Gateway V4 + Dimetix D-Series

The Dimetix D-Series Add-On extends the Lobaro Gateway V4 with support for Dimetix D-Series laser distance sensors connected via RS-485.

The gateway periodically powers the connected sensor, configures the internal Dimetix measurement filter, performs buffered tracking measurements and uploads the resulting distance value via cellular communication or LoRaWAN.

Features

All Gateway V4 Series platform features plus:

• Dimetix D-Series communication via RS-485
• Proprietary Dimetix ASCII protocol
• Buffered tracking measurements using sNf / sNq
• Configurable internal Dimetix filter
• Averaging of multiple distance measurements
• Configurable sensor power-on delay
• Configurable settling time after starting buffered tracking
• Sensor and communication error reporting
• Configurable Dimetix device ID (deviceId, 0..99) to match the address set on the laser
• 1-Wire temperature sensors (DS18B20) via the add-on connector , see Gateway V4 + Temperature

Product Components

Firmware

app-nrf91-origin · Firmware updates

Housing

LoCube — 122 × 82 × 55 mm

Power supply

Battery 38 Ah (Li-SOCl₂, 3.6 V) · External 12 V DC or 230 V AC available

Optional accessories

External antenna (SMA) · IP68 encapsulation · LoCube wall mounting kit · Pole mounting kit

note

The current firmware variant communicates with a single Dimetix sensor. Its device address is configured with the deviceId parameter (default 0) and has to match the ID stored in the laser.

Support for multiple addressed Dimetix sensors on the same RS-485 bus may be added in a future firmware version.

Product Identification

• Name: Wireless M-Bus Gateway V4 Dimetix
• Type: n/a
• MPN / Ordering code: n/a (on request, contact sales@lobaro.de)

Accessories

Accessory	Notes
LoCube Wall Mount	Optional — wall or horizontal pipe
LoCube Mast Mount	Metal bracket for vertical pole / mast mounting
USB Config Adapter	For local configuration, diagnostics, and firmware updates

LED Signal Patterns

The device uses the standard V4 LED signal patterns. See LED Signal Patterns for the full reference.

Configuration

The device is shipped with default configuration parameters. Local changes can be made via the config port using the USB Config Adapter and the Lobaro Config Tool.

For step-by-step instructions, see the Configuration Methods guides:

• 🔌 Local Config via USB — connect directly to the device
• 📡 Remote Config via CoAP — over NB-IoT / LTE-M via Lobaro Platform
• 📻 Remote Config via LoRaWAN — via LoRaWAN downlink
• 🔗 Remote Config via MQTT — for 3rd party MQTT backends

tip

Custom factory configuration is available on request — devices can be pre-configured at production for your specific deployment. Contact sales@lobaro.de when ordering.

warning

Default Values are the firmware defaults. Depending on the application the device may be delivered with different settings.

Connection

The Dimetix laser is connected to the Gateway V4 via RS-485. The laser's power supply may be switched by an external circuit (e.g. a relay) controlled by the Gateway V4. This allows the firmware to power the laser only when required for a measurement cycle before going to deep sleep again.

Optionally, DS18B20 1-Wire temperature sensors can be connected in addition to the laser, in the same way as on the Gateway V4 + Modbus.

Dimetix ASCII Protocol

Communication between the Gateway V4 and the Dimetix D-Series sensor uses the proprietary Dimetix ASCII protocol over RS-485. The protocol uses addressed ASCII commands. The device address is represented by N in the Dimetix command syntax. N is the device ID configured with the deviceId parameter (default 0). The firmware never changes the ID stored in the laser; it has to be set on the sensor beforehand with the Dimetix sNid command (Technical Reference Manual, section 8.3.2).

Examples of commands used by the firmware are:

Command	Description
sNc	Stop an active tracking measurement
sNfi	Configure the internal measurement filter
sNf	Start buffered tracking
sNq	Read a measurement from the tracking buffer

With the default deviceId of 0, the corresponding commands are for example s0f and s0q.

note

The Dimetix communication protocol is a proprietary ASCII protocol transported over RS-485. It is not Modbus ASCII.

For the complete command specification, refer to the Dimetix D-Series documentation.

Measurement Sequence

During each measurement cycle, the firmware performs the following sequence:

1. Enable the Gateway V4 VOUT channel.
2. Wait for PowerOnDelay.
3. Stop a potentially active tracking measurement using sNc.
4. Configure the Dimetix filter using sNfi.
5. Start buffered tracking using sNf with the configured sampling time.
6. Wait for TrackingStartDelay to allow the measurement/filter to settle.
7. Read measurements from the tracking buffer using sNq.
8. Collect the configured number of valid samples and calculate their arithmetic mean.
9. Upload the result.

If the config parameter filterLength is configured to a value between 2 and 32, the filter configuration is applied during every measurement cycle using sNfi. If filterLength is 0, no filter configuration command is sent. The Dimetix sNs command is intentionally not used. The settings therefore do not need to be written repeatedly to the sensor's non-volatile flash memory.

Buffered Tracking

Measurements are performed using the Dimetix buffered tracking mode.

The firmware starts tracking using:

s0f+<sampling-time>

and retrieves measurements using:

s0q

For example, a sampling time of 0 requests measurements as fast as the sensor can provide them:

s0f+0

The actual measurement rate depends on the connected Dimetix sensor, measurement conditions and sensor configuration.

Tracking Buffer Status

The response to sNq contains a status indicating whether a new measurement is available.

The firmware evaluates this status and only uses valid measurements for the averaging operation.

Filter Configuration

The firmware configures the internal Dimetix moving-average filter before starting the measurement. The command is generated from the configured filter parameters:

sNfi+<length>+<spikes>+<errors>

Example:

s0fi+32+2+2

This configures:

• Filter length: 32
• Spike suppression: 2
• Error suppression: 2

A longer filter can reduce measurement noise but also increases the time required until the filter contains enough measurements. TrackingStartDelay should therefore be chosen accordingly.

Configuration Parameters

This product runs the app-nrf91-origin firmware. To avoid duplication, the parameters are documented centrally with the firmware component and are not repeated here:

• Common firmware parameters — general, wireless M-Bus, LTE and LoRaWAN settings shared by all V4 gateways
• Dimetix Add-On parameters — Dimetix-specific settings
• Temperature Add-On parameters: 1-Wire temperature sensor settings

Result Processing

The gateway collects the configured number of valid buffered measurements and calculates their arithmetic mean. Only successful measurements are included in the average. If the measurement cannot be completed, the uplink contains an error result instead of a distance value.

Possible result classes are:

Result	Description
Success	Measurement completed and an averaged distance is available
Sensor error	The Dimetix sensor reported an error
Communication error	Communication with the sensor failed
Insufficient samples	Not enough valid measurements were available

Firmware Updates

This add-on does not yet have a dedicated released firmware package.

All Gateway V4 variants run the app-nrf91-origin firmware. For firmware update instructions, refer to the Firmware Update guide.

note

A dedicated firmware release for the Dimetix D-Series add-on is not yet published. The base Gateway V4 firmware remains the reference firmware for this product family.

LoRaWAN Uplink Formats

• LoRaWAN Protocol — Status Packet (Port 1) and wM-Bus uplink formats
• Dimetix Add-on LoRaWAN Uplinks
• 1-Wire temperature uplinks

Cellular Uplink (LTE)

Cellular uplink uses CoAP (with the Lobaro IoT Platform) or MQTT for third-party integration. The protocol details are documented centrally with the firmware:

• MQTT Protocol
• CoAP Communication

The CoAP implementation details are not publicly disclosed and are intended for use exclusively with the Lobaro IoT Platform. If MQTT is not an option, please contact Lobaro directly.

Limitations

The current implementation supports one Dimetix sensor per gateway. Its device address is configurable with the deviceId parameter (0..99) and has to match the ID stored in the laser. The Dimetix protocol itself supports several addressed devices on one RS-485 bus; reading more than one sensor per gateway would additionally require sequential sensor acquisition and an extended uplink format.

Uplink Parser

A production-ready parser for the uplinks of this device is implemented within the Lobaro Platform. It covers the wireless M-Bus telegrams (including split telegram reassembly where applicable, AES-128 decryption for encrypted telegrams, and OMS-compliant data interpretation) as well as the add-on data of the respective variant, for example Modbus responses or sensor values.

Customers using the Lobaro Platform can utilize this parser directly as part of the platform processing pipeline.

If you are operating a Lobaro Gateway without using the Lobaro Platform, we can provide restricted platform access upon request. This allows you to inspect the parser behavior and use it as a technical reference for your own backend implementation.

Please contact our support team if you require access or further integration details.

Declaration of Conformity

Download CE declaration of conformity