node-red-contrib-reterminal-dm

A Node-RED package for accessing Seeed Studio reTerminal DM device features including buzzer, LED control, light sensor, and touch panel functionality.

About reTerminal DM

The reTerminal DM is an enhanced version of the reTerminal series, featuring additional hardware capabilities for industrial and IoT applications.

Installation

Navigate to your Node-RED user directory ~/.node-red and install:

npm i node-red-contrib-reterminal-dm

Or install via Node-RED Palette Manager:

1. Go to "Palette Manager" menu in your Node-RED interface
2. Search for "node-red-contrib-reterminal-dm" in the Node-RED Library
3. Click "Install"

Available Nodes

Input Nodes (Sensors)

Light Sensor

• Node: reTerminal Light Sensor
• Description: Continuously reads light sensor values
• Output: JSON object with light sensor data
• Configuration:
  • Poll Interval (ms) - configurable sampling rate (default: 1000ms)
• Output Format:

  {
    "light": 1023
  }

Touch Panel

• Node: reTerminal Touch Panel
• Description: Detects touch events and position coordinates
• Output: JSON object with touch position data
• Output Format:

  {
    "position": {
      "x": 240,
      "y": 180
    }
  }

Output Nodes (Actuators)

USR Red LED

• Node: reTerminal LED Usr Red
• Description: Controls the user red LED on the reTerminal DM
• Input: Boolean payload
  • true - Turn LED on
  • false - Turn LED off
• Status Display: Shows current LED state

Buzzer

• Node: reTerminal Buzzer
• Description: Controls the built-in buzzer
• Input: Boolean payload
  • true - Turn buzzer on
  • false - Turn buzzer off
• Status Display: Shows current buzzer state

Quick Start Flow

Import this flow to get started quickly:

[{"id":"light_example","type":"light_sensor","name":"Light Sensor","pollInterval":1000,"x":150,"y":100,"wires":[["light_debug"]]},{"id":"light_debug","type":"debug","name":"Light Data","active":true,"tosidebar":true,"console":false,"tostatus":false,"complete":"payload","targetType":"msg","x":400,"y":100,"wires":[]},{"id":"touch_example","type":"touch_panel","name":"Touch Panel","x":150,"y":200,"wires":[["touch_debug"]]},{"id":"touch_debug","type":"debug","name":"Touch Data","active":true,"tosidebar":true,"console":false,"tostatus":false,"complete":"payload","targetType":"msg","x":400,"y":200,"wires":[]},{"id":"led_on","type":"inject","name":"LED On","props":[{"p":"payload"}],"repeat":"","crontab":"","once":false,"onceDelay":0.1,"topic":"","payload":"true","payloadType":"bool","x":150,"y":300,"wires":[["usr_red_led"]]},{"id":"led_off","type":"inject","name":"LED Off","props":[{"p":"payload"}],"repeat":"","crontab":"","once":false,"onceDelay":0.1,"topic":"","payload":"false","payloadType":"bool","x":150,"y":340,"wires":[["usr_red_led"]]},{"id":"usr_red_led","type":"led_usr_red","name":"USR Red LED","x":400,"y":320,"wires":[]},{"id":"buzzer_on","type":"inject","name":"Buzzer On","props":[{"p":"payload"}],"repeat":"","crontab":"","once":false,"onceDelay":0.1,"topic":"","payload":"true","payloadType":"bool","x":150,"y":420,"wires":[["buzzer_node"]]},{"id":"buzzer_off","type":"inject","name":"Buzzer Off","props":[{"p":"payload"}],"repeat":"","crontab":"","once":false,"onceDelay":0.1,"topic":"","payload":"false","payloadType":"bool","x":150,"y":460,"wires":[["buzzer_node"]]},{"id":"buzzer_node","type":"buzzer","name":"Buzzer","x":400,"y":440,"wires":[]}]

Node Usage Examples

Reading Light Sensor Data

The light sensor node automatically outputs data at the configured interval. Connect it to a debug node or function node to process the light values.

Detecting Touch Events

The touch panel node triggers when the screen is touched, providing X and Y coordinates. Use this for creating interactive interfaces.

Controlling LEDs

Send boolean true/false messages to LED nodes to turn them on/off. You can use inject nodes, function nodes, or any other source of boolean payloads.

Operating the Buzzer

Similar to LEDs, send boolean payloads to control the buzzer. Useful for alerts, notifications, or audio feedback.

Technical Notes

• Light Sensor: Uses configurable polling intervals via setInterval with proper cleanup on node shutdown
• Touch Panel: Utilizes child process spawning to handle touch events asynchronously
• Hardware Dependencies: Requires the npm-reterminal-dm package for hardware access
• Resource Management: Intervals and child processes are properly cleaned up when nodes are closed

Dependencies

• npm-reterminal-dm: ^1.1.1 - Core library for reTerminal DM hardware access

Compatibility

• Node-RED version: Compatible with current Node-RED releases
• Hardware: Seeed Studio reTerminal DM device
• Platform: Linux-based systems with proper hardware access

Version History

• v0.1.5 - Current release with light sensor, touch panel, USR red LED, and buzzer support

License

ISC License

Support

• Repository: GitHub Repository
• Issues: Report Issues
• Author: cgjgh

Acknowledgments

This package utilizes the npm-reterminal-dm library for easy access to reTerminal DM hardware features. Special thanks to the library maintainers for providing a simple interface to the device capabilities.