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! 
@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 
@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:
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?
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 .
Ok, could it be that it is also due to the Rasberry PI4, I am using a Raspberry P3B with firmware 4.14.93-Re4son-v7 +.
Maybe you can sell NANO-CUL to-masz
see: Question on NANO-CUL (mbus) 868 Mhz · Issue #3 · zibous/ha-watermeter · GitHub
Hi, I’ve just had a meter installed by Severn Trent in the UK:
I’m getting the following from the test:
15:10:45 [D] [wmbus:184]
Meter ID [0x32502971] RSSI: -63 dBm LQI: 128 Mode: T1 not found in configuration T: 5E44A511712950327C077A18005005957E2B712BFB380A541D21A79AD7D3A68964CC4BE9A11C894BF7350D19FD8CFA9CFDFCFDFEB821FF4AB827ACBCFAD4ED0F53E60F742C34129B9309914F693680667F1B9D61DF866FF1CF0995C1F78290 (95)
The messages I get don’t seem to analyse properly. https://wmbusmeters.org/analyze/5E44A511712950327C077A18005005957E2B712BFB380A541D21A79AD7D3A68964CC4BE9A11C894BF7350D19FD8CFA9CFDFCFDFEB821FF4AB827ACBCFAD4ED0F53E60F742C34129B9309914F693680667F1B9D61DF866FF1CF0995C1F78290
Any guidance at all on what i’m doing wrong?
I also get one random message of length 47:
15:47:24 [I] [wmbus:084]
Using driver ‘izar’ for ID [0x32502971] RSSI: -60 dBm LQI: 128 Mode: T1 T: 2E44A511712950327C077A1B0020255880EB29D37780CA3BB0E8FE42B85E3AB5F30BDFDEBCF2866DF956FB3C27E84A (47)
It seems to indicate an encryption key is required. Is that right? If so, where would I get this from and how do I add it to the configuration?
Hi @jamesdean, ST Water have just upgraded water meter to the same as yours - IZAR RC 868 i W G4.
Did you manage to make get yours working? I’ve tried using a ESP32/CC1101 approach (GitHub - zibous/ha-watermeter: Data provider for smartmeter watermeter.) but it doesn’t seem to pick anything up in the test.
It may be due to the following reasons:
- ESP32 + CC1101 is not working properly (but should be visible in the logging).
- Watermeter is too far away or provides a weak signal.
- You need a key to decode the telegram
For testing you can find ready-made firmware here:
1 Like
Hi Amardeep, ST Water recently installed an IZAR RC 868 i W G4 meter outside my property and I am interested in creating a device to obtain the water useage reading without having to go outside the property.
Prior to purchasing any items I would appreciate if you could let me know if you manage to get your ESP32/CC1101 device to obtain the readings.
Any guidance you could provide would be appreciated.
Hi jamesdean, ST Water recently installed an IZAR RC 868 i W G4 meter outside my property and I am interested in creating a device to obtain the water useage reading without having to go outside the property.
Did you manage to resolve the issues that you had?
I would appreciate any guidance that you could provide regarding hardware used and if an encryption key is required.
Sadly not. I managed to get a connection, however ST refused to hand over the encryption key. It sounds like they use one key for all meters!
Thanks for your reply, it’s doubtful then that it will be possible to obtain the encryption key but if I see anything I will let you know.