Hit a dead end trying to pick up gas meter using SDR RTL

Hi all,

I’m trying to see if I can pick up the radio frequency of my gas meter, which is an Itron 500G ERT, and supposedly my utility (People’s Gas) transmit data wirelessly in the 900 MHz ISM band

I’m using the hardware:
-Nooelec SDR-RTL v5 dongle which is plugged into my NUC running HAOS
I’m using the add-ons:
-rtl_433 (next)
-rtl_433 MQTT Auto Discovery (next)
-Mosquitto broker

I have the MQTT integrated, but I’m only picking up 2 SimpliSafe devices:

And seeing similar in the MQTT Explorer:

I also have the RTL_433 folder with a RTL_433.conf.template file with the following:

# This is an empty template for configuring rtl_433. mqtt information will be
# automatically added. Create multiple files ending in '.conf.template' to
# manage multiple rtl_433 radios, being sure to set the 'device' setting. The
# device must be set before mqtt output lines.
# https://github.com/merbanan/rtl_433/blob/da289d37eba7378726fcde502d38a466f9128b22/conf/rtl_433.example.conf

output mqtt://${host}:${port},user=${username},pass=${password},retain=${retain}
report_meta time:iso:usec:tz

# To keep the same topics when switching between the normal and edge versions,
# use this output line instead.
# output mqtt://${host}:${port},user=${username},pass=${password},retain=${retain},devices=rtl_433/9b13b3f4-rtl433/devices[/type][/model][/subtype][/channel][/id],events=rtl_433/9b13b3f4-rtl433/events,states=rtl_433/9b13b3f4-rtl433/states

# Uncomment the following line to also enable the default "table" output to the
# addon logs.
# output kv

# Disable TPMS sensors by default. These can cause an overwhelming number of
# devices and entities to show up in Home Assistant.
# This list is generated by running:
# rtl_433 -R help 2>&1 | grep -i tpms | sd '.*\[(\d+)\].*' 'protocol -/run.sh'
#    [59]  Steelmate TPMS
#    [60]  Schrader TPMS
#    [82]  Citroen TPMS
#    [88]  Toyota TPMS
#    [89]  Ford TPMS
#    [90]  Renault TPMS
#    [95]  Schrader TPMS EG53MA4, PA66GF35
#    [110]  PMV-107J (Toyota) TPMS
#    [123]* Jansite TPMS Model TY02S
#    [140]  Elantra2012 TPMS
#    [156]  Abarth 124 Spider TPMS
#    [168]  Schrader TPMS SMD3MA4 (Subaru)
#    [180]  Jansite TPMS Model Solar
#    [186]  Hyundai TPMS (VDO)
#    [201]  Unbranded SolarTPMS for trucks
#    [203]  Porsche Boxster/Cayman TPMS
protocol -59
protocol -60
protocol -82
protocol -88
protocol -89
protocol -90
protocol -95
protocol -110
protocol -123
protocol -140
protocol -156
protocol -168
protocol -180
protocol -186
protocol -201
protocol -203

I’m not sure where to go from here to try and pick up more devices/frequencies, specifically my gas meter reporting at a 900 mhz frequency.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks
Scott

Far from am expert, but I know in general utilities have shifted to not sending this data unencrypted anymore (mainly talking new deployments). In my specific case, I know all 3 of my utilities are broadcast but I was never able to pick anything useable up with an SDR.

1 Like

Good to know, I guess it could be that.

I’ve also been trying to pick up the wireless signals that my utility sends re. my gas consumption - no luck so far.

Came across this last week - just gathering the parts to try that :face_with_open_eyes_and_hand_over_mouth:

tronikos/esphome-magnetometer-water-gas-meter: Using ESP8266 or ESP32 and QMC5883L or HMC5883L, a triple-axis magnetometer, to read your water meter or gas meter

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That’s actually how I ended up capturing both my natural gas and water. Gas works great, water has been finicky but I strongly suspect that comes down to having had to make a longer wiring run to reach my meter.

2 Likes

I think this approach may be beyond reasonable for me. Our gas meter is outside on our side yard, not near anything. Sigh.

I hear you! It was just an approach I came across the other day.

I’ll probably be struggling through this as well, but - given that other folks really seem to have gotten it to work - I might actually (eventually?) succeed :stuck_out_tongue:

First thing to check would be looking up if RTL433 supports your device.

Itron doesnt shown, so no luck ;(
With 900 MHz you mean 915 band which is supported by rtl433?