question

mathewst avatar image
mathewst asked

energy meter et112, zigbee, ccgx

Hello,

I am really struggling with et112, zigbee and ccgx. I am so close but it doesnt work. At least I share some things. I have correct zigbee modules, DRF2658C, DRF2659C both have firmware v8.8. I have ET112 with firmware B-4. I mostly understand how these modules works, blink codes etc, have DTK software, Carlo Gavazzi software.

What works:

After lot of try and error, I have been able to configure zigbee modules to work with windows computer and carlo gavazzi software. Its easy when its done, you need USB rs485 adapter to configure rs485 zigbee module.

As other threads mention, one module should be coordinator, that one has solid activity LED. In my case transferring configuration to slave router modules doesnt work so I edited config in them to End point. Slave module in my case RS485 one should blink slowly on activity LED. Fast blink indicates connection to zigbee network is not made.

You should see TX RX LED to blink on both modules as sides try to communicate (carlo software tries to find device f.ex.)

Now whats important is to match parity and baud rate of modules with carlo gavazzi otherwise it doesnt work for me. So Carlo ET112 has default 9,6k baud rate, no parity and 1 stop bit. I have modified zigbee modules to 9,6k baud rate and it connects now though com port and computer with CG SW.

What doesnt work:

CCGX 2.84 ignores meter. There is no settings setupable in CCGX, you have no control over connection from that side. Any help with this. I will try RC candidate version as well but doubt it will do anything.

Energy Meter
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5 Answers
mathewst avatar image
mathewst answered ·

In will answer myself.

There is probably difference if you buy these modules preconfigured by victron or yourself directly.

You need to get superuser ssh access in General settings, then connect via ssh.

Do lsusb, if your like me you will see

root@ccgx:~# lsusb

Bus 001 Device 003: ID 1a86:7523 QinHeng Electronics HL-340 USB-Serial adapter

Bus 001 Device 002: ID 0424:2412 Standard Microsystems Corp.

Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub

Problem is devices are preconfigured staticly and 1a86:7523 QinHeng Electronics HL-340 USB-Serial adapter is not in the list.

You need to edit file

cd /etc/udev/rules.d

nano serial-starter.rules

and add line

ACTION=="add", ENV{ID_BUS}=="usb", ATTRS{idVendor}=="1a86", ATTRS{idProduct}=="7523", ENV{VE_SERVICE}="cgwacs:default"

as mentioned here https://community.victronenergy.com/questions/76350/et340-no-comuniccation.html

It will probably get erased like ESS during software update so beware.

Took me 3 full days to fix fix, buying another meter, reconfiguring everything. Problem is in product description, preconfigured victron devices should be sold as different products.


VICTRON PLEASE ADD THIS TO DEFAULT CONFIG, I IMAGINE LOT OF POEPLE ARE BUYING THESE ADAPTERS LIKE ME ALONE, PRODUCT CODES ARE SAME BUT PRODUCT ITSELF NOT!.

2 comments
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mjs500 avatar image mjs500 commented ·

have been trying workout how you do this i no you us nano but how you find file to edit this with v3.01 and still will not shown device list

ID 1a86:7523 QinHeng Electronics HL-340 USB-Serial adapter adapter is in list as about but

You need to edit file

cd /etc/udev/rules.d

nano serial-starter.rules

and add line

ACTION=="add", ENV{ID_BUS}=="usb", ATTRS{idVendor}=="1a86", ATTRS{idProduct}=="7523", ENV{VE_SERVICE}="cgwacs:default"


Matthew

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mjs500 avatar image mjs500 mjs500 commented ·
cancel the reqwest as hard wire and Waveshare rs485 to usb work out box
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Tobias Franklin avatar image
Tobias Franklin answered ·

thanks @Mathewst this worked for me, I had the exact same problem

il list my steps encase others have similar issues;

plug the usb zigbee into your pc (windows 10 no drivers needed)

use the DTK Zigbee application (available from the DTK website)

http://dtkcn.cn/download/Zigbee%20Setup%20-20220212.rar

to set my usb zigbee to be the coordinator and to set the baud rate of the coordinator to 9600 > on the other side of the screen these settings are then copied to the router when it connects, set this baud rate to 9600 as well (out of the box the usb device was set to router) (if the app is stuck in Chinese run it as admin and then it loads the English text correctly)

now the devices should connect out of the box; turning the usb device on first, then the rs485 zigbee module - they connect almost instantly.

then with the usb module still plugged into your pc open the zigbee topology application

1673347901726.png

this then opens a UI that lets you confirm that the two devices are talking > open the router and read it and make sure the baud rate here is still 9600, for me, it reset/didn't set the first time, but you simply change it here 'read' and then 'write' your changes - very nice little application!

Now if you want to, you can use the Carlo Gavazzi UCS software to connect to your ET112 meter via COM3 - just works - this confirms that we have readings coming from the meter.

But when you connect back to your cerboGX Energy Meters may still be empty.

If so, activate SSH via steps 1 to 3 here https://www.victronenergy.com/live/ccgx:root_access#enable_sshd_and_log_in

then follow @Mathewst instructions remembering to save your entry into the file when you're done;

//

I have a reasonable amount of developer experience and messed around with Linux a bit - if you understand roughly what the devices are trying to do and have a bit of keyboard bashing experience with Linux or mac, then you will be fine.

If not, this process although not complicated is pretty daunting and super confusing. Although, with some instruction/blind confidence, you can follow the steps, and it will magically work.

I really don't understand why it was this hard to get the stupid zigbees to work - I bought them off of aliexpress for £22ea instead of UK retailers selling them at £75ea!But I imagine UK retailers are buying from the same place I did?!

But if you can find this solution it will take about 30 mins to bash through at most and you will have your energy meter in your ceboGX.


1673348469101.png


This is certainly something Victron needs to sort in a future update - there is NO WAY we should be having to hack our way through the system to get this stuff working!!




1673347901726.png (8.9 KiB)
1673348469101.png (7.5 KiB)
1 comment
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That udev line is already part of the candidate release, so it should end up in the main release too.
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sieade245 avatar image
sieade245 answered ·

Hi! I just wanted to say thank you so much for this information. I did the same as you and bought the units direct from AliExpress as a pair for £60. I had to first follow the instructions to pair them using the DTK software here:

Link to Download the "DTK zigbee Application software" Zigbee DRF2658c - Victron Community (victronenergy.com)

Then followed your instructions to update the Venus software. This was done on 2.93 on a Raspberry PI. One reboot later and they were talking. Interestingly, my USB unit was detected by Venus and showed up in energy meters, but it wouldn't talk to the RS485 unit until I added that line to the .rules file. Really appreciate you posting this. This will be used at a remote location and I will disable all updates so hopefully it never gets overwritten.

Thanks again!

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hanszwicky avatar image
hanszwicky answered ·

Despite all the valuable informations on this topic I didn not managed to connect to et112 though UCS Gavazzi software. There seems to be a notion of address that I do not really understand. COuld soemone share its ZIgbee configuration as per the DTK softare tool ? Thank you in advance

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wout991 avatar image
wout991 answered ·

Allright, finally got my pair of DTK zigbee set configured.. took me a while and I want to share and hopefully help others which couldn't get theirs configured. I also got a spare set which I paired and sell on my webshop.


First of all you will need a rs485 usb connector to configure your DRF2659C (RS485 - Zigbee) with your computer. Download the 'DTK wireless module configuration software' on http://www.dtkcn.com/ then just follow the following steps:

Connect USB zigbee to your computer.

Open 'Zigbee Application', select English if you have a bit of trouble with chinese.. and click 'Zigbee module'

standard-settings-usb-zigbee.jpg

Configure point type to 'coordinator'

Write
Power off usb zigbee and power on again
Connect
Read
Configure to baudrate 9600


Power off usb zigbee and power on again
Connect with baudrate 9600
Read and check if all settings are correct

Connect Zigbee RS485 with a USB - RS485 connector to computer
Configure baudrate 9600
Make sure that same channel is used as coordinator.
Make sure that point type is set to 'router'
Write (will probably go into error, but don't worry..)
Power off usb zigbee and power on again
Connect with baudrate 9600
Read and check the settings

Make sure that RS485 zigbee is turned off
Then, first connect USB zigbee to GX (active led should turn solid on)
While RS485 is powered off, connect Energy Meter to RS485 zigbee router
Connect RS485 zigbee router to power (power on)
Zigbee's should now automatically pair (TX/RX leds will flash rapidly)
You can now find energy meter in the GX menu.


I hope this helped for some people!


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