EKM Metering

It would appear that my EKM PUSH gateway has failed!

I recently went to check my power consumption and the data had stopped being uploaded/recorded to the cloud server on the March 13th afternoon/evening. Now thinking it could have just been a temporary outage of the PUSH cloud server, I didn't give it a second thought until a few days later when I wanted to check the power consumption of a new appliance we had purchased.

Well the last recorded data was still the same as days earlier (March 13th) and the EKM DASH software activity was reporting "Bad Connection Check User Key" or something along those lines. Not having any time to look into it I let it slide till the weekend when I would have more time to look into the problem.

So First things first:
* Check internet cable connection – OK; Full Speed
* Check cable connections to PUSH – OK
* Check PUSH LED Status – OK; appear to be operating as normal – Power Solid “Red” , Internet Flashing “Red/Green” & RS485 flashing “Red/Green”
* Check ethernet connection at PUSH device – OK; Full Speed
* Check for RS485 data using a USB serial adapter and DASH software – OK; returns data at requested interval with no bad connections.
* Check user key in EKM DASH - OK, but re-entered key to ensure that the User Key had not become corrupted - Problem persists!
* Try a power reset by removing power from the PUSH device, wait a few minutes then restore power –
PROBLEM, Power LED appears OK, Internet LED appears OK but RS485 LED is totally “OFF” no initialization, no flashing not even a flicker.
* Check wiring connections yet again, but still no RS485 communication from the PUSH gateway.
* Log directly to http://io.ekmpush.com to check if data was being uploaded and possibly not being accessed by the DASH software - No go, the last data recorded was March 13th as well.
* Last roll of the dice for the longest shot of all time - Try an alternate power supply - but as expected no difference whatsoever!!

OK - So check the EKM PUSH Data Spec Sheet for LED Status
LED Lights (from right to left):

• Power: solid green indicates the Push is powered up.

Lights “Green” on power up then reverts to solid “Red”

• Internet: solid green indicates a internet connection has been established
Flashes “Red” on power up then alternately flashes “Red/Green” after an internet connection has been established, PUSH Ethernet Port Lights operating as expected!

• RS-485: syncopated red and green blinking indicates data is being pushed over the internet. If your meter is set to be read once per minute, these lights will flash once per minute.
Prior to re-booting the PUSH gateway this LED was flashing “Red/Green” but now is not operating at all.

So judging by my testing and comparing my results with the LED light status it appears that the RS485 circuitry of the PUSH has failed or for some unknown reason maybe the firmware has become corrupted.

So where to from here?

Can I perform a hard reset using a specific procedure to restore functionality?

Can a hard reset be performed by way of a shorting link or reset switch internal to the PUSH device to restore functionality?

Can the firmware be remotely accessed or updated to restore functionality?

EKM PUSH ID: 000000060037
Meter #’s: 10269, 12624 & 12627 (12627 not currently uploading data)
Well to be honest none of the meters are capable of uploading data at the moment are they!

Hello BlueHornet,

Thanks for the detailed post.

Im going to start by guessing that your device is flashed with firmware version "H". Im pretty sure that most devices that are flashed with "H" had a black case. To check this turn your Push gateway over and look at the label on the back. One of the fields will say Firmware:

Here is the issue. H devices were some of the first Pushes deployed to the field. We had devices flashed with H pointed to a server of their own to get instructions of where to look for their meter assignments, and where to go to send their data. Long story short, we essentially lost access to this server and it went down (our mistake ). So your Push can continue to operate forever, until something hiccups and it needs to download its working image again. But in your case it tries to go to the server that is no longer there and keeps trying.

The only way to fix this is to send us your Push gateway, we will re-flash it to the latest factory image (there is no way to do this remotely) and you will be off and running again. Of course we will cover shipping both ways to make this happen.

We are very sorry for this inconvenience, anyone else out there that is in the same boat, please contact us or send us your Push that is flashed to "H" and we will update your device.

Best regards,

Thanks for your reply Jameson.

Yes the PUSH gateway is a firmware revision "H" black box.

Will this latest firmware be upgradeable remotely for V4 meters?

Shipping costs to the United States with tracking or signature (not both) up to 2 kg is AU$48.55 - this is the cheapest rate by air (Australia Post) unless you have an alternate service you would like me to use.

Is this the address you would like me to the gateway to:

EKM Metering
363 Berkeley Way
Santa Cruz, CA 95062

Great thanks for working with us on this one.

Yes, we will flash your device to image 51, which is what we have been using for roughly 8 months. All of these devices will be able to be used with v4 meters when the time comes.

Shipping cost seems fine, it is worth it to us to have all of our customers on the same page. Yes, the shipping address to EKM Metering is correct.

Thanks again,

As a matter of interest, I have one of the earliest versions of the PUSH gateway (sitting in a cupboard) in a black box with only some port & LED labels but no branding or firmware revisions. Can the firmware for this be reflashed and serve as a spare if I were to send them together?

Id say, as long as the LEDs are facing forward (not pointing up which is the super original hardware), otherwise send it also and we will upgrade it to the latest hardware.

Thanks again for your help,