[NODE-RED] Monitoring Zigbee sensor signal reception

[Will_71]

I’m sharing a Node-Red flow with you to measure the reception time of a Zigbee sensor signal. If the time between each signal reception is greater than 24H (configurable) then a Telegram alert is sent. I created this function because the battery indication of Zigbee sensors is not reliable and several times I was caught out on a temperature when the sensor was no longer working. This can be annoying when you need this value in a scene. Now I know if one of my sensors no longer sends data after 24H. And this in a loop every 24H. Tested with opening sensor, temperature/humidity, switch, vibration sensor, motion sensor. The feature request in Gladys Alerter et créer un statut "Indisponible" d'un équipement (plus de batterie, connexion, etc.) For the installation of NODE-RED, you already know the video tutorial of @pierre-gilles. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpmHzR8_S5g. Prerequisites: Configure the MQTT broker to connect to the Zigbee2mqtt broker

The password is generated by Gladys, you can find it in the db.

Install in Node-Red: « node-red–contrib-telegrambot » Configure a Telegram bot for Node-Red Retrieve a ChatId number to be able to send messages with Telegram in Node-Red (I will add later how to retrieve this number if needed) This Telegram part is optional, you can also send a state to a fake MQTT device to Gladys. And then do the Telegram alert with Gladys. Configuration of Node-Red to write/read files: Edit the file /var/lib/node-red/settings.js (see the video of @pierre-gilles for the installation of Node-Red he explains how to edit this file) Add the lines below: contextStorage: { default: "memoryOnly", memoryOnly: { module: 'memory' }, file: { module: 'localfilesystem' } },

Here is an overview of the flow in Node-red of one of my sensors:

Here is the flow to import into Node-Red: I modified one of my flows to make it generic and to remove my connection data

[
    {
        "id": "d5482843ef207659",
        "type": "function",
        "z": "d76f072c1559266b",
        "g": "87c2f560ca6c5a98",
        "name": "send msg to telegram",
        "func": "msg.payload={};\nmsg.payload.chatId =\"******\";\nmsg.payload.content = \"[ALERT] Loss of communication with the thermometer! Check the battery of this device!\";\nmsg.payload.type = \"message\";\nreturn msg;",
        "outputs": 1,
        "noerr": 0,
        "initialize": "",
        "finalize": "",
        "libs": [],
        "x": 1180,
        "y": 120,
        "wires": [
            [
                "f57a85488266a794"
            ]
        ]
    },
    {
        "id": "2c780ff8e1b28a9e",
        "type": "mqtt in",
        "z": "d76f072c1559266b",
        "g": "87c2f560ca6c5a98",
        "name": "Thermometer",
        "topic": "zigbee2mqtt/Thermometer",
        "qos": "2",
        "datatype": "auto",
        "broker": "2a159ac23236c7e2",
        "nl": false,
        "rap": true,
        "rh": 0,
        "inputs": 0,
        "x": 150,
        "y": 120,
        "wires": [
            [
                "47ee6c1dd9132535"
            ]
        ]
    },
    {
        "id": "47ee6c1dd9132535",
        "type": "change",
        "z": "d76f072c1559266b",
        "g": "87c2f560ca6c5a98",
        "name": "",
        "rules": [
            {
                "t": "set",
                "p": "topic",
                "pt": "msg",
                "to": "sensor",
                "tot": "str"
            }
        ],
        "action": "",
        "property": "",
        "from": "",
        "to": "",
        "reg": false,
        "x": 490,
        "y": 120,
        "wires": [
            [
                "147c4e952052bad4"
            ]
        ]
    },
    {
        "id": "cfd94c8353c2c6f9",
        "type": "inject",
        "z": "d76f072c1559266b",
        "g": "87c2f560ca6c5a98",
        "name": "Task 1000",
        "props": [
            {
                "p": "payload"
            },
            {
                "p": "topic",
                "vt": "str"
            }
        ],
        "repeat": "60",
        "crontab": "",
        "once": false,
        "onceDelay": 0.1,
        "topic": "task",
        "payload": "",
        "payloadType": "date",
        "x": 490,
        "y": 80,
        "wires": [
            [
                "147c4e952052bad4"
            ]
        ]
    },
    {
        "id": "147c4e952052bad4",
        "type": "function",
        "z": "d76f072c1559266b",
        "g": "87c2f560ca6c5a98",
        "name": "TimeOut",
        "func": "/*\n * Sensor time-out\n */\n\n\nconst TIME_OUT = 1440; /* 24 hours */\n\n/*\n * Time-out output\n */
var msg_TimeOut = null;

/*
 * Delay before sensor time-out between 2 receptions
 */
var delayTimeOut = context.get(\"delayTimeOut\", \"file\") || TIME_OUT;  // initialize variables


if (msg.topic === \"sensor\")  // initialize counter on each sensor reception
{
    delayTimeOut = TIME_OUT;
    context.set(\"delayTimeOut\", delayTimeOut, \"file\");  // save last value in local context

    node.status({ fill: \"green\", shape: \"ring\", text: \"Remaining: \" + delayTimeOut + \" minutes\" });

    //msg_TimeOut = { topic: \"temp\", payload: delayTimeOut };
}

if (msg.topic === \"task\")   // update every minute
{
    if (delayTimeOut > 0)
    {
        delayTimeOut--;
        context.set(\"delayTimeOut\", delayTimeOut, \"file\");  // save last value in local context
        
        node.status({ fill: \"green\", shape: \"ring\", text: \"Remaining: \" + delayTimeOut + \" minutes\" });

    }

    if (delayTimeOut === 0)
    {
        delayTimeOut = 0;    
        context.set(\"delayTimeOut\", delayTimeOut, \"file\");  // save last value in local context

        node.status({ fill: \"red\", shape: \"ring\", text: \"TIME OUT\" });

        msg_TimeOut = { topic: \"timeout\", payload: \"TIME OUT\" };
    }
    
}

return msg_TimeOut;",
        "outputs": 1,
        "noerr": 0,
        "initialize": "",
        "finalize": "",
        "libs": [],
        "x": 900,
        "y": 120,
        "wires": [
            [
                "d5482843ef207659"
            ]
        ],
        "outputLabels": [
            "TimeOut"
        ]
    },
    {
        "id": "f57a85488266a794",
        "type": "telegram sender",
        "z": "d76f072c1559266b",
        "g": "87c2f560ca6c5a98",
        "name": "",
        "bot": "e1f028778559de40",
        "haserroroutput": false,
        "outputs": 1,
        "x": 1510,
        "y": 120,
        "wires": [
            []
        ]
    },
    {
        "id": "2a159ac23236c7e2",
        "type": "mqtt-broker",
        "name": "zigbee2mqtt2",
        "broker": "192.168.*.*",
        "port": "1884",
        "clientid": "",
        "autoConnect": true,
        "usetls": false,
        "protocolVersion": "4",
        "keepalive": "60",
        "cleansession": true,
        "birthTopic": "",
        "birthQos": "0",
        "birthPayload": "",
        "birthMsg": {},
        "closeTopic": "",
        "closeQos": "0",
        "closePayload": "",
        "closeMsg": {},
        "willTopic": "",
        "willQos": "0",
        "willPayload": "",
        "willMsg": {},
        "userProps": "",
        "sessionExpiry": "",
        "credentials": {}
    },
    {
        "id": "e1f028778559de40",
        "type": "telegram bot",
        "botname": "******",
        "usernames": "",
        "chatids": "",
        "baseapiurl": "",
        "updatemode": "polling",
        "pollinterval": "300",
        "usesocks": false,
        "sockshost": "",
        "socksprotocol": "socks5",
        "socksport": "6667",
        "socksusername": "anonymous",
        "sockspassword": "",
        "bothost": "",
        "botpath": "",
        "localbotport": "8443",
        "publicbotport": "8443",
        "privatekey": "",
        "certificate": "",
        "useselfsignedcertificate": false,
        "sslterminated": false,
        "verboselogging": false
    }
]

1. mqtt in: Zigbee Sensor Configuration

Add an mqtt in object

Specify your zigbee2mqtt broker in the server field
Specify the topic of your sensor in the Topic field (you can use an application like MQTT Explorer to explore your network and find the topic). The topic is usually zigbee2mqtt/yoursensorname

2. change: Topic Transformation

Add a change object to modify the topic and thus avoid modifying the topic for each sensor in the subsequent function.

3. function: Calculate Time Between Two Zigbee Sensor Signals

Add a function object

In the code below, you can modify the TIME_OUT constant (in minutes). I set it to 1440 minutes (24H)

/*
 * Sensor Time-out
 */


const TIME_OUT = 1440; /* 24 hours */

/*
 * Time-out output
 */
var msg_TimeOut = null;

/*
 * Delay before sensor time-out between two receptions
 */
var delayTimeOut = context.get("delayTimeOut", "file") || TIME_OUT;  // initialize variables


if (msg.topic === "sensor")  // initialize counter on each sensor reception
{
    delayTimeOut = TIME_OUT;
    context.set("delayTimeOut", delayTimeOut, "file");  // save last value in local context

    node.status({ fill: "green", shape: "ring", text: "Remaining: " + delayTimeOut + " minutes" });

    //msg_TimeOut = { topic: "temp", payload: delayTimeOut };
}

if (msg.topic === "task")   // update every minute
{
    if (delayTimeOut > 0)
    {
        delayTimeOut--;
        context.set("delayTimeOut", delayTimeOut, "file");  // save last value in local context
        
        node.status({ fill: "green", shape: "ring", text: "Remaining: " + delayTimeOut + " minutes" });

    }

    if (delayTimeOut === 0)
    {
        delayTimeOut = 0;    
        context.set("delayTimeOut", delayTimeOut, "file");  // save last value in local context

        node.status({ fill: "red", shape: "ring", text: "TIME OUT" });

        msg_TimeOut = { topic: "timeout", payload: "TIME OUT" };
    }
    
} 

return msg_TimeOut;

I added the remaining time in the function before the alert is sent

4. inject: Send a Payload Every Minute to Recalculate Time in the Function

Add an inject object

Set the topic to task. This topic is used in the function. If you change it, you will need to modify the function code.
Then set an interval of every minute

5. function: Create Text for Telegram

Add a function object

You will need to insert your chatId and you can customize your message

msg.payload={};
msg.payload.chatId ="******";
msg.payload.content = "[ALERT] Loss of communication with the thermometer! Check the battery of this device!";
msg.payload.type = "message";
return msg;

6. telegram sender: Send Message

Add a telegram sender object

Specify your telegram bot for nodered

[guim31]

Awesome!!! I’ll set this up quickly at home Thank you very much!

[guim31]

Just FYI, when I added that part, I did it at the very end of the file…

@_Will_71

contextStorage: {
   default: "memoryOnly",
   memoryOnly: { module: 'memory' },
   file: { module: 'localfilesystem' }
}

And then Node-RED started rebooting in a loop.
In the end I edited the part already present in the file by uncommenting it. So it results in this syntax on my end, with a comma at the very end:

contextStorage: {
   default: "memoryOnly",
   memoryOnly: { module: 'memory' },
   file: { module: 'localfilesystem' }
},

[Will_71]

Ok, I’ll check, but I can’t rule out that a comma was missed when copying the code.
I’ll fix it, sorry…

Let me know when you’ve set it up…and to test you can change the TIME_OUT constant to just a few

[Will_71]

You’re right, I did forget the comma when copying it over!

I’ve corrected it in my tutorial.

[guim31]

And it’s a success!

I replaced the first block with one of the ones I usually use:

Thank you very much @_Will_71

[Will_71]

I don’t see the countdown under the TimeOut function, though!
Have you tried disconnecting your sensor by decreasing the TIME_OUT?

[guim31]

Yes yes it’s because I had set it to 1min for testing
Here it is now:

[guim31]

Quick question though, I just did this:

And afterwards I thought maybe I could group all the Telegram Senders into a single one, right?

[Will_71]

Ok perfect!

Yes I grouped it too using the links

[guim31]

Ah cool, I never understood what LINKs were for, thanks!

[Will_71]

As for this case, I don’t know whether using a link or a Telegram box makes any difference.

In general I use a link when I want to reuse the result of another function in another flow.

For example I have a flow with an HTTP request to retrieve the outside temperature (I need to invest in an outdoor sensor) and I then use that temperature in my radiators’ heating power calculations. In this case I create a link so as not to make the HTTP request for each of my radiators. It’s not useful for me to make multiple HTTP requests; in this case the link is useful.

[guim31]

I’m coming back here because in the end my first tests seemed conclusive… but that’s not the case.

I set a 12-hour timeout and twice a day I receive Telegram messages saying my devices are offline…

I don’t really understand where the problem is coming from.
Also, since I see @_Will_71 that you’re great at Node-RED, wouldn’t it be easier to check z2m’s availability status Online and Offline?

Or at worst do a calculation with the last_seen data?

[Will_71]

So, the devices where you receive the Telegram alert — are they offline or not?
Because in your screenshots you have 2 sensors offline with last seen times greater than 12h. So the behavior is normal.

[guim31]

No no, I took a random screenshot, I have a few devices offline.
But the sensors I’m trying to check are all online and have last_seen of at most 1h

[Will_71]

For my part everything works fine but you didn’t use exactly the same elements as I did
I don’t know if the zigbee2mqtt object reports the info the same way as the mqtt object I use?
In my case I connect directly to the mqtt broker and with each sensor send I read the value. Maybe in your case, if the value doesn’t change, zigbee2mqtt doesn’t resend the data. In my opinion you should explore that avenue.
![IMG_20230405_160503|690x263](upload://7zphVcqZ5G3yY8pfVf

[guim31]

Ah ok… so I’ll try using your MQTT block and see how it goes, thanks for the tip!!

[Will_71]

That’s just a suggestion because I’ve never used your block.
I’ll try doing a test with this zigbee2mqtt block to see the result I get.

[jparbel]

Great idea! It’s true that an inoperative Zigbee sensor isn’t reported as faulty, which is still problematic!
I just tried @_Will_71’s flow and observed the same thing as @guim31.

I replaced msg.topic with msg.payload in the ‹ change › block and in the ‹ Timeout › function script (lines 19 and 29)

It seems to work correctly for me after this change.

[Will_71]

I don’t agree with you.

Why did I choose the topic and not the payload? Because I don’t need the payload — I’m not trying to use the sensor’s data.

So I used a change node to standardize the sensor’s topic so I don’t have to modify it in the script of my TimeOut function. After this step it may be optional, but in that case you would need to adapt the topic in the function.

Your sensor still always emits a payload with its data on a dedicated topic. (see image below)

Then you modified lines 19 and 29 of my function. OK for line 19 if you use the payload, but why line 29?
Line 29 is a test to retrieve the topic from the inject node that I send every minute.

As for why it doesn’t work on your side, I don’t know — maybe you copied it wrong or didn’t use the same nodes as me, I don’t know!!