Peppson/radio-nodesSolar/Battery/USB powered wireless "smarthome" modules
NRF node smd is an open-source printed circuit board by Peppson, from the Peppson/radio-nodes repository on GitHub. It is a 2-layer board of 32 × 41 mm with 24 parts on 23 nets, routed with 372 tracks and 26 vias.
It is built around the ATTINY84A-PU. Its parts include 7 capacitors, 4 resistors, 2 ICs, 1 diode and 1 transistor. It belongs with the power and home automation and IoT boards and the AVR (ATmega, ATtiny) boards of this library.
Solar/Battery/USB powered wireless "smarthome" modules, based on the Attiny824 microcontroller.
Serves as the end-node of MQTT-radio-gateway.
Written in C++ with PlatformIO.
Each node is easily configurable to perform various tasks, such as watering plants,
turn on the coffeemaker, opening blinds, relaying sensor data, etc.
Power consumption was the main concern when designing this.
Nodes consumes ∼2mA @ 3.3V in active listening mode, and as low as ∼3uA @ 3.3V while deepsleeping!
Making it possible to power some nodes indefinitely from a small solarpanel.
Measured and optimized using Power Profiler Kit II.
This project was primarily made for personal "needs". But it is open for use by anyone who finds it beneficial.
Every node has it's own directory inside src with it's own enviroment, selected from platformio.ini.
Made a compact PCB integrating a TP4056 Li-ion/LiPo battery charger, an nRF24L01+ radio,
and the Attiny824 AVR microcontroller.
More images in: 📂 _images/
KiCad files: 📂 _KiCad/
2-layer PCB, dimensions 42mm x 31mm.
The PCB has 3 sections, configurable based on the node.
- BAT or USB: Battery or USB/5V driven.
- LOAD: Components for the "load driver circuit".
In active mode, the node toggles its radio
onfor 50ms andofffor 950ms to minimize power usage,
halting the CPU between pulses.Resulting in an average power draw of ∼2mA @ 3.3V.
The ATtiny 2-series MCUs have UPDI interface. Which makes it possible to program with only 1 data pin!
You can see the UPDI pins at the bottom of the PCB.
I created a simple DIY programmer using an Arduino Nano, to help with uploading firmware.
More details here UPDI programmer.
With and without the TP4056 and nRF24L01+ modules. Dimensions 42mm x 31mm.
The picture shows a battery/solar-powered node.
Uses a 3-5V waterpump and DIY capacative fluid-level sensor. See link below.
Liquid Level Sensing Using Capacitive-to-Digital Converters
The solar-powered variant uses the TP4056 to charge a Li-ion/LiPo battery.
While the USB variant skips that step and plugs directly into 5V (with 3.3V LDO onboard).
Sensor (ADC) reading vs water level in %.
Most of the self-watering plant nodes have the hardware inside a plastic enclosure,
which I just hide behind the pots.
However, for node 1, I placed all electronics underneath for a pretty decent look.
Uses a SG90 servo mounted internally to toggle the On/Off button,
and a hall-effect current sensor, to get the current state.
"Looks pretty neat when the button toggles all by itself :)"
| Qty | Value | Footprint | References |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 100nF | Capacitor_Tantalum_SMD:CP_EIA-2012-15_AVX-P_Pad1.30x1.05mm_HandSolder | C4, C5, C6 |
| 2 | 1uf | Capacitor_Tantalum_SMD:CP_EIA-2012-15_AVX-P_Pad1.30x1.05mm_HandSolder | C1, C2 |
| 1 | 0-10K ? | Resistor_THT:R_Axial_DIN0207_L6.3mm_D2.5mm_P7.62mm_Horizontal | R8 |
| 1 | 10K | Resistor_SMD:R_0805_2012Metric_Pad1.20x1.40mm_HandSolder | R4 |
| 1 | 10uF | Capacitor_SMD:C_1210_3225Metric_Pad1.33x2.70mm_HandSolder | C7 |
| 1 | 22uF | Capacitor_SMD:C_1210_3225Metric_Pad1.33x2.70mm_HandSolder | C3 |
| 1 | 5.1K | Resistor_THT:R_Axial_DIN0207_L6.3mm_D2.5mm_P7.62mm_Horizontal | R1 |
| 1 | 6.8K | Resistor_THT:R_Axial_DIN0207_L6.3mm_D2.5mm_P7.62mm_Horizontal | R2 |
| 1 | ATtiny84A-P | Package_SO:SOIC-14_3.9x8.7mm_P1.27mm | U2 |
| 1 | Conn_01x06 | Connector_PinHeader_2.54mm:PinHeader_1x06_P2.54mm_Vertical | J6 |
| 1 | D | Diode_SMD:D_SOD-123F | D1 |
| 1 | MCP1700T-3302E/MB | Package_TO_SOT_SMD:SOT-89-3 | U1 |
| 1 | NRF24L01_Breakout | RF_Module:nRF24L01_Breakout | nRF24L01+ |
| 1 | TO-92_Inline | Package_TO_SOT_THT:TO-92_Inline | Q1 |
| 1 | ~ | TP4045:TP4056-18650 | TP4056 |
The 18 most common of 24 parts.
copperheadhq/copperhead-quiet-orbit
USB-C four-light ambient lamp, 57 mm, ATtiny84A hardware PWM. Designed with copperhead. Never built: do not order expecting it to work.
arcadien/tinySensor
Firmware and generic board for low-power environment sensors
pddenhar/Volvo_240_Info_Display
OLED dashboard module for the Volvo 240 displaying battery voltage, speed, and RPM.
BryceVandegrift/hot-plate
A DIY PCB hot plate that uses through hole components
AhmedAtefNasr/PCB_Course-IMT_school
Here's the repo for Assignments & projects of PCB course from IMT school
Brawn1/ATTiny-Door-Sensor
Door Sensor Battery based with Attiny84 and HC-12 Sender
It measures 32 × 41 mm and has 2 copper layers, 1.6 mm thick.
24 parts, built around the ATTINY84A-PU. The full list of its parts is on this page, with links to each part's symbol and footprint where PCBKit's library has them.
From the Peppson/radio-nodes repository on GitHub, at the commit this page was made from: the board is _KiCad/NRF_node_smd.kicad_pcb and its schematic _KiCad/NRF_node_smd.kicad_sch. PCBKit opens the board in the browser, with nothing to install.
Its repository states no licence, so its author keeps all rights: ask Peppson before reusing the design.
