Looking for advice on how to re-start my greenhouse sensor project

Projects Networking, Protocols, and Devices
1

Hello,

I’m having a lot of trouble on a greenhouse-sensor-IOT project and wondering if I should start over using different equipment, and I could really use some advice on what to use.

I’m interning for a food security organization with some greenhouse owners. The greenhouses are outside of wifi and bluetooth ranges of their personal houses. The owners would like to know the temperature in the greenhouse, display it inside their personal house on an LCD screen, and collect the data and have notifications sent to their phone if the temperature goes too high or low (through Thingspeak or the Blynk app, but open to other suggestions).

Originally I used an Arduino Uno with an AHT20 sensor in the greenhouse, and sent the data to another Arduino Uno in the house using 2 RFM69HCW radio transmitters, and it displayed the temperature on an LCD screen inside. That part worked, but it has been really hard to connect wifi to the Arduino Uno in the house in order to send the temperature data to an IOT app/website. I have tried using ESP8266, and Huzzah ESP8266, and I guess the Arduino Uno MCU has been blocking the use of the ESP8266, but I can’t remove the MCU because I need it for the radio transmitter and LCD screen.

Any advice for a better/simpler way to do this project, any different equipment I should use besides Arduino Uno and ESP8266?

Thank you

2

How about ditching the Uno and just use an ESP32?

3

If I was starting a project like this I would use ESP32.

See:

4

As the posters above have mentioned, ultimately this project will be a lot easier if you are already using a device capable of WiFi.

Sounds like you already have an ESP8266? - porting your existing code from the Uno to this should be fairly easy, and I would suggest that is step 1 - that is, just get what you have running now on the Uno, running on the ESP8266... then you can add the WiFi bits later.

If you post your code, and a schematic/diagram we can see what might need tweaking.

5

Here's a link to my earlier post that has the exisiting code and setup.

I think using the ESP32 is a good idea thanks. There are a lot of options so a little flustered but hopeful. Looking to get the one with the most pins, 3.3 and 5V, best price, and easiest to use. Here are some I've been looking at. Any suggestions or all they all pretty similar in use?

6

For WIFI better distance, get external antenna versions.

7

I just read through your previous post... not sure that the ESP8266 is 5Ghz WiFi capable, so that may have been the reason you couldn't connect.

If that is a must have then make sure whatever you go for is 5Ghz capable.

8

Just replied to it, that was a typo, my wifi is 2.4 Ghz.

There are others who ran into the same problem using the code I'm using, getting stuck on 'reconnecting'. A lot of the other ESP8266 and Arduino Uno projects have you either take out the MCU, or have you bypass the Arduino by connecting reset to ground or something like that, so the Uno is ignored, but I don't think that works for me or it just seems above my experience level right now.