Merten Connect 505xxx/506xxx - Associations not working

Discussions about existing Z-Wave device and their usage with Z-Way/Z-Cloud/Z-Box
CrazyFin
Posts: 32
Joined: 09 Jan 2016 23:54

Merten Connect 505xxx/506xxx - Associations not working

Post by CrazyFin »

I am fully aware of how problematic these old Merten switches are but since they are sooooo nice and fits my home very well I just wont give up... :D

Using for example HomeSeer 3 and Indigo I have been able to configure direct associations of both paddles to two separate devices (in my test case two one Qubino dimmer and one Fibaro roller shutter). However other functionality in these softwares makes it impossible for me to use these switches properly since the vendors claims that they can not read out which of the paddles is transmitting.

I was happy when I found the Z-Way software (running the latest version v2.1.2-rc17 on Windows 10) and saw that the software and its web gui was capabel to do a lot of nice things with the controller (mine is the Z-Wave.ME USB stick with license installed and Serial API version 5.04 and SDK version 6.51.06)

I was able to include one of my factory resetted Merten 5052xx switches into Z-Way without problems. I was also VERY happy when looking in the log that I can actually see which paddle is transmitting!

Upper left paddle
[2016-01-10 10:48:57.412] [D] [zway] RECEIVED: ( 01 0C 00 04 00 0B 06 60 06 01 20 01 FF 43 )
[2016-01-10 10:48:57.412] [D] [zway] SENT ACK
[2016-01-10 10:48:57.412] [D] [zway] SETDATA devices.11.data.lastReceived = 0 (0x00000000)
[2016-01-10 10:48:57.412] [D] [zway] SETDATA devices.1.instances.1.commandClasses.32.data.srcNodeId = 11 (0x0000000b)
[2016-01-10 10:48:57.412] [D] [zway] SETDATA devices.1.instances.1.commandClasses.32.data.srcInstanceId = 1 (0x00000001)
[2016-01-10 10:48:57.412] [D] [zway] SETDATA devices.1.instances.1.commandClasses.32.data.level = 255 (0x000000ff)

Lower left paddle
[2016-01-10 10:54:35.459] [D] [zway] RECEIVED: ( 01 0C 00 04 00 0B 06 60 06 01 20 01 00 BC )
[2016-01-10 10:54:35.459] [D] [zway] SENT ACK
[2016-01-10 10:54:35.459] [D] [zway] SETDATA devices.11.data.lastReceived = 0 (0x00000000)
[2016-01-10 10:54:35.459] [D] [zway] SETDATA devices.1.instances.1.commandClasses.32.data.srcNodeId = 11 (0x0000000b)
[2016-01-10 10:54:35.459] [D] [zway] SETDATA devices.1.instances.1.commandClasses.32.data.srcInstanceId = 1 (0x00000001)
[2016-01-10 10:54:35.459] [D] [zway] SETDATA devices.1.instances.1.commandClasses.32.data.level = 0 (0x00000000)

Upper right paddle
[2016-01-10 11:15:29.619] [D] [zway] RECEIVED: ( 01 0C 00 04 00 0B 06 60 06 03 20 01 FF 41 )
[2016-01-10 11:15:29.619] [D] [zway] SENT ACK
[2016-01-10 11:15:29.619] [D] [zway] SETDATA devices.11.data.lastReceived = 0 (0x00000000)
[2016-01-10 11:15:29.619] [D] [zway] SETDATA devices.1.instances.3.commandClasses.32.data.srcNodeId = 11 (0x0000000b)
[2016-01-10 11:15:29.619] [D] [zway] SETDATA devices.1.instances.3.commandClasses.32.data.srcInstanceId = 3 (0x00000003)
[2016-01-10 11:15:29.619] [D] [zway] SETDATA devices.1.instances.3.commandClasses.32.data.level = 255 (0x000000ff)

Lower right paddle
[2016-01-10 11:15:49.824] [D] [zway] RECEIVED: ( 01 0C 00 04 00 0B 06 60 06 03 20 01 00 BE )
[2016-01-10 11:15:49.824] [D] [zway] SENT ACK
[2016-01-10 11:15:49.824] [D] [zway] SETDATA devices.11.data.lastReceived = 0 (0x00000000)
[2016-01-10 11:15:49.824] [D] [zway] SETDATA devices.1.instances.3.commandClasses.32.data.srcNodeId = 11 (0x0000000b)
[2016-01-10 11:15:49.824] [D] [zway] SETDATA devices.1.instances.3.commandClasses.32.data.srcInstanceId = 3 (0x00000003)
[2016-01-10 11:15:49.824] [D] [zway] SETDATA devices.1.instances.3.commandClasses.32.data.level = 0 (0x00000000)

I am a little bit concerned though that the log says for example

SETDATA devices.1.xxxxx instead of SETDATA devices.11 on the instance log rows?

Anyway, here comes the screenshots of my association attempts that I can not get to work with Z-Way. I am trying to associate left paddle to a normal on/off switch (Binary Power Switch_5 from POPP, actual name Wall Plug Switch Schuko for Outdoor Use, IP44). I have been able to associate my WALLC-2 controller (left paddle) correctly and that is working fine.
Device description after successfull inclusion
Device description after successfull inclusion
Merten 5052xx - 1 - Device description after successfull inclusion.JPG (70.67 KiB) Viewed 22057 times
Association status after inclusion process - all empty (which is correct)
Association status after inclusion process - all empty (which is correct)
Merten 5052xx - 2 - Association status after inclusion process completed.JPG (45.22 KiB) Viewed 22057 times
First association attempt
First association attempt
Merten 5052xx - 3 - First association attempt.JPG (68.37 KiB) Viewed 22057 times
(continues in next post since it seems impossible to add more than 3 screenshots in one post)
Last edited by CrazyFin on 10 Jan 2016 13:36, edited 1 time in total.
CrazyFin
Posts: 32
Joined: 09 Jan 2016 23:54

Re: Merten Connect 505xx/506x - Can not get associations to

Post by CrazyFin »

First association attempt - waiting for update to be sent to the switch. I will now press one paddle three times to get the 5 red blinks.
First association attempt - waiting for update to be sent to the switch. I will now press one paddle three times to get the 5 red blinks.
Merten 5052xx - 4 - First association attempt - waiting for update to be sent.JPG (54.54 KiB) Viewed 22054 times
After pressing UPDATE and doing another triple-click the association looks ok.
After pressing UPDATE and doing another triple-click the association looks ok.
Merten 5052xx - 5 - Pressing update completes the first association.JPG (49.32 KiB) Viewed 22054 times
Interview status now suddenly changed from Complete to Incomplete?!
Interview status now suddenly changed from Complete to Incomplete?!
Merten 5052xx - 6 - Interview status now incomplete after my first association is made.JPG (82.56 KiB) Viewed 22054 times
CrazyFin
Posts: 32
Joined: 09 Jan 2016 23:54

Re: Merten Connect 505xx/506x - Can not get associations to

Post by CrazyFin »

Making the 2nd association (the lower left paddle)
Making the 2nd association (the lower left paddle)
Merten 5052xx - 8 - Second association completed.JPG (55.3 KiB) Viewed 22054 times
Looking at Active Associations the two I just created seems to have appeared or were not working at all?
Looking at Active Associations the two I just created seems to have appeared or were not working at all?
Merten 5052xx - 10 - Associations disappeared.JPG (59.39 KiB) Viewed 22054 times
I make Force Interview a couple of times (and triple clicking a paddle to wake the device up) and now the associations looks like this.
I make Force Interview a couple of times (and triple clicking a paddle to wake the device up) and now the associations looks like this.
Merten 5052xx - 11 - After forcing interview associations looks like this.JPG (62.71 KiB) Viewed 22054 times
CrazyFin
Posts: 32
Joined: 09 Jan 2016 23:54

Re: Merten Connect 505xx/506x - Can not get associations to

Post by CrazyFin »

Associations looks at least ok now.
Associations looks at least ok now.
Merten 5052xx - 12 - Associations now looks ok in Expert GUI.JPG (60.88 KiB) Viewed 22054 times

Look now how it looks like when I check Active Associations!
Merten 5052xx - 13 - Active associations shows nothing - only life line for the RIGHT paddle.JPG
Merten 5052xx - 13 - Active associations shows nothing - only life line for the RIGHT paddle.JPG (62.01 KiB) Viewed 22054 times
This is sooo strange. I just cant get associations to work in Z-Way (while I can do it in other softwares). I wish this can be solved since Z-Way is so much better with other things, especially being able to see which paddle is transmitting.

I am happy to ship one of my Merten 5052xx switches to you for further testing and debugging if you want. 8-)
CrazyFin
Posts: 32
Joined: 09 Jan 2016 23:54

Re: Merten Connect 505xxx/506xxx - Associations not working

Post by CrazyFin »

I just realised that can this be caused by the fact that I am trying to associate these switches (being a dimmer transmitter) to a simple on/off wall plug?
I had a similar problem with the WALLC-2 until I set to to be a simple on/off switch instead of a dimmer switch.

Currently the params of my Merten are
Param 0, 4, 44, 54, 52 and 55 are all set to zero.

I´ll test later today and report back.
CrazyFin
Posts: 32
Joined: 09 Jan 2016 23:54

Re: Merten Connect 505xxx/506xxx - Associations not working

Post by CrazyFin »

Ok it did NOT help with trying to associate the Merten switch with an Aeon Labs dimmer (Micro Smart Energy Dimmer DSC19103).

I do see events from the Merten switch in the Z-Way log file BUT I just cant get them into the normal web gui in any way. Trying with Trap Events does not help either since I am not able to get in the Merten into the drop down list in the Trap Events app.

I think all this boils down to the fact that the Merten switch never complets the inteview in full. The closes I can get is that there is one dot remaining on the interview status.

I am able to (partially) get the Z.Wave-ME WALLC-2 (and WALLC-S) to work with association to the dimmer but then the status of the dimmer does NOT update in the GUI. The wall dimmer is associated to button 2/4 (right paddle) on the WALLC-S and I have a POPP Binary Switch associated to the left paddle (button 1/3).
The POPP Binary switch works fine with the association and it lights up and goes off when I press the WALLC-S buttons AND the status of the POPP Binary switch in the GUI updates properly as well. I´ll talk about this issue in more detail in its own thread though.
CrazyFin
Posts: 32
Joined: 09 Jan 2016 23:54

Re: Merten Connect 505xxx/506xxx - Associations not working

Post by CrazyFin »

This is very interesting:

1. I excluded the device from the controller.
2. Resetted the device to factory settings (triple-click any paddle and then keep the button pressed until the red light turns green)
3. Included the device again. Now the interview looks complete and I see the following data:
Merten 5052xx - 14 - Reinclusion of device and no attempts to make associations - device interview completes properly.JPG
Merten 5052xx - 14 - Reinclusion of device and no attempts to make associations - device interview completes properly.JPG (24.65 KiB) Viewed 22010 times
4. I am now able to nicely see all 4 button presses in the normal gui and I can also see the virtual device showing proper on/off status. Very cool!
Merten 5052xx - 14 - Reinclusion of device and no attempts to make associations - works fine in the GUI event log as well.JPG
Merten 5052xx - 14 - Reinclusion of device and no attempts to make associations - works fine in the GUI event log as well.JPG (18.54 KiB) Viewed 22010 times
Merten 5052xx - 14 - Reinclusion of device and no attempts to make associations - works fine in the GUI now.JPG
Merten 5052xx - 14 - Reinclusion of device and no attempts to make associations - works fine in the GUI now.JPG (64.09 KiB) Viewed 22010 times

I can also now trap events based on these button presses. However, I can only create events to turn off and turn on other devices. No possibility to for example use left button to turn devices on/off while using the right paddle to control a dimming device with up/down dimming.

Continue in next post due to the max limit of 3 attachments...
CrazyFin
Posts: 32
Joined: 09 Jan 2016 23:54

Re: Merten Connect 505xxx/506xxx - Associations not working

Post by CrazyFin »

After a while I check the status of the device again and I see that the Device Interview Status is now back to not completed:
Merten 5052xx - 15 - Basic command set instance 1 and 3 broken after a while of using the switch.JPG
Merten 5052xx - 15 - Basic command set instance 1 and 3 broken after a while of using the switch.JPG (39.65 KiB) Viewed 22010 times
Forcing a new interview seems break the binding evenmore and completes to like the two final steps:
Merten 5052xx - 14 - Forcing a new interview seems to break the binding and it completes almost.JPG
Merten 5052xx - 14 - Forcing a new interview seems to break the binding and it completes almost.JPG (25.82 KiB) Viewed 22010 times
I am still not able to do DIRECT associations in the Expert GUI like I can do in for example Indigo and Homeseer 3. In those platforms I can do direct association between the switch and dimmer without problems IF I remove the Z-Wave association from the switch. This means also that I am not able to see that status of the swich at all but since the device I control with the switch I get feedback of the 2 dimmers into the software. However, this means that I can not create scenes for example on left paddle and use the right paddle for dimming. It is either to use the switch just as a on/off switch (and then visible in the platform gui:s/logs) or only with direct association to control devices directly (which then feeds their status back to the platform).

Direct association is very important since it enables to control lights, dimmers, roller shutters etc even if the Z-Wave server/platform is down (high wife acceptance level... :D )
User avatar
PoltoS
Posts: 7565
Joined: 26 Jan 2011 19:36

Re: Merten Connect 505xxx/506xxx - Associations not working

Post by PoltoS »

Please provide log. The Basic generated on live looks like device reports to support it, while it is not the case - it only controls it

But note that the device is so old that it is half compatible with modern Z-Wave.
CrazyFin
Posts: 32
Joined: 09 Jan 2016 23:54

Re: Merten Connect 505xxx/506xxx - Associations not working

Post by CrazyFin »

Is it the Z-Way server log at the inclusion moment you want to see?

I fully understand that these devices are very old in the Z-Wave-world but they are still being sold in the Nordics (and other places in Europe) by Schneider Electric (formerly Merten but bought up by Schneider Electric).

I just wish we could log these in some proper way to get these at least binding properly into the controller so that I can use both paddles to get status in Z-Way and at the same time have them directly associated with the devices I want to control.

I am happy to send one of my devices to you for more in-depth debugging/investigation if that would help.
I bought also the Merten USB Z-Stick a year ago for cheap at eBay and when I use that Z-Stick together with Mertens software I have no trouble with direct association of both paddles to other devies I want to control AND at the same time see proper status updates/changes of the switches in Mertens software. I can even send you the Merten USB stick if that would help in the debugging.

When reading at for example MiCasaVerde and HomeSeer forums (where I was active 1-2 years ago) quite many people have these Merten battery controllers and have identical problems. Many of them (and even for example MiCasaVerde manufacturer) have been in contact with both Merten and Schneider Electric asking for documentation of how and what classes are implemented in these switches but no success.
See for example http://forum.micasaverde.com/index.php/ ... 76.45.html

When I was active at the HomeSeer forums some users had success in using the Merten USB Z-stick together with the Merten software. One would then include and program all devices within the Merten software.
See the forum thread here (very interesting, especially from page 2 to 3): http://forums.homeseer.com/showthread.p ... post916189
Note though that this method will make the Merten battery switch a primary controller and the Z-Wave.ME UZB-stick will be a secondary controller. Not a preferred solution. :-(

So to go back to my initial comments (sorry for my looooong post... :oops: ):

1. Is it the Z-Way server log at the inclusion moment you want to see?
2. Would you be interested in borrowing my Merten switch and Merten USB Z-Stick to do more indepth debugging/investigation?
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