Watermeter - DIEHL IZAR RC I R4 - How to do?

Does anyone know of a way how I can read out the data from the DIEHL IZAR RC I R4 (water meter)? I would like to evaluate and display the data in the Homeassistant application.

DIEHL IZAR RC I R4

IZAR Radio Compact Inductive R4 is designed for mobile reading and long-range fixed network remote reading of Diehl Metering water meters

IZAR RC i R4 includes an electronic circuit that collects the data coming from a Diehl Metering water meter and transmits in real time the index and other operating information every 8 seconds in R3 mode and every 15 minutes in long-range fixed network R4 mode.

Communication protocol PRIOS
Frequency 868.95 or 434.47 MHz, 868.30, 433.42 MHz
Modulation FSK
Transmission power 16 mW (868 MHz) | 10 mW (434 MHz)
Transmission mode Unidirectional
Radio range Up to 500 m (R3) and 1.5 km (R4) depending on the environment
Standards EN 300 220, CE, RED directive, EN 13757-3/-4
Power supply Lithium battery 3.6 V

I am looking for a Linux application with which I can read out the data periodically.
see: https://github.com/ZeWaren/izar-prios-smart-meter-collector
But with Hardware Raspberry, ESP32 LoRa module SX1276 868 915 MHz Wifi module ??
Many thanks

A WiFi module will not work, follow your link and in the introduction is a link for the ST-Micro hardware they use.

Thanks,

Thanks, i will try wmbusmeters

Hardware

Raspberry + nano CUL 868
nano CUL 868 mit Externer Knickantenne

or
Raspberry Headless RTL-SDR
Andoer Tragbarer Mini Digitaler TV Stock USB 2.0 DVB-T + DAB + FM + RTL2832U + FC0012 Chip Unterstützung SDR

Software to turn the RTL2832U into a SDR receiver
https://osmocom.org/projects/rtl-sdr/wiki

or…
Nexmon SDR: Using the WiFi Chip on a Raspberry Pi 3B+ as a TX Capable SDR
https://www.rtl-sdr.com/nexmon-sdr-using-the-wifi-chip-on-a-raspberry-pi-3b-as-a-tx-capable-sdr/

Found a solution on how I get the data. With a Rasperry + DVB-T receiver I can query the Diehl IZAR RC 868 I R4 PL and prepare the data for home assistant use.

See: https://github.com/zibous/ha-watermeter

2 Likes

I`m trying to do the same reading from a IZAR CP 434 MHz. Do you think this software will work with a 434 MHz receiver?

Hi,
Do you mean 433 Mhz ?

How to use IZAR in 433 Mhz

see: https://github.com/weetmuts/wmbusmeters/issues/130

1 Like

No. It’s 434 MHz, like the one in the link you send.

Thanks

Hi @petsie , I just stumbled across your post here and wondered if I could use it to communicate with my sharky 775 (heat meter) or perhaps my multical 21 (water meter) - they both seems to be using the same frequency as your water meter . Do you have any idea ?

hi @cvester

It looks like that wmbusmeters can handle the Kamstrup Multical 21 (multical21) and
sharky 775 …

see: https://github.com/weetmuts/wmbusmeters
https://github.com/weetmuts/wmbusmeters/pull/247
https://github.com/weetmuts/wmbusmeters/issues?q=my+sharky+775

Project see: https://github.com/zibous/ha-watermeter

Thanks alot @petsie , I’ve now just ordered this nano cul model: https://www.smart-home-komponente.de/nano-cul/nano-cul-868-extra/

Lets see how it goes! :slight_smile:

@cvester
O.k. But be shure that you get the nano cul with the firmware for the wmbusmeters otherwise the nano cul will not work. Cross the fingers :smile:

Again I must say thanks @petsie - I think you just saved me there! :smiley:

@petsie - I just found out that my local heating company use an encryption key and they will not share it with me . So I guess I will not be able to use the nano cul anyway . Unless I manage to hack the 128 aes key and I think thats very unrealistic .

Try to find a way on wmbusmeters:

@cvester

Hi Petsie , we wrote together a couple of weeks ago . Now I have received the NANO-CUL (mbus) 868 Mhz and I have the encryption key from my local water company , but I have just installed the HA OS - which means that installing packages and expecting them to be persistent after a reboot is a little hopeless. Do you have any suggestions for me? Should I just start all over with the installation of home assistant and then start installing a normal linux ? it has to run on a pi 4

I did my installation without Docker, which is easier. wmbusmeters reads the data from the CUL device and sends it as an MQTT message. I then evaluate the MQTT messages with the home assistant or the Python script.

persistent after a reboot: Continuous Daemon/Service
You most probably want to execute the program continuously in the background . This can be done either by using the internal daemon or cron.

Systemd service - on systemd powered systems the recommended option

sudo cp /opt/ha-watermeter/template.service /etc/systemd/system/ha-watermenter.service 
sudo systemctl daemon-reload 
sudo systemctl start ha-watermeter.service 
sudo systemctl status ha-watermeter.service 
sudo systemctl enable ha-watermeter.service

Hi again , I decided to format my pi again and install a pi os , so now I have a more … complete … os to work with . I have my CUL device flashed following this guide:

I’ve never flashed a CUL device before.
My supplier (smart-home-komponente.de) did this for me.

hi again @petsie , I’ve now tried to start wmbusmeters but I just keep receiving this message:

[2021-04-13_14:06:00] Started auto cul on /dev/ttyUSB0 listening on c1
[2021-04-13_14:06:05] (cul) setting link mode(s) c1 is not supported for this cul device!

I dont know the difference between C1, T1 and S1 mode but I have flashed the device as you recommended . any suggestions?

see: wmbusmeters/README.md at master · wmbusmeters/wmbusmeters · GitHub

Same Problem was here:

hi again @petsie , have you ever received " warning: the hex string is not proper! Ignoring telegram!" like described here: (cul) warning: the hex string is not proper! Ignoring telegram! · Issue #279 · weetmuts/wmbusmeters · GitHub

As you know I’m using the nano-cul you recommend but I’m just receiving the error message above. Frederik (Wmbusmeters) suggest I use a im871a instead . But before desperatly buying one of those I wanted to hear if you know the error message .

hi @cvester

Are you sure the CUL has the correct firmware? This is not delivered with the firmware for wmbusmeters, unless it is explicitly stated when ordering. Default is FHEM platform ! The CUL must be loaded with the latest wmbus code.
Try to contact smart-home-komponente.de.

I use the CUL without Docker so that I can be shure do have no problems with the Docker installation.

I am not aware of any errors in the telegram, but it can also be caused by the hardware of the water meter.

The cheaper version is the one with a DVB-T receiver, but it requires more resources and a few more libraries.
see:

Is also more complicated and only intended for testing.
I canceled the mission productively.

Hi again @petsie , Yes I’m sure it has the mbus firmware . I have already spoken with smart-home-komponente.de and I received the firmware from them.

Just tried to reflash the device but I keep receiving formatted hex strings from the cul device:

b7E44242370491156200C7B0F7AF8007005A8C89DBBC2D0D4CF2CB54526F95FF7B32B43D0B1E3D04FADC189259C95F403EF9DAFD77167EFC91855B5A5FF0DA6D59CB9B3813CAD128D516EB14CC6F24C0D8B3243224191333425D4E0C2BA00ED9552439469144A02FAFFD6D56430EF80EC503602DEF08A5E4240C58DA29C4DA<0D><0A>

Like Frederik said:

Remove the EOL <0D><0A> and the the prefix b (which indicates a T1 message) 

Whats left:
7E44242370491156200C7B0F7AF8007005A8C89DBBC2D0D4CF2CB54526F95FF7B32B43D0B1E3D04FADC189259C95F403EF9DAFD77167EFC91855B5A5FF0DA6D59CB9B3813CAD128D516EB14CC6F24C0D8B3243224191333425D4E0C2BA00ED9552439469144A02FAFFD6D56430EF80EC503602DEF08A5E4240C58DA29C4DA

Now count the number of characters in the string:
echo -n "7E44242370491156200C7B0F7AF8007005A8C89DBBC2D0D4CF2CB54526F95FF7B32B43D0B1E3D04FADC189259C95F403EF9DAFD77167EFC91855B5A5FF0DA6D59CB9B3813CAD128D516EB14CC6F24C0D8B3243224191333425D4E0C2BA00ED9552439469144A02FAFFD6D56430EF80EC503602DEF08A5E4240C58DA29C4DA" | wc -c

And it says 253 characters, but a proper hex string must be a multiple of 2. Two hex = one byte.

I wonder if my raspberry pi can have anything to do with it . Really hoped that I didnt have to buy the iM871A as frederik suggest - it’s pretty expensive for something that MAYBE working .