I bought an IoTaWatt W14 v5 from eBay seller “opzitshop”. Is that eligible for support here? I hope so as I’m at wits end trying to bring it up.
I followed the directions in the documentation as far as “Configure WiFi”. It responded with an ever-confusing array of LED error codes. I believe the first one was green-red-red-green but after cycling power it started returning red-red-red IIRC. I was never able to see the “configuration tool” or configure WiFi again.
Following another thread on this forum, I copied the SD card contents onto a different one but no success. I even copied a new config.txt file from the GIT repository onto the SD card but still no luck.
Currently the LED code is steady red (not dull red), which starts after a red and 2 green blinks directly after power on. Then it sits at steady red until power is cycled.
Can you suggest anything that would get me past this steady red LED state?
Thanks,
Joe
I’m not familiar with opzitshop, but I looked at their listing and it appears they originated from the stuff shop. Without knowing what firmware is flashed into the unit, I can’t offer many suggestions.
You say that you coppied the SDcard. Can you locate the file /iotawatt/iotamsgs.txt on the original SDcard and upload that so I can take a look?
Thank you. After a few more power-on cycles, here’s what the /iotawatt/iotamsgs.txt file looks like.
iotamsgs.txt (3.9 KB)
Apparently this unit was successfully connected to WIFI and the internet while the other SDcard was installed. It had set the clock and updated firmware. Now the clock is not set. Did you remove the battery at anytime?
Please post the message log from the other SDcard.
Yes, I removed the battery in an (unsuccessful) attempt to do a full reset and start over when I was stuck.
I only have half of the story. I need the other half.
Sorry I missed that in your previous message – I had just awoken. I was amazed to see a response because I had written you just before I went to bed; it’s as if you never sleep .
Below is the iotamsgs.txt file from the other SD card. But I’m not sure of anything anymore; I made so many SD card swaps in an attempt to get past the LED error codes. Now I wish I had posted a request for help at the first “green-red-red-green” instead of wandering off on my own.
My gut feeling is that the supplied SD card is “flaky”. Could I copy all the files in the SD directory of the Git repository onto my new card (32 GB) and get back to the beginning? On the other hand, I’m more than willing to try anything you suggest.
And thank you – very much.
iotamsgs.txt (2.9 KB)
There’s still a missing piece, but it does appear that your unit has 02_06_02 firmware installed. The next step is to make sure the SDcard has matching support files and to start with clean datalogs.
So take one of those SDcards and reformat with FAT32. Then download and install the files here to the root directory of the card. Insert the card, power it up and report back the LED state.
I did as you suggested above. I recorded the startup LED sequence with my phone and upon playback I am now wondering if most of my troubles were self-imposed. I was calling the LED “red” but apparently it was “dull red” which has a specific cause in the Troubleshooting section. I was taking “dull” too literally – the LED looked normal to me. However, I did receive those other LED sequences I mentioned so something weird was going on.
On startup the LED now shows green (dull green?) for ~3 seconds and then switch to what must be dull red (forever).
The device is definitely connected to my LAN and I’m uploading another iotamsgs.txt file that I created with copy/paste from the Tools | Message Log in the app. (This is the first time I didn’t have to retrieve the file from the SD card with a Windows PC – woo hoo!)
UPDATE: the following paragraph is no longer true. The RTC updated after about an hour on the network.
So the dull red LED indication must be due to the RTC not running, right? I’m not able to find anything about that in the documentation except changing the battery, so is that my next step?
A completely different question, please: my nominal 9 VAC voltage reference source actually puts out ~12.5 VAC due to no load. Can I just calibrate it out? Or is that voltage actually too high for the input. (I haven’t plugged it into the IoTaWatt yet.)
Again, thanks for your help and your patience.
iotamsgs.txt (4.3 KB)
I don’t see in that log where the RTC clock was set, but maybe that was taken before it synced. Yes, the led is dull green if it’s sampling but dull red if it’s either not connected to WiFi or the RTC isn’t running.
12.5V is fine. Plug it in and then calibrate using the procedure in the documentation. Word of caution. Using any reference adapter will work for voltage, but the phase-shift of the transformer can introduce some small error. You may want to use a VT that is supported. You can get one from IoTaWatt or from Jameco in the US.
The LED will behave better with a VT connected.
Yes, the RTC clock was set after I uploaded that log file as evidenced by a line in the current log file: 8/05/21 15:04:04 timeSync: RTC initalized to NTP time
I now see what you mean about dull red/green with regard to the VT presence. Initial setup was at my desk without a VT but now the unit is at the CB panel with a VT connected and the LED is definitely brighter.
Good info on the VT with regard to voltage and phase. With a scope I may be able to measure the junk box transformer I’m using but will keep IoTaWatt and Jameco in mind.
I still don’t know what happened during the initial turn-on but all is good now. Maybe the SD card was loose or flaky; maybe I was too fast to jump at the error codes. The RTC sync to the NTP server definitely took a while. In any case, I am very much in your debt for your help – thank you.
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