6 ms·

Reverse engineering a Worcester-Bosch DT10RF wireless thermostat

28 points by duck 12y ago

kens 12y ago
Is a "boiler" the same as a hot water heater? Or is this a combination furnace for radiators and hot water? I'm confused by the British terms and searching around a bit didn't help.
- robin_reala 12y ago
  It supplies the central heating and hot water for sinks. Britain generally doesn’t get hot enough to require air conditioning and houses aren’t built with it even now, so there’s no temperature regulation through that. Boilers are nearly always gas powered (electrical systems are called ‘immersion heaters’). Old boilers fed a hot water tank in the loft, but newer ones usually heat water as required.
- DanBC 12y ago
  The photo on the OP shows a "combi boiler". This supplies hot water on demand for faucets and for heating radiators. The temperature of the hot water and the radiators are set separately.
rb12345 12y ago
I have a similar boiler/thermostat to the one in the article, and my thermostat also tends to cut out once a year or so. I tracked that down to the battery terminals corroding quite badly, and once the oxide layer is removed the thermostat works fine again for the next year or so. It's still an impressive bit of reverse engineering though.
Decade 12y ago
There's one aspect that has made me leery about the Internet of Things: The Things tend to be stupid, insecure, and non-extensible. This wireless thermostat is a perfect example. So, good for Steven for figuring out how to make his life more comfortable. It's clearly vulnerable to replay attacks from mischievous neighbors, but he'll probably be fine. It's an inspiration for me to make my own smarter thermostat.
andmarios 12y ago
Nice article! Following your steps it just took me less than 20 minutes to decode my wireless socket and control it via arduino. Many thanks!
eyeareque 12y ago
Awesome work and write up. I love seeing stories such as these, very impressive. I wonder if he had added a better antenna if that would have solved the connectivity issue.

28 points by duck 12y ago

kens 12y ago

Is a "boiler" the same as a hot water heater? Or is this a combination furnace for radiators and hot water? I'm confused by the British terms and searching around a bit didn't help.

robin_reala 12y ago
It supplies the central heating and hot water for sinks. Britain generally doesn’t get hot enough to require air conditioning and houses aren’t built with it even now, so there’s no temperature regulation through that. Boilers are nearly always gas powered (electrical systems are called ‘immersion heaters’). Old boilers fed a hot water tank in the loft, but newer ones usually heat water as required.
DanBC 12y ago
The photo on the OP shows a "combi boiler". This supplies hot water on demand for faucets and for heating radiators. The temperature of the hot water and the radiators are set separately.

rb12345 12y ago

I have a similar boiler/thermostat to the one in the article, and my thermostat also tends to cut out once a year or so. I tracked that down to the battery terminals corroding quite badly, and once the oxide layer is removed the thermostat works fine again for the next year or so. It's still an impressive bit of reverse engineering though.

Decade 12y ago

There's one aspect that has made me leery about the Internet of Things: The Things tend to be stupid, insecure, and non-extensible. This wireless thermostat is a perfect example. So, good for Steven for figuring out how to make his life more comfortable. It's clearly vulnerable to replay attacks from mischievous neighbors, but he'll probably be fine. It's an inspiration for me to make my own smarter thermostat.

andmarios 12y ago

Nice article! Following your steps it just took me less than 20 minutes to decode my wireless socket and control it via arduino. Many thanks!

eyeareque 12y ago

Awesome work and write up. I love seeing stories such as these, very impressive. I wonder if he had added a better antenna if that would have solved the connectivity issue.