Quick Start Guide¶

Thank You, Dear Maker!¶

If you are reading this QUICK START GUIDE you have probably purchased our HARDWARIO TOWER - Industrial IoT Kit. If not, go shopping to do so :)

Once again THANK YOU for being our supporter, we really appreciate this.

HARDWARIO TOWER is not just about the hardware but it comes with full documentation, tutorials, software tools and most importantly - it comes with the extensive technical support. HARDWARIO doesn’t hesitate to use one of these channels In case you run in troubles or if anything is not clear to you:

Write us an email to ask@hardwario.com
Use forum at https://forum.hardwario.com/
Use the online chat icon in the bottom right corner

Be Inspired¶

It’s always hard to build something without an inspiration. We motivate our makers to share their work with others and you can get ideas for your projects by subscribing to our Clownsletter.

Get Ready¶

In our world it means to prepare a center of your IoT system - the Hub. In QUICK START GUIDE we will use your computer as a Hub. Just follow these steps:

Delivery¶

In delivered box find a Radio Dongle and plug it to any USB port of your computer.

Download the latest Playground¶

Go to the HARDWARIO Playground Download page.

Run the HARDWARIO Playground¶

Go to the Devices tab, choose the Radio Dongle serial port and click Connect

Tip

If you cannot see Radio Dongle in the devices, please see the Troubleshooting chapter.

Radio kits delivered together with your Radio Dongle are already programmed and paired, please check that out in the image below.

Build devices¶

By building devices we mean putting modules and enclosure together, optionally flashing a new firmware and pairing devices with a Radio Dongle.

Build delivered kits or build devices from modules (check the video guides how to do so). Do not put batteries to the battery module yet.

Caution

Be careful how you connect Mini Battery Module to the other modules. Look at the image below so you know how to do it.

As mentioned, delivered kits are already programmed with a right firmware. If you would like to change it to another firmware in the Core Module, please follow this firmware flash chapter.

Radio Pairing¶

As mentioned, kits delivered together with Radio Dongle are already paired and should be visible in Playground’s Devices tab. In case you need to pair new devices, please follow these radio pairing instructions.

Playground’s Messages¶

Switch to Playground’s Messages tab and put batteries to your kit, you should see incoming messages. Every kit sends different messages. Here the Button kit sends temperature, voltage, event-count (everytime you press the button) and other messages.

3D-printed enclosure¶

Put modules to the 3D-printed enclosure and fix it with O-rings.

Add function¶

Now it’s time to give your system a logic and connect it with desired platforms.

In QUICK START GUIDE we will create a simple dashboard with a temperature gauge. Again, just follow these steps:

Messages¶

Switch to the Messages, you should see incoming messages from the previous step. Copy the bold text (called topic) that ends with temperature to the clipboard.

Important

You can use the copy icon in each message. Make sure you copy just text and no space before or after the text.

Your topic could be different based on your kit name. You can also copy any other topic that your module supports from the MQTT topics list.

Function¶

Switch to the Functions tab and from the color blocks on the left side drag and drop mqtt input block and gauge block to the flow in the middle of the screen. The color blocks are called nodes. You can use the filter nodes text box to find the right block. Connect the two created nodes together.

You have to modify the mqtt node and add the broker. Double click on it and then click on the little pencil on the right.

After that you just have to type in the localhost or any of your MQTT broker addresses and then click Add. Finally click Done.

Double click on the gauge node. Change Label, Units and Range to your needs. Then click Done. Double click on the mqtt node and paste the previously copied topic from the clipboard. Make sure there are not any spaces before and after the copied text. Then click Done and Deploy button. You have to click on the Deploy everytime you make changes in your flow.

Dashboard¶

Go to Playground’s Dashboard tab and you should see a gauge with the temperature of the selected device.

Tip

The temperature can take a while to appear. You can breathe on the module or reconnect batteries for immediate update.

Learn More¶

The goal of this QUICK START GUIDE is to show the basics in a few simple steps. Now you can learn more by browsing the documentation or by visiting the links below.

Take a look at the Module Overview.
Learn about HARDWARIO MQTT topics to control LEDs and relays.
Try other integrations with Grafana, Blynk, Ubidots and others.
Use your Raspberry PI or other single board computer (SBC) as a server.
Flash other firmware or write your own firmware for the Core Module.
Check the Core Module pinouts and add your own buttons, relays and sensors.

Troubleshooting¶

Cannot find the Radio Dongle or Core Module in the device list

On Windows 7 and macOS please install the FTDI VCP drivers
On Ubuntu you need to be in dialout user group. Please use command sudo usermod -a -G dialout $USER and restart computer
HARDWARIO Playground cannot flash older Core Module Revision 1. Please use the bcf tool. See version comparison