I recently acquired a few PR52-33A temperature/humidity nodes and see that the design has been revised from the ones I had purchased in 2024.
I need to be able to configure the following on these nodes:
Network ID (ID)
Delay/Sample Rate (Is this IR?)
Power (PL)
Encryption Key (KY)
Network Hops (NH)
For the previous gen/batch I configured I used a modem set to network ID 7BCD and put the temp/humidity node in configuration mode with the reset → 6sec config button combo. I then used XCTU to use the network discovery scan to set the network hops (NH) variable (since that isn’t a field in alpha station). Afterwards, I power cycle the node and then used Alpha Station to configure the rest of the parameters.
Since these new nodes appear to be intended to be configured differently, what would be the best way to configure these parameters. I do not see the necessary fields to do those config parameters within node-red.
It also appears the behavior to get the node to appear with the XCTU discover scan is also no longer the same.
You can still put these in CFG mode and configure using XCTU. Our new approach to configuration is using a single command over the air, but the old approach will still work. These won’t work with Alpha Station.
For Network ID and Delay, Instead of using individual commands, you can now use this single master command to perform the configuration:
6C 00 00 7F FF 00 00 FF FF 01 00 00 00 1E
You can try to use the sync mode, please follow these steps:
Be sure your modem is in 0x7FFF Network ID.
Prepare this ‘extend configuration mode’ command on XCTU:
Complete: 7E 00 13 10 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 FF FF FF FE 00 00 F7 36 00 00 00 C7
Command: F7 36 00 00 00 Note: Sending the ‘Extend’ command will keep your sensor in configuration mode for 30 seconds. You can send the command again to add another 30 seconds, up to a maximum total timeout of 2 minutes.
Prepare the ‘master command’ on XCTU, this is the complete command you can use as reference, just replace the desired bytes:
Complete example: 7E 00 1C 10 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 FF FF FF FE 00 00 6C 00 00 7F FF 00 00 FF FF 01 00 00 00 1E ED
Command example: 6C 00 00 7F FF 00 00 FF FF 01 00 00 00 1E
Command Structure:
6C - Reserved
0000 - Reserved
7FFF → Network ID
0000FFFF → Destination Address
01 → Node ID
00 00 00 1E –> Delay/Sample Rate (in seconds).
Press and release the RESET button on your device. It will send the RUN, sensor data, and FLY packets.
Immediately after you see the third packet, transmit the ‘Extend’ command.
As soon as you get the ‘Receive Packet’, transmit the master command.
Wait for the next ‘Receive Packet’.
Transmit the individual commands one by one, making sure to wait for a ‘Receive Packet’ between each transmission.
Once completed, wait for the sync_end command response. It should look like this: 5F 00 05 1B 08 ... This means the sensor has successfully returned to Run mode automatically.
Note: replace your desired settings on command examples.
Please try these steps and share your results.
Thank you.
@Eduardo_Mtz Thanks for the response. First off, I would like to know how to properly get these devices into configuration mode through normal means rather than this rather unintuitive work around. I opened up another one of the 5 PR52-33A units and attempted to get it into configuration mode following the steps and it too would not send any frames on 7BCD.
I have several questions regarding all these hex values. To confirm, this is my understanding based upon your provided example 7E 00 1C 10 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 FF FF FF FE 00 00 6C 00 00 7F FF 00 00 FF FF 01 00 00 00 1E ED I
Start Delimiter -> 7E
Length -> 00 1C
Frame Type -> 10
Frame ID -> 00
64 bit dest. addr -> 00 00 00 00 00 00 FF FF
16 bit dest. addr -> FF FE
Broadcast radius -> 00
Options -> 00
Data -> 6C 00 00 7F FF 00 00 FF FF 01 00 00 00 1E
Checksum -> ED
As for the data:
6C - Reserved
0000 - Reserved
7FFF → Network ID
0000FFFF → Destination Address
01 → Node ID
00 00 00 1E –> Delay/Sample Rate (in seconds).
For network ID, is this supposed to be the ID I want the node to be set to rather than what it is currently configured to?
Destination address is 32 bits, are you just slicing the first 32 bits (00 13 A2 00) off and using the remainder of the address here?
Is there a way determine node ID programmatically? Is 01 for the PR52-33A? I see that it is part of the json in node-red, assuming that is the same node ID that needs to be set here. But if there is a table or some other way to get this info it would be ideal.
For the PL Command, you provided the following data: F7 04 00 00 01 02
What bit(s)/hex values do I need to set for the values? I don’t know the breakdown of that data structure since this your internal format. For example, what bit(s) to set for a value of 02 vs 03?
Does the Network ID, Node ID, etc apply to this data structure?
The same questions remain for the encryption key. I don’t know your internal data structure and the data string you provided is far longer than the KY value intended to be set. I think it would be best to setup a time to discuss this. I also have questions on what would I need to do if I decide to change some of these values at some point in the future. For instance, do these devices listen on their configured device ID for commands? Do they periodically switch to a predetermined network ID asking for any config changes? Etc.
Additionally, if you have Node-RED already installed, you can use it to configure the sensor settings (Node ID, Delay, network ID, Destination Address, Power) using new Sync, the procedure is straightforward. Let me share you a guide here:
Could you give a try and share your results.
Could you share a video of your test in XCTU? The sensor should send the PGM packet upon entering configuration mode; it is strange that it isn’t sending any frames in 7BCD.
But after changing the network ID on the the modem to 7BCD and then going through the reset->config button procedure I am not getting any frames, so there isn’t much to show on a video:
Does this master command mean that I should be following different instructions than the ones provided by @Eduardo_Mtz ?
Do you have any documentation on this master command, how to send it, the frame structure, examples, etc?
If the instructions do not differ, could @Eduardo_Mtz explain the data frame portion structure for the encryption key (KY), and how to set network hops (NH)?
For KY, the example command was F2 03 00 00 01 00 11 22 11 22 11 22 11 22 33 44 33 44 33 44 33 44, what portions of that frame are reserved and what is the key.
Also, part of his instructions said to wait for a FLY command, but I do not think these nodes send that?
@Eduardo_Mtz is working on a document explaining how to configure the Gen4 devices. We have not had a need for manual configuration on these devices before, which is why it took some time to gather the necessary information.
We never set the hops using the MCU; you will need to configure that directly in the radio.
Yes I was aware that the ability to set NH was not a parameter/option you exposed on any of the software (alpha station) or package (node-red-enterprise-sensors).
For the previous generation temp/humidity nodes I would place them in config mode with the button combo procedure. I then used XCTU with a connected modem and use the network discovery scan which would discover the node and I would be able to set parameters including the network hops (NH). I had posted about it a while back which Increasing max number of hops - #7 by duelingcats
I am hoping with this new gen I can still configure this parameter via network discovery method mentioned previously or some other wireless communication so I don’t need to pull out the Xbee module and place it in a USB programmer for each one. Is that doable?
@Bhaskar So far I am still not having success in configuring parameters with XCTU. I powered on the temp/humidity node and send the extend config mode data frame. I then see a response from the device.
I then clicked the discovery scan button and saw the module appear. Once I add it, it tries to read all the different parameters of the module and after a long time (it attempts to read each parameter until it times out one after another) I get a error stating none of the settings could be read. I then tried to read the network ID parameter manually, by clicking the refresh button beside Network ID, but it fails as well.
Hi @duelingcats let me share with you the complete XCTU command list (I’ve attached xml file), it also includes:
Extend_otf_cfg_mode: to extend the configuration mode timeout (just in case it would be necessary).
Network Hops Remote AT Command: used to set the NH.
Write to memory Remote AT Command: used to write the NH command into memory, value will persist on reboot.
Important: You will need to replace your sensor target MAC address on AT commands.
You can use this attached procedure. Encryption key should be last one to send, If you send earlier you will loose communication. command_list.xml (1.0 KB) guide.pdf (347.1 KB)
