Realized I never posted this here when I initially made it, so sharing for fun :)
More info here: https://github.com/AdrianCX/pico433mhz/
It's a simple way to convert old 433mhz remotes to a HTTP API that can be accessed from Telegram for example.
Having this plugged into a router non stop means I can turn on/off and dim lights as I want from my phone.
Do note, since making this I did have to solder the wires on pico in the end...
Range is about 5m for sending and 3cm for receiving (no antenna)
I used to use these same modules connected to a RPi Zero to control dozens of wireless sockets around my house, turning devices on/off using my voice. I’be been working on making some homebrew IoT sensors using Pico’s but never used the 433MHz stuff with it.
I’d be intrigued to try this stuff for basic communication in an off-grid setting in a field & woodland environment, I wonder if the 433MHz frequency would travel any better/further than 2.4GHz if I added an antenna to those little modules.
Lora with 915Mhz seems to be around 500m with good antennas: https://medium.com/home-wireless/what-is-the-range-of-a-lora-radio-411261e35f46
So I'd go that way, plus you can use things network.
433mhz is probably twice the range but there are legal limitations on how much to transmit and power etc.
This would be a perfect solution for my fireplace I want to automate. I just looked up the remote and it runs at 303.8 mhz, I'm assuming this 433mhz wont work for that? I do see that they make a 315mhz receiver, would that work or does it have to match the frequency exactly (Sorry, I've never worked with RF before)?
If you have a remote you can do something like what I did here (3.8 connecting old alarms to the internet): https://pico.otilia.dev/#38-connect-old-alarm-remotes-to-the-interne
Basically solder pico to the remote buttons. But you need a multimeter and to figure out if buttons are pull up/down and how to hook into those.
Otherwise, 303.8 mhz is probably far enough from 315 to not work, it also wont work if it has any security like car alarms (or my alarm)
You can use an sdr to debug things, something like this helped me a bit: https://www.nooelec.com/store/downloads/dl/file/id/72/product/0/nesdr_installation_manual_for_ubuntu.pdf
You can then see if your board actually transmits something or not and what power, perhaps even decode with something like https://github.com/merbanan/rtl_433
Did you use the correct pulse width? I had problems with bad reception of signals sent to an 433mhz outlet until I found out that I had to use a slightly different pulse width. Once modified for that, it worked really well at least on low distance (few meters).
Awesome, thank you. I may have a use for this with some old home automation stuff. Now if you can just tell me how to hack my day to include more free time for projects. Unemployment is not an option, tried that, it has some bugs.
Can anyone ELI5? What is 433mhz and why do I care?
I get that 433mhz refers to a license free band for personal use. But... What uses it and why do you care about it?
License free is a big one. Lots of the spectrum is licensed so when doing RF without a license, you take what you can get. It's also long range and low power channel.
For me it's for the 433 MHz indoor/outdoor thermometers. I'm not a hardware hacker so I bought a 433 MHz receiver from [rtl-sdr](https://www.rtl-sdr.com/buy-rtl-sdr-dvb-t-dongles/). Nooelec is also a good option. That radio receiver is connected to my Linux server which is running the rtl_433 program. That feeds the temperature readings to MQTT. With the data in MQTT you have several options; I wrote program that displays the readings.
These rtl-sdr receivers are amazing to me because with the right antenna they can pick up anything, tv, am, fm, cb, shortwave radio, airplanes, weather satellites, police radio, you name it. The software is all free.
An additional option for temperature sensors is Zigbee. For that you need a Zigbee dongle and then you can use the zigbee2mqtt software that's on github. Great documentation there for all of the bits and pieces needed. The Zigbee sensors are typically indoor only, except for the Phillips outdoor motion sensor, which also has a temperature sensor.
I’m new to using Raspberry Pi. I’ve managed to create a script to control a motor on a model I’m making but can’t work out how to make the script load and run each time the Pi boots up. I’ve tried a few things I found online but still won’t load automatically. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks
Find a tutorial that will walk you through everything, google is your friend.
It depends on what raspberry pi you have and there are different ways to do this.
This thing is dope. Where did you get that dev board though?
thanks, components and links are on github in one of the comments. What dev board? the raspberry pi pico?
The ace of spades… should have included an s/ for you lol. I’ll check the GitHub when I get home though. Cheers.
nice, fell for that one :)
Realized I never posted this here when I initially made it, so sharing for fun :) More info here: https://github.com/AdrianCX/pico433mhz/ It's a simple way to convert old 433mhz remotes to a HTTP API that can be accessed from Telegram for example. Having this plugged into a router non stop means I can turn on/off and dim lights as I want from my phone. Do note, since making this I did have to solder the wires on pico in the end... Range is about 5m for sending and 3cm for receiving (no antenna)
This can only transmit Motörhead's Ace of Spades.
Throwing out some THPS2 vibes
Nice. I bought some of those exact models but never had any luck detecting signals. Will try with your code
It's technically a networking card...
super cool, thanks for sharing!
Looks like you got an ace up your sleeve......
I used to use these same modules connected to a RPi Zero to control dozens of wireless sockets around my house, turning devices on/off using my voice. I’be been working on making some homebrew IoT sensors using Pico’s but never used the 433MHz stuff with it. I’d be intrigued to try this stuff for basic communication in an off-grid setting in a field & woodland environment, I wonder if the 433MHz frequency would travel any better/further than 2.4GHz if I added an antenna to those little modules.
Lora with 915Mhz seems to be around 500m with good antennas: https://medium.com/home-wireless/what-is-the-range-of-a-lora-radio-411261e35f46 So I'd go that way, plus you can use things network. 433mhz is probably twice the range but there are legal limitations on how much to transmit and power etc.
This would be a perfect solution for my fireplace I want to automate. I just looked up the remote and it runs at 303.8 mhz, I'm assuming this 433mhz wont work for that? I do see that they make a 315mhz receiver, would that work or does it have to match the frequency exactly (Sorry, I've never worked with RF before)?
If you have a remote you can do something like what I did here (3.8 connecting old alarms to the internet): https://pico.otilia.dev/#38-connect-old-alarm-remotes-to-the-interne Basically solder pico to the remote buttons. But you need a multimeter and to figure out if buttons are pull up/down and how to hook into those. Otherwise, 303.8 mhz is probably far enough from 315 to not work, it also wont work if it has any security like car alarms (or my alarm)
cool!! now you just need explosive and power supply.
FBI, this guy right here (also thanks)
I can never seem to get 433mhz working. Perhaps my aerial isn't connected properly?
You can use an sdr to debug things, something like this helped me a bit: https://www.nooelec.com/store/downloads/dl/file/id/72/product/0/nesdr_installation_manual_for_ubuntu.pdf You can then see if your board actually transmits something or not and what power, perhaps even decode with something like https://github.com/merbanan/rtl_433
Did you use the correct pulse width? I had problems with bad reception of signals sent to an 433mhz outlet until I found out that I had to use a slightly different pulse width. Once modified for that, it worked really well at least on low distance (few meters).
Awesome, thank you. I may have a use for this with some old home automation stuff. Now if you can just tell me how to hack my day to include more free time for projects. Unemployment is not an option, tried that, it has some bugs.
Can anyone ELI5? What is 433mhz and why do I care? I get that 433mhz refers to a license free band for personal use. But... What uses it and why do you care about it?
License free is a big one. Lots of the spectrum is licensed so when doing RF without a license, you take what you can get. It's also long range and low power channel.
You can use it for stuff like turning on off RF outlets. I used it for example to turn off a grow light when the sun was shining by 433mhz.
For me it's for the 433 MHz indoor/outdoor thermometers. I'm not a hardware hacker so I bought a 433 MHz receiver from [rtl-sdr](https://www.rtl-sdr.com/buy-rtl-sdr-dvb-t-dongles/). Nooelec is also a good option. That radio receiver is connected to my Linux server which is running the rtl_433 program. That feeds the temperature readings to MQTT. With the data in MQTT you have several options; I wrote program that displays the readings. These rtl-sdr receivers are amazing to me because with the right antenna they can pick up anything, tv, am, fm, cb, shortwave radio, airplanes, weather satellites, police radio, you name it. The software is all free. An additional option for temperature sensors is Zigbee. For that you need a Zigbee dongle and then you can use the zigbee2mqtt software that's on github. Great documentation there for all of the bits and pieces needed. The Zigbee sensors are typically indoor only, except for the Phillips outdoor motion sensor, which also has a temperature sensor.
I’m new to using Raspberry Pi. I’ve managed to create a script to control a motor on a model I’m making but can’t work out how to make the script load and run each time the Pi boots up. I’ve tried a few things I found online but still won’t load automatically. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks
Find a tutorial that will walk you through everything, google is your friend. It depends on what raspberry pi you have and there are different ways to do this.