Trying to get the IN100 board to broadcast SHT45 readings

Wireless & IoT Bluetooth
1

Hi,

I’m having trouble getting the SparkFun NanoBeacon (IN100) board to work with my SHT45 sensor breakout (from Adafruit, didn’t see a SHT45 on the SparkFun website). Broadcasting in general is working great, I can see the VCC and internal temperature correctly, but while the breakout board lights up every 20 seconds, I can’t actually get the external temp/RH reading into the broadcast packet. I assume it’s a timing issue? I’ve tried a few things, without any success, and the OTP nature of the device means I can’t just keep experimenting forever…

I’m using the QUIIC socket, so I had to adjust some of the I2C settings, sourced from the low power InPlay config file, with several modifications, including to increase the broadcast power (still only getting 30-40’), and to match the crystal settings for this device found on a review site (info like that would be great to add to the hookup guide, BTW). Can someone advise me on why this isn’t working? Please find the config (the BT address is changed) attached.

Also, are there other low-power (i.e., coin battery or equivalent) beacon options that SparkFun sells, preferably without the OTP limitation?

Thanks!

shared-with-forum-config.txt (5.68 KB)

2

Are you using the “Run in RAM” right now, or a fully programmed unit?

The Config Tool offers a testing “Run in RAM” mode for many settings but I2C is not available in the RAM testing mode.

Some i2c features aren’t available until you actually ‘burn’ the program, so if the sht45 is being used over i2c you won’t see its data until after committing the OTP :-/

We do have a couple notes about increasing range @ the end of our guide https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/sp … leshooting

We don’t have many options that run on coin cell (here’s one, but it’s a bit finnicky to program https://www.sparkfun.com/products/15170 …it does have ultra low power modes, though!)

But most any of these https://www.sparkfun.com/search/results?term=thing+plus also have low power mode and a Lipo port that could be used for a lot longer than a coin cell :slight_smile:

3

Hi,

Thanks for looking this over – I did incorporate the XO settings (and info from another page) to try to boost the signal, which is in the config I attached. I can continue to up the power, I suppose?

As you’re pointing out, because the QUIIC interface requires I2C, I have to burn to get results, which is what caused me to write… I don’t like wasting multiple parts, and I’m basically guessing at this point.

Do you or others at SF have any suggestions on how I can fix my sensor read-copy-broadcast problem? I can’t seem to figure out where I’m going wrong. :frowning:

4

Is this occurring on a fully programmed unit?

5

Yes – I don’t believe there’s a way to run it in RAM.

6

I don’t have any other ideas except maybe trying a different sensor/device and ensuring the i2c is working with that :-/

7

I figured out where this wasn’t working! Maybe I wasn’t reading it correctly, but in the Hookup Guide, I see the following text:

The Qwiic connector on the board uses I/O pins 3 and 4 for SDA and SCL, respectively. Using this connector requires enabling I2C on the IN100 in the Config Tool.

However, when I look at this picture, it’s clearly set to 2 and 3. I was using 3 and 4… switching it fixed my problem.

Also, I think expanding the information about the XO settings differences, as someone’s mentioned here, could be helpful… could someone clarify how those settings interact with the Tx power settings (in the Advertisement tab, and the Transmit tab)? I’m not sure how to get the maximum signal strength/distance.

Thanks!

8

D’oh! It does look like there’s a typo in the guide; we’ll get that fixed ASAP

Also: head over to Return Policy - SparkFun Electronics and send an email requesting store credit for the units that died due to this (if purchased form us directly, contact vendor if purchased elsewhere)