Sunday 26 February 2012

Wireless sensor node - new hardware (7)

In my last wireless sensor node post I described the compact breadboard layout which I had come up with for prototyping. This layout allowed me to program my ATtinty85, run my ATtiny85 RX TX and run my Arduino RX. However, this was really cumbersome and I don't want to tie up my Arduino Uno for ever. It's time to break out my TX and RX nodes into their own circuits.

Firstly I have my base station RX node based around my new Arduino Pro Mini. This has the following parts:
  • Breadboard
  • RF RX module
  • Arduino Pro Mini
  • One of:
    • FTDI cable for programming + power
    • USB breakout board for power + Bluesmirf Silver Bluetooth module for wireless comms with the board
The results look like this with the FTDI cable.


The extra bit of tripad board here is because I don't have any double sided male headers.



 The base station looks like this with the Bluetooth module and USB power.


The wireless TX sensor node itself continues to be based around an ATtiny85. However, now that I have a dedicated USBtiny programmer I can use the following circuit for conveniently prototyping the TX board. This has the following parts.
  • Breadboard
  • RF TX module
  • ATtiny85
  • One of:
    • USBtiny for programming + power
    • Battery pack for power
The results look like this with the USBtiny programmer:


The TX node looks like this with the battery pack.