Evohome / Evotouch Wireless protocol?

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r_255
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Re: Evohome / Evotouch Wireless protocol?

Post by r_255 »

Robert, couldnt it be possible to snif the packes with the rf12 ?
i saw something about a spectrum analyzer for the jeenode board...
could this be worth a try ?

If thats the case i could have a try on analyzing the packages that fly thru the air here and publish them.
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Re: Evohome / Evotouch Wireless protocol?

Post by Bwired »

I see there is a lot of interest in a good radiator valve. For years lots of members are in need of this (including me :) )
Would be great if we can pull it off, I think there is enough knowledge (Hard & Software) on the forum (topic) to get this done.
I think we should talk to crazydiamond, I think his ideas are very good and I also think he has the knowledge :)
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crazydiamond
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Re: Evohome / Evotouch Wireless protocol?

Post by crazydiamond »

@r_255, BWired... Sorry, I frequently checked the first page for interest, but did not see the second page... I was about to write a progress report last week... Sorry again.

As a beginning: some part numbers are mistyped: the unit has a Samsung K4M64163PK SDRAM.
There also must be an AT25DF161 or an AT25DF321A somewhere on the board, the firmware can handle both of them.
I will try to avoid to enter the hardware details of the evotouch controller, if someone interested, let me know, I will try to gather the information I have into a readable form.

Sniffing:
The frequency ~is 868.300 [it is (factory) programmable, stored in flash E], the modulation is GFSK, the bitrate used is 38400 baud.
The exact default values @26.000MHz quartz: 868.338745117188, f_IF = 152340.0 Hz, channel spacing: 199.951 kHz
If you need the exact parameters of CC1101, I will let you know how evotouch initializes it.

If you looking for a sniffer device: I ordered busware.de CC1101-USB-Lite 868MHz (CUL). http://www.busware.de/tiki-index.php?page=CUL
(It is also CC1101 based @26M, all registers accessible, so there will not be problems, but I have to write a custom firmware for evoTouch sniffing/communication; if someone needs it let me know)
I have chosen this unit, because it can be used not only for sniffing, but for transmission as well, so it is suitable as the RF part of a future PC-based system.
It will be shipped next week and as soon as I have the results I will let you know if it worth purchasing.
I also ordered a set of evotouch for testing purposes (as my wife will kill me if I brick my controller in the middle of the heating season :) ).

If I may add, simple brute-force sniffing will not result in fast success, as the protocol is using a channel coding and the communication also depends on a magic from the current device ID.
Anyway, after knowing the algorithm, sniffing logs may be used for verification and reveal not-yet-known communication.

The hardware of the evotouch controller and the protocol itself is ~90% mapped, I need to make some real tests before publishing something full of errors.

Good hunters do not drink for the skin of the bear before shot, so I will let you know my plans later, after the very first step succeed.
Hopefully I will able to control the valves and the boiler relay end of next week.

From the point of first successful control attempt I am seeking for help to double-check my results and documentation.
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Re: Evohome / Evotouch Wireless protocol?

Post by Bwired »

Hi
No problem, great that you did not forget :), take your time, lost of members are following you!
Looks all very promising, if you have a breakthrough I (we) could help testing, will buy some Honeywell stuff etc. if nessecary.
good luck!
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Re: Evohome / Evotouch Wireless protocol?

Post by r_255 »

Great,

Well there is no rush here, i am more than happy with you falling out of the sky :D
Just yell and i will buy the stick so i can try confrim what you have found out.

Thanks for the warning about the sniffing, most of this ( electronics/microcontroller ) stuff is still new to me and i just had my 1st steps in the jeenode world
( arduino based board with a rf12b tranciever ) so i stil have a lot to learn.

Its really appreciated you are willing to share your knowledgement about this subject and if there is any need for compenstation for like the evo controller i am more than willing to contribute.

Grtz

Robin
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Re: Evohome / Evotouch Wireless protocol?

Post by Digit »

Hi,

I've been looking for a better solution for controlling the temperatures in our house and everytime I come back to EvoHome...
So I decided to join the club :)
I'm going to buy a small set of EvoHome hardware and a CUL so I can participate in this.

As a side-project I am also going to buy this module:
http://www.elechouse.com/elechouse/inde ... cts_id=802
This is a CC1101 module that can be attached to an Arduino.
I want to see if this combination brings the same results, cause I'm more familiar with Arduino platform and it would save me another tool-chain to get used to.

The question I have right now is: what would be the smartest set of Evohome hardware to buy, considering the exchange of sniff logs.
I mean, maybe it's smarter to not all buy exactly the same set of hardware, but have some variations in valves, room thermostats, etc.?
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Access Evotouch via Atmel SAM-BA

Post by helge »

Just got my evohome/evotouch and was interested about that USB port...
Once you connect it with the device on, you get a USB error (Device is VID=0000, PID=0000).
Take out one battery, then connect the device, and put the battery back in. Voila! The device installs as a new USB COM port (Win7 recognizes it as "WinARM GPS Camera Detect" falsely).

OK, next download SAM-BA 2.10 from http://www.atmel.com/dyn/products/tools ... ol_id=3883
and install it.

When starting the tool, you'll be asked for the COM port your evotouch installed on earlier. I just chose the board type mentioned earlier in this thread.
sam-ba_01.gif
sam-ba_01.gif (8.77 KiB) Viewed 23468 times
There's an error msg, continue with <yes>:
sam-ba_02.gif
sam-ba_02.gif (7.67 KiB) Viewed 23468 times
After that, you'll see the SAM-BA UI.
sam-ba_03.gif
sam-ba_03.gif (65.28 KiB) Viewed 23468 times
I hope this is a good starting point for doing some further research... :)
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Re: Evohome / Evotouch Wireless protocol?

Post by Bwired »

This weekend I also ordered a EVO Home set and a CUL.
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Re: Evohome / Evotouch Wireless protocol?

Post by Digit »

Today my Elechouse CC1101 module arrived. I had some other things on my mind this evening, but maybe I'll find some time later this week.
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Re: Evohome / Evotouch Wireless protocol?

Post by edek »

It has been quiet for ten moths, still no luck with the protocol? I'm going to order the Evotouch radiator set, everytime the fire is burning in our fireplace the rest of the house freezes up. Would be nice if we could also find a way to control it through homeseer or another interface.
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Re: Evohome / Evotouch Wireless protocol?

Post by r_255 »

Well i still had some hope on crazy diamond who has decoded a part of the protocol. But i guess after 10 months that is kind of silly.

So yes we are stuck on this one....
edek
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Re: Evohome / Evotouch Wireless protocol?

Post by edek »

Well, still ordered the radiator pack, using it without HS will still be an improvement on my current thermostat system.

Had some problems getting it to work with my modulating central heating unit. The Evotouch was able to turn on the heating, but after that it didn't stop heating anymore, temperature went through the roof. Tried everything, even ordered a new R8810A modulating control unit. I think i finally fixed it, after pairing the Evotouch with the R8810A modulating control, i had to completely reset my central heating system. After that regulating the heating is working ok, with one zone. Tomorrow i will trie to add two new zones, see if it keeps working.

Question: the Evotouch beeps every minute (or so), very annoying. Can this be turned off?

Thanks.
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Re: Evohome / Evotouch Wireless protocol?

Post by Digit »

I've had some problems with Evohome Evotouch in the beginning too. My central heating kept on pumping heat into our house :(
Only after I disconnected the outside temp sensor, the Evotouch was able to take control of my Remeha Calenta.

I have never experienced a beeping Evotouch; it never beeps... No messages on the screen saying something's wrong?
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Re: Evohome / Evotouch Wireless protocol?

Post by edek »

Stupid me: it beeps when it's not placed in the dock, just to alarm you that it's on battery power. Can't find that anywhere in the manual.
Did a reset to factory settings yesterday, everything seemed to work fine, when I raised the asking temperature a couple degrees the heating switched on, when I lowered it below the current temp the heating would switch off. This morning it started heating as programmed at 8 o'clock, but the temperature went over the asked temp and it wouldn't stop heating. I raised the asked temp on the Evotouch to a point above the current temp, lowered it below the current temp, and then it wouls switch off.
Strange and unwanted behaviour. Any ideas?

btw: i removed all zones except the Evotouch controlled zone, and didn't paired with the outside temp sensor yet.
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Re: Evohome / Evotouch Wireless protocol?

Post by Digit »

I don't have an answer for that; I know that configuring the EvoHome can be a bit complicated; you have to assign thermostats to zones etcetera, IIRC.. does this ring a bell for you?
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