Quiet Cool RF Remote with ESPHOME

Operate your remote controlled QuietCool Fan from ESPHome or Arduino.

This project implements an RF remote control system for Quiet Cool fans using an ESP32 microcontroller and CC1101 RF module. The system can control various fan speeds and modes through RF signals.

WARNING WARNING WARNING

**This should have been obvious to me before. Alas, it wasn't. Each RF remote has a unique ID built-in, and this code literally only works with my remote for that reason. Currently, getting this working will take some effort decoding your individual remote. Lame, I know. Whatcha gonna do? **

TL;DR -- get it running on ESPHome

Get a generateic CC1101 board. Like this CC1101 Board

Make these connections from your ESP32 to your CC1101 chip/board.

NOTE: the pinouts on these boards seem to be not reliable. I had to trace them manually to figure out which header pin went to which CC1101 pin.

Module Pin	CC1101 Pin Name	CC1101 Pin #	ESP32 Pin
1	GND	16,19,PAD	GND
2	VCC	-	3.3V
3	GDO0	6	GPIO13
4	CSn	7	GPIO15
5	SCK	1	GPIO18
6	MOSI	20	GPIO23
7	MISO	2	GPIO19
8	GDO2	3	GPIO12

TL;DR -- get it running on ESPHome from ESPHome Builder on HomeAssistant

• Go to ESPHome Builder
• Click "+ NEW DEVICE" at the bottom of the screen
• Click CONTINUE
• name your fan
• click the ESP32 type you have.
• click SKIP
• on your new entry, click EDIT
• add the following to the bottom of the file:

spi:
  clk_pin: 18
  mosi_pin: 23
  miso_pin: 19

external_components:
  - source:
      type: git
      url: https://github.com/ccrome/quiet-cool-rf-remote.git
      ref: main
    components: [ quiet_cool ]

fan:
  - platform: quiet_cool
    name: QuietCool fan
    cs_pin: 15
    gdo0_pin: 13
    gdo2_pin: 12
    remote_id: [0x2D, 0xD4, 0x06, 0xCB, 0x00, 0xF7, 0xF2]
# optional variables
#    center_freq_mhz: 433.897
#    deviation_khz: 10

• click INSTALL and install it in the normal ESPHome ways...

TL;DR -- get it running on ESPHome, building locally

Create a secrets.yaml file

wifi_ssid: <ssid>
wifi_password: <wifi password>
api_enctryption_key: <api key>
ota_password: <ota password>

compile, upload, and run

esphome compile quietcool-fan-example.yaml && \
esphome upload --device /dev/ttyUSB0 quietcool-fan-example.yaml  && \
esphome logs --device /dev/ttyUSB0 quietcool-fan-example.yaml

If everything is working, you should see

[16:48:24][D][quietcool:168]: gdo0_pin = 13, gdo2_pin = 12
[16:48:24][I][quietcool:174]: Starting CC1101 setup
[16:48:24][D][quietcool:041]: sck:18, miso:19, mosi:23, csn:15
[16:48:24][I][quietcool:047]: CC1101 VERSION READ: 0x00
[16:48:24][I][quietcool:047]: CC1101 VERSION READ: 0x14
[16:48:24][I][quietcool:049]: CC1101 detected!
[16:48:24][I][quietcool:179]: CC1101 ready
[16:48:24][D][empty_fan.fan:022]: QuietCool initialized

Configuration

Required Configuration

The remote_id field is required and must match your specific QuietCool remote. This is a 7-byte identifier that uniquely identifies your remote control.

Note: QuietCool fans can pair with multiple remotes. This means you may not need to decode your existing remote's ID. Instead, you can simply pair this new ESPHome-based remote (with its own remote_id) to your fan, and both your original remote and the Home Assistant remote should work together. This has yet to be tested.

Finding Your Remote ID

NOTE: you may not need to decode your existing remote's ID. Instead, you can simply pair this new ESPHome-based remote (with its own remote_id) to your fan, and both your original remote and the Home Assistant remote should work together. This has yet to be tested.

To find your remote ID, you can:

1. Use an RTL-SDR to capture signals from your physical remote
2. Analyze the captured signals to extract the remote ID
3. Or use the default value as a starting point: [0x2D, 0xD4, 0x06, 0xCB, 0x00, 0xF7, 0xF2]

Example Configuration

fan:
  - platform: quiet_cool
    name: QuietCool fan
    cs_pin: 15
    gdo0_pin: 13
    gdo2_pin: 12
    remote_id: [0x2D, 0xD4, 0x06, 0xCB, 0x00, 0xF7, 0xF2]
    # Optional:
    # center_freq_mhz: 433.897
    # deviation_khz: 10

---

QuietCool YAML Configuration Options

Option	Required	Type	Default	Description
name	Yes	string		The name of the fan in Home Assistant.
platform	Yes	string		Must be quiet_cool.
cs_pin	Yes	int		SPI chip select pin for CC1101.
gdo0_pin	Yes	int		GDO0 pin from CC1101 (used for TX status).
gdo2_pin	Yes	int		GDO2 pin from CC1101 (can be -1 if unused).
remote_id	Yes	list[hex]		7-byte unique ID for your remote (see above).
center_freq_mhz	No	float	433.897	Center frequency in MHz for RF transmission.
deviation_khz	No	float	10	Frequency deviation (spread) in kHz for FSK modulation.

Note: You must also define the SPI bus pins in your YAML:

spi:
  clk_pin: 18
  mosi_pin: 23
  miso_pin: 19

Recent Improvements

Transmission System Overhaul

• Consolidated bit conversion logic: Unified logging and transmission to ensure consistency
• Improved reliability: Fixed potential timing and synchronization issues
• Better debugging: Enhanced logging with bit-level visibility
• Configurable remote ID: Support for custom remote identifiers via YAML configuration

Technical Changes

• Replaced string-based command system with byte arrays for better performance
• Consolidated logBits and sendBitsFromBytes functions to use shared logic
• Added configurable remote_id parameter throughout the stack
• Improved error handling and validation

Run it on arduino

The arduino code doesn't do much by itself. But it gets you going:

cd arduino
platformio run --target upload

Hardware Requirements

• ESP32 DOIT DevKit V1
• CC1101 RF Module
• Wiring connections as follows:

  CC1101 Pin -> ESP32 Pin
  GND       -> GND
  VCC       -> 3.3V
  GDO0      -> GPIO13
  CSn       -> GPIO15
  SCK       -> GPIO18
  MOSI      -> GPIO23
  MISO      -> GPIO19
  GDO2      -> GPIO12
  

Case

Here's a case for the parts that I used.

The source is here in OnShape

Step File

• The whole design: QuietCoolCase.step
• Or just the Top: QuietCoolCaseTop.step
• and just the Bottom: QuietCoolCaseBottom.step

Software Requirements

• PlatformIO

Features

• Controls Quiet Cool fan system via RF signals
• Supports multiple fan speeds and timer durations
  • Speed
    • L
    • M
    • H
  • Duration
    • 1
    • 2
    • 4
    • 8
    • 12
    • off
    • on
• Configurable remote ID for compatibility with different remotes

Reverse Engineering

I used an RTL-SDR.COM SDR like this:

And for software, I used Universal Radio Haacker. Here's a recording of all the signals as they progress from H 1 2 4 8 12 ON OFF -> to medium -> low. It was recorded with these settings

Download the raw recording

Modulation

This remote uses FSK modulation at 433.92MHz. The CC1101 RF module ended up transmitting high, so I reduced the frequency in the code to 433.897 to make it work. If things don't work, check the actual frequency.

Configuration

The system operates at 433.897 MHz and uses FSK modulation. The CC1101 module is configured for:

• Direct mode transmission
• No packet handling
• Raw data mode
• No CRC or preamble

Building and Uploading

pio run --target upload

TODO

• Implement the timers in the esphome UI

License

MIT License

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.