Issue to make an RFXCOM working with my VERAPLUS

Plugins & Plugin Development USB RFXtrx Transceiver
#1

I am facing a major issue to make an RFXCOM working with my VERAPLUS !
The install process seems to work correctly but at the end I get a red warning for the RFXcom controller de and no devices is displayed (I have a lot of devices manly Oregon sensors, because I have also a Veralite with an other RFX)
I tested the RFX on my PC → it’s working correctly.
I plug the other RFX (the one connected to my Veralite) → same issue, not working

I sent a lot of messages to Vera support without any answer !
Coul you please help me :

  • first to understand why I didn’t receive any answer from the Vera support which is well known to be reactived
  • second to help me to solve my issue !
    I leave in France, close to Paris, and now it’s cold and I would to make my house automation working very quicly !
    Please some help !
#2

Just a few obvious ones:

You didn’t use the app in the app store did you?

Did you set up the serial port for the RFXtRx?

What firmware do you have on the vera plus? if you have .3232 you might have difficulties communicating with it, you might need to go back to .3015.

Look Here:

[quote=“Forzaalfa, post:41, topic:197364”]Im running the previous version (1.7.3015) now because i had some problems like you.

I downgraded using this link: http://dl.mios.com/rl/BETA/722/mt7621_Luup_ui7-1.7.3015-en-mios.squashfs[/quote]

I got mine working using this procedure: [url=http://www.vesternet.com/resources/application-notes/apnt-116]http://www.vesternet.com/resources/application-notes/apnt-116[/url]

#3

Thank’s for your help !
I try several things. First the app in appstore. Later I try to use the procedure describefd in Vesternet site : http://www.vesternet.com/resources/application-notes/apnt-116
When I plug my RFX on my PC (using RFX manager) I can see it working (alla my devices are displayed).
I can also see the firmware version: 1021.

On other hand…always no news from Vera support…

#4

If you used the files from here: trunk – RFXtrx Gateway
They might work after making the change described in the second last post in this thread: http://forum.micasaverde.com/index.php/topic,49889.msg334899.html#msg334899
Or you could upload all of the files from the ZIP file in the first post in this thread: http://forum.micasaverde.com/index.php/topic,52229.0.html
These files include updates and fixes to the files from the trunk.

#5

Thank’s for help !
I got the zip file you provide me.
But now I don’t knoxw how to proceed…
In the Vera devices tab I try to use the Add device button…but the RFX isn’t propose in the llist of additional devices. If I use the search button with rfx → no results.
I suppose if I want to use the files embedded in the zip files, I need to use a manual install, but I don’t kow how to proceed.
In My apps I clicked in the Plugin RFCOM Gateway and the application informs me that the plugin has created the following device : #48 RFXCOM controller device. If I click on this link I got a message in red : rfxcom Can’t Detect device.
I suppose iI am facing a USB connexion issue.
How is it possible to test the USB port of my Veraplus ?
Thank you to help me…and sorry for my bad english !
Regards
Gerard

#6

OK, here are the steps to follow:
Unzip the ZIP file to a location on your PC
Open your browser to the VeraPlus page - connecting to your Vera
Select the Apps tab on the right
In that tab select Develop Apps
On that page select Luup files - that will list all of the files on your Vera controller
Select the Upload button - that will open a dialog allowing you to browse to where you unzipped the zip file
Select all of the files from the zip file
Select the Open button in that dialog

Once the files are all uploaded the Vera will restart. When that is complete (all the lights on the Vera are back on) go back to the Develop Apps page on the Vera and select Serial Port Configuration. In the Used By Device drop-down you should be able to select the RFXtrx device. Make sure it shows baud 38400, data bits 8, parity none and stop bits 1.

That should do it.

#7

As soon I will come back to my house I will try !
Do you have any idea linked with usb port check ?
In the Veraplus is ? box check available ?
My last question (for today !), do you have an idea why I didn’t receive any feedback from Vera ? I read everywhere that Vera support is very effective, so I don’t understand their silence…
Hopefully I can trust on this forum !
Thank’S for help me !

#8

I believe that the USB port check is for checking the USB port on a PC - it cannot do anything with the USB port on your Vera.
BTW, if you installed a device from RFXCOM gateway you should delete that device before uploading the files in the ZIP file.

#9

Hi all, I seem to have a very difficult time in getting RFXtrx433E working with my Vera Plus. I actually got it to work once before upgrading firmware on Vera and RFXtrx, and after this I can only see the RFXtrx-device in Vera, but it will never add any sensors/units.

I downgraded firmware on Vera to 1.7.3015, but still no go. I tried all existing versions of the plugin, from beta3 to 1.31, but nothing.
In RFXmngr I can see that messages are received from sensors, so the device definitely works.

My simple question is: What firmware versions do you use on Vera, RFXtrx, and what plugin version do you have for RFXtrx? Maybe if I just knew a working combination I could troubleshoot from there?

#10

You need to go back 2 FW versions, there was a Port conflict that Vera created which caused problems with RFXCom.
I’m using a Edge running [size=12px][/size][table][tr][td][size=12px][/size][table][tr][td][size=12px][font=Verdana]1.7.3014[/font][/size][/td][/tr][/table][size=12px][/size][/td][/tr][/table][size=12px][/size]

#11

(1) I don’t think that the RFXCOM app available via the Install Apps page in Vera is supported. It hasn’t been updated in almost 6 years.
(2) The files from trunk – RFXtrx Gateway will work but not with the latest firmware from Vera.
(3) The files in the ZIP file of this post http://forum.micasaverde.com/index.php/topic,52229.0.html are actually updated versions from (2) and will work with the latest firmware.
(4) If you’ve installed (1) you should probably uninstall it.

#12

[quote=“zedrally, post:10, topic:197949”]You need to go back 2 FW versions, there was a Port conflict that Vera created which caused problems with RFXCom.
I’m using a Edge running [size=12px][/size][table][tr][td][size=12px][/size][table][tr][td][size=12px][font=Verdana]1.7.3014[/font][/size][/td][/tr][/table][size=12px][/size][/td][/tr][/table][size=12px][/size][/quote]

Thank you for the suggestion zedrally, unfortunately I believe 1.7.3015 is the Vera Plus version of 1.7.3014 for Vera Edge. Still no go for me with this version. Do you know what firmware (version and type) you are using on the RFXtrx? Maybe this is the culprit?

quote=“tinman, post:11, topic:197949” I don’t think that the RFXCOM app available via the Install Apps page in Vera is supported. It hasn’t been updated in almost 6 years.
(2) The files from trunk – RFXtrx Gateway will work but not with the latest firmware from Vera.
(3) The files in the ZIP file of this post http://forum.micasaverde.com/index.php/topic,52229.0.html are actually updated versions from (2) and will work with the latest firmware.
(4) If you’ve installed (1) you should probably uninstall it.[/quote]

I didn’t use the RFXCOM app from Install Apps, since I already read in the forum that it’s obsolete.
The files from trunk – RFXtrx Gateway (that I refer to as Beta 3) didn’t work at all with 1.7.3015, but partially in latest firmware contrary to the experience from other users here.
Now, the strange thing is that the files in the ZIP file of this post http://forum.micasaverde.com/index.php/topic,52229.0.html (that I refer to as version 1.31) don’t work at all for me, neither on 1.7.3015 or the latest firmware. Actually it seems that with this version it won’t detect any sensors at all and I get a recurring error message in LuaPnp log, for example:

IOPort::Connect connect -1 127.0.0.1:3481

UserData::TempLogFileSystemFailure start 1 <0x77dc1320> followed by a dir listing of files, to me indicating some kind of issue.

02 12/31/17 11:54:59.539 Device_LuaUPnP::CreateServices device 4 doesn’t have interface, using topmost device interface <0x77e8e320>
02 12/31/17 11:54:59.550 Device_LuaUPnP::CreateServices device 6 doesn’t have interface, using topmost device interface <0x77e8e320>
02 12/31/17 11:54:59.591 Device_LuaUPnP::CreateServices device 19 doesn’t have interface, using topmost device interface <0x77e8e320>
02 12/31/17 11:54:59.599 Device_LuaUPnP::CreateServices device 20 doesn’t have interface, using topmost device interface <0x77e8e320>
02 12/31/17 11:54:59.604 Device_LuaUPnP::CreateServices device 21 doesn’t have interface, using topmost device interface <0x77e8e320>
02 12/31/17 11:54:59.617 Device_LuaUPnP::CreateServices device 22 doesn’t have interface, using topmost device interface <0x77e8e320>
02 12/31/17 11:54:59.641 Device_Basic::m_eConfigured_set device 1 was 0 now 0 startup <0x77e8e320>
02 12/31/17 11:54:59.642 Device_Service::MatchupUpnpServices no upnp service for urn:micasaverde-com:serviceId:ZigbeeDevice1 <0x77e8e320>
02 12/31/17 11:54:59.642 Device_Basic::m_eConfigured_set device 2 was 0 now 0 startup <0x77e8e320>
02 12/31/17 11:54:59.643 Device_Basic::m_eConfigured_set device 3 was 0 now 0 startup <0x77e8e320>
02 12/31/17 11:54:59.644 Device_Basic::m_eConfigured_set device 4 was 0 now 0 startup <0x77e8e320>
02 12/31/17 11:54:59.644 Device_Basic::m_eConfigured_set device 5 was 0 now 0 startup <0x77e8e320>
02 12/31/17 11:54:59.645 Device_Basic::m_eConfigured_set device 6 was 0 now 0 startup <0x77e8e320>
02 12/31/17 11:54:59.648 Device_Service::MatchupUpnpServices no upnp service for upnp-rfxcom-com:serviceId:rfxtrx1 <0x77e8e320>
02 12/31/17 11:54:59.648 Device_Service::MatchupUpnpServices no upnp service for urn:rfxcom-com:serviceId:rfxtrx1 <0x77e8e320>
02 12/31/17 11:54:59.648 Device_Basic::m_eConfigured_set device 18 was 0 now 0 startup <0x77e8e320>
02 12/31/17 11:54:59.649 Device_Service::MatchupUpnpServices no upnp service for upnp-rfxcom-com:serviceId:rfxtrx1 <0x77e8e320>
02 12/31/17 11:54:59.649 Device_Basic::m_eConfigured_set device 19 was 0 now 0 startup <0x77e8e320>
02 12/31/17 11:54:59.649 Device_Service::MatchupUpnpServices no upnp service for upnp-rfxcom-com:serviceId:rfxtrx1 <0x77e8e320>
02 12/31/17 11:54:59.650 Device_Basic::m_eConfigured_set device 20 was 0 now 0 startup <0x77e8e320>
02 12/31/17 11:54:59.650 Device_Service::MatchupUpnpServices no upnp service for upnp-rfxcom-com:serviceId:rfxtrx1 <0x77e8e320>
02 12/31/17 11:54:59.651 Device_Basic::m_eConfigured_set device 21 was 0 now 0 startup <0x77e8e320>
02 12/31/17 11:54:59.651 Device_Basic::m_eConfigured_set device 22 was 0 now 0 startup <0x77e8e320>

and I have no idea whether this is normal or not or affecting the problem.

Update: after the 20th or so restart of Vera, suddenly it decided to detect all sensors, but I don’t get any readings at all, and I can’t find anything in the logs indicating why. Any ideas?

#13

Sorry but I don’t think I can be of much help. I’ve been looking at Vera logs from almost the beginning of when I started using the RFXtrx transceiver. I believe I’ve seen the UserData::TempLogFileSystemFailure messages (followed by many log entries similar to what you describe) many times even then. I don’t know if this error is related to using the RFXtrx plugin or not. I suppose I could delete the plugin from my system and see if they still turn up. But it would help to get some kind of hint or tech support from Vera folks about what this TempLogFileSystemFailure is all about. Good luck with that. I’ve searched the forums (and the Wiki) for this but have found few instances of others mentioning it and no ideas about what triggers it. I may experiment with deleting the plugin - but I won’t get to it today.

#14

I’m glad you took the time to answer with your experiences from this kind of setup. I guess I’ll have to continue experimenting with different combinations of versions, I just still think it’s a bit weird that the behavior of my Vera is quite the opposite of other users findings (i.e seems to work better with trunk version on latest version, than with the patched 1.31 for example).

All that’s left for today is to wish you all a Happy New Year!

#15

OK, I’ve deleted all of the sensor devices being handled by the RFXtrx transceiver and then deleted the RFXtrx itself. I then deleted all of the plugin files (using WinSCP). I restarted the VeraPlus. Looking at the logs I still see the UserData::TempLogFileSystemFailure messages. In fact I see one occurring about every six minutes. All of my scenes (controlling lights around my home) still execute properly. So although this UserData::TempLogFileSystemFailure seems strange I don’t think it has anything to do with your problems with the RFXtrx transceiver. I then uploaded all the files from the ZIP file at http://forum.micasaverde.com/index.php/topic,52229.0.html to my VeraPlus, created a new device using the link in the VeraPlus page Apps-> Develop Apps → Create Device being sure to enter the device type urn:schemas-rfxcom-com:device:rfxtrx:1 , Device File D_RFXtrx.xml and Device Name (any name will work - I used RFXtrx Transceiver). Once the device showed up in the Vera Devices page went to Apps-> Develop Apps → Serial Port Conficuration and in Used By Device selected the RFXtrx transceiver, set baud rate to 38400, 8 bits, no parity and 1 stop bit.
Now everything works as before. Devices are created automatically, and can be deleted. Sensor data is received and displayed. So at this point I believe that the plugin code from the ZIP file works fine with VeraPlus firmware version 1.7.3453 (and the previous version of firmware).

#16

Thanks again for taking your time to help out. I replicated exactly what you did above now, and it is fine up to the “Create device” part. After adding the device (copy/pasting your values just to be sure) it never shows up in Vera. To solve this, I chose to do a "http://:3480/data_request?id=reload/. Now the RFXtrx device is visible, but with “Lua Startup failure”. After adding the serial port the error goes away and the RFXtrx device is visible.

So far so good, now if I don’t detect the sensors within reasonable time, the issue is probably either:

  • Firmware Type of RFXtrx (I use Type 1 version 1022, but should possibly use Ext2)
  • Some specific issues in the Lua files for this specific sensor (Viking Termo/Humidity)

Could you enlighten me what firmware type and version of RFXtrx firmware you are using, just to make sure that there isn’t a possible bug in the code for a specific version?

Still no sensors found, but I guess it can take a while to pick them up.

#17

Update: After a couple of hours, two X10 devices where detected. Almost 24 hours later, the Viking sensors still don’t show. I suspect the definitions for the sensors in the 1.31 version of the Lua files contains some errors compared to the Beta3 version from the trunk. As far as I understand, all firmware types of the RFXtrx should support Viking so it shouldn’t matter.

#18

I’m running version 1022 of the EXT2 RFXtrx firmware. In fact I just installed that version today. I was running version 1021. Everything seems to be working normally for me. I assume you have the FineOffset/Viking protocol enabled in the RFXtrx settings page?

#19

Now I changed to EXT2 type firmware, just to be in sync with your setup. I have indeed the FineOffset/Viking protocol enabled. I again checked that the sensors report to RFXtrx using RFXMngr, and there I saw that the actual string reported from RFXtrx doesn’t exactly match the one in the Lua files.
I decided to do my own version of the L_RFXtrx.lua and J_RFXtrx.js files, in order to test this theory, I’ll get back with my results.

#20

What model Viking temp/humidity sensor do you have? The user guide for the RFXtrx only lists 02035, 02038 and 02811.
I believe that messages from these sensors should be decoded by the transceiver and send a message like 0A 52 09 nn i1 i2 t1 t2 hh hs br
The important parts are 0A 52 09. If you’re not seeing this then it may no be decoded properly.
The value of nn doesn’t matter - it’s just a message count.
i1 and i2 are the ID of the device
t1 and t2 are the temperature
hh and hs are the humidity data
br is battery and signal strength.
If you’re seeing something different let me know what it is.
Also, if the plugin cannot recognize the message you should see something in the Vera log that indicates that.