[Tutorial] openHAB with serial gateway

[TimO]

As it is now possible to use a serial gateway with openHAB I've written a simple (as simple as possible) entry tutorial.

What do we need?

• a MySensors serial gateway
• a linux system (like a RPi, example based on Ubuntu)
• a MySensors sensor (for example with a DHT22 and a fixed NODE_ID of 101)

Where to start?

Start with the serial gateway.

Build it: http://www.mysensors.org/build/serial_gateway

If you see something like this in the serial monitor for arduino you're done:

 0;0;3;0;14;Gateway startup complete.

Connect the serial gateway to the linux system and execute "dmesg". You should see something like:

[  186.047748] usb 2-1.5: new full-speed USB device number 7 using ehci-pci
[  186.147030] usb 2-1.5: New USB device found, idVendor=0403, idProduct=6001
[  186.147036] usb 2-1.5: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3
[  186.147040] usb 2-1.5: Product: FT232R USB UART
[  186.147044] usb 2-1.5: Manufacturer: FTDI
[  186.147047] usb 2-1.5: SerialNumber: A40360T2
[  186.149618] ftdi_sio 2-1.5:1.0: FTDI USB Serial Device converter detected
[  186.149659] usb 2-1.5: Detected FT232RL
[  186.149663] usb 2-1.5: Number of endpoints 2
[  186.149667] usb 2-1.5: Endpoint 1 MaxPacketSize 64
[  186.149670] usb 2-1.5: Endpoint 2 MaxPacketSize 64
[  186.149673] usb 2-1.5: Setting MaxPacketSize 64
[  186.150205] usb 2-1.5: FTDI USB Serial Device converter now attached to ttyUSB0

As we see the serial gateway is now accessible through "ttyUSB0" like: /dev/ttyUSB0. But the Number may change. It depends on the FTDI Chip and could also be something like "/dev/ttyACM0".

But we don't want to look for the correct name after every reboot or after we plugged out and in the serial gateway, so we add the following in "/etc/udev/rules.d/99-usb-serial.rules"

SUBSYSTEM=="tty", ATTRS{idVendor}=="0403", ATTRS{idProduct}=="6001", ATTRS{serial}=="A40360T2", SYMLINK+="ttyUSB99"

Look at the output from "dmesg" above and change "0403", "6001" and "A40360T2" according to your hardware.

Now plug out and plug in the serial gateway.

The serial gateway will now be accessible through "/dev/ttyUSB99".

Install openHAB

It is important to install a version like or above 1.7.0. This version is not stable yet so download a snapshot from cloudbees:

https://openhab.ci.cloudbees.com/job/openHAB/

You need:

distribution-1.7.0-SNAPSHOT-addons.zip
distribution-1.7.0-SNAPSHOT-runtime.zip

Move to the "/opt" directory and extract the files:

cd /opt
mkdir openhab
cd openhab
unzip /tmp/distribution-1.7.0-SNAPSHOT-runtime.zip
cd addons
unzip /tmp/distribution-1.7.0-SNAPSHOT-addons.zip org.openhab.binding.serial-1.7.0-SNAPSHOT.jar

We will keep it simple and just use the serial binding.

Configure openHAB

At first we need to configure openHAB to use the serial binding to connect with the gateway. So we switch to the "configurations" directory:

cd /opt/openhab/configurations

There we create a file named "demo.items" in the "items" directory:

vi items/demo.items

Insert the following content:

String Arduino "Arduino" { serial="/dev/ttyUSB99@115200" }
Number          livingTemp01                            "Temperatur [%.1f °C]" <temperature> 
Number          livingHum01                             "Feuchtigkeit [%.1f %%]" <temperature>

We keep it simple and just assume we just want to read out a DHT22.

Start up openHAB with "/opt/openhab/start.sh". You should see something like:

2015-04-02 20:05:30.731 [INFO ] [runtime.busevents             ] - Arduino state updated to 0;0;3;0;14;Gateway startup complete.

If that is the case: very good!!

Now we need rules that reads the information that is received by openHAB via /dev/ttyUSB99 and show it.

vi rules/demo.rules

Content (that is the hardest part):

import org.openhab.core.library.types.*
import org.openhab.core.persistence.*
import org.openhab.model.script.actions.*
import org.joda.time.*
import java.util.*
import org.eclipse.xtext.xbase.lib.*
import org.openhab.core.items.*


var String ArduinoUpdate = ""
var String sketchName = ""

var int V_TEMP = 0
var int V_HUM = 1
var int V_LIGHT = 2
var int V_DIMMER = 3
var int V_PRESSURE = 4
var int V_FORECAST = 5
var int V_RAIN = 6
var int V_RAINRATE = 7
var int V_WIND = 8
var int V_GUST = 9
var int V_DIRECTION = 10
var int V_UV = 11
var int V_WEIGHT = 12
var int V_DISTANCE = 13
var int V_IMPEDANCE = 14
var int V_ARMED = 15
var int V_TRIPPED = 16
var int V_WATT = 17
var int V_KWH = 18
var int V_SCENE_ON = 19
var int V_SCENE_OFF = 20
var int V_HEATER = 21
var int V_HEATER_SW = 22
var int V_LIGHT_LEVEL = 23
var int V_VAR1 = 24
var int V_VAR2 = 25
var int V_VAR3 = 26
var int V_VAR4 = 27
var int V_VAR5 = 28
var int V_UP = 29
var int V_DOWN = 30
var int V_STOP = 31
var int V_IR_SEND = 32
var int V_IR_RECEIVE = 33
var int V_FLOW = 34
var int V_VOLUME = 35
var int V_LOCK_STATUS = 36
var int V_DUST_LEVEL = 37
var int V_VOLTAGE = 38
var int V_CURRENT = 39
var int msgPresentation = 0
var int msgSet = 1
var int msgReq = 2
var int msgInternal = 3
var int msgStream = 4
var int alarmArmor = 1

// Internal Commands

var int I_BATTERY_LEVEL = 0
var int I_TIME = 1
var int I_VERSION = 2
var int I_ID_REQUEST = 3
var int I_ID_RESPONSE = 4
var int I_INCLUSION_MODE = 5
var int I_CONFIG = 6
var int I_FIND_PARENT = 7
var int I_FIND_PARENT_RESPONSE = 8
var int I_LOG_MESSAGE = 9
var int I_CHILDREN = 10
var int I_SKETCH_NAME = 11
var int I_SKETCH_VERSION = 12
var int I_REBOOT = 13
var int I_GATEWAY_READY = 14

// Mappings
var HashMap<String, String> sensorToItemsMap = newLinkedHashMap(
    "101;0;"            -> "livingHum01",
    "livingHum01"       -> "101;0;",
    "101;1;"            -> "livingTemp01",
    "livingTemp01"      -> "101;1;"
)
    

//receiving msg from mysensors gateway
rule "Arduino sends to Openhab"
    when
        Item Arduino received update
    then
        var String lineBuffer =  Arduino.state.toString.split("\n")
        for (String line : lineBuffer) {
            var String[] message = line.split(";")
            var Integer nodeId = new Integer(message.get(0))
            var Integer childId = new Integer(message.get(1))
            var Integer msgType = new Integer(message.get(2))
            var Integer ack = new Integer(message.get(3))
            var Integer subType = new Integer(message.get(4))
            var String msg = message.get(5)
            if(msgType == 1 ){
                if (subType == V_TEMP){
                    postUpdate(sensorToItemsMap.get( nodeId + ";" + childId + ";"), msg)
                    println ("Temp item: " + sensorToItemsMap.get( nodeId + ";" + childId + ";") + " temp: " + msg )
                    }
                if (subType == V_HUM){
                    postUpdate(sensorToItemsMap.get( nodeId + ";" + childId + ";"), msg)
                    println ("Hum item: " + sensorToItemsMap.get( nodeId + ";" + childId + ";") + " hum: " + msg )
                    }
                }    
            // Internal Command
            if(msgType == 3){
                if(subType == I_SKETCH_NAME){
                        println("Sketch name: " + msg )
                        sketchName=msg
                    }
                if(subType == I_SKETCH_VERSION){
                        println("Sketch version: " + msg )
                        postUpdate(sensorToItemsMap.get( nodeId + ";" + childId + ";"), sketchName+" " +msg )
                        sketchName=""
                    }
                }
            }   
        }
end

Wow, that is hardcore! Are you still with me? Luckily there is not much to change for start.

There is a mapping, that you may change or want to extent:

// Mappings
var HashMap<String, String> sensorToItemsMap = newLinkedHashMap(
    "101;0;"            -> "livingHum01",
    "livingHum01"       -> "101;0;",
    "101;1;"            -> "livingTemp01",
    "livingTemp01"      -> "101;1;"
)

Where "101" is the NODE_ID of my DHT22 Sensor. I'm using hardcoded NODE_IDs, so if your sensor has another NODE_ID already, just change the mappings in the configuration. The "0" and "1" after the "101" is the childId. Change that too if you must. Just look at the Arduino code of your sensor.

Start openHAB if it is not already running and look for the output.

     2015-04-02 20:19:47.057 [INFO ] [runtime.busevents             ] - Arduino state updated to 0;0;3;0;9;read:101-101-0s=0,c=1,t=1,pt=7,l=5:44.7 
     101;0;1;0;1;44.7

2015-04-02 20:19:47.114 [INFO ] [runtime.busevents             ] - livingHum01 state updated to 44.7
Hum item: livingHum01 hum: 44.7

If you see something like the above it is still working! ;-)

*Nearly done! *

Know we want to show the information in a sitemap. We just create one with:

vi sitemaps/demo.sitemap

Content:

sitemap demo label="Hauptmenü"
{
  Frame label="Wohnzimmer" {
    Text item=livingTemp01
    Text item=livingHum01
  }
}

We keep it simple here!

If OpenHAB is not running start it and fire up your favorite browser and open

http://localhost:8080/openhab.app?sitemap=demo

For further information have a look at this thread: http://forum.mysensors.org/topic/655/serial-gateway-connection-to-openhab/2

[raditv]

Great Post Tim :+1:

[Jan Gatzke]

Nice tutorial. I discarded my own incoming rules and am now using this solution. I have extended the rule by a few additional sub types:

if (subType == V_LIGHT_LEVEL){
                    postUpdate(sensorToItemsMap.get( nodeId + ";" + childId + ";"), msg)
                    println ("Light item: " + sensorToItemsMap.get( nodeId + ";" + childId + ";") + " light: " + msg )
                    }
if (subType == V_VOLTAGE){
                    postUpdate(sensorToItemsMap.get( nodeId + ";" + childId + ";"), msg)
                    println ("Voltage item: " + sensorToItemsMap.get( nodeId + ";" + childId + ";") + " voltage: " + msg )
                    }
if (subType == V_LOCK_STATUS){
                    var String lockstatus="OPEN"
                    if (msg=="1"){
                        lockstatus="CLOSED"
                    }
                    postUpdate(sensorToItemsMap.get( nodeId + ";" + childId + ";"), lockstatus)
                    println ("Door/Window item: " + sensorToItemsMap.get( nodeId + ";" + childId + ";") + " Status: " + lockstatus )
                    }
if (subType == V_TRIPPED){
                    var String tripped="OFF"
                    if (msg=="1"){
                        tripped="ON"
                    }
                    postUpdate(sensorToItemsMap.get( nodeId + ";" + childId + ";"), tripped)
                    println ("Button/Contact item: " + sensorToItemsMap.get( nodeId + ";" + childId + ";") + " Status: " + tripped )
                    }
if (subType == V_LIGHT){
                    var String light="OFF"
                    if (msg=="1"){
                        light="ON"
                    }
                    postUpdat(sensorToItemsMap.get( nodeId + ";" + childId + ";"), light)
                    println ("Light item: " + sensorToItemsMap.get( nodeId + ";" + childId + ";") + " Light: " + light )
                    }

[reddy11]

Great post. Love the hashmap idea, much better then how I was doing it.
Just wanted to point out that on my beaglebone I had add the serial port parameter to the /etc/init.d/openhab file or to the /usr/share/openhab/start.sh depending on your setup.

-Dgnu.io.rxtx.SerialPorts=/dev/ttyO4 

Im sure it has been covered elsewhere, but to enable other serial ports on the beaglebone you need to edit the /boot/uEnv.txt file and add the following to the optargs line:

capemgr.enable_partno=BB-UART4

This allows you to hook your arduino to P9_11(RX) and P9_13(TX) pins.

[Chaotic]

I think I'm going to try setting this up soon. I've been using the MQTT gateway but this would be simpler I think.

Any advice for switching from MQTT to serial in openhab.

I think I need to update openhab to use the 1.70 version but I don't think that would be too hard.

[TimO]

Can't give you an advice according the switch from MQTT to serial gateway.

Upgrading to 1.7.0 is no big deal, just save the configurations folder. I suppose it is possible to use the 1.7.0 snapshot serial binding, with an older version of the openHAB runtime.

[Jan Gatzke]

@Chaotic said:

oon. I've been using the MQTT gateway but this would be simpler I think.

Any advice for switching from MQTT to serial in openhab.

I think I need to update openhab to use the 1.70 version but I don't think that would be too hard.

I am using openHAB 1.6.1 with this rule. Works without problems. You need to compile the gateway with 9600 baud in config.h because openHAB 1.6 has a fixed baud value for the serial communication.

[schudoel]

@TimO Thank you very much! I could not get the Symlink to work at first, but then I fould this, maybe it can help other Raspberry Pi owners.

@Jan-Gatzke I tried to connect a different sensor (RelayActuator) to my Gateway, added it to my .items, .sitemap and added your V_LIGHT routine in my .rules, but no success. Did I miss anything?

Thanks to all of you
Flo

[Jan Gatzke]

@schudoel These rules do only handle incoming messages from the sensor nodes. If you want to switch a relay you need an additional rule which sends the command to the the serial device.

[schudoel]

@Jan-Gatzke Thank you! I had a rule for the command, but it did not work out as I wanted. I think I had a typo in the code, but I could fix it. Are there any log files I could use for debugging the rules?

This is the code I use now:

import org.openhab.core.library.types.*
import org.openhab.core.persistence.*
import org.openhab.model.script.actions.*
import org.joda.time.*
import java.util.*
import org.eclipse.xtext.xbase.lib.*
import org.openhab.core.items.*


var String ArduinoUpdate = ""
var String sketchName = ""

var int V_TEMP = 0
var int V_HUM = 1
var int V_LIGHT = 2
var int V_DIMMER = 3
var int V_PRESSURE = 4
var int V_FORECAST = 5
var int V_RAIN = 6
var int V_RAINRATE = 7
var int V_WIND = 8
var int V_GUST = 9
var int V_DIRECTION = 10
var int V_UV = 11
var int V_WEIGHT = 12
var int V_DISTANCE = 13
var int V_IMPEDANCE = 14
var int V_ARMED = 15
var int V_TRIPPED = 16
var int V_WATT = 17
var int V_KWH = 18
var int V_SCENE_ON = 19
var int V_SCENE_OFF = 20
var int V_HEATER = 21
var int V_HEATER_SW = 22
var int V_LIGHT_LEVEL = 23
var int V_VAR1 = 24
var int V_VAR2 = 25
var int V_VAR3 = 26
var int V_VAR4 = 27
var int V_VAR5 = 28
var int V_UP = 29
var int V_DOWN = 30
var int V_STOP = 31
var int V_IR_SEND = 32
var int V_IR_RECEIVE = 33
var int V_FLOW = 34
var int V_VOLUME = 35
var int V_LOCK_STATUS = 36
var int V_DUST_LEVEL = 37
var int V_VOLTAGE = 38
var int V_CURRENT = 39
var int msgPresentation = 0
var int msgSet = 1
var int msgReq = 2
var int msgInternal = 3
var int msgStream = 4
var int alarmArmor = 1

// Internal Commands

var int I_BATTERY_LEVEL = 0
var int I_TIME = 1
var int I_VERSION = 2
var int I_ID_REQUEST = 3
var int I_ID_RESPONSE = 4
var int I_INCLUSION_MODE = 5
var int I_CONFIG = 6
var int I_FIND_PARENT = 7
var int I_FIND_PARENT_RESPONSE = 8
var int I_LOG_MESSAGE = 9
var int I_CHILDREN = 10
var int I_SKETCH_NAME = 11
var int I_SKETCH_VERSION = 12
var int I_REBOOT = 13
var int I_GATEWAY_READY = 14

// Mappings
var HashMap<String, String> sensorToItemsMap = newLinkedHashMap(
    "100;0;"            -> "livingHum01",
    "livingHum01"       -> "100;0;",
    "100;1;"            -> "livingTemp01",
    "livingTemp01"      -> "100;1;",
    "101;1;"            -> "livingRelay",
    "livingRelay"       -> "101;1;"
)

//switch function
val org.eclipse.xtext.xbase.lib.Functions$Function4 switchOperation = [
    org.openhab.core.library.items.SwitchItem relayItem, 
    org.openhab.core.library.items.StringItem arduinoItem, 
    String arduinoDevMap,
    Integer subType|
    var Integer state = 0
        if (relayItem.state == OFF) {
        state = 0 
    }
    else {
        state = 1
    }
    println ("Function: switchOperation >> "+arduinoDevMap + "1;1;" + subType + ";" + state )
    arduinoItem.sendCommand(arduinoDevMap + "1;0;" + subType + ";" + state + "\n")
]



//receiving msg from mysensors gateway
rule "Arduino sends to Openhab"
    when
        Item Arduino received update
    then
        var String lineBuffer =  Arduino.state.toString.split("\n")
        for (String line : lineBuffer) {
            var String[] message = line.split(";")
            var Integer nodeId = new Integer(message.get(0))
            var Integer childId = new Integer(message.get(1))
            var Integer msgType = new Integer(message.get(2))
            var Integer ack = new Integer(message.get(3))
            var Integer subType = new Integer(message.get(4))
            var String msg = message.get(5)
            if(msgType == 1 ){
                if (subType == V_TEMP){
                    postUpdate(sensorToItemsMap.get( nodeId + ";" + childId + ";"), msg)
                    println ("Temp item: " + sensorToItemsMap.get( nodeId + ";" + childId + ";") + " temp: " + msg )
                    }
                if (subType == V_HUM){
                    postUpdate(sensorToItemsMap.get( nodeId + ";" + childId + ";"), msg)
                    println ("Hum item: " + sensorToItemsMap.get( nodeId + ";" + childId + ";") + " hum: " + msg )
                    }
		if (subType == V_LIGHT){
                    var String state
                    var Integer statusInt = new Integer(message.get(5))
                    if(statusInt == 1) { 
                        state = "ON"
                        } 
                    else { 
                        state = "OFF" 
                        }
                    postUpdate(sensorToItemsMap.get( nodeId + ";" + childId + ";"), state)
                    println ("Light Item: " + sensorToItemsMap.get( nodeId + ";" + childId + ";") + " Light: " + state )
                    }


            // Internal Command
            if(msgType == 3){
                if(subType == I_SKETCH_NAME){
                        println("Sketch name: " + msg )
                        sketchName=msg
                    }
                if(subType == I_SKETCH_VERSION){
                        println("Sketch version: " + msg )
                        postUpdate(sensorToItemsMap.get( nodeId + ";" + childId + ";"), sketchName+" " +msg )
                        sketchName=""
                    }
		
                }
            }   
        }
end

rule "livingRelay Switch Rule"
    when
        Item livingRelay changed
    then
        switchOperation.apply(livingRelay, Arduino, sensorToItemsMap.get("livingRelay"), V_LIGHT)         
end 

and it's working like charm.

[schudoel]

Was working ... I do not know why, but after I changed the power cables of the sensor, it stopped working correctly. Serial output:

repeater started, id 101
send: 101-101-0-0 s=255,c=0,t=18,pt=0,l=5,st=fail:1.4.1
send: 101-101-0-0 s=255,c=3,t=6,pt=1,l=1,st=fail:0
send: 101-101-0-0 s=255,c=3,t=11,pt=0,l=5,st=fail:Relay
send: 101-101-0-0 s=255,c=3,t=12,pt=0,l=3,st=fail:1.0
send: 101-101-0-0 s=1,c=0,t=3,pt=0,l=5,st=fail:1.4.1

I do not have a decoupling capacitor to test whether it could solve my issues, but my hum/temp sensor and gateway do not have one either and are still working perfectly. I have tried to find any information on those fail messages, but wasn't successful. Do you have any suggestions?

[Jan Gatzke]

@schudoel You can have a look at the command line output of openHAB. Just start it via start.sh instead of the init script.

Are you sure your cabling is 100% ok?

[schudoel]

@Jan-Gatzke Yes, the command line of openHAB is always open. Wiring was okay. I bought some capacitors yesterday and added one 4.7uF to every nrf24l01+, now it is working again :)

[Tango2]

Not having much linux experience, I'm struggling with getting my serial gateway communicating with openHAB. If I install 1.7.0 in the /opt directory (entirely) this works, however I don't know how to get 1.7.0 installed after having installed 1.6.2 via apt-get - I tried replacing the files in each directory with the updated 1.7.0 files but 1.6.2 runtime is still starting automatically on boot in the openhab.log file.

I'm also reading that 1.7.0 may not be necessary for this to work, however with 1.6.2 running my USB port is not recognized in openhab - is that possibly due to the port speed being set at 115200 like @Jan-Gatzke mentioned above?

@Jan-Gatzke

I am using openHAB 1.6.1 with this rule. Works without problems. You need to compile the gateway with 9600 baud in config.h because openHAB 1.6 has a fixed baud value for the serial communication.

[TimO]

The support for a baudrate of 115.200, which is used by the MySensor serial gateway, is available since 1.7.0 in the OpenHab serial binding.

You're able to remove the old version with "apt-get remove ...", no need to replace the files. Just use the installation in /opt.

[Tango2]

Thanks @TimO. I got everything running in /opt (@9600, but I can change that later), and am receiving humidity/temp stats from my one sensor module running on a nano with DHT22 connected. I need to go through and do some major cleanup now, and also figure out how to convert to from F to C for the temp. It seems like the stock code has provisions for that, however I haven't quite figured out how to enable the change yet.

Thanks for the help - I look forward to implementing more of these sensors.

[guzzler]

I am having trouble getting Arduino Nano detected by Raspberry Pi via USB.

I could see this in the monitor when I selected the correct baudrate:

 0;0;3;0;14;Gateway startup complete.

[151199.509040] usb 1-1.2: new full-speed USB device number 5 using dwc_otg
[151199.612259] usb 1-1.2: New USB device found, idVendor=1a86, idProduct=7523
[151199.612296] usb 1-1.2: New USB device strings: Mfr=0, Product=2,
SerialNumber=0
[151199.612314] usb 1-1.2: Product: USB2.0-Serial
[153464.158413] usb 1-1.2: USB disconnect, device number 5
[153715.311307] usb 1-1.3: new full-speed USB device number 6 using dwc_otg
[153715.414679] usb 1-1.3: New USB device found, idVendor=1a86, idProduct=7523
[153715.414717] usb 1-1.3: New USB device strings: Mfr=0, Product=2,
SerialNumber=0
[153715.414733] usb 1-1.3: Product: USB2.0-Serial

Initially while flashing serial gateway sketch to nano from Mac I had some trouble to get the right drivers. After following this post it worked fine. Is this to do with chinese knock offs?
http://kiguino.moos.io/2014/12/31/how-to-use-arduino-nano-mini-pro-with-CH340G-on-mac-osx-yosemite.html

Also I installed Arduino sketch on Raspberry pi with apt-get install arduino: When I launch Arduino and go to Tools>Port is disabled.

Is there anything I need to do on RPi so it can detect Arduino Nano knock pff?

[TimO]

I followed the link to the page you mentioned and from there to the chinese page.
There is a zip-file for linux too, maybe you need to install the driver on the RPi too?

http://www.wch.cn/download/CH341SER_LINUX_ZIP.html

Just a guess. :-)

[guzzler]

Thanks @TimO .

I have been trying to make and load that driver but cannot get hands on 3.12.28+ kernel source. It wont compile without it.

I am wondering how come no body has come accross this issue, I bought my Arduino Nano from one of the links on mysensors store.

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/1-pcs-for-Nano-V3-0-ATmega328P-Module-Board-Free-Mini-USB-Cable-for-Arduino-Compatible/1397847851.html?aff_platform=aaf&sk=3jYZr3nAE%3A&aff_trace_key=23901740799811215&cpt=1431974332161

[Jan Gatzke]

I don't understand why everybody is using an USB connection for the serial gateway when openHAB is running on a raspberry pi. The pi has a rock stable uart with 3.3V logic. There is no need to convert the arduinos uart to USB. Just connect RX to TX and TX to RX. Connect ground to ground and VCC of the arduino to the 3.3V pin of the pi and you are done. The official openHAB wiki contains instructions on how to use the onboard uart of the pi: https://github.com/openhab/openhab/wiki/Serial-Binding