a node that resembles a computourist DIG node. Being small, they fit in tight places.

I've bought & installed a lot of these prototyping shields. << This is from that U.S. supplier I like a lot, but eBay also offers them cheaper & slower from Asia. Installed on top a Buono Uno clone, as is they add more Arduino GND sockets & provide a spare push button for a full DHT End Node. I've documented how to hack them to make more 3.3 volt sockets.

[greginkansas]

Also these RFM69 Breakout Boards for 5V sensor nodes
www.adafruit.com/product/3070

[papa]

        RFM69 radio connections are so close together for soldering, especially for beginners.
            I don't mind (anymore), but how could we avoid or reduce the hassles?

1) Buy an Arduino clone which already has a RFM69 radio at our chosen frequency. Instead of 5v, they provide 3.3 volts, safe for RFM69 radios.  One could choose an Anarduino Miniwireless (as greg & I mentioned a few posts above) or a lowpower.com Moteino, both good products. They're small so they fit in tight places, but they don't work with standard Arduino shields & may not provide enough power for some things.

This post has a little about getting started with an Anarduino Miniwireless.

2) Use an RFM69 Breakout Board (as greg mentioned just above).  I have not used those RFM69 Breakout Boards. However, they look useful for beginners, for saving time, or for using a 5 volt Arduino instead of a 3.3 volt capable Arduino. An RFM69 radio is mounted on a slightly larger board to make it more convenient for installing in a project like our forum.

From Adafruit's informative tutorial: "Each radio comes a 3.3V voltage regulator and levelshifter that can handle 3-5V DC power and logic so you can use it with 3V or 5V devices." Looks like the boards connections follow the standard .1 inch separation that would work on a breadboard.

All the connections used by this forum's projects are on one side of the board. They are labelled somewhat differently from the RFM69 radio, but this part of the Adafruit tutorial helps translate.

One still needs to solder antenna wire & header pins or wires, but at places more separated than on the RFM69 radio.

There's one board for 433MHz & another for both 868 & 900 MHz.

[greginkansas]

Good write up. I think this part needs to be-
They provide 3.3 volts not 5V

"but they don't work with standard Arduino shields & may not provide enough power for some things

[papa]

Thanks, greg, for the kudos & the added note. I added something in the post just above.

     
        ^^ I often use dupont cables to make connections in my projects. They are color-coded insulated wires of at least two different lengths. Their ends can be male (M) to M, female (F) to F, or M to F. The M ends fit ok in Arduino sockets & F ends are similar to Arduino sockets.

This link displays a variety of dupont cables from a U.S. supplier I like. Many more possibilities are available online.

[papa]

        A decent set of tools helps soldering & assembling a circuit:

I followed recommendations to buy Ladyada's Electronics Toolkit & have been well satisfied (& Adafruit did not compensate me in any way). As of 3/27/2017, it's $100 plus shipping, but I found it a good selection & decent quality. If you already have some tools, you might consider filling in listed items you do not have. Certainly helpful is a good wire stripper, an adjustable soldering iron with a small tip, & small diameter solder.

[jimkernsjr]

a SDR dongle like an RTL2832 and the free SDR sharp [software] is invaluable to test the RFM radios. You can easy see if they are transmitting or not, power, etc. I got the idea from Ladyada too...

[papa]

In this post & this, we mentioned the Anarduino.com Miniwireless, a small Arduino compatible that sends & receives 3.3 volts on its data pins & can have an RFM69radio pre-installed. However, the Miniwireless does not have a built in power supply.

The right battery setup might work, but I have not tried that. Via its VIN pin, the Miniwireless (MW) can receive 3.3-7 volts (like 5 volts from a USB phone charger) & convert it to 3.3 volts.  One might hack a USB cord to connect to MW's VIN & GND pins. I've also used this Micro USB Breakout Board - Micro B Female Connector (BB) to connect the Micro USB end of a cable to the corresponding Miniwireless power pins. So connect MW's VIN to BB's VCC.  Connect MW's GND  to BB's GND.

     

The Micro USB Breakout Board might help power other devices (like an ESP8266 board), but one might also have to feed its 5 volts through a 3.3 volt regulator.

[papa]

        Another Possible Arduino Compatible for Nodes
            At First Promising, Then Problematic.

     At First Promising ...

ngy "I did notice a new board out, the Massduino by the same company as the Buono Uno boards. Have you tried any of them for additional cost savings?"

papa: I have not tried the Massduino. The Massduino seems to have similar specs as the Buono Uno. Only differences I noticed: microprocessor, 12 bit vs 10 bit ADC resolution, & that Massduino shares 1kb EEPROM with flash memory. So the Massduino may be OK for this forum's projects.

ngy: "my massduino boards came in, and they seem to operate just fine, based on my few basic sketches I uploaded to it. Looks like we have an even cheaper option for creating nodes!"

papa: Good to hear, ngy. Keep us posted on how the massduinos perform, especially when you put larger demands on them.

    Then Problematic ...

In the next post, see ngy's followup report on the Massduino.

[papa]

           Massduino Arduino Compatible,

    ?? Mixed Results for RFM69 Gateways or Nodes

Today, ngy reported: one thing I noticed is that the Massduino does not work well as a gateway, nor as an end node. While the Arduino software uploaded the sketch to the Massduino with no problem, the Massduino programmed for an RFM69 Gateway or node does not perform as expected, so I can NOT recommend it.

papa: The RFM69 radio (especially the "H" high power version) needs a lot of current for stable operation. The Massduino may not provide enough current for the RFM69 radio.

For RFM69 Gateway & nodes, I continue to recommend a Buono Uno or these devices that have an  installed RFM69 radio of your chosen frequency:  Anarduino Miniwireless or lowpowerlab.com Moteino.

        Thanks, ngy, for reporting your experience with the Massduino.

Update, June 23, 2021: See below for my success with using a Massduino for a DIY Home Automation node. So far the specifications & my experience indicate my recently purchased Massduino has enough current for the RFM69 radio.

[papa]

            Update on Arduinos for Gateways & End Nodes

See this thread for a variety of 3.3 volt Arduino compatibles that have been used successfully for this project.

As I've said before, for this DIY Home Automation, I've preferred the 3.3 volt switchable Buono Uno Arduino Compatible. However over time, the Buono is less available. I only found it at the AliExpress store of Inhaos, the Buono's company.

Inhaos also offers the cheaper Massduino. For purchase, see also here. However, ngy above reported lack of Gateway or end node success.

        I recently purchased & had some success with a Massduino:

With some effort, I was able to install the Massduino with the Arduino IDE, build a DIY Home Automation node with an RFM69 radio, & get (mostly) correct results.

        See the following posts for more on the Massduino & the success I had.

[papa]

        Good Features & Advantages of the Massduino
        (See previous post for where to purchase)

My Board is a MassDuino UNO LC.

The MassDuino is cheaper (currently $3.99 or $5.99) than the Buono Uno (currently $9.99)

Like the Buono Uno (compared to other compatibles), the Massduino has enough current to power the RFM69 radio in our nodes.

Instead of a (sometimes flaky) switch on a Buono, the Massduino uses a jumper to select 3.3v mode that is healthy for the RFM radio & other devices.

        Arduino Uno shields mount fine on the MassDuino Uno LC

The MassDuino's digital, analog, & power pins have both female & male headers so every pin could receive two connections.

Like the Arduino UNO & Buono Uno, the MassDuino Uno LC has a USB port for programming & serial communication. The Massduino Uno LC uses a supposedly better CH341 USB to UART Bridge Chip to accomplish this. See related disadvantages below.

The MassDuino has ADC resolution of 10, 12, & 16 bit resolution vs 10 bit for Arduino Uno & Buono Uno.

     To access, use instructions analogRead()   OR analogRead_12bits()   OR  analogRead_16bits()

        Next: Some Disadvantages of the Massduino.

[papa]

        Some Disadvantages of the Massduino

Since the MassDuino ships from Asia, there's a long wait to receive it (& the Buono Uno, at least in the U.S.)

Possibly related to the Massduino adding 12 & 16 bit ADC resolution, our nodes' device 4 (battery voltage) gives false readings.

Possibly related to the CH341 USB to UART, I had trouble getting a USB port for serial communication.

    Until I overcame this, I could not upload programming to the MassDuino or do serial communication with it.

    Next: Installing the MassDuino Uno LC with the Arduino IDE

[papa]

        Install the MassDuino Uno LC with the Arduino IDE

Go to this company site. This site plus clicking the [Download] tab may offer more MassDuino related files.

      Download all titles that include "Massduino," especially those mentioned below.

For an overview, read the downloaded UM-MASSDUINO-V3.0-EN MassDuino User Maunal.pdf. (yes, "manual" is misspelled)

    As below, I adapted the instructions in the user manual.

        I installed the MassDuino in Windows 10 so other operating systems may need adjusting.

At the top of the Arduino IDE, note its version (currently mine is 1.8.8).

In the Arduino IDE menu, go to the File/Preferences menu & make note of your "sketchbook location," a key storage folder.

    In my case, this folder is C:\Users\Papa\Documents\Arduino.

        Caution: Now CLOSE the Arduino IDE before doing the following.

Extract the downloaded Arduino - Massduino_Support_Package_Vxx.zip file. Expand the resulting folders & see folders for different versions of Arduino IDE. According to my Arduino IDE version (1.8.8), I used files from the For Arduino-1.6.6-Later folder.

According to your IDE version, copy the \For Arduino...\libraries files into the ...\Arduino\libraries folder (creating the \libraries folder if it does not exist).

The manual says to copy the For Arduino...\hardware\MD folder into the ...\Arduino\hardware\MD folder. However, at least on Windows, it seems best to copy into the C:\Program Files (x86)\Arduino\hardware\MD folder.

For later use, note that the support package's \For Arduino... folder has other folders containing sample sketches.

       TO BE CONTINUED

[papa]

            Install the MassDuino Uno LC with the Arduino IDE,

                            Continued

With the previous post's instructions done, the manual files says, "Connect the MassDuino board to your computer with a USB cable."

     I did this on my Windows 10 machine using the same USB port where I connect a Buono Uno board (port 3).

        Windows tried (more than once) to install the driver & port AND FAILED.

            I moved on & hoped I could fix this later.

The manual next says, "Open the Arduino IDE. Select the board: Click Tools/Board..."

    I scrolled down the board list to the heading "Massduino Ev Boards."

       Under that heading, I selected "MD328D-LQFP32," based on the MassDuino Uno LC's processor.

The manual next says, "Select the COM: Click Tools/Port/COM4 (connect to MassDuino.)

     I could not do this. As said above, the driver & port had failed to be assigned.

            TO BE CONTINUED

[papa]

                Install the MassDuino Uno LC with the Arduino IDE,
                            Continued

Attempts to get the port & serial communication working...

From the downloads, I saved & expanded the archive (MassDuino) CH341 USB to Serial Driver.rar

     I chose the version for my Windows OS

More than once I executed ...\CH341 USB to Serial Driver\CH341SER_Win.ZIP\CH341SER\setup.exe

    That failed.

Finally, I moved the MassDuino's cable to different USB port on my Windows computer.

     Success. Now in the Arduino IDE, I could select Tool\Ports\COM4.

Now Window's Device Manager Ports includes USB-SERIAL CH340 (COM4)

   Right clicking that item & selecting properties ... driver details: C:\WINDOWS\System32\Drivers\CH341S64.SYS

      Other info indicates that Windows supplied the correct driver.

[papa]

        MassDuino, Evaluation So Far

So far it seems the MassDuino can be made to work with our DIY Home Automation project & evidences some advantages. (See this post.)

    Downsides so far of using a MassDuino:

Our nodes' device 4 (battery voltage) gives false readings & I could not find a way to get the device 4's sketch code to work correctly.

There may be some hassles in getting the MassDuino's serial connection to work with the computer's USB.

[papa]

        Massduino Update

In above posts, I recount how I got a Massduino (Arduino compatible) to work sometimes with Windows. Some USB ports would recognize it & some not.

Now I've been trying it with Linux. Again sometimes a USB port will recognize it & sometimes not. It acts like it takes an upload from Arduino IDE. However via Arduino IDE Serial Monitor (set to correct baud), I just get garbage output.

Unfortunately, I cannot recommend the Massduino for our projects.

[papa]

According to chehre, a Seeeduino V4.2 Arduino Compatible is an option for nodes & gateways IF a current Arduino IDE is used to program it.