Beginner trying to incorporate I2C

Projects General Guidance
1

First post, getting acquainted with Arduino. Thank you advance for any guidance.

I've started a project for a series of planter boxes in my backyard. I would like to position an Arduino Uno as my master, and a series of 3-4 Arduino Mini's as slaves. Now, those Mini's would each have a couple temp sensors and a moisture sensor connected. I currently have the sketches necessary to communicate between the Uno and one Mini, but want to switch to I2C and add multiples of the same Mini setup w/ identical or similar sensors.

I have the hardware hooked up correctly, using the countless tutorials and videos uploaded by so many wonderful contributors, but as for altering my current sketches, I am at a bit of a loss. Is there a template anyone can recommend for what I'm trying to build? Any direct help, or a point in the right direction, would be greatly appreciated.

2

Which part are you having problems with? If you can send a request to Mini A, and get a response, then sending a request to Mini B and getting a response involves changing only one line of code. Ditto for sending a request to Mini C or Mini D.

Maybe a few more lines need to change, if you need to keep the replies separate. It's impossible to day, though, without seeing your code.

3

Keep in mind that I2C is only suited for SHORT distances. We are talking about centimeters not meters. Using it over longer distance will give you problems like locking up devices. An alternative would be using a Max485.