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[bkenobi]

I just ran across this Arduino variant and thought it was brilliant.

http://johan.kanflo.com/the-aaduino/

It's a basic Arduino with a RFM69 chip and designed to fit in the same space as a AA battery.  As a result, the device can be installed in a 3xAA holder as a fully self contained MCU/sensor setup.  RFM69 is low powered, so such a setup with a basic sensor could be placed anywhere and connected to a MySensors gateway very easily.  The only issue I see is no where to buy it and not many GPIO's brought to out for usage.  I wish something like this were available with ESP8266, but things are changing so fast, that could be ready by next week!

[dhouston]

I wish something like this were available with ESP8266, but things are changing so fast, that could be ready by next week!

While much wider than a AA, the WeMos D1 mini could rather easily be mated with a couple of batteries.
http://www.wemos.cc/Products/d1_mini.html
http://www.parts-express.com/2-aa-cell-battery-holder--140-968?utm_source=msn&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=pla

[bkenobi]

I have a wemos d1 and node mcu.  The RFM69 is a different animal but very good for what it does.  I have a few I've been (unsuccessfully) trying to mate to these ESP8266 based modules for a few months off and on (mostly off).  I've read of success but never seen it personally when programing the ESP with the Arduino IDE.  The AArduino doesn't work for me out of the box as I want ESP->RFM69, but I thought the form factor was pretty cool.

[dhouston]

I'm confused - why use ISM band when you have WiFi? Or do you want both? Then stick the RFM69 on a WeMos protoboard shield.
http://www.wemos.cc/Products/protoboard_shield.html
Use 4 of these in series/parallel and you wouldn't need to replace them often.
http://www.amazon.com/Exell-Battery-CR14250SE-Capacity-Replaces/dp/B00R1VJB10/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1461186532&sr=8-5&keywords=cr+1%2F2+aa+3v+lithium+battery 

[dhouston]

I have a wemos d1 and node mcu.  The RFM69 is a different animal but very good for what it does.  I have a few I've been (unsuccessfully) trying to mate to these ESP8266 based modules for a few months off and on (mostly off).  I've read of success but never seen it personally when programing the ESP with the Arduino IDE.  The AArduino doesn't work for me out of the box as I want ESP->RFM69, but I thought the form factor was pretty cool.

It's not clear what you want to do but there's code on the Espressif webpage for sending/receiving NEC protocol 38kHz IR with the ESP8266. Just eliminate the 38kHz and you can probably send NEC protocol RF with the RFM69 although I haven't looked at the latter's details..

https://espressif.com/en/file/396/download?token=sXmVIx7P

[bkenobi]

My vision is a RF to WiFi MQTT bridge.  I have a number of 433MHz sensors and have written code for Arduino that captures and decodes these into meaningful data.  I then send the data to an MQTT broker over the network.  This works, but the Uno + Ethernet shield are somewhat bulky and I have to locate the setup near a network connection.  My vision is to make it possible to locate such a bridge anywhere that I have power (or potentially anywhere period should battery/solar power suffice).  Of course, the RFM chip and the WiFi on the ESP8266 are so much better than the cheapo SuperHeterodyne modules I have been using that I don't know how critical locating the bridge will be.  But, I envision having sensors all over the place in the future.  I suppose it might be cheaper to just build my own based on ESP8266 rather than use commercial in the long run.

Currently I have Power, Weather, and temperature sensors.  I added a WiFi weather sensor recently, but other things are potentially possible.

[dhouston]

This might be a more economical battery choice.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B013JEQ8RC?psc=1

The WeMos D1 mini is about 1.250"x1.000" which will certainly fit below and well within the footprint of the battery holder I recommended earlier. The mini has a 3V3 LDO regulator that can handle the 6V you would get in my recommended series/parallel battery configuration but can also be powered by a 5V power supply with a microUSB connector.

The mini is $4 with free shipping here...
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/D1-mini-Mini-NodeMcu-4M-bytes-Lua-WIFI-Internet-of-Things-development-board-based-ESP8266/32529101036.html

You can use the protoboard for your ISM transceiver (or not should you go all WiFi).
http://www.wemos.cc/Products/protoboard_shield.html

There's cloudy ESP8266 MQTT LUA code here...
www.cloudmqtt.com

Now all we need is a clever name for it.

PS: He hasn't been very active recently (recovering from a heart attack) but a friend (Tom Becker) who has posted a great deal over the past few years to the ZBasic forum has created numerous projects of a similar (though usually more detailed and elaborate) nature but I don't think he has done anything yet with the ESP8266. He made a bundle from earlier technical endeavors and has retired to Florida where he has kept busy with numerous projects. He has ~600 posts most are helping mere mortals or explaining his projects.

[dhouston]

And, the Arduino Mini Pro is about 1.250"x0.750", can handle up to a 16V supply and is available in 5V & 3V3 versions. You can buy it for as low as $3.

[dhouston]

And, in loo of batteries...
http://www.networkworld.com/article/3058605/internet-of-things/coming-soon-the-internet-of-pee-powered-things.html?google_editors_picks=true