First Steps
- The device can be powered by either Micro USB Port.
- For the initial warm-up - it will display a full color gauge for 15 minutes. This is necessary to get a good starting point
- After this period has passed it is necessary to expose the device to fresh air from time to time in the next few days so that the reference value for fresh air is calculated. (in general if it is left turned on during the night - this is enough)
- In general it is good to leave it on. Once it is switched of - it may take up to 15 minutes for the warm-up phase to complete
I am updating the firmware periodically, and adding new features or improving the accuracy. Also i will be posting some important updates about the device (not more than once per month). To stay in touch it is best to use any of the available communication channels:
- "watch" this wiki page, to get notified about changes
- Like the Facebook page, where i will post updates as well: https://www.facebook.com/vairmonitor
- Follow the twitter account https://twitter.com/vAirMon
Drivers are required to connect the CO2Monitor to your computer and either manage it via Serial Port or upgrade its firmware. The device drivers that you may need to install if you do not have them yet are for the USB2Serial chipset CH340G. This is a very popular chipset that can be found in almost any device with usb communication coming from China. You can download the drivers for:
- Windows - https://github.com/vlast3k/simple-co2-monitor-fw/blob/master/files/CH341SER.zip
- Mac - https://github.com/vlast3k/simple-co2-monitor-fw/raw/master/files/CH341SER_MAC-1.zip (consider also this link for installing on the latest version of the MAC OS: http://kiguino.moos.io/2014/12/31/how-to-use-arduino-nano-mini-pro-with-CH340G-on-mac-osx-yosemite.html)
You can easily setup the device using the Chrome App, that can be installed from here
To configure logging of data into Thingspeak. Follow this procedure. This is one of the most popular free platform to collect and chart IoT data. To use it - you need to create an account there. Then create a New Channel. E.g. like this:
And get it's Write API Key from here:
When you enter the API Key, the device will try to send one data entry (456 ppm), to verify that everything is fine