HA: moisture sensor ValueError: could not convert string to float: '2.1.1'

[mrhutchinsonmn]

I am attempting to incorporate a moisture sensor into HA but getting could not convert to float errors in the logs. The sensor does show up in mysensors.json but not in the gui.

Home Assistant 0.94.4

I am using a simple FC-28 moisture sensor: VCC, Gnd, D0 connected to D6 of the UNO and A0 connected to D7.

SoilMoistSensor Sketch:

/*
 * The MySensors Arduino library handles the wireless radio link and protocol
 * between your home built sensors/actuators and HA controller of choice.
 * The sensors forms a self healing radio network with optional repeaters. Each
 * repeater and gateway builds a routing tables in EEPROM which keeps track of the
 * network topology allowing messages to be routed to nodes.
 *
 * Created by Henrik Ekblad <henrik.ekblad@mysensors.org>
 * Copyright (C) 2013-2018 Sensnology AB
 * Full contributor list: https://github.com/mysensors/MySensors/graphs/contributors
 *
 * Documentation: http://www.mysensors.org
 * Support Forum: http://forum.mysensors.org
 *
 * This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
 * modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License
 * version 2 as published by the Free Software Foundation.
 *
 *******************************
 *
 * DESCRIPTION
 *
 * Arduino soil moisture based on gypsum sensor/resistive sensor to avoid electric catalyse in soil
 *  Required to interface the sensor: 2 * 4.7kOhm + 2 * 1N4148
 *
 * Gypsum sensor and calibration:
 *	DIY: See http://vanderleevineyard.com/1/category/vinduino/1.html
 *	Built: Davis / Watermark 200SS
 *		http://www.cooking-hacks.com/watermark-soil-moisture-sensor?_bksrc=item2item&_bkloc=product
 *		http://www.irrometer.com/pdf/supportmaterial/sensors/voltage-WM-chart.pdf
 *		cb (centibar) http://www.irrometer.com/basics.html
 *			0-10 Saturated Soil. Occurs for a day or two after irrigation
 *			10-20 Soil is adequately wet (except coarse sands which are drying out at this range)
 *			30-60 Usual range to irrigate or water (except heavy clay soils).
 *			60-100 Usual range to irrigate heavy clay soils
 *			100-200 Soil is becoming dangerously dry for maximum production. Proceed with caution.
 *
 * Connection:
 * D6, D7: alternative powering to avoid sensor degradation
 * A0, A1: alternative resistance measuring
 *
 *  Based on:
 *  "Vinduino" portable soil moisture sensor code V3.00
 *   Date December 31, 2012
 *   Reinier van der Lee and Theodore Kaskalis
 *   www.vanderleevineyard.com
 * Contributor: epierre
 */

// Copyright (C) 2015, Reinier van der Lee
// www.vanderleevineyard.com

// This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
// it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
// the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
// any later version.

// This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
// but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
// MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
// GNU General Public License for more details.

// Enable debug prints to serial monitor
#define MY_DEBUG

// Enable and select radio type attached
#define MY_RADIO_RF24
//#define MY_RADIO_NRF5_ESB
//#define MY_RADIO_RFM69
//#define MY_RADIO_RFM95

#include <math.h>       // Conversion equation from resistance to %
#include <MySensors.h>

// Setting up format for reading 3 soil sensors
#define NUM_READS (int)10    // Number of sensor reads for filtering
#define CHILD_ID 0

MyMessage msg(CHILD_ID, V_LEVEL);
uint32_t SLEEP_TIME = 30000; // Sleep time between reads (in milliseconds)

long buffer[NUM_READS];
int idx;

/// @brief Structure to be used in percentage and resistance values matrix to be filtered (have to be in pairs)
typedef struct {
	int moisture; //!< Moisture
	long resistance; //!< Resistance
} values;

const long knownResistor = 4700;  // Constant value of known resistor in Ohms

int supplyVoltage;                // Measured supply voltage
int sensorVoltage;                // Measured sensor voltage

values valueOf[NUM_READS];        // Calculated moisture percentages and resistances to be sorted and filtered

int i;                            // Simple index variable

void setup()
{
	// initialize the digital pins as an output.
	// Pin 6,7 is for sensor 1
	// initialize the digital pin as an output.
	// Pin 6 is sense resistor voltage supply 1
	pinMode(6, OUTPUT);

	// initialize the digital pin as an output.
	// Pin 7 is sense resistor voltage supply 2
	pinMode(7, OUTPUT);
}

void presentation()
{
	sendSketchInfo("Soil Moisture Sensor Reverse Polarity", "1.0");
	present(CHILD_ID, S_MOISTURE);
}

void loop()
{

	measure(6,7,1);
	Serial.print ("\t");
	Serial.println (average());
	long read1 = average();

	measure(7,6,0);
	Serial.print ("\t");
	Serial.println (average());
	long read2= average();

	long sensor1 = (read1 + read2)/2;

	Serial.print ("resistance bias =" );
	Serial.println (read1-read2);
	Serial.print ("sensor bias compensated value = ");
	Serial.println (sensor1);
	Serial.println ();

	//send back the values
	send(msg.set((int32_t)ceil(sensor1)));
	// delay until next measurement (msec)
	sleep(SLEEP_TIME);
}



void measure (int phase_b, int phase_a, int analog_input)
{
	// read sensor, filter, and calculate resistance value
	// Noise filter: median filter

	for (i=0; i<NUM_READS; i++) {

		// Read 1 pair of voltage values
		digitalWrite(phase_a, HIGH);                 // set the voltage supply on
		delayMicroseconds(25);
		supplyVoltage = analogRead(analog_input);   // read the supply voltage
		delayMicroseconds(25);
		digitalWrite(phase_a, LOW);                  // set the voltage supply off
		delay(1);

		digitalWrite(phase_b, HIGH);                 // set the voltage supply on
		delayMicroseconds(25);
		sensorVoltage = analogRead(analog_input);   // read the sensor voltage
		delayMicroseconds(25);
		digitalWrite(phase_b, LOW);                  // set the voltage supply off

		// Calculate resistance
		// the 0.5 add-term is used to round to the nearest integer
		// Tip: no need to transform 0-1023 voltage value to 0-5 range, due to following fraction
		long resistance = (knownResistor * (supplyVoltage - sensorVoltage ) / sensorVoltage) ;

		delay(1);
		addReading(resistance);
		Serial.print (resistance);
		Serial.print ("\t");
	}
}

Arduino Serial Monitor:

11679 TSF:MSG:SEND,105-105-0-0,s=0,c=1,t=37,pt=4,l=4,sg=0,ft=0,st=OK:2
11687 MCO:SLP:MS=30000,SMS=0,I1=255,M1=255,I2=255,M2=255
11693 TSF:TDI:TSL
11695 MCO:SLP:WUP=-1
11697 TSF:TRI:TSB
34	11	0	-11	0	11	23	23	11	0		10
-21	-10	10	11	0	-11	-22	-11	-10	11		-5
resistance bias =15
sensor bias compensated value = 2

11756 TSF:MSG:SEND,105-105-0-0,s=0,c=1,t=37,pt=4,l=4,sg=0,ft=0,st=OK:2
11765 MCO:SLP:MS=30000,SMS=0,I1=255,M1=255,I2=255,M2=255
11770 TSF:TDI:TSL
11772 MCO:SLP:WUP=-1
11773 TSF:TRI:TSB
11	22	23	11	-11	-11	0	11	23	11		9
-11	-11	-11	0	11	11	0	-11	-22	-11		-5
resistance bias =14
sensor bias compensated value = 2

11833 TSF:MSG:SEND,105-105-0-0,s=0,c=1,t=37,pt=4,l=4,sg=0,ft=0,st=OK:2
11842 MCO:SLP:MS=30000,SMS=0,I1=255,M1=255,I2=255,M2=255
11847 TSF:TDI:TSL
11849 MCO:SLP:WUP=-1
11851 TSF:TRI:TSB
23	0	0	-11	11	23	23	23	0	-11		8
-10	0	10	22	0	-22	-22	-10	11	11		-1
resistance bias =9
sensor bias compensated value = 3

11911 TSF:MSG:SEND,105-105-0-0,s=0,c=1,t=37,pt=4,l=4,sg=0,ft=0,st=OK:3
11919 MCO:SLP:MS=30000,SMS=0,I1=255,M1=255,I2=255,M2=255
11924 TSF:TDI:TSL
// Averaging algorithm
void addReading(long resistance)
{
	buffer[idx] = resistance;
	idx++;
	if (idx >= NUM_READS) {
		idx = 0;
	}
}

long average()
{
	long sum = 0;
	for (int i = 0; i < NUM_READS; i++) {
		sum += buffer[i];
	}
	return (long)(sum / NUM_READS);
}

Mysensors.json Moisture Sensor:
"105": {
"sensor_id": 105,
"children": {
"0": {
"id": 0,
"type": 35,
"description": "",
"values": {
"37": "3"
}
}
},
"type": 17,
"sketch_name": "Soil Moisture Sensor Reve",
"sketch_version": "1.0",
"battery_level": 0,
"protocol_version": "2.3.1",
"heartbeat": 0
}

HA Logs:

ValueError: could not convert string to float: '2.1.1'
2019-07-03 12:35:20 DEBUG (SyncWorker_2) [mysensors.persistence] Saving sensors to persistence file /home/homeassistant/.homeassistant/mysensors.json
2019-07-03 12:35:47 DEBUG (MainThread) [mysensors.handler] n:0 c:255 t:3 s:9 p:TSF:MSG:READ,105-105-0,s=0,c=1,t=37,pt=4,l=4,sg=0:1
2019-07-03 12:35:47 DEBUG (MainThread) [homeassistant.components.mysensors.gateway] Node update: node 105 child 0
2019-07-03 12:35:47 DEBUG (MainThread) [homeassistant.components.mysensors.device] Entity update: Soil Moisture Sensor Reve 105 0: value_type 37, value = 1
2019-07-03 12:35:47 ERROR (MainThread) [homeassistant.components.mysensors.device] Error updating Soil Moisture Sensor Reve 105 0
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/srv/homeassistant/lib/python3.6/site-packages/homeassistant/components/mysensors/device.py", line 103, in update
    await self._async_update_callback()
  File "/srv/homeassistant/lib/python3.6/site-packages/homeassistant/components/mysensors/device.py", line 129, in _async_update_callback
    await self.async_update_ha_state(True)
  File "/srv/homeassistant/lib/python3.6/site-packages/homeassistant/helpers/entity.py", line 225, in async_update_ha_state
    self._async_write_ha_state()
  File "/srv/homeassistant/lib/python3.6/site-packages/homeassistant/helpers/entity.py", line 258, in _async_write_ha_state
    unit_of_measurement = self.unit_of_measurement
  File "/srv/homeassistant/lib/python3.6/site-packages/homeassistant/components/mysensors/sensor.py", line 75, in unit_of_measurement
    if (float(self.gateway.protocol_version) >= 1.5
ValueError: could not convert string to float: '2.1.1'
2019-07-03 12:35:50 DEBUG (SyncWorker_8) [mysensors.persistence] Saving sensors to persistence file /home/homeassistant/.homeassistant/mysensors.json

[mrhutchinsonmn]

@mrhutchinsonmn I am revisiting this issue, attempting to get a mysensors wifi moisture sensor device working in my Homeassistant install. No one from my sensors or homeassistant was able to assist when I first created this topic. The setup and errors are the same. I am hoping someone has learned what the issue is that is causing the error and preventing the moisture sensor from appearing in the homeassistant gui. I am open to a different approach, if there is a better solution.

[sundberg84]

@mrhutchinsonmn - values in mysensors json looks very strange.

"values": {
"37": "3"
}

Not sure what else. did you try to stop HA and remove the node from mysensors json and preesnt it again?

[mrhutchinsonmn]

Yes, I removed mysensors.json and restarted. I just finished doing a new install of HA in case it was simply a version issue. I have more info now from the logs. What do you make of this output?:```

2020-02-25 11:45:07 DEBUG (MainThread) [homeassistant.components.mysensors.gateway] Node update: node 105 child 255
2020-02-25 11:45:07 DEBUG (MainThread) [mysensors.handler] n:0 c:255 t:3 s:9 p:TSF:MSG:READ,105-105-0,s=255,c=3,t=12,pt=0,l=3,sg=0:1.0
2020-02-25 11:45:07 DEBUG (MainThread) [homeassistant.components.mysensors.gateway] Node update: node 105 child 255
2020-02-25 11:45:07 DEBUG (MainThread) [mysensors.handler] n:0 c:255 t:3 s:9 p:TSF:MSG:READ,105-105-0,s=0,c=0,t=35,pt=0,l=0,sg=0:
2020-02-25 11:45:07 WARNING (MainThread) [mysensors] Not a valid message: Not valid message sub-type: 35 for dictionary value @ data['sub_type']
2020-02-25 11:45:07 DEBUG (MainThread) [mysensors.handler] n:0 c:255 t:3 s:9 p:TSF:MSG:READ,105-105-0,s=255,c=3,t=26,pt=1,l=1,sg=0:2
2020-02-25 11:45:07 DEBUG (MainThread) [mysensors.handler] n:0 c:255 t:3 s:9 p:TSF:MSG:SEND,0-0-105-105,s=255,c=3,t=27,pt=1,l=1,sg=0,ft=0,st=OK:1
2020-02-25 11:45:07 DEBUG (MainThread) [mysensors.handler] n:0 c:255 t:3 s:9 p:TSF:MSG:READ,105-105-0,s=0,c=1,t=37,pt=4,l=4,sg=0:1
2020-02-25 11:45:07 WARNING (MainThread) [mysensors] Child 0 is unknown
2020-02-25 11:45:07 DEBUG (SyncWorker_1) [mysensors.persistence] Saving sensors to persistence file /home/raymond/.homeassistant/mysensors1.pickle

[Meach]

I actually have the same problem and do not know where it is coming from.
I tried several time to delete mysensors.json file and restart AH to try to troubleshoot it without success.

This is the errors I get exactly:

2020-02-25 19:07:32 ERROR (MainThread) [homeassistant.components.mysensors.device] Error updating Grow monitor 30 3
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/src/homeassistant/homeassistant/components/mysensors/device.py", line 108, in update
    await self._async_update_callback()
  File "/usr/src/homeassistant/homeassistant/components/mysensors/device.py", line 134, in _async_update_callback
    await self.async_update_ha_state(True)
  File "/usr/src/homeassistant/homeassistant/helpers/entity.py", line 284, in async_update_ha_state
    self._async_write_ha_state()
  File "/usr/src/homeassistant/homeassistant/helpers/entity.py", line 330, in _async_write_ha_state
    unit_of_measurement = self.unit_of_measurement
  File "/usr/src/homeassistant/homeassistant/components/mysensors/sensor.py", line 85, in unit_of_measurement
    float(self.gateway.protocol_version) >= 1.5
ValueError: could not convert string to float: '2.3.2'

I checked the file mentioned in the last line here: https://github.com/home-assistant/home-assistant/blob/dev/homeassistant/components/mysensors/sensor.py
I see that V_LEVEL doesn't have a S_MOISTURE corresponding it to (line 32).
Could the error comes from the unit of measurement is not mentioned for S_MOISTURE type of sensors?

[BearWithBeard]

@Meach
I guess there's only one way to find out: Add the S_MOISTURE definition on line 36 in sensors.py manually, restart HA and give it a try.

    "V_LEVEL": {
        "S_SOUND": ["dB", "mdi:volume-high"],
        "S_VIBRATION": ["Hz", None],
        "S_LIGHT_LEVEL": ["lx", "mdi:white-balance-sunny"],
        "S_MOISTURE": ["%", "mdi:water-percent"],
    },

Since the measurement in your sketch seems to be tensiometric, I'm not certain if % is the correct unit to choose here, but I guess in general people would assume that S_MOISTURE is a volumetric measurement representing the percentage of water per volume in the soil. So you might want to change it to [None, "mdi:gauge"] or [kPa, "mdi:gauge"].

It's weird though that the logs from both of you complain about the MySensors version string, which of course, isn't a valid float and can't be converted with float(varString).

[BearWithBeard]

Out of curiosity, I just setup a node with the sketch that @mrhutchinsonmn posted in the first post, but uploaded dummy data instead of measuring actual values (shouldn't be a problem, I just don't have a soil moisture sensor at hand). I also tried the latest version of the SoilMoistSensor.ino sketch.

Unfortunately, I was unable to reproduce the issue. Serial output is fine, the HA log shows no errors, the sensor value is displayed in the GUI. So I doubt that the change mentioned above will have any effect. It's most likely just used to display a default unit and icon in the GUI. If there's no matching sensor type, as is the case with S_MOISTURE, it will default to a unit-less display. At least that's my understanding.

I used MySensors 2.3.2 and Home Assistant 0.105.5 (in Docker).

[mrhutchinsonmn]

That particular error went away with a new HA install 0.103.6. However, I continue to get data type and child unknown errors:

020-02-26 07:47:33 WARNING (MainThread) [mysensors] Not a valid message: Not valid message sub-type: 35 for dictionary value @ data['sub_type']
2020-02-26 07:47:34 WARNING (MainThread) [mysensors] Child 0 is unknown
2020-02-26 07:48:05 WARNING (MainThread) [mysensors] Child 0 is unknown
2020-02-26 07:48:36 WARNING (MainThread) [mysensors] Child 0 is unknown
2020-02-26 07:49:07 WARNING (MainThread) [mysensors] Child 0 is unknown
2020-02-26 07:49:30 WARNING (MainThread) [mysensors] Not a valid message: Not valid message sub-type: 21 for dictionary value @ data['sub_type']
2020-02-26 07:49:38 WARNING (MainThread) [mysensors] Child 0 is unknown
2020-02-26 07:50:09 WARNING (MainThread) [mysensors] Child 0 is unknown

Corresponding serial monitor info:

5235 TSF:MSG:SEND,105-105-0-0,s=0,c=1,t=37,pt=4,l=4,sg=0,ft=0,st=OK:-2
5244 MCO:SLP:MS=30000,SMS=0,I1=255,M1=255,I2=255,M2=255
5250 TSF:TDI:TSL
5252 MCO:SLP:WUP=-1
5253 TSF:TRI:TSB
10	0	10	10	0	10	0	0	0	0		4
0	0	0	0	0	-10	0	0	0	0		-1
resistance bias =5
sensor bias compensated value = 1

5307 TSF:MSG:SEND,105-105-0-0,s=0,c=1,t=37,pt=4,l=4,sg=0,ft=0,st=OK:1
5316 MCO:SLP:MS=30000,SMS=0,I1=255,M1=255,I2=255,M2=255
5321 TSF:TDI:TSL

[BearWithBeard]

@mrhutchinsonmn

How have you configured MySensors in Home Assistant? I get the "not a valid message" error when I switch back to the old 1.4 protocol, which is still the default in HA.

So I suspect that you are using the old protcol version. Please have a look at your configuration.yaml and see if you specified the current version with version: '2.0' or even 2.3. It should look something like this:

mysensors:
  gateways:
    - device: mqtt
      persistence_file: '/config/mysensors.json'
      topic_in_prefix: 'mysensors-out'
      topic_out_prefix: 'mysensors-in'
  optimistic: false
  persistence: true
  retain: true
  version: '2.0'

@Meach's issue might be down to an old HA version then, if an update fixed this particular error.

[Meach]

I found a solution for my problem. In configuration.yaml I changed:

version: '2.3.2'

to

version: '2.3'

Now the errors don't show up anymore and my node is working

[mrhutchinsonmn]

Yes!! That worked for me!
Thank you!

[moli]

Worked for me too!! Using RPi Gateway.
Thank you