OTGW with USB doesn't work.

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roblom
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OTGW with USB doesn't work.

Post by roblom »

I've recently bought an Okit kit. I firstly noticed that there was no instructions added to the kit, I received some short notice that there was something changed so there was a IC not needed anymore and therefore I had to add some connections. Also the connections for the USB cable there it's no instruction on where to put the red wire, so I assumed that it doesn't need to be connected.
With a lot of searching on the internet I've managed to put everything together.
After the soldering I followed the test instructions on the page below.
http://otgw.tclcode.com/debugging.html#power
Everything was ok but only due to the changes to the RS232 connection a section of this test protocol isn't correct anymore so I wasn't able to fulfill this section.
Now when I connect the OTGW to my laptop it was able to connect using the opentherm software. But when I connect my remeha calenta and iSense thermostat the diagnostic menu came up. When I try the diagnostic tests option 2, 3 and 4 dies nothing. Test 1 I'm not able to do because there where no LED's in the kit and no clear instructions how to connect them. Test 5 gives some voltages but it gives also voltages when the OTGW isn't connected to the boiler and thermostat.
Besides the fact that the OTGW doesn't work, when the boiler and the thermostat is connected to the OTGW the thermostat isn't able to make a connection to the boiler and the boiler is going to raise the room temperature.
Hope somebody can help me with this.
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Re: OTGW with USB doesn't work.

Post by hvxl »

roblom wrote:Test 5 gives some voltages
What were they? It's hard to help if you keep your test results secret.

It seems you must have stopped about halfway through the troubleshooting instructions. At least you didn't mention that you ever loaded the gateway firmware. So, proceed with that and then continue the troubleshooting procedure from the Slave Interface section. Maybe all you need is to change the reference voltage.
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roblom
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Re: OTGW with USB doesn't work.

Post by roblom »

It's of course not a secret but the values seems a bit random to me because they vary. Pressing number 5 a few times after each other gives:
Thermostat: 3.96
Boiler: 4.04, 4.06
Reference: 1.21

Thermostat: 3.95
Boiler: 4.04, 4.07
Reference: 1.21

Thermostat: 4.04
Boiler: 4.15
Reference: 1.21
I came to the following line in the troubleshooting.
Start a terminal emulator program on your computer (like hypertherm or minicom) and configure it for the serial port the gateway is connected to at 9600 baud, 8 bits, no parity. You can also use my Opentherm Monitor utility.
As the following sentence is
When you reapply the mains power to the gateway you should see a message saying "OpenTherm Gateway 4.1". If you see only garbage appearing on the screen, there may be a baud rate mismatch.
I expected the Opentherm Monitor utility should give me the message "OpenTherm Gateway 4.1" in the log tab. But nothing came.

Tried also another serial program but when I reapply the mains power to the gateway the same "Opentherm gateway diagnostics - Version 1.0" appears.

When i measure the voltages on IC1 i get (between () the voltage what it should be):
pin1=1,22V (1.25V)
pin2=0V (0V)
pin3=0,02V (4.5V)
pin4=4,96V (5V)
pin8=3,78V (5V)
pin9=5,02V (5V)
pin10=5,02V (5V)
pin11=4,85V (5V)
pin12=5,03V (5V)
pin13=5,03V (5V)
pin17=3,95V (3.5V)
When serial transmission from the gateway to the PC is working, you can also try to send a command to the gateway. If you type and enter "PR=B" (this may not be echoed to your screen) you should get the date and time the firmware was built. For version 4.1 that is supposed to be "12:16 29-11-2014" ("12:31 02-02-2012" for version 2.1).
When I try the above I get:

Code: Select all

Connecting to COM port /dev/ttyS2...

- Press ESC,S to send file using x/y/zmodem
- Press ESC,R to receive file using x/y/zmodem
- Press ESC,Q to exit

PR=B
Invalid test
Opentherm gateway diagnostics - Version 1.0

1. LED test
2. Bit timing thermostat
3. Bit timing boiler
4. Delay symmetry
5. Voltage leves

Enter test number:
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Re: OTGW with USB doesn't work.

Post by hvxl »

The troubleshooting instructions were written with the assumption that the device is loaded with the gateway firmware. You are running the diagnostics firmware. So obviously some things will behave a bit differently. But I suggest you hold off on loading the gateway firmware for a while because there is something wrong with the slave interface part that should be sorted out first.

Was test #5 executed as instructed with the thermostat connected? In that case I expect two values to be reported for the thermostat. One around 0.8V and the other around 2V. You are only getting 4V. That's way too high, even without a thermostat. With the specified transformer, it should not be possible to get more than about 3V. There appears to be something wrong with R5, R6, or both. Check that R5 is 33k (orange, orange, orange) and R6 is 4k7 (yellow, violet, red).
Schelte
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Re: OTGW with USB doesn't work.

Post by roblom »

The troubleshooting instructions were written with the assumption that the device is loaded with the gateway firmware. You are running the diagnostics firmware. So obviously some things will behave a bit differently. But I suggest you hold off on loading the gateway firmware for a while because there is something wrong with the slave interface part that should be sorted out first.
How should I know that there is a diagnostics firmware installed by default and that I should load a gateway firmware? I'm not stupid but for you it's clear because you probably spend a few years on this. For me it's all new and my learning curve should be a lot faster when I have some instructions on how to set up the OTGW I bought for €95. After I received the kit and noticed there where no instructions I've spend a few day's in searching for one, but http://otgw.tclcode.com provides the most infromation but not really a how-to or am I missing something?

Anyway, back to the test, below some test 5 results with no boiler or thermostat connected.
Thermostat: 0.95, 1.26, 1.77
Boiler: 0.29
Reference: 1.21

Thermostat: 0.79
Boiler: 0.29
Reference: 1.21


Thermostat: 0.69
Boiler: 0.30
Reference: 1.21

Thermostat: 0.65
Boiler: 0.30
Reference: 1.21

Thermostat: 0.65
Boiler: 0.29
Reference: 1.21
Test 5 right after only the thermostat is connected:
Thermostat: 0.47, 0.79, 1.74, 1.94, 2.25, 2.56
Boiler: 0.43, 0.91, 1.16, 1.27, 1.59, 2.09, 2.47, 2.52
Reference: 1.21

Thermostat: 1.02, 1.26, 2.18, 2.47, 2.72, 3.02, 3.13
Boiler: 0.77, 1.18, 1.84, 2.41, 2.77, 3.09, 3.17
Reference: 1.21

Thermostat: 0.89, 1.24, 1.28, 1.63, 2.16, 2.19, 2.50, 3.11, 3.13
Boiler: 2.74, 3.11, 3.15, 3.46
Reference: 1.21

Thermostat: 1.41, 1.70, 2.15, 2.33, 2.78, 2.89
Boiler: 3.23, 3.70, 3.78
Reference: 1.21

Thermostat: 1.80, 2.49, 2.59, 3.11
Boiler: 3.11, 3.17, 3.56, 3.75
Reference: 1.21

Thermostat: 2.17, 2.45, 2.64, 3.05, 3.13
Boiler: 3.40, 3.68, 3.95
Reference: 1.21
R5 and R6 are correct (I triple checked everything before I plugged it in, but checked R5 and R6 a fourth time now and they are correct).
I cannot explain why the values where that high yesterday...
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Re: OTGW with USB doesn't work.

Post by hvxl »

roblom wrote:How should I know that there is a diagnostics firmware installed by default and that I should load a gateway firmware?
Maybe because the webshop site mentions it: "This product comes with a pre-programmed PIC with diagnostic firmware. To use this product as an opentherm gateway you have to load the correct firmware." I have also mentioned it in a number of recent topics on the forum.

The web shop site also provides documents on how to assemble and configure the USB and LAN versions. I have not been involved with those versions, so my site only describes the RS232 version. If you are having trouble putting those pieces together, don't get upset with me. I'm only trying to help. But if you have concrete suggestions on how to improve my web site, please let me know.


Anyway...
Now you get very low numbers with the thermostat disconnected. That's also not right. As I mentioned, without a thermostat you should see around 3V. You also observed that the values fluctuate. That sounds like a loose connection somewhere and the input is just floating. Please check that all connections around IC1 pin 17 and R5 and R6 match up with the schematic. Have the components been soldered properly, is IC1 sitting correctly in its socket, have the contacts in the socket not been bent, etc.?
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Re: OTGW with USB doesn't work.

Post by roblom »

I resoldered every soldering and probably there was some soldering a bit loose. When I now do test 5 of the diagnostics I get the following values.
Thermostat: 2.80, 2.87
Boiler: 2.77, 2.82, 3.14
Reference: 1.21

Thermostat: 2.80, 2.82
Boiler: 3.12, 3.26
Reference: 1.21

Thermostat: 2.77, 2.85
Boiler: 2.80, 2.88, 3.19
Reference: 1.21

Thermostat: 2.80, 2.84
Boiler: 3.07, 3.36
Reference: 1.21

Thermostat: 2.73, 2.81
Boiler: 3.09, 3.24
Reference: 1.21
Looks more stable to me and also around 3V.
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Re: OTGW with USB doesn't work.

Post by roblom »

With the boiler and thermostat connected I get for test 5:
Thermostat: 1.23, 1.28, 2.16, 2.20
Boiler: 3.36
Reference: 1.21

Thermostat: 1.23, 1.25, 2.18, 2.20
Boiler: 3.37
Reference: 1.21

Thermostat: 1.23, 1.25, 2.17, 2.20
Boiler: 3.35
Reference: 1.21

Thermostat: 1.21, 1.27, 2.17, 2.19
Boiler: 3.36
Reference: 1.21
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Re: OTGW with USB doesn't work.

Post by hvxl »

The thermostat side looks much better now. You basically get two distinct values: Low - around 1.25V, and high - around 2.18V. Since the low value is above the reference, the gateway doesn't send anything to the boiler. You can correct that by lowering the value of R6 (place another high value resistor in parallel with it) or, once you load the gateway firmware, by adjusting the reference voltage.

But don't load the gateway firmware yet, because the measurements for the boiler are still not what I expect. They should be (way) below the reference value, almost 0V. The weird thing is that you get those high values even without a boiler connected. Then there is very little that could cause that. Is your PC827 in a socket? If so, can you pull it out and run test #5 again?
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Re: OTGW with USB doesn't work.

Post by roblom »

But what should I do first now?
- Adding the resistor (replace also possible?) And how high is high?
- Load the gateway firmware and adjust the reference voltage or not? (your answer is a bit contradicting in that).
- remove the PC827 (yes it's in a socket).

Question aside, is the gateway supplying energy for my iSense or do I need to place the batteries in it?
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Re: OTGW with USB doesn't work.

Post by hvxl »

What I was trying to say was that there's still a minor problem on the thermostat side, but that's easily fixable. We now first need to figure out why the boiler side is giving strange readings. So, the next step is to remove OK1 and run test #5 again.
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Re: OTGW with USB doesn't work.

Post by roblom »

With or without the boiler and thermostat connected?
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Re: OTGW with USB doesn't work.

Post by hvxl »

Yes.
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Re: OTGW with USB doesn't work.

Post by roblom »

You can't answer an "or" question with "yes" :D

(Sorry for being annoying but I try to do it right).
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Re: OTGW with USB doesn't work.

Post by roblom »

The test results of test 5 WITHOUT boiler and thermostat connected and WITHOUT OK1.
Thermostat: 1.67
Boiler: 3.87
Reference: 1.22

Thermostat: 1.67
Boiler: 3.88
Reference: 1.22

Thermostat: 1.67
Boiler: 3.88
Reference: 1.21

Thermostat: 1.68
Boiler: 3.90
Reference: 1.21
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