A way to send text messages to RCS thermostats

Ishmael

Member
I finally decided to take the plunge and add RCS thermostats to my M1G. When I set up my first TR60, I was a bit disappointed that there didn't seem to be a way to use the text message feature of these thermostats, but after digging around in the M1XSP release notes, I found that as of the May 10, 2010 1.0.46 firmware, there is a way. Quoting those release notes:

3. RCS Thermostat Mode: Added the ability to send virtually any RCS thermostat command. This is done by creating a M1 text string. The string must start with character ">" followed by the RCS command protocol. Example, to lock the thermostat's display, the text string would be: >A=255,O=00,DL=1^M
Then write a M1 Rule to transmit the text string out the M1XSP’s serial port.


The text message command is TM, so I tried setting up the text string:

>A=5,TM="Hello"^M

omitting the O=00 since I don't really need a response back for the command, and then set up a Rule to Send Text through port 1 (the address of my M1XSP), and voila!, I saw a blinking read light on the thermostat at address 5 and could read my message. (Note: if you are trying this for the first time, you do have to turn on text messaging in the thermostat advanced setup; if you don't, you'll see nothing.)

I further confirmed that I could use the broadcast address 255 as:

>A=255,TM="Hello"^M

and see the message show up as well, and you can use:

>A=255,TM="#"^M

to erase the messages from all thermostats.

I'm planning to have the Elk to monitor how long the AC compressors run and make the systems turn off when they've been running too long to help reduce the demand factor during peak electric rates. I was disappointed that Elk rules couldn't detect if the system is actually running or not, but a 24VAC relay wired inline with the compressor call signal and hooked back to a zone took care of that. When the Elk cuts a unit, it will now be able to send a text warning to the thermostat to warn people that the shutdown is intentional.

Chris
 
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