2017 – Page 4 – SuperHouse Automation

Posted on March 29, 2017June 10, 2017 by Jonathan Oxer — 7 Comments

#22: AXA Electric Window Motors Controlled By LIN Bus And Arduino

Electric window motors allow your home automation system to open and close your windows as required. This could be useful for opening windows to allow ventilation, or to make sure all windows are automatically closed and locked when you leave home.

I recently got my hands on some AXA electric window motors that include a LIN bus interface so they can be linked to a home automation system, but I’ve never used LIN before so I needed to learn a bit about how it works. I designed my own LIN interface module that allows me to connect my laptop to LIN devices and manually send messages, and the module also allows an Arduino to control the window motors.

Parts used

The electric window motors are AXA Remote 2.0, which I bought from Digilock Australia.
I used a Freetronics EtherMega Arduino-compatible board, which combines an Arduino Mega with onboard Ethernet and Power-over-Ethernet. You can use any Arduino you like, provided it has enough hardware UARTs.
The LIN bus shield that I demonstrated in the video comes from some mysterious supplier in the Netherlands called MrX. I don’t know who designed it, but if you search for “HOME-LINBUS Arduino Shield” you may be able to find it on eBay or other places.
The LIN Bus Serial Interface Module that I designed for this episode is now available from Freetronics: www.freetronics.com.au/linmod. Also, you can see all the design files at github.com/SuperHouse/LINMOD
You can use any USB-to-serial converter to link the LIN Bus Serial Interface Module to your computer. I used a Freetronics USB-to-Serial Converter.
The hardware watchdog is the Freetronics Watchdog Timer Module.
The sensor is the Freetronics Temperature / Humidity Sensor.

Source code

Simple example that provides a menu and sends commands to a single LIN interface: AXARemoteSerialLinbus

More complex example which includes MQTT, DHCP, reading a MAC address ROM, 4 LIN interfaces, a watchdog timer, and a temperature / humidity sensor: AXAWindowMQTT

Instructions and explanation

More details to follow! I’ll update this after the video is ready.

Posted on March 29, 2017 by Daniel de Waard — Leave a comment

Programming the ESP8266 from the Arduino IDE

The ESP8266 is an extremely popular, low cost WiFi module which is widely used in DIY hardware hacking community.

The module provides one of the easiest ways to add WiFi to an Arduino project and as a result of it’s popularity there is a plenty of help available online if you get stuck! Whilst the ESP8266 can be used in combination with an Arduino, you can also use it as a stand alone microcontroller. Fortunately programming the ESP8266 as a stand alone board is quite straightforward and is even possible through the existing Arduino IDE. To find out more about how you can do program your ESP8266, checkout the following tutorial.

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Inspired to start work on this project? Are you working on a project you would like us to feature in this blog? The team at SuperHouse Automation would love to know! Tell us about it in the comments section below or on Facebook and Twitter.

Posted on March 22, 2017 by Daniel de Waard — Leave a comment

Fixing a Blown Arduino

Although Arduino boards are typically quite robust, things can still go wrong, especially when used by total beginners. One of the most catastrophic problems that can occur is totally burning out the ATmega microcontroller which is the brains of most Arduino boards. Fortunately this scenario doesn’t have to mean the end for your Arduino board and can actually represent a fantastic learning opportunity! With this tutorial from make you can learn how to replace a burnt-out ATmega in your Arduino board and upload the bootloader using an AVR ISP programmer, so that the new ATmega functions just like an Arduino. This sure beats purchasing an entirely new board!

If you are looking for an ICSP AVR programmer look no further than the Freetronics USBasp! The programmer has a USB interface and allows you to program bootloaders or firmware on a wide range of microcontrollers including the ATmega which is used in Arduino boards. To find out more and to order checkout the following link.

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Posted on March 15, 2017March 15, 2017 by Daniel de Waard — Leave a comment

Arduino Word Generator

Whilst ATmega microprocessors are fantastic for use in Arduino boards they can also be used on their own, which can simplify projects a lot! One great example of this is a word generator created by duino4projects. The project uses an ATmega168 to generate the words and prints them on a 4 digit-16 segment display. To find out more about this project check out the following link.

If you are looking for an standalone ATmega microcontroller checkout the Freetronics ATmega328P which is the same chip used in our Eleven and EtherTen. The ATmega328P is perfect for building your only Arduino compatible project directly on a breadboard or custom PCB. For more information and to order checkout the following link.

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Posted on March 11, 2017 by Daniel de Waard — Leave a comment

Sound Generation

Regardless of what type of electronics project you are working on you will likely have to provide feedback to your users about the status of the system. Typically this can be done visually using LEDs or small displays. However, another great way to provide user feedback can be through sound. This might be as simple as a quick “beep” to indicate that the fridge door has been left open, or as complex as providing background music for a game! Thankfully adding sound to your projects is actually quite easy! The best way to get started is to checkout the following guide.

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Posted on March 6, 2017 by Daniel de Waard — Leave a comment

Motion Sensing Water Gun

During the warm Australian summer months there is nothing more refreshing than a water fight! James Cripps’s, motion sensor water gun you can make sure you always emerge from these fights victorious. The water gun uses a motion sensor and an Arduino to fire the gun anytime motion is detected. The instructions James provides are very thorough so you should have no problem getting started building your own water gun.

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Posted on March 1, 2017 by Jonathan Oxer — 2 Comments

SuperHouse Vlog #53: Help! The Internet killed my toaster!

A major outage at Amazon Web Services this morning left millions of people with broken home automation devices: door locks, heating, lights, ovens, even doorbells.

Don’t let your home automation system be dependent on external services!

I always keep two principles (or rules) in mind when building my own systems.

Rule #1: No external dependencies.

Rule #2: Mechanical overrides.

Posted on February 28, 2017 by Daniel de Waard — 1 Comment

Building GPS into your Arduino projects

Adding GPS (Global Positioning System) to an Arduino project can open up many possibilities for location sensitive projects. Using GPS you could easily track where your cat disappears to at night or trigger a specific action when you reach a certain location. Fortunately, adding in GPS functionality to your own project is actually significantly easier than you might imagine. One of the easiest ways is to use the Freetronics GPS Module and to follow the instructions on the following page.

The Freetronics GPS Module is a compact but very powerful device! Providing accuracy down to 3m and including a battery backup the module is a reliable choice. Indeed, the module connects to an Arduino via a simple serial connection and is fully compatible with existing Arduino libraries. To find out more check out the following link.

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Posted on February 25, 2017 by Daniel de Waard — 2 Comments

What is millis()?

If you have been working with Arduino for long enough you may have come across the millis function example code you have been working with and have probably wondered what it was used for! The simple explanation is that millis returns the number of milliseconds since the Arduino sketch has been running. However, without further clarification it can be unclear how this would be useful! Fortunately John Boxall from Tronixlabs has written a great tutorial which explains the ins and outs of the millis function! Checkout the following link to find out more.

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Posted on February 20, 2017 by Daniel de Waard — Leave a comment

Build Your Own Autonomous Vacuum Cleaner

With this great project from instructables member revrekad you can make a robot which will help you with the cleaning! Revrekad’s vacuum cleaner robot uses an Arduino and a few motors to drive the robot around whilst an old computer fan provides the suction! The great thing about this project is that it is mostly made from easily sourced materials such as cardboard and aluminium cans, so you have no excuse not to get started building your own right away! To find out more about this project check out the following link or the video below.

Want to keep in the loop about the latest in home automation? Subscribing to SuperHouse Automation on YouTube is the best place to start!