Installing ESPHome on the Rollease Acmeda Pulse 2 Hub

The Rollease Acmeda Pulse 2 Hub can be repurposed into a powerful ESPHome-based ARC bridge by flashing custom firmware directly onto its onboard ESP32-D0WD-V3 module.
This allows direct serial communication with ARC-protocol blind motors, removing the need for the original cloud firmware or mobile app.

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Hardware Overview

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ESP32 Pin & Bus Mapping

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Electrical Architecture

• The ESP32 communicates with the STM32L051 over UART (115200 baud, 8N1).

• The STM32 controls the RF transmitter for ARC radio communication.

• The LAN8720A provides wired Ethernet; clocked externally through GPIO 0.

• The PCA9554 handles LED outputs and expansion pins via I²C (SDA = GPIO 14, SCL = GPIO 4).

• Power distribution is 3.3 V throughout the logic section.

This architecture allows ESPHome to use Ethernet networking while simultaneously driving the RF microcontroller through UART.

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Programming & Debug Interface

The Pulse 2 Hub is based on an ESP32-D0WD-V3 module, which exposes a standard UART bootloader interface suitable for programming via USB-to-serial adapters such as FTDI Basic, CP2102, or CH340. The RX and TX pins for the ESP are clearly labeled, also the RX and TX pins for the STM32L051C6 are also exposed but likely the flash protection for the RF firmware will be enabled to prevent extraction.

UART Boot Pins

These are the same pins used by the onboard firmware for serial flashing. Once programmed, ESPHome disables UART0 logs to free TX/RX for other functions.

Boot & Flash Procedure

1. Connect a 3.3 V USB-to-Serial adapter:

   • Adapter TX → ESP32 RX (GPIO 3)

   • Adapter RX → ESP32 TX (GPIO 1)

   • Adapter GND → Board GND

2. Pull GPIO 0 → GND (BOOT mode).

3. Momentarily pull EN → GND to reset.

4. Flash ESPHome via esphome run pulse2hub.yaml --device /dev/ttyUSB0.

5. Release GPIO 0 to return to normal run mode.

 

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ESPHome Highlights

• Ethernet: Fully functional via LAN8720 (GPIO 16/23/0/2, phy_addr 1)

• I²C: PCA9554 expander controls RGB LEDs

• UART: Bridges to STM32 for ARC protocol

• Buttons:

  • GPIO 36 → Pairing (!000&;)

  • GPIO 39 → Software reboot (ESP.restart())

• Covers: Six motorized blinds defined via the arc_bridge component

• Sensors: Each blind exposes Link Quality (dBm) and Status (Online/Offline/Not paired)

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YAML Configuration Summary

esphome:

  name: pulse2hubdev

  friendly_name: pulse2hubdev

  on_boot:

    priority: -200

    then:

      - logger.log: "Waiting for Ethernet link ..."

      - wait_until:

          lambda: 'return id(eth0).is_connected();'

      - logger.log: "Ethernet up"

      - switch.turn_on: green

esp32:

  board: esp32dev

  framework:

    type: arduino

    version: recommended

 

logger:

  level: DEBUG

  baud_rate: 0       # disable serial logging, free UART0 pins

 

ethernet:

  id: eth0

  type: LAN8720

  mdc_pin: GPIO16

  mdio_pin: GPIO23

  clk:

    pin: GPIO0

    mode: CLK_EXT_IN

  phy_addr: 1

  power_pin: GPIO2

web_server:

  port: 80

 

 

i2c:

  id: i2c_bus

  sda: GPIO14

  scl: GPIO4

  frequency: 100kHz

  scan: false

 

pca9554:

  - id: pca9554a_device

    i2c_id: i2c_bus

    address: 0x41

 

switch:

  - platform: gpio

    name: "LED Red"

    id: red

    pin:

      pca9554: pca9554a_device

      number: 0

      mode: { output: true }

      inverted: true

 

  - platform: gpio

    name: "LED Blue"

    id: blue

    pin:

      pca9554: pca9554a_device

      number: 1

      mode: { output: true }

      inverted: true

 

  - platform: gpio

    name: "LED Green"

    id: green

    pin:

      pca9554: pca9554a_device

      number: 2

      mode: { output: true }

      inverted: true

 

 

 

button:

  - platform: template

    name: "ARC Bridge Pairing"

    icon: "mdi:link-plus"

    on_press:

      - lambda: |-

          id(arc)->send_pair_command();

  - platform: template

    name: "ARC Bridge Version"

    icon: "mdi:link-plus"

    on_press:

      - lambda: |-

          id(arc)->send_simple("000", 'v', "?");

  - platform: template

    name: "ARC Bridge Global Position"

    icon: "mdi:link-plus"

    on_press:

      - lambda: |-

          id(arc)->send_simple("000", 'r', "?");

 

 

binary_sensor:

  - platform: gpio

    name: "Button GPIO36 Pair"

    pin:

      number: GPIO36

      mode:

        input: true

      inverted: true

    on_press:

      - lambda: |-

          id(arc)->send_pair_command();

 

  - platform: gpio

    name: "Button (GPIO39) Reboot"

    pin:

      number: GPIO39

      mode:

        input: true

      inverted: true        # flip to true if the logic is active-low

    on_press:

      then:

        - lambda: |-

            ESP_LOGI("reboot", "Manual reboot triggered via GPIO39");

            ESP.restart();

external_components:

  - source: github://redstorm1/arc-bridge

    components: [arc_bridge]

    refresh: 1s   # optional while iterating to force refetch

 

uart:

  - id: rf_a

    rx_pin: GPIO13    # STM32 RX ← ESP TX

    tx_pin: GPIO15    # STM32 TX → ESP RX

    baud_rate: 115200

    data_bits: 8

    parity: NONE

    stop_bits: 1

    rx_buffer_size: 4096

 

arc_bridge:

  id: arc

  uart_id: rf_a

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

 

sensor:

  - platform: template

    id: lq_usz

    name: "Office Blind Link Quality"

    unit_of_measurement: "dBm"

    icon: "mdi:signal"

 

text_sensor:

  - platform: template

    id: status_usz

    name: "Office Blind Status"

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Functional Summary

Once flashed with this configuration, the Pulse 2 Hub behaves as a standalone ARC bridge:

• Periodically queries each blind for position and RSSI.

• Automatically updates Home Assistant entities (Online, Offline, Not paired).

• Provides a pairing button (both virtual and physical).

• Fully controllable covers — open, close, stop, move to %, or tilt.

• Ethernet connectivity provides a robust, low-latency link.

• Local-only operation — no OEM firmware or cloud required.

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Result

With ESPHome running, the Pulse 2 Hub becomes a self-contained, LAN-connected ARC gateway.
It retains all original hardware functionality — Ethernet, RGB LEDs, pairing button, and RF radio — but now integrates natively with Home Assistant for complete, privacy-friendly blind automation.

 

ESP Web Interface

Home Assistant Entities

External Whip Antenna Upgrade

In the next stage, I’ll be adding an external 433 MHz whip antenna to improve RF range and reliability.
The Pulse 2 Hub PCB conveniently includes an antenna pad and link selector near the RF section — a 0 Ω link or solder jumper that routes the RF feed between the on-board printed F-antenna and the external antenna pad.
By removing the link to the PCB trace and soldering a short coax (e.g. RG-174 or U.FL pigtail) to the pad, the signal can be routed to an external whip or SMA bulkhead connector mounted on the enclosure.

This modification isolates the internal antenna and allows for:

• Higher-gain omnidirectional or whip antennas

• Flexible placement for better reception across multiple blinds

• Reduced interference from the chassis and Ethernet shielding