Trying to understand modbus with a ESP32

ESPHome
1

I am trying to connect a RS485 soil sensor to an ESP32, and then to Home Assistant via ESPHome.

I have both a MAX485 to TTL transceiver and a TTL to RS485 converter, but I cannot seem to find a tutorial or blog or forum post that can help guide me.

Apparently, the previous small projects that I’ve undertaken with Home Assistant and ESPHome don’t compare in complexity, and I’ve reached the limits of my understanding.

Is what I’m trying to do possible? I have tried reading the Modbus Controller documentation, but I’m a bit lost. Sorry if this seems so very basic.

2

So start with the docs for your rs485 device. Where are they?

3

Why both, you only need one of them.
Modbus on esphome is quite straightforward, but you need parameters and addresses of your sensor.