Assist Tellstick users to configure remotes in /etc/tellstick.conf
Note: Uses python library tellcore-py, which can be installed with
pip3 install tellcore-py
unless you already have it (which you do if you are using Home Assistant)
I found that it would be useful to get my home automation system (Home Assistant) to be able to react to wall remotes, or magnetic door sensors, in order to trigger more complex functionality (through scripting) than simply turning lamps on and off. This required teaching my Tellstick Duo to react to signals from wall remote, which meant that /etc/tellstick.conf needs to have an entry like this:
device {
id = 101
name = "Sensor Front Door"
protocol = "arctech"
model = "codeswitch"
parameters {
house = "56981162"
unit = "16"
}
}
The parameters (house and unit) can be found with the tellcore_events script (from tellcore-py), which can listen to raw events picked up by the Tellstick Duo.
hacker@pannrummet:~$ tellcore_events --raw
[RAW] 1 <- class:command;protocol:arctech;model:selflearning;house:10975066;unit:12;group:0;method:turnon;
[RAW] 1 <- class:command;protocol:sartano;model:codeswitch;code:0010011010;method:turnoff;
[RAW] 1 <- class:command;protocol:arctech;model:selflearning;house:10975066;unit:12;group:0;method:turnon;
[RAW] 1 <- class:command;protocol:sartano;model:codeswitch;code:0010011010;method:turnoff;
[RAW] 1 <- class:command;protocol:arctech;model:selflearning;house:10975066;unit:12;group:0;method:turnon;
[RAW] 1 <- class:command;protocol:sartano;model:codeswitch;code:0010011010;method:turnoff;
[RAW] 1 <- class:command;protocol:arctech;model:selflearning;house:39041965;unit:14;group:0;method:turnoff;
[RAW] 1 <- class:command;protocol:sartano;model:codeswitch;code:0100110100;method:turnon;
[RAW] 1 <- class:command;protocol:arctech;model:selflearning;house:10975066;unit:12;group:0;method:turnon;
[RAW] 1 <- class:command;protocol:sartano;model:codeswitch;code:0010011010;method:turnoff;
[RAW] 1 <- class:command;protocol:arctech;model:selflearning;house:5487533;unit:14;group:0;method:turnoff;
[RAW] 1 <- class:command;protocol:sartano;model:codeswitch;code:0100110100;method:turnon;
[RAW] 1 <- class:command;protocol:arctech;model:selflearning;house:10975066;unit:12;group:0;method:turnon;
[RAW] 1 <- class:command;protocol:sartano;model:codeswitch;code:0010011010;method:turnoff;
The above is the output after pressing the remote a couple of times. As you can see, each press on the remote sends several codes,
but not all codes are sent every time. If you want the remote to work properly, you should configure it with one of the codes that are always received. This script helps you identify which combination you should use. It captures all raw events and counts them so it's easier to see the codes that always work (both for "on" and "off" presses). After each event, it prints a (sorted) list of the number of times each event has been received. Start it with python3 tellcore-remote-spy and press "on" and "off" on your remote a number of times. After a few presses, the output should look something like this:
----
class:command;protocol:sartano;model:codeswitch;code:0100110100;: 1
class:command;protocol:arctech;model:selflearning;house:2743766;unit:3;group:1;: 1
class:command;protocol:arctech;model:selflearning;house:5487533;unit:14;group:0;: 1
class:command;protocol:arctech;model:selflearning;house:59406197;unit:10;group:1;: 1
class:command;protocol:sartano;model:codeswitch;code:1011101001;: 1
class:command;protocol:arctech;model:selflearning;house:2743766;unit:7;group:1;: 2
class:command;protocol:sartano;model:codeswitch;code:1001101001;: 2
class:command;protocol:sartano;model:codeswitch;code:0101110100;: 2
class:command;protocol:arctech;model:selflearning;house:10975021;unit:6;group:0;: 2
class:command;protocol:sartano;model:codeswitch;code:0010111010;: 9
class:command;protocol:sartano;model:codeswitch;code:0010011010;: 13
class:command;protocol:arctech;model:selflearning;house:10975066;unit:12;group:0;: 22
From this output, it's clear that the correct entry in /etc/tellstick.conf should be the below, as it's captured 22 times in total:
device {
id = 200
name = "My remote"
protocol = "arctech"
model = "selflearning-switch"
parameters {
house = "10975066"
unit = "12"
}
}
Note that for the parameter "model", the value "selflearning" from the raw event should be written as "selflearning-switch" in tellstick.conf
After adding the above to /etc/tellstick.conf and restarting telldusd, your Duo will now receive events from your remote:
hacker@pannrummet:~$ tellcore_events --device
[DEVICE] 200 -> turn on
[DEVICE] 200 -> turn off
Now you can configure your home automation system to react on remote presses! You can use this to activate scenes with a wall remote, or you can have a "dinner is ready" remote in the kitchen that sends an notification to all devices in the household, or whatever else you can come up with!