ESPHome ARC Bridge Component

This component is for use with the Pulse 2 Hub after installing ESPHome onto the hardware: https://www.geektech.co.nz/esphome-pulse-2-hub

This ESPHome component implements the Rollease Acmeda ARC ASCII serial protocol over an ESP32 UART interface. It allows direct control of ARC blinds without the original Pulse 2 Hub — supporting full cover control, automatic discovery, and live feedback (RSSI, status, and position).

Features

• Full cover entity control (open, close, stop, move to %)
• Group covers using arc_bridge_group
• Round-robin polling for position, link quality, and static blind data
• Optional link quality, status, voltage, battery level, speed, version, and limits sensors
• Random-assignment pairing with bridge-level feedback sensors
• Pairing, refresh, favorite, and jog actions from ESPHome buttons
• Works with ESPHome on both esp-idf and Arduino

Installation

esp32:
  board: esp32dev
  framework:
    type: esp-idf

external_components:
  - source: github://redstorm1/arc-bridge
    components: [arc_bridge, arc_bridge_group]
    refresh: 1s

# ──────────────────────────────────────────────
# UART (STM32 link)
# ──────────────────────────────────────────────
uart:
  - id: rf_a
    rx_pin: GPIO13    # ESP RX  ← STM32 TX
    tx_pin: GPIO15    # ESP TX  → STM32 RX
    baud_rate: 115200
    data_bits: 8
    parity: NONE
    stop_bits: 1
    rx_buffer_size: 4096

arc_bridge:
  id: arc
  uart_id: rf_a
  auto_poll: true        # set false to disable queries entirely
  auto_poll_interval: 10s
  motion_tx_gap: 200ms
  command_retries: 1
  command_retry_timeout: 1500ms
  pairing_status: pairing_status
  last_paired_id: last_paired_id

Arduino is still supported if you prefer framework.type: arduino.

Auto-Poll (Recommended)

The bridge rotates through known blinds and queries them one at a time for position and RF status.

Setting	Description	Default
auto_poll	Enables background polling	true
auto_poll_interval	Time between each blind query	10s
motion_tx_gap	Internal spacing for motion commands	200ms
command_retries	Retries safe motion commands after a missed reply	1
command_retry_timeout	Wait time before verification and retry	1500ms

Setting auto_poll_interval: 0s disables polling completely.

Cover Entities

cover:
  - platform: arc_bridge
    bridge_id: arc
    id: usz
    device_class: shade
    name: "Office Blind"
    blind_id: "USZ"
    link_quality: lq_usz
    status: status_usz
    voltage: voltage_usz
    battery_level: battery_usz

  - platform: arc_bridge
    bridge_id: arc
    id: nom
    device_class: curtain
    name: "Living Drape"
    blind_id: "NOM"
    link_quality: lq_nom
    status: status_nom

Each cover supports open, close, stop, and set position.

Use device_class: shade for roller / roman / zebra / cellular-style blinds and device_class: curtain for drapery / curtain motors.

New configs should use voltage:. The legacy power: key is still accepted for backwards compatibility.

If you want to control several blinds as one cover:

cover:
  - platform: arc_bridge_group
    id: living_room
    name: "Living Room"
    members: [usz, khn, hw4, j8u]

members: takes existing arc_bridge cover IDs. Grouped moves are still sent one blind at a time, just with the faster motion gap.

Optional Sensors

sensor:
  - platform: template
    id: lq_usz
    name: "Office Blind Link Quality"
    entity_category: diagnostic
    unit_of_measurement: "dBm"
    device_class: signal_strength

  - platform: template
    id: battery_usz
    name: "Office Blind Battery"
    unit_of_measurement: "%"
    accuracy_decimals: 0
    device_class: battery

  - platform: template
    id: speed_usz
    name: "Office Blind Speed"
    entity_category: diagnostic
    unit_of_measurement: "rpm"
    icon: "mdi:speedometer"

  - platform: template
    id: lq_nom
    name: "Living Drape Link Quality"
    entity_category: diagnostic
    unit_of_measurement: "dBm"
    device_class: signal_strength

text_sensor:
  - platform: template
    id: pairing_status
    name: "ARC Pairing Status"
    entity_category: diagnostic

  - platform: template
    id: last_paired_id
    name: "ARC Last Paired ID"
    entity_category: diagnostic

  - platform: template
    id: status_usz
    name: "Office Blind Status"
    entity_category: diagnostic

  - platform: template
    id: status_nom
    name: "Living Drape Status"
    entity_category: diagnostic

  - platform: template
    id: version_usz
    name: "Office Blind Version"
    entity_category: diagnostic

  - platform: template
    id: limits_usz
    name: "Office Blind Limits"
    entity_category: config

These are updated from ARC messages:

• pairing_status: Pairing, Paired, Timed Out, or Error: ...
• last_paired_id: the blind ID returned by a successful pairing acknowledgement
• status: Online, Offline, Not Paired, No Position
• version: decoded motor type/version such as AC v2.1
• limits: Unset, Upper/Lower Set, Upper/Lower/Preferred Set
• voltage / power: 0.00 V indicates an AC or mains-powered motor
• battery_level: derived from pVc using a fixed 3S Li-ion curve

Use device_class: signal_strength for ARC RSSI sensors reported in dBm. If you later create a percentage-based signal sensor, do not reuse device_class: signal_strength.

Manual Actions

You can trigger pairing and other safe bridge actions directly from ESPHome or Home Assistant:

button:
  - platform: template
    name: "ARC Pairing"
    entity_category: config
    on_press:
      - lambda: |-
          id(arc)->send_pair_command();

  - platform: template
    name: "ARC Query All"
    entity_category: diagnostic
    on_press:
      - lambda: |-
          id(arc)->send_query_all();

  - platform: template
    name: "Office Blind Favorite"
    on_press:
      - lambda: |-
          id(arc)->send_favorite("USZ");

  - platform: template
    name: "Office Blind Jog Open"
    on_press:
      - lambda: |-
          id(arc)->send_jog_open("USZ");

  - platform: template
    name: "Office Blind Jog Close"
    on_press:
      - lambda: |-
          id(arc)->send_jog_close("USZ");

There are no built-in discovery or pairing ESPHome services in this repo. Use the bridge methods above instead.

Any older YAML lambda calling send_pair_command_with_id(...) should be changed to send_pair_command(). This hardware only pairs by assigning a random ID to the newly paired device.

Protocol Details

Standard frame format: !<id><command><data>;

Examples:

• !USZr100b180; -> Blind USZ, position 100, link quality present
• !QJ0A; -> Pairing or admin acknowledgement from blind QJ0
• !QJ0Edf; -> Generic protocol error from blind QJ0
• !USZEnl; -> Lost link
• !USZEnp; -> Not paired

Position mapping: ARC 0 = open -> HA 1.0, ARC 100 = closed -> HA 0.0

During an active pairing session, !XXXA; is treated as pairing success. Outside pairing, the same A reply is logged as a generic admin acknowledgement and does not create a false pair-success event.

Known Limitations

• No encrypted ARC+ protocol support
• No raw Pulse 1 hub-address mode such as !XXXDYYY...;
• Tilt-capable devices are currently treated as basic position covers only
• Motor type/version values such as Socket or Lighting are informational and are not first-class arc_bridge cover targets
• Motor type/version text does not auto-select entity behavior
• Static values like version and limits are refreshed when first discovered and when send_query_all() is used

License

MIT License © 2025 Redstorm