This is an alternative firmware for the Riden WiFi module that provides Modbus TCP and SCPI support as well as a web interface.
The firmware has been tested with various tools and libraries:
- Riden Hardware
- RD6006 and RD6012
- Riden Firmware
- Riden v1.28
- Riden v1.41
- Unisoft v1.41.1k
- Modbus TCP
- Python pyModbusTCP library
- Python pymodbus library
- A modified version of ridengui with Modbus TCP support hacked in
- SCPI
- Modbus RTU client communicating with Riden power supply firmware.
- Modbus TCP bridge.
- SCPI control
- via raw socket (VISA string:
TCPIP::<ip address>::5025::SOCKET) - and via vxi-11 (VISA string:
TCPIP::<ip address>::INSTR).
- via raw socket (VISA string:
- Web interface to configure the dongle and update firmware.
- Automatically set power supply clock based on NTP.
- mDNS advertising.
- Handles approximately 65 queries/second using Modbus TCP or raw socket SCPI (tested using Unisoft v1.41.1k, UART baudrate set at 921600).
- When flashing the Riden WiFi module you will erase the existing firmware.
- The firmware provided in this repository comes with no warranty.
The regular Riden power supply firmware is considerably slower than UniSoft, handling less than 10 queries/second.
An example test program can be found under /scripts/test_pyvisa.py
The VXI-11 channel (TCPIP::<ip address>::INSTR) is auto discoverable via mDNS, TCP and UDP, making it highly compatible with most tools.
While you use the VXI server, the raw socket server is disabled.
Note that when you use the web interface to kill a VXI-11 client, it will not properly inform the client. It will just kill the connection.
Raw socket capability cannot be auto discovered by pyvisa as of now. It can be discovered by lxi tools (see below)
When using the raw sockets (TCPIP::<ip address>::5025::SOCKET), you must, like with most other raw socket devices, use
inst.read_termination = "\n"
inst.write_termination = "\n"Also, be aware that when writing many commands to the device, the network layers and the device will queue them up. As a result, there can be a significant delay between the moment your client issues a command, and the moment the device handles the command. If you do not want that, insert a sleep of more than 150ms after each write command, forcing the network to send 1 command at a time. (the minimum delay depends on the configuration of your platform)
VXI-11 does not have this problem, since every command requires an ACK.
This one had me stuck for some time. To quote from https://community.home-assistant.io/t/riden-rd6006-dc-power-supply-ha-support-wifi/163849:
I had to do small modification to the wifi board - I snipped one pin from the pinheader (EN-Enable) so it does not make contact with the power supply and soldered 1k resistor between EN and 3.3V. It is done because the PS enables wifi module only in “wifi mode” but I need it to run in “TTL mode” as well.
In order to flash an existing Riden WiFi module, solder on three additional wires: GPIO0, EN, and 3.3V.
In order to ease development you may want to terminate the wires in a Dupont header connector allowing you to more easily use an ESP01 USB Serial Adapter or similar.
You may also put a small perforated PCB on top of the ESP metal housing (do not cover the antenna!) with the required resistors and maybe buttons.
Whatever you use, in order to flash the device, you will need the following:
- power of course: 5V + GND (on the existing header). You may be able to provide power via the 3V3 line, but the board already has a 5V to 3V3 conversion internally, so using 5V is preferred.
- connect your serial link to GND, RX, TX (on the existing header)
- pull EN to 3V3 all the time via a resistor (1k..10k)
- during boot, connect GPIO0 to GND for a short period, and after that, pull it to 3V3 via a resistor (10k). A push button may be helpful here.
- not strictly needed, but helpful: a reset button to RST
If you want to use buttons, see here for how to connect the resistors and buttons for programming.
Firmware files will be released on GitHub as part of the repository.
If you want to compile, you will need PlatformIO in order to compile the firmware.
No configuration is necessary; simply execute pio run and wait.
The firmware is located at .pio/build/esp12e/firmware.bin.
Provided you have prepared the hardware as described, and have either compiled, or downloaded a binary, you must connect the dongle to your computer as you would when flashing any other ESP12F module.
You can use multiple tools to flash the firmware. The most well known are:
- platformio
- esptool (also available without installation: https://espressif.github.io/esptool-js/)
Example with PlatformIO:
pio run -t upload --upload-port
and wait for the firmware to be flashed.
Before re-inserting the module into your power supply,
it may be a good idea to make the necessary configuration
changes. You need to select TTL as the communications mode,
and 9600 as the speed.
Re-insert the module and power up the power supply.
The module will begin to flash, first slowly and then faster. If it starts flashing really fast (5 flashes per second), you propably misconfigured the power supply. Double-check, and if you are still having issues, add an issue to the Github repository.
If all is well, the module has created a new access
point, named RDxxxx-ssssssss (xxxx is the model
and ssssssss is the serial number), e.g.
RD6006-00001234.
Connect to this access point, and you will be greeted by a web page allowing you to configure the WiFi network that the module should connect to.
Follow the instructions, and save the configuration.
If all goes well, the blue LED will start to flash slowly after a short while, and eventually stop. You should now be able to connect to the dongle at http://RDxxxx-ssssssss.local.
Execute the command
lxi discover -m
to get a list of discovered SCPI devices on the network.
This firmware sneakily advertised lxi support in order
for lxi-tools to recognise it.
Execute the command
lxi scpi -a RDxxxx-ssssssss.local -r "*IDN?"
to retrieve the SCPI identification string containing power supply model, and firmware version.
Execute the command
lxi scpi -a RDxxxx-ssssssss.local -r "VOLT?"
to retrieve the currently set voltage.
Invoke
lxi scpi -a RDxxxx-ssssssss.local -r "VOLT 3.3"
to set the voltage to 3.3V
A description of the implemented commands is available in SCPI_COMMANDS.md.
In order to update the firmware, you may prefer to use OTA update instead of having to remove the module from the power supply and connecting it to a computer.
From the Configure page you can upload a
new firmware binary.
The Riden power supply firmware has some quirks as described below. The firmware provided here err towards caution, and does not implement functionality that is known to be unreliable.
There is no way to reliably retrieve these values. If they are set by selecting a preset, M0 does not reflect the new values. If they are set via the front panel, M0 does reflect the new values.
Therefore I have decided NOT to support *SAV. *RCL is implemented.
The Preset register (19) only reflects the active preset if changed via the modbus interface. It is not updated if a preset is selected using the front panel. Therefore it is currently not possible to retrieve the selected preset.
Only 0 and 1 are recognised when setting the Language register. Reading the register matches the language set from the front panel.
It is not possible to control keypad lock.