Control of Rotel equipments

Add-ons Bindings
1

I am interested in building a new binding to control Rotel equipments using a RS232 HEX protocol.
The idea is to get the ability to power ON or OFF, to select a source, to change volume, …
Here are a list of potential equipments implementing this kind of protocol:

  • RC1082
  • RC1090
  • RC1580
  • RCC1055
  • RCD1520
  • RSP976
  • RSP1066
  • RSP1068
  • RSP1069
  • RSP1098
  • RSP1570
  • RSP1572
  • RSX1055
  • RSX1056
  • RSX1057
  • RSX1058
  • RSX1065
  • RSX1067
  • RSX1550
  • RSX1560
  • RSX1562
  • RX1050
  • RX1052

I own an old RSP 1066. My main problem is to find (or build) the specific cable.
Are there users interested by such a binding ?
Interesred to help me testing a pre-version that I could create quickly as a POC ?

2
3

I have now my cable and I was able to test my binding. It works well even if I still have to improve the detection of the device going OFF or in standby.
I will add the ability to select DSP modes too.

The way the protocol is defined makes it dependent on what the device displayed on the front panel, for example “VOLUME 45” when the volume is changed. So I will not be able to guarantee that the binding will immediately work with any model even if it is probable that Rotel used something common for all models. So this could require some tweaks for certain models.

I will provide a first test version next week.

In case someone is interested by this binding, let me know what model do you own ?

4

Finally, I plan to support the ASCII protocol in addition to the HEX protocol. So more models will be supported.

5

I made good progress. The binding is now supporting in theory 41 Rotel devices.

I would be happy if someone test the binding with a device that uses an ASCII protocol (all recent devices).

A test version can be downloaded from here: https://github.com/openhab/openhab2-addons/issues/5466#issuecomment-490877184

Current documentation: https://github.com/lolodomo/openhab2-addons/blob/rotel_bnd/bundles/org.openhab.binding.rotel/README.md

6

The binding is now supporting 41 Rotel models (in theory - I have not tested the binding with each of them). I added some new features, in particular for the models using the HEX protocol, like DSP modes management, zone management and record source management.

A new version can be downloaded here: https://github.com/openhab/openhab2-addons/issues/5466#issuecomment-497685553

Up-to-date documentation with full examples: https://github.com/lolodomo/openhab2-addons/blob/rotel_bnd/bundles/org.openhab.binding.rotel/README.md

The binding has been tested by myself with a RSP-1066 and by someone else (big thank you to him) with a RSP-1570. Any additional feedback would be appreciated.

7

The binding is now available in the Eclipse IoT marketplace and you can install it in your openHAB (tested in version 2.5 but should work in version 2.4 too).

And a PR is in progress for an integration in the official openHAB distribution.

8

The binding is now included in the official distribution starting at version 2.5 snapshot 1678.

9

@Lolodomo I’m new to OpenHAB (still just exploring). How would I go about hooking up my Rotel RA-11? What would I need in terms of hardware?

10

You need a serial cable. If you have no serial connector on your OH server, you need an additional serial to USB converter.
Read the first part of the binding documentation to understand all the alternatives.