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    Russound MCA-C3

    Hi Blade,

    I am trying to make your plugin working with my controller - Russound MCA-C3, no luck so far.

    My HomeSeer system is Hometroller Zee with latest HS3.

    Here what I did:

    1. Connected USB to RS232 cable from Zee USB to DB9 port in the back of the MCA-C3 controller.
    2. Set up the plugin: created controller, set port to /dev/ttyUSB0, protocol - RNET
    3. Enabled plugin
    4. Tried to turn on one zone using plugin - On button was not reacting when I was trying to click it.
    5. Tried to use different cable - same result
    6. Switched protocol on both controller and plugin to RIO.
    7. Now when I click on different buttons in plugin devices I can see that the status changes (i.e. when I click on Power On, it switches to On), however nothing happens in controller - zone remains Off.

    I tried to put a detailed logging, but cannot get much out of it, see attached.

    Not sure where to look or what to try next. Any advise would be appreciated.

    Thanks,
    Yuri
    Attached Files

    #2
    Blade's on vacation for a few weeks so please don't be bummed out if he doesn't get right back to you about this one. That said I might be able to help a little.

    You're Zee clearly isn't communicating with the MCA. I'm not a linux person so I can't be any help there but are you sure you have the correct COM port selected? You may also want to try RIO as the protocol as I think your controller supports it. It actually might not support RNET at all.
    Originally posted by rprade
    There is no rhyme or reason to the anarchy a defective Z-Wave device can cause

    Comment


      #3
      Thank you for heads up.

      I had a feeling that my serial connection might be an issue. I am not a linux guy either and frankly speaking I already purchased HS3 licence and plan to move my stuff to the windows box.

      In a meantime I spent some extensive time trying to figure out if communication between my Zee and MCA is happening. Still do not have definite answer about this. Zee's linux has very limited support for debugging serial connection. All I can state is that hardware is initialized properly and assigning correct device. I was not able to verify if communication is going on though.

      I ordered the USB-RS232 cable recommended by HomeSeer. Will see if it makes any difference.

      Let me know if you have any ideas how to test connectivity between Zee and MCA.

      Thanks,
      Yuri
      Last edited by yhavr; November 30, 2017, 10:13 AM.

      Comment


        #4
        Originally posted by yhavr View Post
        Thank you for heads up.

        I had a feeling that my serial connection might be an issue. I am not a linux guy either and frankly speaking I already purchased HS3 licence and plan to move my stuff to the windows box.

        In a meantime I spent some extensive time trying to figure out if communication between my Zee and MCA is happening. Still do not have definite answer about this. Zee's linux has very limited support for debugging serial connection. All I can state is that hardware is initialized properly and assigning correct device. I was not able to verify if communication is going on though.

        I ordered the USB-RS232 cable recommended by HomeSeer. Will see if it makes any difference.

        Let me know if you have any ideas how to test connectivity between Zee and MCA.

        Thanks,
        Yuri

        No ideas at the moment but one thing you could do is put the word Zee in the title of the thread and that might get the interest of the many linux/RPi folks on the forum. Right now it's just appealing to the people who use BLRussound.

        That said I'll think about it and get back if I come up with anything.


        Did you try RIO?
        Originally posted by rprade
        There is no rhyme or reason to the anarchy a defective Z-Wave device can cause

        Comment


          #5
          Is the com port filled in on the options page?
          Cheers,
          Bob
          Web site | Help Desk | Feature Requests | Message Board

          Comment


            #6
            Yes, I selected the serial port in the options screen: /dev/ttyUSB0

            I tried to play with the controller via serial port, though not much outcome.

            Russound MCA series of controllers can use either RNET or RIO to control the device. The difference is whether to communicate using HEX or ASCII.

            While surfing the web I found attached document, explaining how to use RIO, pretty straightforward. I was able to connect to the controller using Ethernet and run various commands. I am wondering, is it feasible to add an option to the plugin to connect over Ethernet - should eliminate issues related to serial connection.

            Now in the process of setting up a Windows 7 machine for HS3. I am also expecting another USB-DB9 cable to come in mail tomorrow. Will try them both tomorrow and post an update.

            Thanks,
            Yuri
            Attached Files

            Comment


              #7
              I am running HS3 on Windows 7 now. Plugin still not working. Though, now I see more options for port type. I saw in some other posts that HomeSeer is a recommended setting.

              I am getting under impression that RS232 port in MCA is not functioning properly. I need to figure out how to effectively test it before I finally give up.

              Any suggestions are welcomed.

              Cheers,
              Yuri
              Last edited by yhavr; December 4, 2017, 03:03 PM.

              Comment


                #8
                I finally moved all my stuff to new Windows 7 machine and everything seem to be working just fine.

                Speaking about BLRussound plugin - it is still not working. I tried different protocols, different cables and adaptors - for some reason communication between devices is not happening. Might be due to the defective RS232 port on the controller.

                I tried to setup a virtual serial port and point it to the iport of the controller that is accepting RIO commands. It looks like plugin is not recognizing responses from the controller. I put a serial port monitor and captured the RIO communication between plugin and controller, attached. I can see that controller properly responding to the commands from plugin, but plugin is ignoring any feedback from the controller. I also tried to change values on zone 2 - all messages were captured, but not updated the plugin.

                I am wondering if RIO protocol worked for anyone at all?

                In the meantime I am starting giving up on this plugin...

                Cheers,
                Yuriy
                Attached Files

                Comment


                  #9
                  The short answer is that, Yes, Rio has worked for other users. Blade implemented RIO explicitly for other users as his unit doesn't support it. The long answer can't be furnished by me though. I hate to say it but you're just going to need to wait until Blade returns to development to look at your logs and such. Did you already file a report on his site with the appropriate log data?
                  Originally posted by rprade
                  There is no rhyme or reason to the anarchy a defective Z-Wave device can cause

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Okay, will wait for Blade to return. Hopefully he would be able to help me.

                    For now I have one way integration: plugin sends commands to the controller, but does not update the statuses of devices if the change was made outside of the plugin. Also it does not show initial state of the devices.

                    BTW: what website are you referring to?


                    Thanks,
                    Yuri

                    Comment


                      #11
                      If you look in his signature you'll see a link to his site where you can log bugs and such. It's much easier for him to manage the issues for the piles of plugins he has that way. If you file your problem there with a debug made at the time of your issue happening he'll be sure to see it and know about it. I may be stating the obvious but, go to the options page, check debug logging, try to make your system do something that should work but doesn't, uncheck debug logging and get the BLLRussound-detailed file from the root of your HS directory, zip it and attach it to your report.

                      He should be back soon but probably will not be as attentive as usual around the holidays. Be confident that he will help you get this sorted though.
                      Originally posted by rprade
                      There is no rhyme or reason to the anarchy a defective Z-Wave device can cause

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Make sure you are using the com port control type = HomeSeer

                        RIO is beta right now and not a lot of people have tested it. I would switch to RNET and then restart the plugin
                        Cheers,
                        Bob
                        Web site | Help Desk | Feature Requests | Message Board

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Try out 2.0.139 on your Hometroller Zee
                          Make sure you select RNET protocol as RIO is kind of beta right now
                          I believe it should work
                          Cheers,
                          Bob
                          Web site | Help Desk | Feature Requests | Message Board

                          Comment

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