I am completely new to OMG and came here after watching a video from Andreas Spiess.
I am currently running Home Assistant on a Raspberry 4 on which I have attached a DIY RFlink box controlling my RF Power sockets and PIR sensors.
After watching the video I ordered the TTGo board as a replacement for the RFLink (this is ideal as not physically attached to the Raspi, possible to place it anywhere in the house and also the discovery is easier than with HA / RFLink…OMG is an amazing project).
Unfortunately I couldn’t discover any of my devices and while reading through the community posts here I understand the TTGo board cannot be changed from rtl_433 to RF / RF2 / Pilight.
I guess my devices are using different encoding than rtl_433 and this is the reason why I cannot discover them.
Before I repurpose the Lora board, can someone please confirm this is not technically possible or planned by the OMG dev team to support other decoding than rtl_433 on this board?
Also I have several ESP32 / ESP8266, what would be your advice for building a new gateway that would support all RF433 decoding? I also have a couple of cheap SRX882 / STX882 remaining from my RFLink order. I can also buy CC1101 but not sure this would be more efficient?
Thanks a lot for your feedback and thanks for the incredible project!
Eric
The updated documentation, currently still in the development branch, gives a better overview of the different RF module capabitilies, requirements and board compatibilities.
Personally, I use an ESP8266 with SRX882 / STX882 connected for all my RF power sosocketsckts and receiving RF remotes - just makes me realise that this ESP8266/SRX882/STX882 combo is missing from the documentation
While it would also be possible to hook up your SRX882 / STX882 to the LilyGo board, I think it might be better suited for an eventual rtl_433_ESP gateway, especially if you also have several ESP32/ESP8266.
Not knowing exactly which RF power switches and PIR you have looking at the compatibility list might also indicate which RF module gateway you would want with your devices.
I will probably make another gateway with the same setup as yours (ESP8266 + STX/SRX882).
I will check which ESP8266 are compatible but I have several different models.
One question coming to my mind after reading your answer:
Say that I have various sensors some using RF, some using RF2
I should change the encoding on the RX during the discovery phase but once it is discovered and added to my system, what about the TX part? I will never be able to send data on sensors with different encoding methods right?
In my example I would need one RF gateway and one RF2 gateway or am I missing something?
While module switching is supported, when initially a multi-module gateway environment is uploaded - possibly even automated on a regular basis or whenever a specific send request is initiated by your controller- two separate RF and RF2 gateways might be a better solution to have both of them constantly available on the respective module, especially for being able to send on either protocol whenever you want, and to assure catching the PIR every single time.
Yes I see, you’re right ‘module switching’ could be automated but it would not be much convenient.
In any case I need to check whether my RF sockets and PIR sensors are using the same encoding, if this is the case, a single gateway / encoding method will be enough.
I usually prefer the stock standard ESP8266, sometimes called NodeMCU DEVKIT 1.0 v2, over v3, just because they are slimmer and fit better on breadboards before I finalise my set-up and might get a PCB done.
But from reading other users set-up here virtually all ESP8266 broads should be suitable, even an ESP-01 recently for some project, if I remember correctly.
Sorry I just have one last question: ESP32 having built-in BLE do you know whether it would be possible to build a single ESP32 Gateway acting as RF & BLE simultaneously?
It would be, but not advisable with RF/RF2/Pilight, as during the (default) 10 seconds BLE scan every minute or so no RF signals could be received nor sent out.
For rtl_433_ESP, with devices like thermometers, weather stations, which send out their data in regular intervals, something is in the pipeline, but there again, not recommended for devices which would require immediate and singular recognitions, like PIR, contact sensors …
please have a look at the updated Docs, which will be released with the next version, where we clarified the different board and radio combinations and their library/protocol compatibility.
So SRX882 / STX882 are not compatible with the rtl_433_ESP library.
My challenge is tha the CC1101 performs very bad connected to a ESP32-DevKitM-1, with the rtl_433 lib. Cant get more than a few meter range with it, and I’ve read that others have the same issue. I have another older ESP32-DevKitC V4 with the CC1101 in pilight mode, which have ok range though, but pilight will not work with the ```
TS-FT002 Wireless Ultrasonic Tank Liquid Level Meter With Temperature Sensor"
It may be a faulty CC1101, or ESP board, hence I will assmble another one ant test again.
Cheers.
I can confirm that and have the same with my ESP32/CC1101 combo receiving rtl_433_ESP fridge/freezer thermometers - so with the gateway close to the fridge it is fine, but wouldn’t work over a longer distances.
My preferred rtl_433_ESP device with a better reception range, especially with the latest tweaks in the development branch, is the LILYGO® LoRa32 V2.1_1.6.1 433 Mhz board, but it also depends on how far away your TS-FT002 Wireless Ultrasonic Tank Liquid Level Meter is located.
This is very interresting to know. I wonder what causes this short range?, maybe the ESP32 wifi or bluetooth radio or uC itself generate noise that disturbs the CC1101?
I dont think it is the case as the pilight version seem to work ok.
I did try making a simple quarter wave antenna for the CC1101 but id did surprisingly little to improve the range. I will follow your advise and buy a Liligo 433 board and test this with a good antenna.
It is quite some distance to the tank maybe 50 meters. But it should be doable as the display unit that comes with the tank meter works at that distance.
With the new LilyGo board you can also possibly bring it closer to the tank, so that the distance from tank to board to WiFi is shared something you might also already try with your ESP32/CC1101 set-up.
