Avoiding wireless connections - EmonTX serial RPiZero solution

haffle · 2020-08-30T08:23:56.277Z

Thanks @pb66 ; I have now set it up with a new username etc, and have successfully run a Full Update within the Pi Zero’s Emoncms > Admin.

This next question is so embarrassingly basic, but how do I now set the emonTx that is hard wired to the Zero to talk to the main emonPi? I have two unknown Inputs within the emonPi’s emoncms, but I am fairly sure they are rogue and shouldn’t be there (& in the past I have just ignored them).

Maybe I just add a copy/duplicated/ammended section within the emonPi’s emonhub, giving it a new Node No, such as

[[7]]. **CHANGE THIS 7 TO AN UNUSED NUMBER, SUCH AS 50**
   nodename = emontx4 **CHANGE THIS TO A NEW NAME, SUCH AS emontx6**
   [[[rx]]]
      names = power1, power2, power3, power4, vrms, temp1, temp2, temp3, temp4, temp5, temp6, pulse
      datacodes = h,h,h,h,h,h,h,h,h,h,h,L
      scales = 1,1,1,1,0.01,0.1,0.1, 0.1,0.1,0.1,0.1,1
      units = W,W,W,W,V,C,C,C,C,C,C,p

But then how to get the emonTx / Pi Zero to talk to the emonPi?

borpin · 2020-08-30T08:41:45.585Z

haffle:

This next question is so embarrassingly basic

No such thing as a stupid question (unless you have been told the answer before).

Did you use miniterm to set the serial to be on?

Did you set up an interfacer for the serial data? If not it is in the thread.

Are you going to use the emoncms on the PiZ at all? If not, in emonhub config, just point the MQTT interfacer to the main emoncms host IP.

~~Set the base topic to be emon/TX2/ or what ever so it loads the values into a node called TX2.~~
Just leave it as emon/.

I’m running a modified MQTT interfacer (PR submitted ages ago) so I cannot be absolutely certain the config parameters are correct. If not you will see errors in the logs.

Robert.Wall · 2020-08-30T10:58:36.494Z

Note - I don’t think it affects you, but you can’t transmit a NodeID greater than 30 from the emonTx itself. Once it’s past the radio hop (that’s a JeeLib limitation), the choice is open up to 255 (I think).
[Edit] Node 50 would come out as Node 18 ( = 50 & 31 - the bit-wise AND) ]

pb66 · 2020-08-31T20:36:51.146Z

haffle:

but how do I now set the emonTx that is hard wired to the Zero to talk to the main emonPi?

Your options are quite similar to when you were first setting up these with the emonESP, you can choose MQTT and/or HTTP, either sends direct to any emoncms instances of your choice. The main difference is that you can have as many target emoncms’s as you wish because you are using emonhub at the source end and that emonhub will buffer the data where as the emonESP couldn’t. This is of great help if you need to take the server (master) device offline for any reason and/or you have LAN outages eg router update or power interruptions etc. However, only the buffered HTTP data is of any use since the MQTT data is not (currently) timestamped in emonhub, it gets timestamped on arrival at emoncms, not much use for data acquired an hour ago and only just being sent due to a network issue. I would therefore always recommend using HTTP for any data being posted remotely ie any dependence on outside HW use HTTP only use MQTT for posting data on the same machine (if you must).

There will be no need to make any changes at the master emonhub.conf as the data is going direct from the slave emonhub to the master emoncms.

haffle · 2020-10-11T12:48:48.793Z

Re-awakening this, as I’m embarrassed to admit that the last three posts confused me no end and I gave up

But I’ve started all over again, and have wired a Pi Zero W on to an emonTx, created a new emonCMS user and am (hopefully) back to where I was, in that it all works but I now need to get it to talk to my main emonPi.

Did you use miniterm to set the serial to be on?

Umm, no; where does one do that? Via ssh, or within emonCMS? I did type miniterm --rtscts /dev/ttyAMA0 115200 in Terminal and then started a stream of MSG:331,Vrms:248.22,P1:0,E1:0,pulse:1 etc, which looks encouraging. But those values don’t show up within the emonTx/PiZero’s emonCMS Input page; should they? (I have not attached any CT wires to the emonTx yet as they are in a barn, and I’m setting this up in my office).

Did you set up an interfacer for the serial data? If not it is in the thread .

Would this be within the emonTx/PiZero’s emonHub?

This is the contents of my main emonPi’s emonHub… one of the emontx nodes will be the one I now want to substitute my emonTx / PiZero with, but not sure how to identify which one - nor how to get the offset right…

TIA

PS: I had thought that I wouldn’t use the emonCMS within the Pi Zero at all other than for updating etc.

[hub]
### loglevel must be one of DEBUG, INFO, WARNING, ERROR, and CRITICAL
loglevel = DEBUG
### Uncomment this to also send to syslog
# use_syslog = yes
#######################################################################
#######################       Interfacers       #######################
#######################################################################

[interfacers]
### This interfacer manages the RFM12Pi/RFM69Pi/emonPi module
[[RFM2Pi]]
    Type = EmonHubJeeInterfacer
    [[[init_settings]]]
        com_port = /dev/ttyAMA0
        com_baud = 38400                        # 9600 for old RFM12Pi
    [[[runtimesettings]]]
        pubchannels = ToEmonCMS,
        subchannels = ToRFM12,

        group = 210
        frequency = 433
        baseid = 5                              # emonPi / emonBase nodeID
        calibration = 230V                      # (UK/EU: 230V, US: 110V)
        quiet = true                            # Disable quite mode (default enabled) to enable RF packet debugging, show packets which fail crc
        # interval =  0                         # Interval to transmit time to emonGLCD (seconds)
        

[[MQTT]]

    Type = EmonHubMqttInterfacer
    [[[init_settings]]]
        mqtt_host = 127.0.0.1
        mqtt_port = 1883
        mqtt_user = emonpi
        mqtt_passwd = emonpimqtt2016

    [[[runtimesettings]]]
        pubchannels = ToRFM12,
        subchannels = ToEmonCMS,

        # emonhub/rx/10/values format
        # Use with emoncms Nodes module
        node_format_enable = 1
        node_format_basetopic = emonhub/

        # emon/emontx/power1 format - use with Emoncms MQTT input
        # http://github.com/emoncms/emoncms/blob/master/docs/RaspberryPi/MQTT.md
        nodevar_format_enable = 1
        nodevar_format_basetopic = emon/

[[emoncmsorg]]
    Type = EmonHubEmoncmsHTTPInterfacer
    [[[init_settings]]]
    [[[runtimesettings]]]
        pubchannels = ToRFM12,
        subchannels = ToEmonCMS,
        url = https://emoncms.org
        apikey = 161655fd5290e7668f30614ade671c3a
        senddata = 1                    # Enable sending data to Emoncms.org
        sendstatus = 1                  # Enable sending WAN IP to Emoncms.org MyIP > https://emoncms.org/myip/list
        sendinterval= 10                # Bulk send interval to Emoncms.org in seconds

#######################################################################
#######################          Nodes          #######################
#######################################################################

[nodes]

## See config user guide: https://github.com/openenergymonitor/emonhub/blob/emon-pi/conf/emonhub.conf

[[5]]
    nodename = emonpi
    [[[rx]]]
        names = power1,power2,power1pluspower2,vrms,t1,t2,t3,t4,t5,t6,pulsecount
        datacodes = h, h, h, h, h, h, h, h, h, h, L
        scales = 1,1,1,0.01,0.1,0.1,0.1,0.1,0.1,0.1,1
        units = W,W,W,V,C,C,C,C,C,C,p

[[6]]
    nodename = emontxshield
    [[[rx]]]
       names = power1, power2, power3, power4, vrms
       datacode = h
       scales = 1,1,1,1,0.01
       units =W,W,W,W,V

[[7]]
   nodename = emontx4
   [[[rx]]]
      names = power1, power2, power3, power4, vrms, temp1, temp2, temp3, temp4, temp5, temp6, pulse
      datacodes = h,h,h,h,h,h,h,h,h,h,h,L
      scales = 1,1,1,1,0.01,0.1,0.1, 0.1,0.1,0.1,0.1,1
      units =W,W,W,W,V,C,C,C,C,C,C,p

[[8]]
    nodename = emontx3
    [[[rx]]]
       names = power1, power2, power3, power4, vrms, temp1, temp2, temp3, temp4, temp5, temp6, pulse
       datacodes = h,h,h,h,h,h,h,h,h,h,h,L
       scales = 1,1,1,1,0.01,0.1,0.1, 0.1,0.1,0.1,0.1,1
       units =W,W,W,W,V,C,C,C,C,C,C,p

[[9]]
   nodename = emontx2
   [[[rx]]]
      names = power1, power2, power3, power4, vrms, temp1, temp2, temp3, temp4, temp5, temp6, pulse
      datacode = h
      scales = 1,1,1,1,0.01,0.1,0.1, 0.1,0.1,0.1,0.1,1
      units =W,W,W,W,V,C,C,C,C,C,C,p

[[10]]
    nodename = emontx1
    [[[rx]]]
       names = power1, power2, power3, power4, vrms, temp1, temp2, temp3, temp4, temp5, temp6, pulse
       datacode = h
       scales = 1,1,1,1,0.01,0.1,0.1, 0.1,0.1,0.1,0.1,1
       units =W,W,W,W,V,C,C,C,C,C,C,p

[[11]]
    nodename = 3phase
    [[[rx]]]
       names = powerL1, powerL2, powerL3, power4, Vrms, temp1, temp2, temp3, temp4, temp5, temp6, pulse
       datacodes = h,h,h,h,h,h,h,h,h,h,h,L
       scales = 1,1,1,1,0.01,0.1,0.1,0.1,0.1,0.1,0.1,1
       units =W,W,W,W,V,C,C,C,C,C,C,p
       
[[12]]
    nodename = 3phase2
    [[[rx]]]
       names = powerL1, powerL2, powerL3, power4, Vrms, temp1, temp2, temp3, temp4, temp5, temp6, pulse
       datacodes = h,h,h,h,h,h,h,h,h,h,h,L
       scales = 1,1,1,1,0.01,0.1,0.1,0.1,0.1,0.1,0.1,1
       units =W,W,W,W,V,C,C,C,C,C,C,p

[[13]]
    nodename = 3phase3
    [[[rx]]]
       names = powerL1, powerL2, powerL3, power4, Vrms, temp1, temp2, temp3, temp4, temp5, temp6, pulse
       datacodes = h,h,h,h,h,h,h,h,h,h,h,L
       scales = 1,1,1,1,0.01,0.1,0.1,0.1,0.1,0.1,0.1,1
       units =W,W,W,W,V,C,C,C,C,C,C,p

[[14]]
    nodename = 3phase4
    [[[rx]]]
       names = powerL1, powerL2, powerL3, power4, Vrms, temp1, temp2, temp3, temp4, temp5, temp6, pulse
       datacodes = h,h,h,h,h,h,h,h,h,h,h,L
       scales = 1,1,1,1,0.01,0.1,0.1,0.1,0.1,0.1,0.1,1
       units =W,W,W,W,V,C,C,C,C,C,C,p

[[19]]
   nodename = emonth1
   [[[rx]]]
      names = temperature, external temperature, humidity, battery
      datacode = h
      scales = 0.1,0.1,0.1,0.1
      units = C,C,%,V

[[20]]
   nodename = emonth2
   [[[rx]]]
      names = temperature, external temperature, humidity, battery
      datacode = h
      scales = 0.1,0.1,0.1,0.1
      units = C,C,%,V

[[21]]
   nodename = emonth3
   [[[rx]]]
      names = temperature, external temperature, humidity, battery
      datacode = h
      scales = 0.1,0.1,0.1,0.1
      units = C,C,%,V

[[22]]
   nodename = emonth4
   [[[rx]]]
      names = temperature, external temperature, humidity, battery
      datacode = h
      scales = 0.1,0.1,0.1,0.1
      units = C,C,%,V

[[23]]
    nodename = emonth5
    [[[rx]]]
       names = temperature, external temperature, humidity, battery, pulsecount
       datacodes = h,h,h,h,L
       scales = 0.1,0.1,0.1,0.1,1
       units = C,C,%,V,p

[[24]]
    nodename = emonth6
    [[[rx]]]
       names = temperature, external temperature, humidity, battery, pulsecount
       datacodes = h,h,h,h,L
       scales = 0.1,0.1,0.1,0.1,1
       units = C,C,%,V,p

[[25]]
    nodename = emonth7
    [[[rx]]]
       names = temperature, external temperature, humidity, battery, pulsecount
       datacodes = h,h,h,h,L
       scales = 0.1,0.1,0.1,0.1,1
       units = C,C,%,V,p

[[26]]
    nodename = emonth8
    [[[rx]]]
       names = temperature, external temperature, humidity, battery, pulsecount
       datacodes = h,h,h,h,L
       scales = 0.1,0.1,0.1,0.1,1
       units = C,C,%,V,p
[[15]]
    nodename = emontx3cm15
    [[[rx]]]
        names = MSG, Vrms, P1, P2, P3, P4, E1, E2, E3, E4, T1, T2, T3, pulse
        datacodes = L,h,h,h,h,h,L,L,L,L,h,h,h,L
        scales = 1,0.01,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,0.01,0.01,0.01,1
        units = n,V,W,W,W,W,Wh,Wh,Wh,Wh,C,C,C,p
        whitening = 1

[[16]]
    nodename = emontx3cm16
    [[[rx]]]
        names = MSG, Vrms, P1, P2, P3, P4, E1, E2, E3, E4, T1, T2, T3, pulse
        datacodes = L,h,h,h,h,h,L,L,L,L,h,h,h,L
        scales = 1,0.01,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,0.01,0.01,0.01,1
        units = n,V,W,W,W,W,Wh,Wh,Wh,Wh,C,C,C,p
        whitening = 1

borpin · 2020-10-11T16:47:38.182Z

haffle:

But I’ve started all over again, and have wired a Pi Zero W on to an emonTx

Good start.

haffle:

Did you use miniterm to set the serial to be on?

Umm, no; where does one do that? Via ssh, or within emonCMS? I did type miniterm --rtscts /dev/ttyAMA0 115200 in Terminal and then started a stream of MSG:331,Vrms:248.22,P1:0,E1:0,pulse:1 etc, which looks encouraging.

On the basis you did this on the Pi, connected to the emonTX, this data stream is what you will collect and send to the emonPi. The way to do that is by configuring emonhub which is easily done via the emoncms UI on the Pi connected to the emonTX.

So what you need to tell emohub to do, is read the data off the serial interface and send it to the EmonPi.

Under the [interfacers] section;

[[SerialTx]]
     Type = EmonHubTx3eInterfacer
      [[[init_settings]]]
           com_port= /dev/ttyAMA0
           com_baud = 115200
      [[[runtimesettings]]]
           pubchannels = ToEmonCMS,

           nodeoffset = 0
           nodename = Serial_PiZ

You now need to configure sending it to the emonPi via MQTT (you could do it via HTTP if you wish)

[[MQTT-emonPi]]
    Type = EmonHubMqttInterfacer
    [[[init_settings]]]
        mqtt_host = 192.168.7.243
        mqtt_port = 1883
        mqtt_user = emonpi
        mqtt_passwd = emonpimqtt2016

    [[[runtimesettings]]]
        subchannels = ToEmonCMS,

        timestamped = True        

        node_JSON_enable = 1
        node_JSON_basetopic = emon/

I’ve set this to use the new JSON format so it goes as a single MQTT publish.

haffle · 2020-10-12T07:48:45.129Z

Thanks @borpin ; I think I am nearly there, and the emonTx c/w PiZero is now reporting through to the main emonPi. I haven’t attached any sensors yet (they are in a barn and I’m setting things up in my office).

But I do have a bit of an issue; whilst the “usual” nodes are reporting & updating in green (P1, E1, pulse etc), the list of unknown nodes is growing (& multiplying) rapidly. There were perhaps 20 last night, and this morning there are dozens - to many to number. Some have not updated for 13 hours, and others on a sliding scale back to several minutes. Taking those that start with MSG as an example, there is MSG, MSGs, MSG1, MSGulse, pMSG, MSGse, pulseMSGulse, & more.

I have attached the tail end of the emonHub log below (from the PiZero; does it help to identify what is going on / wrong?

2020-10-12 08:35:48,826 WARNING  MainThread SerialTx thread is dead.
2020-10-12 08:35:48,828 WARNING  MainThread Attempting to restart thread SerialTx (thread has been restarted 937 times...
2020-10-12 08:35:48,843 INFO     MainThread Creating EmonHubTx3eInterfacer 'SerialTx' 
2020-10-12 08:35:48,847 DEBUG    MainThread Opening serial port: /dev/ttyAMA0 @ 115200 bits/s
2020-10-12 08:35:48,863 WARNING  MainThread RFM2Pi thread is dead.
2020-10-12 08:35:48,865 WARNING  MainThread Attempting to restart thread RFM2Pi (thread has been restarted 470 times...
2020-10-12 08:35:48,868 INFO     MainThread Creating EmonHubJeeInterfacer 'RFM2Pi' 
2020-10-12 08:35:48,883 DEBUG    MainThread Opening serial port: /dev/ttyAMA0 @ 38400 bits/s
2020-10-12 08:35:50,888 WARNING  MainThread Device communication error - check settings
2020-10-12 08:35:50,891 INFO     MainThread Setting RFM2Pi baseid: 5 (5i)
2020-10-12 08:35:51,894 INFO     MainThread Setting RFM2Pi frequency: 433 (4b)
2020-10-12 08:35:52,898 INFO     MainThread Setting RFM2Pi group: 210 (210g)
2020-10-12 08:35:53,902 INFO     MainThread Setting RFM2Pi quiet: 1 (1q)
2020-10-12 08:35:54,906 INFO     MainThread Setting RFM2Pi calibration: 230V (1p)
2020-10-12 08:35:55,909 DEBUG    MainThread Setting RFM2Pi pubchannels: ['ToEmonCMS']
2020-10-12 08:35:55,911 DEBUG    MainThread Setting RFM2Pi subchannels: ['ToRFM12']
2020-10-12 08:35:58,615 WARNING  SerialTx   Exception caught in SerialTx thread. Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/opt/openenergymonitor/emonhub/src/emonhub_interfacer.py", line 32, in wrapper
    return f(*args)
  File "/opt/openenergymonitor/emonhub/src/emonhub_interfacer.py", line 99, in run
    rxc = self.read()
  File "/opt/openenergymonitor/emonhub/src/interfacers/EmonHubTx3eInterfacer.py", line 46, in read
    self._rx_buf = self._rx_buf + self._ser.readline().decode()
UnicodeDecodeError: 'utf-8' codec can't decode byte 0x81 in position 1: invalid start byte
2020-10-12 08:35:58,686 WARNING  MainThread SerialTx thread is dead.
2020-10-12 08:35:58,688 WARNING  MainThread Attempting to restart thread SerialTx (thread has been restarted 938 times...
2020-10-12 08:35:58,714 INFO     MainThread Creating EmonHubTx3eInterfacer 'SerialTx' 
2020-10-12 08:35:58,718 DEBUG    MainThread Opening serial port: /dev/ttyAMA0 @ 115200 bits/s
2020-10-12 08:35:59,730 DEBUG    emoncmsorg Buffer size: 1
2020-10-12 08:36:08,633 DEBUG    SerialTx   3954 NEW FRAME : ulse:1
2020-10-12 08:36:08,635 DEBUG    SerialTx   3954 Timestamp : 1602488168.6324863
2020-10-12 08:36:08,636 DEBUG    SerialTx   3954 From Node : Serial_PiZero_barn
2020-10-12 08:36:08,638 DEBUG    SerialTx   3954    Values : [1]
2020-10-12 08:36:08,655 DEBUG    SerialTx   3954 Sent to channel(start)' : ToEmonCMS
2020-10-12 08:36:08,657 DEBUG    SerialTx   3954 Sent to channel(end)' : ToEmonCMS
2020-10-12 08:36:08,654 WARNING  RFM2Pi     Exception caught in RFM2Pi thread. Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/serial/serialposix.py", line 501, in read
    'device reports readiness to read but returned no data '
serial.serialutil.SerialException: device reports readiness to read but returned no data (device disconnected or multiple access on port?)
During handling of the above exception, another exception occurred:
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/opt/openenergymonitor/emonhub/src/emonhub_interfacer.py", line 32, in wrapper
    return f(*args)
  File "/opt/openenergymonitor/emonhub/src/emonhub_interfacer.py", line 99, in run
    rxc = self.read()
  File "/opt/openenergymonitor/emonhub/src/interfacers/EmonHubJeeInterfacer.py", line 85, in read
    self._rx_buf = self._rx_buf + self._ser.readline().decode()
  File "/usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/serial/serialposix.py", line 509, in read
    raise SerialException('read failed: {}'.format(e))
serial.serialutil.SerialException: read failed: device reports readiness to read but returned no data (device disconnected or multiple access on port?)
2020-10-12 08:36:08,816 WARNING  MainThread RFM2Pi thread is dead.
2020-10-12 08:36:08,818 WARNING  MainThread Attempting to restart thread RFM2Pi (thread has been restarted 471 times...
2020-10-12 08:36:08,832 INFO     MainThread Creating EmonHubJeeInterfacer 'RFM2Pi' 
2020-10-12 08:36:08,834 DEBUG    MQTT       Publishing: emon/Serial_PiZero_barn/ulse 1
2020-10-12 08:36:08,851 INFO     MQTT       Publishing: emonhub/rx/Serial_PiZero_barn/values 1
2020-10-12 08:36:08,855 DEBUG    MainThread Opening serial port: /dev/ttyAMA0 @ 38400 bits/s
2020-10-12 08:36:10,860 WARNING  MainThread Device communication error - check settings
2020-10-12 08:36:10,863 INFO     MainThread Setting RFM2Pi baseid: 5 (5i)
2020-10-12 08:36:11,866 INFO     MainThread Setting RFM2Pi frequency: 433 (4b)
2020-10-12 08:36:12,870 INFO     MainThread Setting RFM2Pi group: 210 (210g)
2020-10-12 08:36:13,874 INFO     MainThread Setting RFM2Pi quiet: 1 (1q)
2020-10-12 08:36:14,877 INFO     MainThread Setting RFM2Pi calibration: 230V (1p)
2020-10-12 08:36:15,882 DEBUG    MainThread Setting RFM2Pi pubchannels: ['ToEmonCMS']
2020-10-12 08:36:15,884 DEBUG    MainThread Setting RFM2Pi subchannels: ['ToRFM12']
2020-10-12 08:36:18,651 WARNING  SerialTx   Exception caught in SerialTx thread. Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/opt/openenergymonitor/emonhub/src/emonhub_interfacer.py", line 32, in wrapper
    return f(*args)
  File "/opt/openenergymonitor/emonhub/src/emonhub_interfacer.py", line 99, in run
    rxc = self.read()
  File "/opt/openenergymonitor/emonhub/src/interfacers/EmonHubTx3eInterfacer.py", line 46, in read
    self._rx_buf = self._rx_buf + self._ser.readline().decode()
UnicodeDecodeError: 'utf-8' codec can't decode byte 0x83 in position 1: invalid start byte
2020-10-12 08:36:18,669 WARNING  MainThread SerialTx thread is dead.
2020-10-12 08:36:18,681 WARNING  MainThread Attempting to restart thread SerialTx (thread has been restarted 939 times...
2020-10-12 08:36:18,686 INFO     MainThread Creating EmonHubTx3eInterfacer 'SerialTx' 
2020-10-12 08:36:18,701 DEBUG    MainThread Opening serial port: /dev/ttyAMA0 @ 115200 bits/s
2020-10-12 08:36:28,598 DEBUG    SerialTx   3955 NEW FRAME : 239.40,P1:0,E1:0,pulse:1
2020-10-12 08:36:28,628 DEBUG    SerialTx   3955 Timestamp : 1602488188.5973969
2020-10-12 08:36:28,640 DEBUG    SerialTx   3955 From Node : Serial_PiZero_barn
2020-10-12 08:36:28,642 DEBUG    SerialTx   3955    Values : [0, 0, 1]
2020-10-12 08:36:28,643 DEBUG    SerialTx   3955 Sent to channel(start)' : ToEmonCMS
2020-10-12 08:36:28,645 DEBUG    SerialTx   3955 Sent to channel(end)' : ToEmonCMS
2020-10-12 08:36:28,797 DEBUG    MQTT       Publishing: emon/Serial_PiZero_barn/P1 0
2020-10-12 08:36:28,803 DEBUG    MQTT       Publishing: emon/Serial_PiZero_barn/E1 0
2020-10-12 08:36:28,812 DEBUG    MQTT       Publishing: emon/Serial_PiZero_barn/pulse 1
2020-10-12 08:36:28,815 INFO     MQTT       Publishing: emonhub/rx/Serial_PiZero_barn/values 0,0,1
2020-10-12 08:36:29,825 DEBUG    emoncmsorg Buffer size: 2
2020-10-12 08:36:48,577 DEBUG    SerialTx   3957 NEW FRAME : MSG1,P1:0,E1:0,pulse:1
2020-10-12 08:36:48,579 DEBUG    SerialTx   3957 Timestamp : 1602488208.5762572
2020-10-12 08:36:48,598 DEBUG    SerialTx   3957 From Node : Serial_PiZero_barn
2020-10-12 08:36:48,607 DEBUG    SerialTx   3957    Values : [0, 0, 1]
2020-10-12 08:36:48,617 DEBUG    SerialTx   3957 Sent to channel(start)' : ToEmonCMS
2020-10-12 08:36:48,629 DEBUG    SerialTx   3957 Sent to channel(end)' : ToEmonCMS
2020-10-12 08:36:48,775 DEBUG    MQTT       Publishing: emon/Serial_PiZero_barn/P1 0
2020-10-12 08:36:48,783 DEBUG    MQTT       Publishing: emon/Serial_PiZero_barn/E1 0
2020-10-12 08:36:48,791 DEBUG    MQTT       Publishing: emon/Serial_PiZero_barn/pulse 1
2020-10-12 08:36:48,794 INFO     MQTT       Publishing: emonhub/rx/Serial_PiZero_barn/values 0,0,1
2020-10-12 08:36:58,583 DEBUG    SerialTx   3958 NEW FRAME : lse:1
2020-10-12 08:36:58,585 DEBUG    SerialTx   3958 Timestamp : 1602488218.5826514
2020-10-12 08:36:58,587 DEBUG    SerialTx   3958 From Node : Serial_PiZero_barn
2020-10-12 08:36:58,588 DEBUG    SerialTx   3958    Values : [1]
2020-10-12 08:36:58,601 DEBUG    SerialTx   3958 Sent to channel(start)' : ToEmonCMS
2020-10-12 08:36:58,603 DEBUG    SerialTx   3958 Sent to channel(end)' : ToEmonCMS
2020-10-12 08:36:58,782 DEBUG    MQTT       Publishing: emon/Serial_PiZero_barn/lse 1
2020-10-12 08:36:58,789 INFO     MQTT       Publishing: emonhub/rx/Serial_PiZero_barn/values 1
2020-10-12 08:36:59,886 DEBUG    emoncmsorg Buffer size: 2
2020-10-12 08:37:18,613 DEBUG    SerialTx   3960 NEW FRAME : 0,pulse:1
2020-10-12 08:37:18,615 DEBUG    SerialTx   3960 Timestamp : 1602488238.613277
2020-10-12 08:37:18,617 DEBUG    SerialTx   3960 From Node : Serial_PiZero_barn
2020-10-12 08:37:18,619 DEBUG    SerialTx   3960    Values : [1]
2020-10-12 08:37:18,631 DEBUG    SerialTx   3960 Sent to channel(start)' : ToEmonCMS
2020-10-12 08:37:18,633 DEBUG    SerialTx   3960 Sent to channel(end)' : ToEmonCMS
2020-10-12 08:37:19,027 DEBUG    MQTT       Publishing: emon/Serial_PiZero_barn/pulse 1
2020-10-12 08:37:19,035 INFO     MQTT       Publishing: emonhub/rx/Serial_PiZero_barn/values 1

haffle · 2020-10-12T08:32:54.071Z

On a brighter note, I downloaded the stl files for an emonTx box from Thingiverse ( emonTx V3 Electricity Monitoring Transmitter Case by ElectricApple - Thingiverse ) yesterday; I raised the sides by 10mm and increased the programming pins slot height by 5mm so that I could fit the return wires back through the case. Seems to work well. I used some brass standoff pins to fix the Pi Zero by one corner. Apologies for the colour, but I’m using up a spool of unwanted green

I’m now printing the lid; I haven’t worked out how to make the “tongue” 10mm taller so will just have to put up with a gap above the RF screw for now.

For future iterations (I have two more to do) I could probably get away with raising the sides less - maybe even only 3-4mm depending on length of standoffs used. I did stick a heat sink on to the PiZero’s CPU to help with cooling as well.

2020-10-12_09_22_311200×970 263 KB

!

2020-10-12_09_28_531200×859 232 KB

!

borpin · 2020-10-12T11:52:06.295Z

For future reference, when posting code or bash output, please put in 3 ‘backticks’ (found at the top left of the keyboard normally) on a line on their own, then the code, then 3 more backticks on a line following the code.

    ```
    code
    ```

If it is something like php you can add a language identifier that after the first 3 backticks so ```php

haffle:

Taking those that start with MSG as an example, there is MSG, MSGs, MSG1, MSGulse, pMSG, MSGse, pulseMSGulse,

I think this is being caused by the serial output from the emonTX being garbled but still decoded.

To test, stop emonhub - sudo systemctl stop emonhub.service and open a terminal

miniterm --rtscts /dev/ttyAMA0 115200

You will see the serial data output. Leave this for a while and see if there are any bad messages.

--- Miniterm on /dev/ttyAMA0  115200,8,N,1 ---
--- Quit: Ctrl+] | Menu: Ctrl+T | Help: Ctrl+T followed by Ctrl+H ---
MSG:364158,Vrms:244.49,P1:569,E1:689721,pulse:1
MSG:364159,Vrms:244.65,P1:569,E1:689723,pulse:1
MSG:364160,Vrms:244.91,P1:570,E1:689724,pulse:1

If you press the reset button on the TX, you will get the initial config info as well. Please post that.

Please also post your full emonhub.conf please.

[edit]
Did you restart emonhub service?

[edit2]
You also need to turn RF Off especially if you have not attached an antenna.

borpin · 2020-10-12T12:20:54.861Z

Just checking on what code I am running, I realised that the stable release of emonhub is way behind the master.

I suggest you checkout the master branch.

cd /opt/openenergymonitor/emonhub
git fetch --all
git checkout master
git pull

haffle · 2020-10-12T12:52:57.080Z

Sorry - I tried all combos of `, `` and < but didn’t use three ```. Will make a note for the future …

Herewith the emonhub.conf from the emonTx, copy / pasted after having stopped emonhub and during the running of the miniterm routine

#######################################################################
#######################      emonhub.conf     #########################
#######################################################################
### emonHub configuration file, for info see documentation:
### https://github.com/openenergymonitor/emonhub/blob/emon-pi/configuration.md
#######################################################################
#######################    emonHub  settings    #######################
#######################################################################

[hub]
### loglevel must be one of DEBUG, INFO, WARNING, ERROR, and CRITICAL
loglevel = DEBUG
### Uncomment this to also send to syslog
# use_syslog = yes
#######################################################################
#######################       Interfacers       #######################
#######################################################################

[interfacers]
### This interfacer manages the RFM12Pi/RFM69Pi/emonPi module
[[RFM2Pi]]
    Type = EmonHubJeeInterfacer
    [[[init_settings]]]
        com_port = /dev/ttyAMA0
        com_baud = 38400                        # 9600 for old RFM12Pi
    [[[runtimesettings]]]
        pubchannels = ToEmonCMS,
        subchannels = ToRFM12,

        group = 210
        frequency = 433
        baseid = 5                              # emonPi / emonBase nodeID
        calibration = 230V                      # (UK/EU: 230V, US: 110V)
        quiet = true                            # Disable quite mode (default enabled) to enable RF packet debugging, show packets which fail crc
        # interval =  300                         # Interval to transmit time to emonGLCD (seconds)
        

[[SerialTx]]
     Type = EmonHubTx3eInterfacer
      [[[init_settings]]]
           com_port= /dev/ttyAMA0
           com_baud = 115200
      [[[runtimesettings]]]
           pubchannels = ToEmonCMS,

           nodeoffset = 0
           nodename = Serial_PiZero_barn


[[MQTT]]

    Type = EmonHubMqttInterfacer
    [[[init_settings]]]
        mqtt_host = 192.168.2.50
        mqtt_port = 1883
        mqtt_user = emonpi
        mqtt_passwd = emonpimqtt2016

    [[[runtimesettings]]]
        pubchannels = ToRFM12,
        subchannels = ToEmonCMS,

        # emonhub/rx/10/values format
        # Use with emoncms Nodes module
        node_format_enable = 1
        node_format_basetopic = emonhub/

        # emon/emontx/power1 format - use with Emoncms MQTT input
        # http://github.com/emoncms/emoncms/blob/master/docs/RaspberryPi/MQTT.md
        nodevar_format_enable = 1
        nodevar_format_basetopic = emon/

[[emoncmsorg]]
    Type = EmonHubEmoncmsHTTPInterfacer
    [[[init_settings]]]
    [[[runtimesettings]]]
        pubchannels = ToRFM12,
        subchannels = ToEmonCMS,
        url = https://emoncms.org
        apikey = xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
        senddata = 1                    # Enable sending data to Emoncms.org
        sendstatus = 1                  # Enable sending WAN IP to Emoncms.org MyIP > https://emoncms.org/myip/list
        sendinterval= 30                # Bulk send interval to Emoncms.org in seconds

#######################################################################
#######################          Nodes          #######################
#######################################################################

[nodes]

## See config user guide: https://github.com/openenergymonitor/emonhub/blob/emon-pi/conf/emonhub.conf

[[5]]
    nodename = emonpi
    [[[rx]]]
        names = power1,power2,power1pluspower2,vrms,t1,t2,t3,t4,t5,t6,pulsecount
        datacodes = h, h, h, h, h, h, h, h, h, h, L
        scales = 1,1,1,0.01,0.1,0.1,0.1,0.1,0.1,0.1,1
        units = W,W,W,V,C,C,C,C,C,C,p

[[6]]
    nodename = emontxshield
    [[[rx]]]
       names = power1, power2, power3, power4, vrms
       datacode = h
       scales = 1,1,1,1,0.01
       units = W,W,W,W,V

[[7]]
   nodename = emontx4
   [[[rx]]]
      names = power1, power2, power3, power4, vrms, temp1, temp2, temp3, temp4, temp5, temp6, pulse
      datacodes = h,h,h,h,h,h,h,h,h,h,h,L
      scales = 1,1,1,1,0.01,0.1,0.1, 0.1,0.1,0.1,0.1,1
      units = W,W,W,W,V,C,C,C,C,C,C,p

[[8]]
    nodename = emontx3
    [[[rx]]]
       names = power1, power2, power3, power4, vrms, temp1, temp2, temp3, temp4, temp5, temp6, pulse
       datacodes = h,h,h,h,h,h,h,h,h,h,h,L
       scales = 1,1,1,1,0.01,0.1,0.1, 0.1,0.1,0.1,0.1,1
       units = W,W,W,W,V,C,C,C,C,C,C,p

[[9]]
   nodename = emontx2
   [[[rx]]]
      names = power1, power2, power3, power4, vrms, temp1, temp2, temp3, temp4, temp5, temp6, pulse
      datacodes = h,h,h,h,h,h,h,h,h,h,h,L
      scales = 1,1,1,1,0.01,0.1,0.1, 0.1,0.1,0.1,0.1,1
      units = W,W,W,W,V,C,C,C,C,C,C,p

[[10]]
    nodename = emontx1
    [[[rx]]]
       names = power1, power2, power3, power4, vrms, temp1, temp2, temp3, temp4, temp5, temp6, pulse
       datacodes = h,h,h,h,h,h,h,h,h,h,h,L
       scales = 1,1,1,1,0.01,0.01,0.01,0.01,0.01,0.01,0.01,1
       units = W,W,W,W,V,C,C,C,C,C,C,p

[[11]]
    nodename = 3phase
    [[[rx]]]
       names = powerL1, powerL2, powerL3, power4, Vrms, temp1, temp2, temp3, temp4, temp5, temp6, pulse
       datacodes = h,h,h,h,h,h,h,h,h,h,h,L
       scales = 1,1,1,1,0.01,0.01,0.01,0.01,0.01,0.01,0.01,1
       units = W,W,W,W,V,C,C,C,C,C,C,p
       
[[12]]
    nodename = 3phase2
    [[[rx]]]
       names = powerL1, powerL2, powerL3, power4, Vrms, temp1, temp2, temp3, temp4, temp5, temp6, pulse
       datacodes = h,h,h,h,h,h,h,h,h,h,h,L
       scales = 1,1,1,1,0.01,0.01,0.01,0.01,0.01,0.01,0.01,1
       units = W,W,W,W,V,C,C,C,C,C,C,p

[[13]]
    nodename = 3phase3
    [[[rx]]]
       names = powerL1, powerL2, powerL3, power4, Vrms, temp1, temp2, temp3, temp4, temp5, temp6, pulse
       datacodes = h,h,h,h,h,h,h,h,h,h,h,L
       scales = 1,1,1,1,0.01,0.01,0.01,0.01,0.01,0.01,0.01,1
       units = W,W,W,W,V,C,C,C,C,C,C,p

[[14]]
    nodename = 3phase4
    [[[rx]]]
       names = powerL1, powerL2, powerL3, power4, Vrms, temp1, temp2, temp3, temp4, temp5, temp6, pulse
       datacodes = h,h,h,h,h,h,h,h,h,h,h,L
       scales = 1,1,1,1,0.01,0.01,0.01,0.01,0.01,0.01,0.01,1
       units = W,W,W,W,V,C,C,C,C,C,C,p

[[15]]
    nodename = emontx3cm15
    [[[rx]]]
       names = MSG, Vrms, P1, P2, P3, P4, E1, E2, E3, E4, T1, T2, T3, pulse
       datacodes = L,h,h,h,h,h,l,l,l,l,h,h,h,L
       scales = 1,0.01,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,0.01,0.01,0.01,1
       units = n,V,W,W,W,W,Wh,Wh,Wh,Wh,C,C,C,p
       whitening = 1

[[16]]
    nodename = emontx3cm16
    [[[rx]]]
       names = MSG, Vrms, P1, P2, P3, P4, E1, E2, E3, E4, T1, T2, T3, pulse
       datacodes = L,h,h,h,h,h,l,l,l,l,h,h,h,L
       scales = 1,0.01,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,0.01,0.01,0.01,1
       units = n,V,W,W,W,W,Wh,Wh,Wh,Wh,C,C,C,p
       whitening = 1

[[19]]
   nodename = emonth1
   [[[rx]]]
      names = temperature, external temperature, humidity, battery
      datacode = h
      scales = 0.1,0.1,0.1,0.1
      units = C,C,%,V

[[20]]
   nodename = emonth2
   [[[rx]]]
      names = temperature, external temperature, humidity, battery
      datacode = h
      scales = 0.1,0.1,0.1,0.1
      units = C,C,%,V

[[21]]
   nodename = emonth3
   [[[rx]]]
      names = temperature, external temperature, humidity, battery
      datacode = h
      scales = 0.1,0.1,0.1,0.1
      units = C,C,%,V

[[22]]
   nodename = emonth4
   [[[rx]]]
      names = temperature, external temperature, humidity, battery
      datacode = h
      scales = 0.1,0.1,0.1,0.1
      units = C,C,%,V

[[23]]
    nodename = emonth5
    [[[rx]]]
       names = temperature, external temperature, humidity, battery, pulsecount
       datacodes = h,h,h,h,L
       scales = 0.1,0.1,0.1,0.1,1
       units = C,C,%,V,p

[[24]]
    nodename = emonth6
    [[[rx]]]
       names = temperature, external temperature, humidity, battery, pulsecount
       datacodes = h,h,h,h,L
       scales = 0.1,0.1,0.1,0.1,1
       units = C,C,%,V,p

[[25]]
    nodename = emonth7
    [[[rx]]]
       names = temperature, external temperature, humidity, battery, pulsecount
       datacodes = h,h,h,h,L
       scales = 0.1,0.1,0.1,0.1,1
       units = C,C,%,V,p

[[26]]
    nodename = emonth8
    [[[rx]]]
       names = temperature, external temperature, humidity, battery, pulsecount
       datacodes = h,h,h,h,L
       scales = 0.1,0.1,0.1,0.1,1
       units = C,C,%,V,p

Did you restart emonhub service?

Not knowingly (didn’t know I ought to have, and don’t know how to anyway. I most likely did shut the PiZero down a couple of times since the initial set up though.

You also need to turn RF Off especially if you have not attached an antenna.

Where would I do that? I can’t see anything RF related in the emonHub.conf (On the other three emonTx’s I have elsewhere (currently connected to ESP8266’s) I have fitted a “blanking” plate to the RF screw, but obviously didn’t have a fourth for this one.

Herewith the miniterm results (hmmm, despite three ``` top & bottom this next section doesn’t get abbreviated. Sorry!) …

Last login: Sun Oct 11 12:14:13 on ttys002
Julians-42-iMac:~ jjb$ ssh pi@192.168.2.55
pi@192.168.2.55's password: 
Linux emonpi 5.4.51+ #1333 Mon Aug 10 16:38:02 BST 2020 armv6l

The programs included with the Debian GNU/Linux system are free software;
the exact distribution terms for each program are described in the
individual files in /usr/share/doc/*/copyright.

Debian GNU/Linux comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY, to the extent
permitted by applicable law.
Last login: Sun Oct 11 12:14:30 2020 from 192.168.2.30
pi@emonpi:~ $ sudo systemctl stop emonhub.service
pi@emonpi:~ $ miniterm --rtscts /dev/ttyAMA0 115200
--- Miniterm on /dev/ttyAMA0  115200,8,N,1 ---
--- Quit: Ctrl+] | Menu: Ctrl+T | Help: Ctrl+T followed by Ctrl+H ---
MSG:45,Vrms:247.75,P1:0,E1:0,pulse:1
MSG:46,Vrms:247.81,P1:0,E1:0,pulse:1
MSG:47,Vrms:248.02,P1:0,E1:0,pulse:1
MSG:48,Vrms:248.16,P1:0,E1:0,pulse:1
MSG:49,Vrms:248.05,P1:0,E1:0,pulse:1
MSG:50,Vrms:248.21,P1:0,E1:0,pulse:1
MSG:51,Vrms:248.11,P1:0,E1:0,pulse:1
MSG:52,Vrms:247.98,P1:0,E1:0,pulse:1
MSG:53,Vrms:247.92,P1:0,E1:0,pulse:1
MSG:54,Vrms:248.04,P1:0,E1:0,pulse:1
MSG:55,Vrms:247.91,P1:0,E1:0,pulse:1
MSG:56,Vrms:247.65,P1:0,E1:0,pulse:1
MSG:57,Vrms:247.77,P1:0,E1:0,pulse:1
MSG:58,Vrms:247.81,P1:0,E1:0,pulse:1
MSG:59,Vrms:247.76,P1:0,E1:0,pulse:1
MSG:60,Vrms:247.64,P1:0,E1:0,pulse:1
MSG:61,Vrms:247.82,P1:0,E1:0,pulse:1
MSG:62,Vrms:247.62,P1:0,E1:0,pulse:1
MSG:63,Vrms:247.64,P1:0,E1:0,pulse:1
MSG:64,Vrms:247.72,P1:0,E1:0,pulse:1
MSG:65,Vrms:247.60,P1:0,E1:0,pulse:1
MSG:66,Vrms:247.45,P1:0,E1:0,pulse:1
MSG:67,Vrms:247.50,P1:0,E1:0,pulse:1
MSG:68,Vrms:247.56,P1:0,E1:0,pulse:1
MSG:69,Vrms:247.41,P1:0,E1:0,pulse:1
MSG:70,Vrms:247.41,P1:0,E1:0,pulse:1
MSG:71,Vrms:247.34,P1:0,E1:0,pulse:1
MSG:72,Vrms:247.82,P1:0,E1:0,pulse:1
MSG:73,Vrms:247.84,P1:0,E1:0,pulse:1
MSG:74,Vrms:247.82,P1:0,E1:0,pulse:1
MSG:75,Vrms:247.81,P1:0,E1:0,pulse:1
MSG:76,Vrms:248.00,P1:0,E1:0,pulse:1
MSG:77,Vrms:248.14,P1:0,E1:0,pulse:1
MSG:78,Vrms:248.20,P1:0,E1:0,pulse:1
MSG:79,Vrms:248.13,P1:0,E1:0,pulse:1
MSG:80,Vrms:248.17,P1:0,E1:0,pulse:1
MSG:81,Vrms:248.15,P1:0,E1:0,pulse:1
MSG:82,Vrms:248.00,P1:0,E1:0,pulse:1
MSG:83,Vrms:248.02,P1:0,E1:0,pulse:1
MSG:84,Vrms:248.01,P1:0,E1:0,pulse:1
MSG:85,Vrms:248.13,P1:0,E1:0,pulse:1
MSG:86,Vrms:248.08,P1:0,E1:0,pulse:1
MSG:87,Vrms:248.14,P1:0,E1:0,pulse:1
MSG:88,Vrms:247.32,P1:0,E1:0,pulse:1
MSG:89,Vrms:246.31,P1:0,E1:0,pulse:1
MSG:90,Vrms:246.09,P1:0,E1:0,pulse:1
MSG:91,Vrms:245.98,P1:0,E1:0,pulse:1
MSG:92,Vrms:246.17,P1:0,E1:0,pulse:1
MSG:93,Vrms:246.19,P1:0,E1:0,pulse:1
MSG:94,Vrms:245.99,P1:0,E1:0,pulse:1
MSG:95,Vrms:246.25,P1:0,E1:0,pulse:1
MSG:96,Vrms:246.11,P1:0,E1:0,pulse:1
MSG:97,Vrms:245.76,P1:0,E1:0,pulse:1
MSG:98,Vrms:245.87,P1:0,E1:0,pulse:1
MSG:99,Vrms:246.16,P1:0,E1:0,pulse:1
MSG:100,Vrms:245.97,P1:0,E1:0,pulse:1
MSG:101,Vrms:245.71,P1:0,E1:0,pulse:1
MSG:102,Vrms:245.53,P1:0,E1:0,pulse:1

I suggest you checkout the master branch.

After doing the above, I rebooted the PiZero and then ran that code via ssh on the PiZero.

Last login: Mon Oct 12 13:21:17 on ttys000
Julians-42-iMac:~ jjb$ ssh pi@192.168.2.55
pi@192.168.2.55's password: 
Linux emonpi 5.4.51+ #1333 Mon Aug 10 16:38:02 BST 2020 armv6l

The programs included with the Debian GNU/Linux system are free software;
the exact distribution terms for each program are described in the
individual files in /usr/share/doc/*/copyright.

Debian GNU/Linux comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY, to the extent
permitted by applicable law.
Last login: Mon Oct 12 13:21:35 2020 from 192.168.2.30
pi@emonpi:~ $ cd /opt/openenergymonitor/emonhub
pi@emonpi:/opt/openenergymonitor/emonhub $ git fetch --all
Fetching origin
pi@emonpi:/opt/openenergymonitor/emonhub $ git checkout master
Branch 'master' set up to track remote branch 'master' from 'origin'.
Switched to a new branch 'master'
pi@emonpi:/opt/openenergymonitor/emonhub $ git pull
Already up to date.
pi@emonpi:/opt/openenergymonitor/emonhub $

After this, I rebooted the PiZero once again; within the Inputs page on the main emonPi I deleted 159 old / stale Input lines within the PiZero “node”. That left Vrms, P1, E1, pulse which updated every 10(?) seconds. But after a while more weird ones started to appear again (ms and G for example). Subsequently, the updating interval on the good ones became slightly erratic

Screenshot 2020-10-12 at 13.50.412048×888 53.6 KB

Does any of that help? Have to say I’m a bit lost !!!

haffle · 2020-10-12T13:01:44.333Z

By way of a comparison, herewith the same section on the emonPi after ~ 10 minutes

Screenshot 2020-10-12 at 14.00.282048×1310 163 KB

Robert.Wall · 2020-10-12T13:13:25.641Z

Do you have debugging messages coming out of your emonTx?

It looks as if you might have some “human readable” output from the emonTx as well as the format (“MSG:45,Vrms:247.75,P1:0,E1:0,pulse:1”) intended for machine consumption. That’s the only way things like “ms” can be transmitted.
“E1MSG” looks like there are some missing characters in the data. You could try reducing the baud rate on the serial connection between the emonTx and the Pi Zero.

Another thought - is the “Tx” line (actually a wrongly labelled Rx input) on the emonTx connected from your Pi Zero? That has caused trouble with non-Shop ESP8266’s in the past - but not exactly the same trouble as you’re reporting.

haffle · 2020-10-12T13:17:01.726Z

If you press the reset button on the TX, you will get the initial config info as well. Please post that.

Sorry, I missed this bit. Having restarted the PiZero, I pressed the Tx reset button, and this is the last bits of the emonHub log.


2020-10-12 14:12:20,058 INFO     MainThread Setting RFM2Pi baseid: 5 (5i)
2020-10-12 14:12:21,062 INFO     MainThread Setting RFM2Pi frequency: 433 (4b)
2020-10-12 14:12:22,065 INFO     MainThread Setting RFM2Pi group: 210 (210g)
2020-10-12 14:12:23,068 INFO     MainThread Setting RFM2Pi quiet: 1 (1q)
2020-10-12 14:12:24,072 INFO     MainThread Setting RFM2Pi calibration: 230V (1p)
2020-10-12 14:12:25,076 DEBUG    MainThread Setting RFM2Pi pubchannels: ['ToEmonCMS']
2020-10-12 14:12:25,077 DEBUG    MainThread Setting RFM2Pi subchannels: ['ToRFM12']
2020-10-12 14:12:25,089 INFO     MainThread Creating EmonHubTx3eInterfacer 'SerialTx'
2020-10-12 14:12:25,094 DEBUG    MainThread Opening serial port: /dev/ttyAMA0 @ 115200 bits/s
2020-10-12 14:12:25,102 INFO     MainThread Creating EmonHubMqttInterfacer 'MQTT'
2020-10-12 14:12:25,124 DEBUG    MainThread Setting MQTT pubchannels: ['ToRFM12']
2020-10-12 14:12:25,126 DEBUG    MainThread Setting MQTT subchannels: ['ToEmonCMS']
2020-10-12 14:12:25,128 INFO     MainThread Setting MQTT node_format_enable: 1
2020-10-12 14:12:25,129 INFO     MainThread Setting MQTT nodevar_format_enable: 1
2020-10-12 14:12:25,141 INFO     MainThread Setting MQTT nodevar_format_basetopic: emon/
2020-10-12 14:12:25,145 INFO     MainThread Creating EmonHubEmoncmsHTTPInterfacer 'emoncmsorg'
2020-10-12 14:12:25,148 DEBUG    MainThread Setting emoncmsorg pubchannels: ['ToRFM12']
2020-10-12 14:12:25,160 DEBUG    MainThread Setting emoncmsorg subchannels: ['ToEmonCMS']
2020-10-12 14:12:25,162 WARNING  MainThread Setting emoncmsorg apikey: obscured
2020-10-12 14:12:25,164 INFO     MainThread Setting emoncmsorg url: https://emoncms.org
2020-10-12 14:12:25,167 INFO     MainThread Setting emoncmsorg senddata: 1
2020-10-12 14:12:25,169 INFO     MainThread Setting emoncmsorg sendstatus: 1
2020-10-12 14:12:34,868 WARNING  SerialTx   Exception caught in SerialTx thread. Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/serial/serialposix.py", line 501, in read
    'device reports readiness to read but returned no data '
serial.serialutil.SerialException: device reports readiness to read but returned no data (device disconnected or multiple access on port?)

During handling of the above exception, another exception occurred:

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/opt/openenergymonitor/emonhub/src/emonhub_interfacer.py", line 32, in wrapper
    return func(*args)
  File "/opt/openenergymonitor/emonhub/src/emonhub_interfacer.py", line 99, in run
    rxc = self.read()
  File "/opt/openenergymonitor/emonhub/src/interfacers/EmonHubTx3eInterfacer.py", line 46, in read
    self._rx_buf = self._rx_buf + self._ser.readline().decode()
  File "/usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/serial/serialposix.py", line 509, in read
    raise SerialException('read failed: {}'.format(e))
serial.serialutil.SerialException: read failed: device reports readiness to read but returned no data (device disconnected or multiple access on port?)

2020-10-12 14:12:34,886 WARNING  MainThread SerialTx thread is dead.
2020-10-12 14:12:34,889 WARNING  MainThread Attempting to restart thread SerialTx (thread has been restarted 0 times...)
2020-10-12 14:12:34,904 INFO     MainThread Creating EmonHubTx3eInterfacer 'SerialTx'
2020-10-12 14:12:34,908 DEBUG    MainThread Opening serial port: /dev/ttyAMA0 @ 115200 bits/s
2020-10-12 14:12:41,171 DEBUG    SerialTx   invalid input name: 
2020-10-12 14:13:01,484 WARNING  RFM2Pi     Exception caught in RFM2Pi thread. Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/serial/serialposix.py", line 501, in read
    'device reports readiness to read but returned no data '
serial.serialutil.SerialException: device reports readiness to read but returned no data (device disconnected or multiple access on port?)

During handling of the above exception, another exception occurred:

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/opt/openenergymonitor/emonhub/src/emonhub_interfacer.py", line 32, in wrapper
    return func(*args)
  File "/opt/openenergymonitor/emonhub/src/emonhub_interfacer.py", line 99, in run
    rxc = self.read()
  File "/opt/openenergymonitor/emonhub/src/interfacers/EmonHubJeeInterfacer.py", line 85, in read
    self._rx_buf = self._rx_buf + self._ser.readline().decode()
  File "/usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/serial/serialposix.py", line 509, in read
    raise SerialException('read failed: {}'.format(e))
serial.serialutil.SerialException: read failed: device reports readiness to read but returned no data (device disconnected or multiple access on port?)

2020-10-12 14:13:01,579 DEBUG    SerialTx   9 NEW FRAME : MSG:1,Vrms:246.21,P1:0,E1:0,pulse:1
2020-10-12 14:13:01,605 DEBUG    SerialTx   9 Timestamp : 1602508381.578269
2020-10-12 14:13:01,607 DEBUG    SerialTx   9 From Node : Serial_PiZero_barn
2020-10-12 14:13:01,630 DEBUG    SerialTx   9    Values : [1, 246.21, 0, 0, 1]
2020-10-12 14:13:01,632 DEBUG    SerialTx   9 Sent to channel(start)' : ToEmonCMS
2020-10-12 14:13:01,635 DEBUG    SerialTx   9 Sent to channel(end)' : ToEmonCMS
2020-10-12 14:13:01,643 WARNING  MainThread RFM2Pi thread is dead.
2020-10-12 14:13:01,645 WARNING  MainThread Attempting to restart thread RFM2Pi (thread has been restarted 0 times...)
2020-10-12 14:13:01,649 INFO     MainThread Creating EmonHubJeeInterfacer 'RFM2Pi'
2020-10-12 14:13:01,665 INFO     MQTT       Connecting to MQTT Server
2020-10-12 14:13:01,695 DEBUG    MainThread Opening serial port: /dev/ttyAMA0 @ 38400 bits/s
2020-10-12 14:13:01,770 DEBUG    emoncmsorg Buffer size: 1
2020-10-12 14:13:01,812 INFO     MQTT       connection status: Connection successful
2020-10-12 14:13:01,815 DEBUG    MQTT       CONACK => Return code: 0
2020-10-12 14:13:01,932 INFO     MQTT       on_subscribe
2020-10-12 14:13:03,703 WARNING  MainThread Device communication error - check settings
2020-10-12 14:13:03,706 INFO     MainThread Setting RFM2Pi baseid: 5 (5i)
2020-10-12 14:13:04,709 INFO     MainThread Setting RFM2Pi frequency: 433 (4b)
2020-10-12 14:13:05,713 INFO     MainThread Setting RFM2Pi group: 210 (210g)
2020-10-12 14:13:06,717 INFO     MainThread Setting RFM2Pi quiet: 1 (1q)
2020-10-12 14:13:07,721 INFO     MainThread Setting RFM2Pi calibration: 230V (1p)
2020-10-12 14:13:08,724 DEBUG    MainThread Setting RFM2Pi pubchannels: ['ToEmonCMS']
2020-10-12 14:13:08,726 DEBUG    MainThread Setting RFM2Pi subchannels: ['ToRFM12']

haffle · 2020-10-12T13:32:39.409Z

Robert.Wall:

Do you have debugging messages coming out of your emonTx?

It looks as if you might have some “human readable” output from the emonTx as well as the format (“MSG:45,Vrms:247.75,P1:0,E1:0,pulse:1”) intended for machine consumption. That’s the only way things like “ms” can be transmitted.
“E1MSG” looks like there are some missing characters in the data. You could try reducing the baud rate on the serial connection between the emonTx and the Pi Zero.

Another thought - is the “Tx” line (actually a wrongly labelled Rx input) on the emonTx connected from your Pi Zero? That has caused trouble with non-Shop ESP8266’s in the past - but not exactly the same trouble as you’re reporting.

Hi @Robert.Wall - I think our messages crossed.

It could well be that I mis-wired the connection between the PiZero and the emonTx, but I am 99% sure I followed the second diagram in @pb66 's post here. 4 CT emonBase using emonTx and Pi Zero W - #17 by pb66

But I will make up a second set and see if that changes anything.

2020-10-12_14_30_041200×1017 205 KB

Robert.Wall · 2020-10-12T13:58:06.428Z

haffle:

But I will make up a second set and see if that changes anything.

I don’t think it will, and it’s pretty clear that’s not your problem. So don’t.

There’s an historical problem:
On @pb66’s diagram, the mistake is off the diagram inside the emonTx, where the Tx and Rx pins are wrongly labelled - the emonTx’s “Tx” pin receives data, and its “Rx” pin transmits data. So Paul’s diagram is correct, but you don’t need the Tx - Tx wire, the violet wire in your picture, in normal use.

The problem with the ESP8266 (different device, same purpose) was it sent unwanted data TO the emonTx and reconfigured it, hence that connection doesn’t exist in the shop-prepared ESP8266 conversions. Until you want to recalibrate or reconfigure your emonTx, you are only interested in one-way data - out of the emonTx (on its “Rx” pin) and into the Pi Zero on its Rx pin.

Robert.Wall · 2020-10-12T14:13:50.107Z

Robert.Wall:

It looks as if you might have some “human readable” output from the emonTx as well as the format (“MSG:45,Vrms:247.75,P1:0,E1:0,pulse:1”) intended for machine consumption. That’s the only way things like “ms” can be transmitted.
“E1MSG” looks like there are some missing characters in the data. You could try reducing the baud rate on the serial connection between the emonTx and the Pi Zero.

I’ll revise that - I don’t think it is the first part at all. “ms” is a legitimate part of the desired output: “Vrms”, so I think you’re looking for something that’s interrupting the data and causing the interfacer to interpret an isolated “ms” - having lost its “Vr” off the front - as another data item.

One thing you need to be aware of is if you’ve got two things inside your Pi trying to use the same port, the messages will get mixed up. That’s why Brian says to stop emonHub before you connect miniterm/minicom, and restart it when you’ve disconnected.
So if you are talking to the emonTx via the purple wire and it replies and emonHub is still running, whatever the emonTx says will get mixed in with its normal output - not a problem for you - but emonHub will do its best to interpret the mixed-up data.

So I think your problem is either, the data is getting mixed up causing part-messages to be interpreted wrongly, or the Pi Zero is missing a few characters here and there, likewise causing the data to be mis-interpreted.

haffle · 2020-10-12T15:40:09.056Z

I have no idea why, it now looks like it is all working, but only intermittently. Trouble is, I can’t work out what causes the drop outs.

It could be physical (90 deg PiZero header soldered on by me / wires crimped badly / etc), but I have even swapped in a Raspberry Pi 4 with pre-soldered headers and shop bought wires, but that still doesn’t make things work.

Following on from doing this earlier …

To test, stop emonhub - sudo systemctl stop emonhub.service and open a terminal

Did I need to actively re-start it, and if so can I just use the orange Restart button within the emonTx’s emonHub page?

borpin · 2020-10-12T17:07:29.518Z

haffle:

(hmmm, despite three ``` top & bottom this next section doesn’t get abbreviated. Sorry!) …

No looks fine.

haffle:

Not knowingly (didn’t know I ought to have, and don’t know how to anyway.

You often don’t need to, but it does ensure everything is fresh.

sudo systemctl restart emonhub.service

haffle:

If you press the reset button on the TX, you will get the initial config info as well. Please post that.

Sorry, I missed this bit. Having restarted the PiZero, I pressed the Tx reset button, and this is the last bits of the emonHub log.

No you need to do it with miniterm running.

haffle:

You also need to turn RF Off especially if you have not attached an antenna.

Where would I do that? I can’t see anything RF related in the emonHub.conf

I’ll show you - you will see a config menu when you press the reset while miniterm is running.

Robert.Wall:

It looks as if you might have some “human readable” output from the emonTx

emonhub is not very discerning in this regard (there is an issue open), part of the reason I suggested a JSON output directly from emonTX. It does pick up odd bits of text, usually at startup that appear as inputs. The repeated restarts due to the exceptions isn’t helping.

Robert.Wall:

Another thought - is the “Tx” line (actually a wrongly labelled Rx input) on the emonTx connected from your Pi Zero?

Wiring looks correct to me (ref EmonTX to Rpi - Direct Serial Connection - #61 by borpin)

I do wonder if there is a poor connection though.

haffle:

2020-10-12 14:12:34,868 WARNING  SerialTx   Exception caught in SerialTx thread. Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/serial/serialposix.py", line 501, in read
    'device reports readiness to read but returned no data '
serial.serialutil.SerialException: device reports readiness to read but returned no data (device disconnected or multiple access on port?)

Clearly there is a serial comms problem.

The other thing to run is

tail -f /var/log/emonhub/emonhub.log | grep "NEW FRAME"

However there is clearly something wrong with the serial comms (hence all the exceptions).

suggestion

stop emonhub
open miniterm
wiggle connection and see if the data becomes corrupted
try pre made breadboard jumper wires instead of connector
check header soldering
Remove the [[RFM2Pi]] Interfacer - it isn’t needed as the Pi does not have an RFM board.

borpin · 2020-10-12T17:11:18.446Z

haffle:

Following on from doing this earlier …

To test, stop emonhub - sudo systemctl stop emonhub.service and open a terminal

Did I need to actively re-start it, and if so can I just use the orange Restart button within the emonTx’s emonHub page?

You do need to restart it, but a reboot will do that else just the opposite of stop sudo systemctl start emonhub.service

Stopping it just means there is only one thing reading the serial port.

Just leave miniterm running for a while and look for bad data and a correctly incrementing MSG count.