INA219 module and ...

Rsadeika

I was looking for something that could read current and voltage, and came across this module. Wondering if anybody has used this with, maybe a Propeller, using C code.

It seems like there is example code and a wiring diagram for a Raspberry Pi, but I wonder if this could be workable with the new P2, and of course the P1.

Thanks

Ray

kwinn

It should work with P1 and P2. I have used 3 of them with P1 to monitor a 3 output power supply, and am planning to use it with P2 when my P2D2 board arrives.

JonnyMac

I used that device in a commercial product (laser-tag controller). My code is, of course, Spin. That said, it's very simple and you should have no trouble converting it to C.

tomcrawford

Here is a thread about the device in BS-2 from a few years ago.

iseries

I passed on this module and instead went with INA260 which seems to be better at measuring current and voltage.

I used the one from Adafruit.

Wrote C code to drive it nicely.

Mike

Rsadeika

iseries mentioned the INA260 module, which I think will be more useful for my purposes. Still have not decided how I will code the program. And, at a minimal I will probably need, to start with, at least four of theses modules, which brings up the question of, how do I make the modules available on the I2C buss.

I also looked at Jon's jm_ina219.spin program, I wonder how that would work with the flexGUI IDE. The last time I used the spintoc part of flexGUI, to convert some Spin code to PropGCC, I was not able to make the PropGCC code work correctly.

I will probably be collecting the INA260 data, continuously, and feeding it to an SQLite database, for further analysis. These are just a few things that I have in mind.

JonnyMac

how do I make the modules available on the I2C buss.

Both device types have A0 and A1 (address) inputs which allow up to for devices on the bus.

I also looked at Jon's jm_ina219.spin program, I wonder how that would work with the flexGUI IDE. The last time I used the spintoc part of flexGUI, to convert some Spin code to PropGCC, I was not able to make the PropGCC code work correctly.

My object will work if you write your code in Spin or in FlexC.

I've attached a demo program that uses four of my Spin objects without modification/conversion -- one that launches a PASM cog (serial io). Interesting, the C binary image was a little bigger than the identical program written in Spin; this may have to do with overhead dealing with Spin objects in C. Still it works, so I can write C code without walking away from all of my existing objects. Spin is my favorite Propeller language, but it's nice to have C as an option.

msrobots

yes, the multi-language feature of fastspin is a wonderful thing.

Mike

yeti

msrobots wrote: »

yes, the multi-language feature of fastspin is a wonderful thing.

https://forums.parallax.com/discussion/169141 has several examples of mixing FastSpin's languages and even one using FastSpin compiled cog PASM output in OpenWrt which turned out to be purely straight forward.
What I don't see how to do so far: Including/using bytecode Spin in FastSpin LMM code and the other way round. But I dont expect much demand for this. :-)

iseries

I put my INA260 driver in the OBEX if you are interested in a C version of the driver.

Mike

Rsadeika

Thanks Jon, for the excellent examples. I will look into the code to see how your Spin objects work within a C or flexBASIC confine.

Thanks iseries, for a pointer to your libina260 driver. I will also take a closer look at your SimpleIDE implementation for using the INA260.

Now, I have to get a better understanding of the code that has been presented so far before I make a decision as to what I will be using. Will it be SimpleIDE, flexC, flexBASIC, micropython, or, …

Another choice P2 Eval or FLiP module or ...

Rsadeika

@iseries, I am starting to look into using some INA260 units from Adafruit. I looked at your zip, that is in the OBEX, and noticed a couple things.

In the INA260 folder you have the file, libina260.c, this is really not a lib file, since it contains the main() function. The file, ina260.c, is the lib file, since it does not contain a main(), correct.

The actual lib file, would that be placed in the Simple Library folder, and then added while in SimpleIDE?

If, you were so kind, could you add a brief description as to what pins would be used, for instance, a FLiP module -> INA260 unit.

I am going to replacing some of my voltage divider breakouts, using ADC, with the INA260 to get some more detailed information that the ADC method lacks.

Thanks
Ray

iseries

The way you build a library is you start a project in simpleide with lib as the first part of the name. The project file contains test code that is used to test the library. It does not become a part of the library but is just for building the library.

Since all my code is put in a folder called "Custom" that would be where you put the zipped file into. So in the Learn/Simple Libraries you would add a folder call "Custom" and unzip the folder there.

You can then use the SimpleIDE to open the project folder that has test code in it and will show a sample of how to use it. In addition there is an HTML folder with a file index.html that documents all the functions of this library.

To use the library simple add it to your projects under project add simple library.

Mike

Rsadeika

Thanks Mike.

I just downloaded your latest zip. In the html folder you have a file doc.png, I assume it is a photograph? For some reason my Win 10 Pro does not show the picture. I assume that is where you show what pins are connected to what pins.

Once I get this to work with SimpleIDE I will probably try to get it to work with FlexGUI. I have not used FlexGUI in quite awhile, hopefully it will be able to handle the INA260 program.

Ray