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Incorporating NodeMCU ESP8266 senders - Printable Version

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Incorporating NodeMCU ESP8266 senders - affinite - 2021-01-12

I've attached a copy of my (rough and ready) build notes covering how I have used wireless NodeMCU/ESP8266 devices to capture and send data from a number of sensors to OpenPlotter/SignalK

I wouldn't consider this as a "How to" Guide but rather a collection of notes which may be of use to someone else.
With thanks to others on this forum whose work I have shamelessly copied.
The credit is all theirs and any errors are all mine  Smile

Bye the way my boat isnt really called Boaty McBoatface

RE: Incorporating NodeMCU ESP8266 sendes - Sailoog - 2021-01-13

did you forget to attach the file?

RE: Incorporating NodeMCU ESP8266 sendes - affinite - 2021-01-13

Thanks Sailoog - I hadn't noticed that the upload had failed because it was too large (2.1Mb)
Anyway here is a link to the doc on Google Drive, hopefully this will work instead.

RE: Incorporating NodeMCU ESP8266 sendes - Sailoog - 2021-01-13

wow, looks excellent! thanks for sharing

RE: Incorporating NodeMCU ESP8266 sendes - jhoop - 2021-01-13

WOW, those are rough notes? 
I''m going to have to print those out and give it a read through a couple of times

RE: Incorporating NodeMCU ESP8266 senders - SCarns - 2021-06-04

Thanks for sharing afinite.

If I understand your notes correctly, you are using the ESP8266’s 33 volt connection to measure resistance across the tank level sender, but you tanks are NO LONGER hooked up you your boats 12 volt battery system?

Mine are connected to 12 volt analog gauges, so I am having trouble figuring that out, but I never considered disconnecting them and “going directly to an ESP or even straight to the Pi.

Thanks for the lesson. I’m still looking at my options.

RE: Incorporating NodeMCU ESP8266 senders - affinite - 2021-06-04

(2021-06-04, 03:03 AM)SCarns Wrote: Thanks for sharing afinite.

If I understand your notes correctly, you are using the ESP8266’s 33 volt connection to measure resistance across the tank level sender, but you tanks are NO LONGER hooked up you your boats 12 volt battery system?

Mine are connected to 12 volt analog gauges, so I am having trouble figuring that out, but I never considered disconnecting them and “going directly to an ESP or even straight to the Pi.

Thanks for the lesson. I’m still looking at my options.

Yes
The original fuel and water tank gauges were not working at all so I didn't replace them. I would prefer to have something simple and standalone to monitor tank levels so Im going to put an LCD display directly attached to the ESP8266. That way I dont need to have the RPi running to check a tank level.

RE: Incorporating NodeMCU ESP8266 senders - SCarns - 2021-06-09

I like the idea of replacing my analog displays with something digital, thereby removing my tanks from my 12 volt set up. Mine are old VDO gauges and they work.

I understand the theory of resistance (VDO senders are 0-90 ohms), so that isn't really the proplem, but is there a way to integrate what I have without removing the tanks/guages from the 12volt house bank? Seems that most ADCs are isolated, so is it a simple case of limiting the voltage to 5 volt (or 3.3volts) from 12?

RE: Incorporating NodeMCU ESP8266 senders - affinite - 2021-06-10

Im not an electronics expert (so please double check this) but I would have thought is would work if you simply created a resistance bridge to reduce the full-scale voltage from the sender to 3.3v then its just a case of calibrating the ADS1115 in ESPEASY.
The bridge would comprise Ground - 1kOhm -1 x 3kOhm - Attach to tank sender.(max 12v).
I would have thought this would work in parallel with the VDO gauges.

RE: Incorporating NodeMCU ESP8266 senders - SCarns - 2021-06-10

(2021-06-10, 04:23 PM)affinite Wrote: Im not an electronics expert (so please double check this) but I would have thought is would work if you simply created a resistance bridge to reduce the full-scale voltage from the sender to 3.3v then its just a case of calibrating the ADS1115 in ESPEASY.
The bridge would comprise Ground - 1kOhm -1 x 3kOhm - Attach to tank sender.(max 12v).
I would have thought this would work in parallel with the VDO gauges.

Thanks affinite!

I am sure it can work, I just don't (yet) have the knowledge to pull it off. This is a big help, though. Give me something to research further until someone else here says, "Hey dummy, just use 'X', attach it to 'Y' and plug it into 'Z'"!

Steve