Lacrosse Sensor MQTT Client/Daemon/Gateway

A simple Python script to include Lacrosse Sensors using a Jeelink into an MQTT broker and Homeassistant.

The program can be executed in daemon mode to run continuously in the background, e.g., as a systemd service.

About Lacrosse / Jeelink

• Jeelink USB Stick
• pylacrosse
• Summary on Sensors

Features

• Highly configurable
• Data publication via MQTT
• HomeAssistant MQTT discovery format
• MQTT authentication support
• No special/root privileges needed
• Linux daemon / systemd service, sd_notify messages generated

Readings

The Lacrosse sensors offer the following readings:

Name	Description
temperature	Air temperature, in [°C] (0.1°C resolution
humidity	Humidity, in [%]
battery	Lacrosse Sensors only provide a low battery warning, therefor you'll only see 100% and 0% here

Prerequisites

An MQTT broker is needed as the counterpart for this daemon.

Installation

On a modern Linux system just a few steps are needed to get the daemon working. The following example shows the installation under Debian/Raspbian below the /opt directory:

sudo apt install git python3 python3-pip

git clone https://github.com/deveth0/lacrosse-mqtt-gateway /opt/lacrosse-mqtt-gateway

cd /opt/lacrosse-mqtt-gateway
sudo pip3 install -r requirements.txt

Configuration

To match personal needs, all operation details can be configured using the file config.ini. The file needs to be created first:

cp /opt/lacrosse-mqtt-gateway/config.{ini.dist,ini}
vim /opt/lacrosse-mqtt-gateway/config.ini

Attention: You need to add at least one sensor to the configuration. Scan for available Lacrosse sensors in your proximity with the command:

$> pylacrosse -d /dev/ttyS18 scan
id=63 t=21.600000 h=41 nbat=0 name=unknown
id=50 t=19.400000 h=40 nbat=0 name=unknown
id=14 t=17.300000 h=47 nbat=0 name=unknown
id=50 t=19.500000 h=40 nbat=0 name=unknown
id=3 t=22.200000 h=39 nbat=0 name=unknown

Note: When replacing the battery, the ID of a sensor changes. So you need to update your configuration accordingly.

Execution

A first test run is as easy as:

python3 /opt/lacrosse-mqtt-gateway/lacrosse-mqtt-gateway.py

With a correct configuration you should get the output of the configured sensors.

Using the command line argument --config, a directory where to read the config.ini file from can be specified, e.g.

python3 /opt/lacrosse-mqtt-gateway/lacrosse-mqtt-gateway.py --config /opt/lacrosse-config

Continuous Daemon/Service

You most probably want to execute the program continuously in the background. This can be done either by using the internal daemon or cron.

Attention: Daemon mode must be enabled in the configuration file (default).

1. Systemd service - on systemd powered systems the recommended option

   sudo useradd lacrosse-daemon
   sudo adduser lacrosse-daemon dialout
   
   sudo cp /opt/lacrosse-mqtt-gateway/template.service /etc/systemd/system/lacrosse.service
   
   sudo systemctl daemon-reload
   
   sudo systemctl start lacrosse.service
   sudo systemctl status lacrosse.service
   
   sudo systemctl enable lacrosse.service

Acknowledgement

This script is based on the great work done by Thomas Dietrich in his miflora-mqtt-daemon.