Hi guys,
I need some help with wiring DoorBellMote.
Here is my first wiring attempt (without DISABLE pin):
(http://shrani.si/f/x/Hu/4TIqOTlv/doorbellwiring.png)
It seems to work - green light is on, red light blinks when you push door bell button. However there is one problem - when you press on RING in gateway portal, BellMote is restarted - I see "START" event and relay is activated and then immediately deactivated (otherwise I set relay delay to 500ms). Bell rings, but very quickly because of BellMote restart.
Any idea where may be the problem?
I'm using following parts:
- transformer (220VAC(Europe) - 8VAC) :
(http://shrani.si/f/3/F0/3kQ9ECzq/belltransformer.png)
(LINK (https://www.conrad.com/ce/en/product/625106/Bell-transformer-8-V-AC-1-A-Heidemann-70042?ref=searchDetail))
- doorbell (can also be used with 9v battery, but I'm using transformer - pins 0 and 3)
(http://shrani.si/f/1d/cL/18TlAiU2/doorbell.png)
(LINK (https://www.conrad.com/ce/en/product/431536/Grothe-44465-Chime-8-12-V-83-dB-A-Black-White))
- DoorBellMote
(http://shrani.si/f/3D/tX/1WxbMzqb/doorbellmote.png)
Another thing (probably gateway bug Felix?) - if I wire it with disable option and disable bell in gateway, bell is disabled until I trigger "RING" in gateway - then bell starts to work again, but in gateway it remains disabled.
See attached for how mine is connected, works great
Ok now I connected it trough DISABLE pin, so my wiring diagram is same as yours:
(http://shrani.si/f/15/Lq/4GjqcImx/doorbellmote-disable.png)
Problem still occurs, when I ring it, moteino is restarted... it's like the bell draws too much current or something? :-\
Any idea what should I try next?
Otherwise disable option works (except that bug - if you disable the bell and then ring it trough gateway, it starts to work again with bell button, but in gateway is shown as disabled).
I was having some issues, not like yours, that was caused by the lamp in the button. It was mentioned in this thread:
https://lowpowerlab.com/forum/projects/bell-mote/msg18597/#msg18597
Are you using Felix's sketch?
Yes, I'm using Felix's sketch. And yes, button has a lamp, but it's not connected (see attached photo).
(http://shrani.si/f/1/E1/1AMLcljn/bellbutton.png)
Yours is like all other buttons with lamps, wired across the switch. Current is flowing even with the button not pressed. I would disconnect one of the wires to see if some of your issues disappear
Ok, I've disconnected one of the button wires and try to ring the bell from gateway.
See attached video.
"RELAY_PULSE_MS" is set to 500ms, what is clearly heard on video - in 1st and 2nd ring.
LINK to ring test video (https://www.dropbox.com/s/d4lmsw68bsmvqdb/DoorBellMote.MOV?dl=0)
1st ring ... ok
2nd ring ... ok
3rd ring ... moteino restarted (that's why ring is shorter)
4th ring ... moteino restarted (that's why ring is shorter)
Is it possible that I've assembled BellMote wrong?
The only other thing I can think of is the 8V output of the transformer. The regulator, https://lowpowerlab.com/shop/product/133, is designed for 12V-24V. You have a power supply you could boost the input voltage?
Edit:
Reading the datasheet it appears you can go as low as 7V in.
Hmm, if I measure transformer output, I get 13V, strange.
Regulator on the provided link has input voltage range: 7-36V
I've only DC power supply :-[
Is it possible to power Moteino with seperate power supply when attached on BellMote?
(http://shrani.si/f/28/EW/GfFxouL/transformeroutput.png)
I don't think the 8VAC supply is the problem. When it's rectified through the diode and smoothed through the capacitor, it should be much higher than 8V.
The bellmote has pretty explicit silkscreen notation to avoid component soldering errors.
So do the restarts only happen when you ring the bell from the app, or from the normal ring button?
Restarts happen when I ring the bell from the app.
I've also noticed that ring event is not always detected when you ring the bell with ring button (not with app).
Well, check the bellmote assembly to ensure it is not missing something or has some switched components.
Any possibility to use a 12VAC transformer (up to 24VAC) just to see if there's any difference (assuming your bell can take that large voltage)?
Bellmote assembly looks ok. Please see closeup assembly photo in my first post. I can't find any mistakes.
Yes, the bell's operating voltage is 8-12VAC. I'll try to get 12vac transformer somewhere.
Edit: I've ordered 12VAC transformer... I'll let you know if there will be any difference
Looks OK but I can't see the NPN/PNP and diodes orientation, I guess you already must have checked those.
Let's see what happens with 12VAC transformer.
I think that diodes and transistors are ok, please confirm.
(http://shrani.si/f/1k/vC/3dL8uCG9/bellmotezoom.png)
Loox gut ;)
Yep, just can't see 1 of the 3 diodes.. probably good though. Are the wires into the blue terminals making good contact? I made splices on mine outside of the terminal block.
Here is 3rd diode ;D
(http://shrani.si/f/35/Yn/AiMqGmF/doorbellmotediode.png)
I'll check those wire contacts again and try to splice them together outside of the terminal block, thanks for the hint.
Yep, that diode is good also.. ;D
I used stranded wire on mine and I really had to snug up the terminal screws to keep the wires from coming out. I think the solid wires would be harder to secure especially when you have multiple wires.
Good news, everything started to work ok after replacing 8vac with 12vac transformer. No more moteino reboots on ring.
However it didn't detect 1st button ring after startup, but all the further ring events were normally detected. I'll do some more ring tests. but for now everything looks good.
Thanks for your help and suggestions! :D
EDIT: when I ring with button, ring event is not always detected. maybe if I push the button quickly or something... otherwise moteino works fine, no more reboots
Good to hear the transformer worked. When I first mentioned trying a higher voltage input you put your meter on it and found it was quite a bit over the 8V so I thought you was good..
I have the same issue at times where the button is not detected.
Quote from: sparky on September 09, 2018, 03:50:00 PM
...
I have the same issue at times where the button is not detected.
Is it possible that it's a software problem? Maybe that loop is to slow to detect bell button pulse. I'll try to clean some code in that loop, that I don't need (disable led, disable serial,...).
Not very good at the programming but Felix could tell us for sure.. ;D All I know is when you push the button quickly it most likely won't be detected. At first I thought it might be the contacts on the button but I replaced the button and it still acts the same. If you press and hold longer it will detect.
Lukapple - interesting to hear that 12VAC is a minimum to make it realiable, I didn't expect this. But also 8VAC is not a very common transformer rating, especially here in the US most are 12-24VAC.
I think the cap on the detector circuit might be too big and slow to charge in some instances, I bet if that was changed to a 1uF it would work on fast button press pulses. The BOM was just built with something that has worked for me and with parts that can be found easily.
(https://i.imgur.com/Pfr8lMz.png)
Yes, with 8VAC bellmote restarted almost every time I pushed the ring button. With 12VAC works perfect, except that "short ring" detection. I was about to ask you if we can fix that issue with some circuit change.:) Thanks for the hint! I'll try with 1uF capacitor.
Felix,
currently there is 100uF cap in the ring detect circuit, and not 10uF as marked on your diagram. So should I try to use 1uF or 10uF maybe?
(http://shrani.si/f/1j/H1/ykuSCG3/bellringdetectcap.png)
Try 10uF and see what happens, then 1uF if still having issues.
I've replaced detector circuit cap 100uF with 10uF, did 10+ ring tests and it detected every single one, works perfect ! ;D
Thanks a lot guys for your support!
Quote from: Lukapple on September 17, 2018, 11:36:16 AM
I've replaced detector circuit cap 100uF with 10uF, did 10+ ring tests and it detected every single one, works perfect ! ;D
Thanks a lot guys for your support!
Just as I thought, good work Luka ;)
So bottom line: need 12VAC+, and replace 100uF with 10uF.
Nobody else reported problems but thanks for reporting all this and working towards resolution and making it better for everyone.
Quote from: Lukapple on September 17, 2018, 11:36:16 AM
I've replaced detector circuit cap 100uF with 10uF, did 10+ ring tests and it detected every single one, works perfect ! ;D
Thanks a lot guys for your support!
Thanks Luka, have not had time to try another cap. Also glad you didn't have the lamp connected. Mentioned this problem long ago here, guess I was the only one that connected the BellMore to a doorbell with a lighted button.
Quote from: Felix on September 17, 2018, 12:30:32 PM
Just as I thought, good work Luka ;)
So bottom line: need 12VAC+, and replace 100uF with 10uF.
Nobody else reported problems but thanks for reporting all this and working towards resolution and making it better for everyone.
Was going to say that, the current gain of the optoisolator is 20%, which means with 8VAC the PNP transistor will only be on for a proportion of the 50Hz waveform, and the RC constant of the filter cap with the 1k5 resistor and LED is too short to hold the voltage up for a complete cycle. Increasing the capacitor to increase the RC constant should do it, as would probably increasing the 10k pull-up resistor on the PNP transistor. I'm not sure you need 12VAC with a pull-up increase and a 100uF cap, unless that's not the only problem with 8VAC.
Mark.