Build notes for the v4 kit. Pins and parts come from the firmware on the main branch (hub and soil probes 8.5.0.0; Sonoff plugs and control panel 8.3.0.0). Setting up a finished kit instead? Start with the user guide. Power down between changes. A couch already killed a board. Mains wiring must follow your local rules and be done by a licensed electrician where the law requires it.
BUILD NOTES

DSC-POT build

One root-zone node. Build it well, then build it again.

Soil probe and ESP32 node, dark bench.
Soil probe and ESP32 node, dark bench.

You need: an ESP32, an RS485 module and a 7-in-1 soil probe (moisture, temp, EC, pH, N, P, K), plus a USB cable for the first flash. Stub files set the name; logic lives in the shared package.

On this page
  1. How it works
  2. Diagram
  3. Milestones
  4. Cost band + next

Problem

Four slightly different YAMLs become four slightly different bugs.

Build

GPIO17 TX, GPIO16 RX, GPIO4 to DE+RE, 4800 8N1, address 0x01, 60 s, 100 ms throttle. Probe tines 2.5 to 5 cm (1 to 2 inches) down. The schematics map shows the kit's power domains and signal lines.

Result

Trendable soil on the Root desk and the panel's soil cards. Readings are trends, not laboratory truth. A sudden 0% moisture is a probe until proven otherwise.

How it works

Firmware habit

Never edit sensor logic in a stub. A fix in the common package lands on every pot.

Burial

Firm contact. Cable up the inside wall so irrigation does not drown the gland.

In the dashboard

Assign the probe to a plant in Plants › Compose. Moisture should move minutes after watering. Seven-day baselines are why relative alerts exist. Each channel's offset and scale live on the probe.

Diagram

ESP32 UART → RS485 → soil probe → brain + panel every 60 s

Milestones

  1. 1. Wire one
  2. 2. Flash stub
  3. 3. Bury
  4. 4. Watch watering
  5. 5. Repeat

Cost band + next

Repeat per pot. Identical builds are the point: the kit ships two, the firmware takes four.

Then wait a week before you trust relative EC/N alerts.

Flashing