RFLink32
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RFLink for ESP, with MQTT client
RFLink ESP
This is a Radio Frequency to MQTT/Serial/TCP gateway built for ESP32 and ESP8266 boards (see #MCU for more).
It receives and decodes OOK 433MHz signals from your sensors, alarms and pushes them over MQTT/TCP/Serial. For some devices it can also send commands to control them.
This project is forked from RFLink-ESP (for ESP8266), which itself is forked from the original RFlink project "Release 29" for Arduino.
This fork provides additional features:
- Fully (almost) configurable from a web interface whilst retaining the CLI.
- No recompilation for most options which are configurable at runtime and saved in Flash.
- More advanced debugging and troubleshooting helpers.
- Restructured source code with namespaces and classes (Work in Progress)
1. MCU
We extensively use ESP32 dev kits.
This is the default settings in Platformio.ini
and RFLink.h
files.
You may also use other ESP8266/ESP8255 based boards when there are no pin limitations. NodeMCUv2 is known to work.
2. Receiver / Transmitter / Transceiver
As a starting point, you can use the RXB6 receiver which is a simple and stable 3.3v component - it is easy to find and cheap. Many other receivers are also supported.
Avoid using generic noname receivers!
For more advanced behavior and reliability, the following receivers are also supported when used with an ESP32 board:
- SX1278
- SX1276
- RFM69CW
- RFM69HCW
- CC1101
These advanced receivers require a few pins to be connected to the host. The recommended pin assignments are:
Name | ESP32 | SX1278/6 | RFM69(H)CW | CC1101 |
---|---|---|---|---|
3v3 | VCC | 3.3V | VCC | |
GND | GND | GND | GND | |
18 | SCK | SCK | SCK | |
19 | MISO | MISO | MISO | |
23 | MOSI | MOSI | MOSI | |
pins::RX_RESET | 4¹ | NRESET | RESET | |
pins::RX_CS | 5¹ | NSS | NSS | CSN |
pins::RX_DATA pins::TX_DATA |
26¹ | DIO2 | DIO2 | GDO0 |
¹ These must be configured in the web portal, values suggested here are proven to work reliably.
3. OLED display
You can use an OLED display. We used a SSD1306 128x64 I2C screen in our tests.
This is highly experimental and therefore not enabled by default.
4. IDE
We strongly recommend using the PlatformIO IDE but you can alternatively use the Arduino IDE 1.8.10.
5. Framework
We use Arduino Core for ESP8266.
6. Libraries
In addition to the core libraries, the following are also in use:
- PubSubClient for MQTT messaging https://github.com/knolleary/pubsubclient
- u8g2/u8x8 library for OLED display https://github.com/olikraus/u8g2
7. Compile Options and Flags
Many features are not enabled by default or can be disabled for various reasons like firmware size or compatibility.
OTA (disabled by default)
There are 3 types of OTA to update your firmware:
Arduino/ESP's classic push over UDP (disabled by default)
-
RFLINK_OTA_ENABLED
we recommend that you enable a password for this method or anyone on your network could push a new firmware to the device. -
RFLINK_OTA_PASSWORD="my_password_here"
orRFLINK_OTA_PASSWORD='"'${sysenv.OTA_SEC}'"'
inplatformio.ini
with an environment variable calledOTA_SEC
AutoOTA
The device will download new firmware from a specified URL.
- RFLINK_AUTOOTA_ENABLED
- AutoOTA_URL in
Credentials.h
or inplatformio.ini
Config Portal Web Upload
A firmware file can be uploaded via the Config Portal's Firmware page.
8. Additional Info
Config Portal
Repository
The Config Portal web ui is located in its own repository.
Default Login Details
rflink32 / 433mhz
Pinout
- Pin setup has to be done via the Config Portal when it is active.
- For safety and simplicity all pins are inactive by default.
- Decoupling capacitors and antenna can be added to improve results.
Simple RX pin wiring:
Name | D1 mini | RXB6 |
---|---|---|
PIN_RF_TX_VCC | D5 | 5 VCC |
PIN_RF_TX_NA | D6 | 6 DER |
PIN_RF_TX_DATA | D7 | 7 DAT |
PIN_RF_TX_GND | D8 | 8 GND |
Alternative Pinout
- ESP8266 can't draw more than 12mA on a GPIO pin.
- Some receivers have current spikes bigger than that (eg RXB12).
- This leads to a non working receiver or non starting ESP.
Safe alternative wiring:
Name | D1 mini | RXB6 |
---|---|---|
PIN_RF_TX_VCC | 3v3 | 5 VCC |
PIN_RF_TX_NA | N/A | 6 DER |
PIN_RF_TX_DATA | D7 | 7 DAT |
PIN_RF_TX_GND | GND | 8 GND |
Thanks
Special thanks to: Axellum, Etimou, Schmurtz, Zoomx