This sketch for Arduino Nano is a port of the pca301serial library to the RFM69 transmitter. I also used this as a learning experience on how transmitters work so I create a separate RFM69 access module by reading through various forum/blog entries and sources on the web. Thanks to all contributors who shared their work.
With this sketch you can now use FHEM combined with an Arduino Nano and an RFM69 transmitter to access PCA301 remote outlets. Maybe also openHAB works.
A very easy guide on how to connect the RFM69 to the Arduino Nano can be found at Steigerbaletts Blog.
- Arduino Nano with RFM69HW - Set RFM69_IS_HW to true (default).
- JeeLink 868 (v3c) - Thanks to Dirk. Set RFM69_IS_HW to false.
I own a Brother DCP-135c printer that is now running for years and ink cartridges are very cheap. Also it has a good but not perfect driver for Linux. A big problem with this printer is that it decides by himself when to clean the print heads. It also doesn't have a clock so you can't tell it to only clean at daytime. Another problem with the permanent cleaning is that it empties out the cartridges. So since around 2008 Penny Market sells Multifunctionprinters (german) the printer is only switched on when it's needed. It turned out that the cleaning isn't really necessary because it's used regularly.
This worked well as long as the printer stood beside the PC that prints. But then something changed and now the printer moved downstairs. This turned down the WAF - Wife Acceptance Factor a bit so I searched for a solution. First thing that came to my mind was a cheap remote controlled outlet set from some supermarket controlled by the printing service on the remote PC that connects to the printer. The problem with this cheap solution was that there is no backchannel to verfiy if the remote signal really reached the outlet. Other solutions did include LAN outlets and for example AVM outlet solutions. But after some googling I found FHEM and reports that the PCA301 was cheap and had a backchannel. As a bonus it also measures the power and doesn't pollute the air with periodic status transfers.
Also I got infected by the Home Automation fever a bit and this should become my first step.
The only problem and the reason for this port of the pca301serial library was that I thought that RFM69 would work with the Arduino Nano. But after ordering two and also two RFM69s I found out that the RFM69 is only supported for other devices or that PCA301 needs a wifi ESP chip instead of the Arduino Nano.
- Arduino Nano, eBay: 2.99 €
- RFM69HW, 868 MHz, eBay: 2.45 €
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