Moisture Sensor and Chirp! Sensor
This feature is not included in precompiled binaries
When compiling your build add the following to user_config_override.h:
#ifndef USE_CHIRP
#define USE_CHIRP // [I2cDriver33] Enable CHIRP soil moisture sensor (variable I2C address, default 0x20)
#endif
Chirp! I2C moisture sensor is the sensor-only version of the original Chirp! sensor.
The "sensor mode only" (without the chirp function) is the preferred sensor variant for Tasmota. It provides additional temperature readings. Chirp! is a plant watering alarm which uses capacitive sensing to measure moisture. It provides ambient light readings and works in Tasmota, but is not the recommended version.
Additional References: - Catnip electronics
- Plant Watering Alarm
Connecting to an ESP82xx~
Use a standard I2C connection plus 3.3V and GND.
Device Configuration~
In the Configuration -> Configure Other page, enter and activate the following template:
{"NAME":"HW-655 PZEM","GPIO":[0,0,0,0,6,5,0,0,0,0,0,0,0],"FLAG":0,"BASE":18}
BASE: Generic (18) GPIO4 : I2C SDA (06) GPIO5 : I2C SCL (05)
At boot time the driver will scan the I2C bus for CHIRP moisture sensors and enumerate them starting with 0. The sensor has a default I2C address of 0x20, which can be changed within the driver so that multiple sensors are possible.
Write access to the sensor is potentially dangerous!! Only change the I2C address while only one is sensor connected, using a stable power supply, and if you are familiar with how to flash the sensor.
Commands~
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
| CHIRPScan | Re-scan the I2C bus and re-enumerate the sensors. |
| CHIRPSelect | Select the active sensor, which can receive commands. To select the first sensor use CHIRPSELECT 0. |
| CHIRPSet | Set the new I2C address for the selected sensor. Use decimal address. To change active sensor to 0x1f (=31) use CHIRPSET 31. |
| CHIRPSleep | Put the selected sensor into sleep mode. |
| CHIRPWake | Wake the selected (sleeping) sensor. |
| CHIRPReset | Reset the selected sensor. |
Sensor readings~
The original explanation from the manufacturer can be found on this tindie page .
It is important to understand, that the light sensor does not provide LUX but a relative reading (0..65535), where more light means a lower value! The term DARKNESS is used in Tasmota.
!! ⚠️ PLEASE USE TelePeriod OF 20 OR GREATER ⚠️ !!
The driver will sync with the TelePeriod and start the measure cycle about 17 seconds before the next telemetry message. You can issue a Status 8 and any time to output that last sensor readings.
Known issues~
The sensor is relatively slow and therefore the driver will (try to) slow down the I2C bus-speed and extend the CLOCKSTRETCHLIMIT. A long discussion about it can be found here. The problem seems to occur mostly when the sensor wakes up from sleep. That is why the implemented auto-sleep-wake function is currently deactivated in the driver. Typically when you get readings of 0 for all 3 measurements, then the I2C bus is likely "frozen". The expected result for I2CSCAN on the console is {"I2CScan":"Error 4 at 0x01"}. A restart (Restart 1) of Tasmota should be enough, but you may need to power cycle the device. Different ESP Cores may lead to different behavior.
It is possible to flash incorrect firmware to a sensor (chirp vs non-chirp). This will very likely lead to nonsense temperature readings.
Multiple sensors on one I2C bus were tested successfully, but are not guaranteed to work due to multiple possible reasons (power, cabling, ...). Your mileage may vary.