rtl433_to_mqtt

Simple ruby script to be used with a Software Defined Radio (SDR) with the rtl-sdr libraries and the rtl_433 tool that scans 433.9 MHz and decodes traffic from things like temperature sensors.

This tool is focused on:

• Run the rtl_433 command and parses the JSON formatted messages.
• Captures messages into a log file with automatic daily log-rotation.
• De-duplicates messages.
  • Some sensors send triplicate messages to ensure delivery. Script drops dups.
• Adds a current unix timestamp ts value to the payload.
• Publish de-duplicated messages onto an MQTT topic.

This allows downstream MQTT clients to subscribe to the de-duplicated feed for filtering, logging, and analysis.

Included tools:

• setup.sh - debian/ubuntu/raspbian setup script to install needed dependancies to use this.
• rtl433_to_mqtt.rb - core tool that does the work
• launch.sh - simple launcher for the rtl433_to_mqtt.rb that will automatically, after 5 seconds, relaunches the tool incase it dies.
• tmux-launch.sh - create a new tmux session and runs launch.sh

software setup

Install on a Raspberry Pi with Raspbian is super simple!

git clone https://github.com/dayne/rtl433_to_mqtt
cd rtl433_to_mqtt
./setup.sh
# wait a while and say yes to a few things
sudo reboot

Login and you should be ready to configure and launch the collection script

cd rtl433_to_mqtt # location of code
./launch.sh

Default configuration in the config.yml.example will have all the messages pushed to a localhost MQTT server and the /rtl_433/raw topic. The SDR listens on 433.92Mhz by default.

• server: localhost
• topic: /rtl_433/raw
• rtl_freq: 433920000

You can watch that default flow by opening up a terminal and using mosquitto_sub to watch that local topic:

mosquitto_sub -h localhost -t /rtl_433/raw

To customize the MQTT broker or topic published, or to change the frequency that the SDR listens on, copy the config.yml.example to config.yml and change appropriately.

The details of setup.sh:

Install rtl-sdr libraries and drivers: more details

apt install rtl-sdr # and other build dependancies
echo "blacklist dvb_usb_rtl28xxu" | sudo tee -a /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-rtl.conf
reboot

Install rtl_433 via the build instructions

Install mosqitto MQTT server and ensure it is launched

sudo apt install mosquitto

Runs ruby bundler to get the script dependancies.

usage

Setup your config.yml

cp config.yml.example config.yml
# edit to point at your mqtt server (or leave alone for localhost)
./launch.sh

If you want to launch in tmux: use ./tmux-launch.sh

Autolaunch on reboot? Add the following line to your crontab: (fix the path of course)

@reboot /home/pi/projects/rtl433_to_mqtt/tmux-launch.sh

hardware requirements

• Raspbery Pi $50
• A USB Software Defined Radio (SDR) like the NooElec NESDR Mini USB RTL-SDR $20
• External/Internal temp sensor that broadcasts on 433 Mhz like the AcuRite-06002M $12

TODOS / Roadmap

• overhaul for integration as t3x tool
• clean up the meta information
• optional meta metrics reporter to a t3 home
• device map for model + id to custom uuid
• homeassistant integration instructions