Use custom NTP server on the WiFi relay

glyn.hudson · 2019-10-14T17:10:24.906Z

That’s @Martin_Harizanov, that’s awesome!

Robi · 2019-10-14T17:37:30.324Z

Martin,

I was able to restore the wifi relay with these files. I see the field to add a custom NTP server - thank you.
Unfortunately the device doesn’t update time at all.
It doesn’t initiate any NTP client connection at all - as inspected using packet capture (aka. wireshark). (This behaviour was the same in the previous v3190 version too, didn’t contact pool.ntp.org at all)
See below a capture made on the firewall itself, straight after powering on the unit:

19:29:45.197392 dc:4f:22:40:ba:a5 > ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff Null Supervisory, Receiver not Ready, rcv seq 64, Flags [Poll], length 42
19:29:45.222707 IP 0.0.0.0.68 > 255.255.255.255.67: UDP, length 308
19:29:45.222843 IP 172.22.215.254.67 > 172.22.215.18.68: UDP, length 300
19:29:45.228543 IP 0.0.0.0.68 > 255.255.255.255.67: UDP, length 308
19:29:45.228659 IP 172.22.215.254.67 > 172.22.215.18.68: UDP, length 300
19:29:45.233869 ARP, Request who-has 172.22.215.18 tell 0.0.0.0, length 42
19:29:45.572315 ARP, Request who-has 172.22.215.18 tell 0.0.0.0, length 42
19:29:46.072586 ARP, Request who-has 172.22.215.18 tell 172.22.215.18, length 42
19:29:46.780197 ARP, Request who-has 172.22.215.60 tell 172.22.215.18, length 42
19:30:13.109514 dc:4f:22:40:ba:a5 > ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff Null Supervisory, Receiver not Ready, rcv seq 64, Flags [Poll], length 42
19:30:13.126688 IP 0.0.0.0.68 > 255.255.255.255.67: UDP, length 308
19:30:13.126807 IP 172.22.215.254.67 > 172.22.215.18.68: UDP, length 300
19:30:13.133956 IP 0.0.0.0.68 > 255.255.255.255.67: UDP, length 308
19:30:13.134037 IP 172.22.215.254.67 > 172.22.215.18.68: UDP, length 300
19:30:13.136552 ARP, Request who-has 172.22.215.18 tell 0.0.0.0, length 42
19:30:13.502191 ARP, Request who-has 172.22.215.18 tell 0.0.0.0, length 42
19:30:14.002155 ARP, Request who-has 172.22.215.18 tell 172.22.215.18, length 42
19:30:14.741276 ARP, Request who-has 172.22.215.60 tell 172.22.215.18, length 42

172.22.215.254 is the gateway/dhcp/ntp server. 172.22.215.18 is the wifi relay. As you can see, only DHCP messages are initiated by the relay, nothing else.

Also the other issue is still present: If I change the name of the relay, it won’t connect to the wifi after reboot. Need to set it to AP mode with the button, enter network key again and after that, it’s going to be fine.
Time is always 00:00:00 01/01/1970 , DST: 0 and also Uptime: 0 days, 0 hours, 0 minutes, 0 seconds doesn’t increase.
GMT offset and DST auto adjust are not saved.
(these were all present in v3190 too!)

Martin_Harizanov · 2019-10-14T17:58:12.736Z

That’s odd. Here is what it looks here:

17990×540 31.1 KB

It is picking up time, GMT offset and DST auto changes are saved. Wifi works just fine after renaming the relay…

I suspect browser issue, can you try incognito mode/clean profile with no plugins Chrome or Firefox?

NTP is notoriously problematic for IoT, check my finding here: Thoughts on time/date management on IoT nodes – Martin's corner on the web

Martin_Harizanov · 2019-10-14T18:08:30.926Z

Another idea: wireshark not capturing the NTP requests may mean the NTP server name isn’t resolved. I’d try few different NTP servers to check this theory NIST Internet Time Service

Robi · 2019-10-14T18:09:49.293Z

Question: does your relay sync time strainght after connecting to the wifi network, in the default settings state?

Mine doesn’t.

Does it make a difference that my WiFi key is 63 characters long?

Robi · 2019-10-14T18:10:28.647Z

I specified the NTP server as an IP address, 172.22.215.254.

Martin_Harizanov · 2019-10-14T18:13:32.978Z

Specifying IP address won’t work, it isn’t that smart yet. Use server name.

The ssid/key are limited to 31(+1 for terminator):

I think we have reached to the root cause of your troubles

Robi · 2019-10-14T18:13:54.549Z

Trying now using Chromium browser incognito mode.
Reset to factory defaults. I want to note first that I’m using it with DHCP only, using static lease based on MAC address.
When in AP mode, i see in wifi settings the IP address pre-filled with 192.168.1.10. After connected to the network, re-visiting the WiFi settings page I see the IP address field containing 68.50.89.53, mask 52.48.118.53, gw 55.70.69.45.

Robi · 2019-10-14T18:14:57.689Z

OH! Would it be possible to expand that to 64 characters, as the maximum allowed by the standard?
I already have all my other IOT devices connected to this network…

Martin_Harizanov · 2019-10-14T18:14:58.833Z

Robi:

I see the IP address field containing 68.50.89.53, mask 52.48.118.53, gw 55.70.69.45.

these are the ascii charaters of your 64 byte password overflowing to the next config…

Martin_Harizanov · 2019-10-14T18:17:33.999Z

Robi:

Would it be possible to expand that to 64 characters, as the maximum allowed by the standard?

IMHO the IEEE standard states 32 bytes

serverfault.com

What is the maximum length of a wifi access point's SSID?

wifi, 802.1

asked by leeand00 on 11:48PM - 24 Jul 09 UTC

Robi · 2019-10-14T18:19:38.101Z

It’s not the SSID, it’s the KEY/Password which is 63 chars long. According to the standard that can be 63 characters in WPA mode.

Martin_Harizanov · 2019-10-14T18:32:26.791Z

Try this version, has the password field extended to 64 chars.
You need to erase the whole flash before flashing this new version (use the first esptool sequence in my first post)

v3361.oem.bin (389.6 KB)

Robi · 2019-10-14T18:32:53.565Z

OK, trying just now, hold on

Robi · 2019-10-14T18:47:01.602Z

Works perfect, thank you!
Using my 63-character long WPA2 key.
And using my internal IP address of the NTP server, time syncs well.

May I suggest to update the WiFi MQTT Control Relay Thermostat - Guide | OpenEnergyMonitor with the new firmware and especially the programming section with the correct command to erase & update the board.

Robi · 2019-10-14T18:53:51.420Z

I just read your findings on NTP in your article you linked above, I totally agree. You have this sentence in your article:

Rather, I’d dedicate that function to a gateway, which can act as a time master.

That’s exactly what I’m doing in my installations. I always deploy a local NTP server for the multitude of the devices in a local site. It’s by far safer, and more environment-friendly.
This is why I needed a way to enter my local NTP server in your excellent thermostat.

glyn.hudson · 2019-10-16T19:09:58.782Z

Great to hear.

I’ve updated the WiFi relay repo with the new FW and change log:

github.com

mqtt-wifi-mqtt-single-channel-relay/firmware at master ·...

master/firmware

MQTT WiFi ESP8266 Single Channel Relay. Contribute to openenergymonitor/mqtt-wifi-mqtt-single-channel-relay development by creating an account on GitHub.

I will update the user guide FW section to point to the readme in the firmware section of the repo.

Robi · 2019-10-19T10:27:39.937Z

Thank you.

I’d also suggest in the guide to change the date (from 2017) or remove it, and there are outdated flashing instructions at the end of the guide, which don’t work anymore (not even for the previous firmware release) they should be deleted to avoid confusion and bricking of the unit.

Josunamo · 2020-12-03T23:11:23.362Z

Hi.
I am trying to load firmware oem.v3361.bin on a wemos D1 mini but it doesn’t work.
I think the problem is the memory address indicated in the flashing command 0x001000.
esptool.py --port COM5 --baud 230400 write_flash --flash_freq 80m --flash_mode dio
–flash_size detect 0x1000 oem.v3361.bin
Any suggestions?
Thank you

Josunamo · 2020-12-04T01:06:46.128Z

Solved.
For wemos D1 mini the flashing command is:
esptool.py --port COM5 --baud 115200 write_flash --flash_freq 80m --flash_mode
qio --flash_size detect 0x0000 boot_v1.7.bin 0x1000 oem.v3361.bin 0x3FC000 esp_init_data_default.bin 0x3FE000 blank.bin