Cheap Onzo Energy meter - £8

[bazza white]

Dr Doofenshmirtz said:

Another new Onzo club member here checking in
For £6.50 they're really good. Mine came without batteries, but seems happy on Alkalines.

I've got a small 600w solar system, and these meters seem cleaver enough to measure current flow direction such that it reads zero when I'm exporting back to the grid...which is nice. My other meter just got all confused.

Strange mine doesnt have flow detection so usless for total usage but handy for tellng me production. 3kw on go leccy heaters


Batteries in the display unit don't last long i switched over to usb power.

[jumpjack]

I have some questions:
1 - why are you using alkaline batteries on the transmitter? The transmitter is supposed to use batteries only as a "current buffer", i.e. it continuously recharges the batteries by harvesting energy from the mains. I think using alkaline batteries could lead to damages.
2 - is the 433 MHz protocol known? Is anybody aware of projects for "sniffing" data transmission? It could be interesting to "refurbish" the project to get it directly connected to a smartphone through WiFi/bluetooth using ans ESP32.
3 - does anybody here know if it could be possible to connect to display/receiver over USB using a smartphone rather than a PC?
4 - being the project discontinued, is circuit schematic available somewhere?
5 - can anybody provde advice to purchase a suitable AC/AC converter amazon? I can only find AC/DC adapters. Or does it come with the ONZO? My mains are rated 220V.

[TonyRPH]

jumpjack said:

I have some questions:
1 - why are you using alkaline batteries on the transmitter? The transmitter is supposed to use batteries only as a "current buffer", i.e. it continuously recharges the batteries by harvesting energy from the mains. I think using alkaline batteries could lead to damages.

My transmitter has been running on alkaline batteries for about 10 months with no issue. I've not even had to replace them yet.

jumpjack said:

2 - is the 433 MHz protocol known? Is anybody aware of projects for "sniffing" data transmission? It could be interesting to "refurbish" the project to get it directly connected to a smartphone through WiFi/bluetooth using ans ESP32.

Read back through the thread - there is a software decoder for the unit, but I don't think it's very good.

jumpjack said:

3 - does anybody here know if it could be possible to connect to display/receiver over USB using a smartphone rather than a PC?

Not that I know of.

jumpjack said:

4 - being the project discontinued, is circuit schematic available somewhere?

I haven't been able to find one - but I doubt it anyway.

jumpjack said:

5 - can anybody provde advice to purchase a suitable AC/AC converter amazon? I can only find AC/DC adapters. Or does it come with the ONZO? My mains are rated 220V.

What do you want an AC/AC converter for?

[MJ85]

My batteries died in the clip on unit and with new batteries, it won't pair. The light comes on with the heart button, but nothing happens when you push the sync button. The display's sync button appears to work and searches, but finds nothing.

Is it dead?

[saaby93]

MJ85 said:

My batteries died in the clip on unit and with new batteries, it won't pair. The light comes on with the heart button, but nothing happens when you push the sync button. The display's sync button appears to work and searches, but finds nothing.

Is it dead?

How close together are they when you try to sync?

[MJ85]

saaby93 said:

MJ85 said:

My batteries died in the clip on unit and with new batteries, it won't pair. The light comes on with the heart button, but nothing happens when you push the sync button. The display's sync button appears to work and searches, but finds nothing.

Is it dead?

How close together are they when you try to sync?

Tried it with them touching.

[saaby93]

MJ85 said:

saaby93 said:

MJ85 said:

My batteries died in the clip on unit and with new batteries, it won't pair. The light comes on with the heart button, but nothing happens when you push the sync button. The display's sync button appears to work and searches, but finds nothing.

Is it dead?

How close together are they when you try to sync?

Tried it with them touching.

I had a similar issue but cant remember exactly what fixed it.
In the end I bought a second one as the first one was misreading

Take all the batteries out of both units for ten minutes and start again?

[MJ85]

The display is powered using USB. I'll try with taking the new batteries out and starting again. Cheers.

[saaby93]

Mine has now died after 2 years. In the clip on unit the spring terminals are covered in white stuff again.
After the first 3 months of novelty the head unit has just been an ornament on the shelf.

Edited by saaby93 on Saturday 10th October 19:59

[TonyRPH]

Mine is still going well 2 years (and a month) after I installed it.

The transmitter is still running on original (non rechargeable) batteries too!

It's surplus to requirements now though, as I bought an Eco Eye Smart energy monitor which connects to my computer and I can generate daily stats etc.

[MJ85]

These are now rare and collectable, going by eBay prices. Double your money!

[Mr Pointy]

MJ85 said:

These are now rare and collectable, going by eBay prices. Double your money!

I'm devastated; I put mine in the recycling skip.

[Akz]

Any alternatives to these at a reasonable price? Not seeing any available on eBay now

[shtu]

Akz said:

Any alternatives to these at a reasonable price? Not seeing any available on eBay now

There is one.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/265413275849

[bazza white]

interestingly was taking mine off today.I liked the unit but the sender unit eats batteries so gave up on it.