Connection Improved - ESP8266 Node

[agecrabahaykubo]

Hi everyone, it's been a while since my last post. Was busy tinkering with this home automation project and scouring the net for some answer to a MQTT error that I saw in the log.

Here's the error log from mosquitto.

1496961417: New client connected from 192.168.0.xx as mcuClient (c1, k15).
1496961423: New connection from 192.168.0.xx on port 1883.
1496961423: Client mcuClient already connected, closing old connection.
1496961423: Client mcuClient disconnected.
1496961423: New client connected from 192.168.0.xx as mcuClient (c1, k15).
1496961445: Client mcuClient has exceeded timeout, disconnecting.
1496961445: Socket error on client mcuClient, disconnecting.
1496961603: New connection from 192.168.0.xx on port 1883.
1496961603: New client connected from 192.168.0.xx as mcuClient (c1, k15).
1496962887: Saving in-memory database to /var/lib/mosquitto/mosquitto.db.

Here's the sketch for nodeMCU board which i copied/stiched from the sample codes.

#include <ESP8266WiFi.h>
#include <PubSubClient.h>
#include <Wire.h>
#include <Time.h>
#include <TimeAlarms.h>

#define relayPin D1 // Pin of Relay Module
bool state=false;

void callback(char* topic, byte* payload, unsigned int length);

// Wifi settings
const char* ssid = "xxxxxxxxxx";
const char* password = "xxxxxxxxx";
const char* mqtt_server = "192.168.0.xx";
//const char* mqtt_port = "1883";

WiFiClient espClient;
PubSubClient client(mqtt_server, 1883, callback, espClient);

void setup_wifi() {
delay(100);
// We start by connecting to a WiFi network
Serial.print("Connecting to ");
Serial.println(ssid);
WiFi.mode(WIFI_STA);
WiFi.begin(ssid, password);
while (WiFi.status() != WL_CONNECTED)
{
delay(500);
Serial.print(".");
}
randomSeed(micros());
Serial.println("");
Serial.println("WiFi connected");
Serial.println("IP address: ");
Serial.println(WiFi.localIP());
}

void callback(char* topic, byte* payload, unsigned int length) {

if (strcmp(topic,"/home/room2/ardshield/lamp2/com")==0) {
if (payload[0] == '0')
{
digitalWrite(relayPin, LOW); // Turns OFF Relay and light
Serial.println ("Light switch OFF");
delay(1000);
client.publish("/home/room2/ardshield/lamp2/state","0");
}
else if (payload[0] == '1')
{
digitalWrite(relayPin, HIGH); // Turns ON Relay and light
Serial.println ("Light switch ON");
delay(1000);
client.publish("/home/room2/ardshield/lamp2/state","1");
}
}

}

void reconnect() {
// Loop until we're reconnected
while (!client.connected())
{
Serial.print("Attempting MQTT connection...");
// Create a random client ID
String clientId = "ESP8266Client-";
clientId += String(random(0xffff), HEX);
// Attempt to connect
//if your MQTT broker has clientID,username and password
//please change following line to if (client.connect(clientId,userName,passWord))
if (client.connect(clientId.c_str()))
{
Serial.println("connected");
//once connected to MQTT broker, subscribe command if any
client.subscribe("LivingRoomLamp");
} else {
Serial.print("failed, rc=");
Serial.print(client.state());
Serial.println(" try again in 5 seconds");


// Wait 6 seconds before retrying
delay(5000);
}
}
}


void setup(){
Serial.begin(115200);
pinMode(relayPin, OUTPUT); // Set Pin connected to Relay as an OUTPUT
// pinMode(ldrSensorPin, INPUT);
setup_wifi();
client.setServer(mqtt_server, 1883);
client.setCallback(callback);

Serial.println(" Starting ");
delay(1000);


if (client.connect("mcuClient")) {

Serial.println("MQTT Connected");
client.publish("outTopic","hello world");
client.subscribe("/home/room2/ardshield/lamp2/#"); // Subscribe to all messages for this device
}

pinMode(relayPin, OUTPUT);
digitalWrite(relayPin, LOW);

//set the time and date
setTime(18,40,0,6,8,2017); // set time to Wednesday, May 26, 2017


// create the alarms
Alarm.alarmRepeat(6,15,0, TurnOffLight); // 7:00am every day (summer)
Alarm.alarmRepeat(22,15,0, TurnOnLight); // Turn Light ON from Mon-Fri
}

void loop(){

if (!client.connected()) {
reconnect();
}
client.loop();
digitalClockDisplay();
Alarm.delay(1000); // wait one second between clock display
}

// functions to be called when an alarm triggers:

void TurnOffLight()
{
digitalWrite(relayPin, LOW); //turn OFF relay
Serial.println("Alarm: - turn lights off");
client.publish("/home/room2/ardshield/lamp2/state","0");
delay(1000);
}

void TurnOnLight()
{
digitalWrite(relayPin, HIGH); //turn on relay
Serial.println("Alarm: - turn lights on");
client.publish("/home/room2/ardshield/lamp2/state","1");
delay(1000);
}

void digitalClockDisplay()
{
// digital clock display of the time
Serial.print(hour());
printDigits(minute());
printDigits(second());
Serial.println();
}

void printDigits(int digits)
{
Serial.print(":");
if(digits < 10)
Serial.print('0');
Serial.print(digits);
}

So basically I added two relay/openhab controlled lamp, one with uno & ethernet shield and the other one is nodeMCU board(esp8266) but not really connected to multi-choice node.

After some period of time I guess when the connection timed-out the virtual switch from openhab interface is not responding anymore but it is still do the switching only not turning on/off the light.

I hope I make sense with my explanation

Thanks.

Mark

[papa]

So far I don't use the ESP8266 devices, but I'll offer a couple of things.

1) I changed the thread title to Connection Errors - ESP8266. Maybe that will draw in some more experienced help for those devices.

2) I wonder if the more revealing error messages are earlier in the log than socket error.

1496961417: New client connected from 192.168.0.16 as mcuClient (c1, k15).
                        ^^ Papa: Successful connection
1496961423: New connection from 192.168.0.16 on port 1883.
                        ^^ Are two things (two devices or two parts of one sketch) trying to connect using same IP 192.168.0.16?
1496961423: Client mcuClient already connected, closing old connection.
                        ^^ Yes, there was a successful connection before the new attempted connection so the first connection was closed & disconnected
1496961423: Client mcuClient disconnected.
1496961423: New client connected from 192.168.0.16 as mcuClient (c1, k15) ...

The above reminds me of when I missed giving unique client IDs to each of two gateway sketches.

3) If you have not already, compare your ESP8266 sketch to this one of computourist's.

[computourist]

Hi agecrabahaykubo ,

you are trying to connect two nodes simultaneously, both having identical MQTT client-ID's (mcuClient).
Mosquitto cannot distinguish between the two, and serves only one connection.

Have a look at my Sonoff 1.2 code, where I include the node-number in the MQTT client name to generate unique ID's.
See github.com/computourist/ESP8266-MQTT-client/blob/master/ESP_SONOFF_12/ESP_SONOFF_12.ino, line 238.


Have fun !

Computourist.

[agecrabahaykubo]

Jun 9, 2017 8:37:13 GMT computourist said:

Hi agecrabahaykubo ,

you are trying to connect two nodes simultaneously, both having identical MQTT client-ID's (mcuClient).
Mosquitto cannot distinguish between the two, and serves only one connection.

Have a look at my Sonoff 1.2 code, where I include the node-number in the MQTT client name to generate unique ID's.
See github.com/computourist/ESP8266-MQTT-client/blob/master/ESP_SONOFF_12/ESP_SONOFF_12.ino, line 238.


Have fun !

Computourist.

Hi Computourist,

Thanks for your response. If you don't mind to please have a look at the sketch I posted and highlight where my mistake are?

I was debugging the sketch last night and thinking that this is where maybe the error came from

void reconnect() {
// Loop until we're reconnected
while (!client.connected())
{
Serial.print("Attempting MQTT connection...");
// Create a random client ID
String clientId = "ESP8266Client-"; // please note that as of last night I changed it to mcuClient
clientId += String(random(0xffff), HEX);
// Attempt to connect
//if your MQTT broker has clientID,username and password
//please change following line to if (client.connect(clientId,userName,passWord))
if (client.connect(clientId.c_str()))
{
Serial.println("connected");
//once connected to MQTT broker, subscribe command if any
client.subscribe("LivingRoomLamp");
} else {
Serial.print("failed, rc=");
Serial.print(client.state());
Serial.println(" try again in 5 seconds");
// Wait 6 seconds before retrying
delay(5000);
}
}
}

and here's the other one.

void setup(){
Serial.begin(115200);
pinMode(relayPin, OUTPUT); // Set Pin connected to Relay as an OUTPUT

setup_wifi();
client.setServer(mqtt_server, 1883);
client.setCallback(callback);

Serial.println(" Starting ");
delay(1000);


if (client.connect("mcuClient")) {

Serial.println("MQTT Connected");
client.publish("outTopic","hello world");
client.subscribe("/home/room2/ardshield/lamp2/#"); // Subscribe to all messages for this device
}

Please let me know how to correct it.

Thanks in advance.

[agecrabahaykubo]

Hi papa/computourist,

I continued debugging the sketch and took out this line and the connection now is somehow became a little bit stable. Thank you for your inputs guys.

if (client.connect("mcuClient")) {

Serial.println("MQTT Connected");
digitalWrite(LED_BUILTIN, HIGH); // turn the LED on (HIGH is the voltage level)
client.publish("outTopic","hello world");
client.subscribe("/home/room2/ardshield/lamp2/#"); // Subscribe to all messages for this device
//added this line here
} else {
Serial.print("failed, rc=");
Serial.print(client.state());
Serial.println(" try again in 5 seconds");
// to here

// Wait 6 seconds before retrying
delay(5000);
}

[papa]

You're welcome, agecrabahaykubo, glad you are making progress.  I changed the thread title to indicate that.

For the possible benefit of others, you could perhaps provide (as an attachment) your current sketch & a few notes on using it.
================================
Thanks, computourist for your contribution. Always good to hear from you.

[agecrabahaykubo]

Hi papa - here's the working and so far stable(connection) sketch. I used some of the example sketch, copied some parts and stitched it together, so forgive me if it is not well written.

I use this to automate our lamp/light on a timed-based setting and controllable also via OpenHab user interface.

#include <ESP8266WiFi.h> // Library for nodeMCU board to connect to WiFi
#include <PubSubClient.h>
#include <Wire.h>
#include <Time.h> // Library for setting whatever board you are using. I tried to use DS3231 time module but it does not work with TimeAlarm.
#include <TimeAlarms.h> // Library for setting time alarm

#define relayPin D1 // Pin of Relay Module, you can also use Solid State Relay
bool state=false;

void callback(char* topic, byte* payload, unsigned int length);

// Wifi settings
const char* ssid = "xxxxxxxxxx";
const char* password = "xxxxxxxxxx";
const char* mqtt_server = "192.168.xx.xxx";

//MQTT setup
WiFiClient espClient;
PubSubClient client(mqtt_server, 1883, callback, espClient);

void setup_wifi() {
delay(100);
// We start by connecting to a WiFi network
Serial.print("Connecting to ");
Serial.println(ssid);
WiFi.mode(WIFI_STA);
WiFi.begin(ssid, password);
while (WiFi.status() != WL_CONNECTED)
{
delay(500);
Serial.print(".");
}
randomSeed(micros());
Serial.println("");
Serial.println("WiFi connected");
Serial.println("IP address: ");
Serial.println(WiFi.localIP());
}

void callback(char* topic, byte* payload, unsigned int length) {

//This code here is used to control via Openhab UI
if (strcmp(topic,"/home/room2/ardshield/lamp2/com")==0) {
if (payload[0] == '0')
{
digitalWrite(relayPin, LOW); // Turns OFF Relay and light
Serial.println ("Light switch OFF");
delay(1000);
client.publish("/home/room2/ardshield/lamp2/state","0");
}
else if (payload[0] == '1')
{
digitalWrite(relayPin, HIGH); // Turns ON Relay and light
Serial.println ("Light switch ON");
delay(1000);
client.publish("/home/room2/ardshield/lamp2/state","1");
}
}
}

void reconnect() {
// Loop until we're reconnected
while (!client.connected())
{
Serial.print("Attempting MQTT connection...");
// Create a random client ID
String clientId = "espClient-";
clientId += String(random(0xffff), HEX);
// Attempt to connect
//if your MQTT broker has clientID,username and password
//please change following line to if (client.connect(clientId,userName,passWord))
if (client.connect(clientId.c_str()))
{
Serial.println("connected");
//once connected to MQTT broker, subscribe command if any
client.subscribe("/home/room2/ardshield/lamp2/#");
} else {
Serial.print("failed, rc=");
Serial.print(client.state());
Serial.println(" try again in 5 seconds");
// Wait 6 seconds before retrying
delay(5000);
}
}
}

void setup(){
Serial.begin(115200);
pinMode(relayPin, OUTPUT); // Set Pin connected to Relay as an OUTPUT

setup_wifi();
client.setServer(mqtt_server, 1883);
client.setCallback(callback);

Serial.println(" Starting ");
delay(1000);

setTime(17,50,0,6,9,2017); // set time and date


// create the alarms
Alarm.alarmRepeat(6,15,0, TurnOffLight); // 7:00am every day (summer)
Alarm.alarmRepeat(22,15,0, TurnOnLight); // Turn Light ON from Mon-Fri
}

void loop(){
if (!client.connected()) {
reconnect();
}
client.loop();

digitalClockDisplay();
Alarm.delay(1000); // wait one second between clock display
}

// functions to be called when an alarm triggers:
void TurnOffLight()
{
digitalWrite(relayPin, LOW); //turn OFF relay
Serial.println("Alarm: - turn lights off");
client.publish("/home/room2/ardshield/lamp2/state","0");
delay(1000);
}

void TurnOnLight()
{
digitalWrite(relayPin, HIGH); //turn on relay
Serial.println("Alarm: - turn lights on");
client.publish("/home/room2/ardshield/lamp2/state","1");
delay(1000);
}

void digitalClockDisplay()
{
// digital clock display of the time
Serial.print(hour());
printDigits(minute());
printDigits(second());
Serial.println();
}

void printDigits(int digits)
{
Serial.print(":");
if(digits < 10)
Serial.print('0');
Serial.print(digits);
}

Here's the OpenHab UI where I can monitor the status of the lamp/light. The bulb icon also indicates the status as well as the switch.

[papa]

agecrabahaykubo, thanks for posting your sketch with some explanatory notes.

Are your RFM69 gateway & RFM node or nodes still running in addition to the ESP8266 wifi node?

[agecrabahaykubo]

Jun 12, 2017 16:45:41 GMT papa said:

agecrabahaykubo, thanks for posting your sketch with some explanatory notes.

Are your RFM69 gateway & RFM node or nodes still running in addition to the ESP8266 wifi node?

Yes, both are still running. I will try to figure out how I can integrate esp8266 to connect to the gateway?

I tried to add a few more sensor that is not in the multichoice node and find it difficult to add the code needed.

I used esp8266 because i dont need to solder and readily available and have not to wait for a longer delivery time.

[papa]

The ESP8266 does not need to connect to the RFM69 gateway. The ESP8266 can connect to MQTT & OpenHAB via wifi.

What sensors were you trying to add? Maybe those on this forum can offer some hints.

I hear you about the soldering the RFM69 radios & shipping times on some Arduino compatibles.

greginkansas recommends these RFM69 Breakout Boards.  You can use them with a regular 5 volt Arduino.  They do need soldering, but not so close together as the RFM69 alone.  If 915 or 868 MHz frequencies will work for you, this might make it easier for you.

The Anarduino Miniwireless (an Arduino compatible) can be purchased with RFM69 radio already installed.  Some soldering is required but again not as close together.  Here's one thread & another that I did on working with the Miniwireless.

Soldering is a good skill to learn. With decent tools & practice, one can do it well enough. Did you see my post on soldering hints.

[papa]

agecrabahaykubo & others, I have started a new thread on How to Add a New Node Feature to the Multi-Choice Node sketch. I will use the example of adding a photoresistor (LDR) to a node. I hope this will help others move from something they desire to the hardware & coding to accomplish it.  I also hope this will help others not only create new node features, but also contribute their creations to this forum.

[agecrabahaykubo]

Jun 14, 2017 20:43:19 GMT papa said:

agecrabahaykubo & others, I have started a new thread on How to Add a New Node Feature to the Multi-Choice Node sketch. I will use the example of adding a photoresistor (LDR) to a node. I hope this will help others move from something they desire to the hardware & coding to accomplish it.  I also hope this will help others not only create new node features, but also contribute their creations to this forum.

Thanks a lot papa! Will try this soon.