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How do I install a Waveshare gateway?

Install Python once, run one script, paste the MAC into Artemis.

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Written by Sam Aerts

One script sets up a Waveshare gateway on site and shows its MAC address at the end. That MAC goes into Artemis. Helios uses it to find the gateway again when the router gives it a new address.

Once per laptop: install Python

Do this at the office or at home: it needs internet.

Windows

  1. Go to python.org/downloads. Do not click the big yellow button. Click the link under it: Or get the standalone installer for Python 3.x. Already clicked the yellow button? Open that file, click Install, then (still with internet) open a new command window, type py install default, press Enter at every question and go to step 4.

  2. Open the downloaded file. At the bottom of the first screen, tick Add python.exe to PATH. Click Install Now and allow the change. Windows asks for an admin password you do not have? Go back, untick Use admin privileges when installing py.exe and try again.

  3. Open a new command window: Start, type cmd, press Enter.

  4. Type py --version. You should see Python 3.9 or higher.

Mac

  1. Go to python.org/downloads and click the yellow button Download Python 3.x.

  2. Open the downloaded file and click through the installer.

  3. Open Terminal: Cmd+Space, type Terminal, press Enter. Use Apple's Terminal, not VS Code or iTerm: only Terminal may reach devices on the local network without asking.

  4. Type python3 --version. You should see Python 3.9 or higher.

💡 A popup about "command line developer tools"? Click Cancel, quit Terminal (Cmd+Q) and open it again. Still there? Run the installer from step 2 again.

Once per laptop: get the scripts

📦 Download link: follows once the scripts are released.

Unzip it (a Mac often does this by itself: then there is already a folder in Downloads). On Windows: right-click the zip, Extract All. Do not run the scripts from inside the zip.

Which script

  • Cable to the customer's router: install_ethernet.py. This is the normal choice.

  • Wifi, only when there is no network socket nearby: install_wifi.py. The customer's wifi must be 2.4 GHz with WPA2. Have the wifi name and password ready. A wifi name with a space does not work with the script yet: contact us before you go.

🔎 Consider a longer RS485 cable before choosing wifi. RS485 runs up to 1000 m, and a cable keeps working when the customer changes router or wifi password.

Step 1: Wire the inverter and power the gateway

Wiring and inverter settings are in the article for your inverter model, for example Sofar ESI S1. Leave the network cable out of the router for now.

Step 2: Start the script on the customer's network

  1. Put the laptop on the customer's main network. Not the guest network. Switch off any VPN.

  2. Open a command window in the scripts folder. Windows: open the folder in Explorer, click the address bar, type cmd, press Enter. Mac: in Terminal type cd and a space, drag the folder onto the window, press Enter. If macOS asks whether Terminal may open your Downloads folder, click OK.

  3. Type py install_ethernet.py (Windows) or python3 install_ethernet.py (Mac). For wifi: install_wifi.py.

Step 3: Follow the screen

  1. When the script asks, connect the laptop to the wifi Waveshare_XXXX. It has no password. If the laptop jumps back to another wifi by itself, reconnect to Waveshare_XXXX.

  2. The script sets everything and shows the gateway's admin password. Write it on the work order now.

  3. When asked, plug the cable into the router (cable only).

  4. Cut the gateway's power for 10 seconds.

  5. Put the laptop back on the customer's network and press Enter.

  6. The script searches for the gateway for up to 4 minutes and reads the inverter's serial number as proof.

💡 Windows: clicking inside the black window pauses the script. Press Esc to continue.

Step 4: Put the MAC into Artemis

The end screen shows the MAC address and the admin password. In Artemis, at the inverter's Network address, set Address type to Device MAC address and paste the MAC.

The work order is the only copy of the admin password: there is no label on the gateway.

🚨 Only use the MAC from the end screen. The gateway has four MAC addresses, depending on how it is connected. Only the one on the end screen is what Helios sees.

Not working?

  • No Waveshare_XXXX wifi, or it will not let you in → the gateway was set up before. With the power on, hold RELOAD for 5 to 15 seconds, release, cut the power once, start again.

  • The script finds nothing after the power cut → is the cable in a LAN port of the router? Is the laptop on the main network with VPN off? Start the script again.

  • Gateway found, no serial number → wiring. See the inverter article: swap A and B, then check baud rate and address.

  • Mac says "No route to host" → use Apple's Terminal, or allow the app under System Settings > Privacy & Security > Local Network.

  • Still stuck → contact us with the gateway name (Waveshare_XXXX) and a photo of the screen.

🚨 Do not use the gateway's web page. Saving a form there resets settings on other pages.

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