Short answer: The Somfy RS485 Setting Tool (9017142) is the hand-held tool Somfy requires to set end limits on its RS485 motors. It sets the up and down limits, reverses rotation direction, readjusts limits, resets motor settings and reads motor addresses at the window, with no laptop. It fits Sonesse 30, Sonesse 50 and Sonesse ULTRA 50 RS485 motors.
The tool an RS485 motor needs before it runs a shade
An RS485 motor ships without radio and without the setting buttons a Telis remote would talk to. Somfy builds its Sonesse RS485 range for the Somfy Digital Network (SDN), a wired bus where each motor carries its own address. That design gives a commercial facade addressable shades with real position feedback. It also means somebody has to commission each motor on site.
Somfy names the part for that job the Somfy RS485 Setting Tool (9017142), listed in full as the RS485 Motor Limit Setting & Address Reader Tool. Somfy describes it as the hand-held tool required to set limits with RS485 motors. Its low voltage databook adds two jobs: advanced motor settings and discovering motors on the network.
One tool serves an installer across many SDN jobs. It lives in the van.
Settings the 9017142 makes and reads
Somfy's Sonesse 30 and 50 RS485 product sheet lists the quick settings you make with this tool:
- Down and up end limits
- Motor rotation direction
- Readjustment of end limits
- Reset of motor settings
On top of those, the tool reads motor addresses. That matters on a building with forty shades on one elevation. You stand at the window, read the address of the motor in front of you and write it on the schedule before the integrator programs groups.
Verified specs
| Somfy reference | 9017142 |
| Somfy product name | RS485 Motor Limit Setting & Address Reader Tool |
| Format | Hand-held, used at the window with no laptop |
| Functions | Up and down end limits, rotation direction, limit readjustment, motor reset, address reading, motor discovery, advanced motor settings |
| System | Somfy RS485 motors on the Somfy Digital Network (SDN) |
| Sonesse 30 RS485 connection | Motor RS485 port: 3-pin JST, 2.54 mm pitch, through Somfy JST to RJ45 communication cable 9019191 (8.2 ft), sold separately |
| Somfy wiring details | ST30 V2 with Weidmuller connector and ST50 DC with Weidmuller connector, each wired to a 24V DC supply and the RS485 Setting Tool |
| Warranty | 5 years |
Somfy RS485 motors it fits
Somfy lists eight RS485 motors as compatible with the 9017142. They span low voltage 24V DC and 120V AC platforms:
- Sonesse 30 RS485 24V DC
- Sonesse 506S2 RS485
- Sonesse 510S2 RS485
- 515S2 RS485
- 535A2 RS485
- Sonesse ULTRA 504 A8 DC RS485
- Sonesse ULTRA 506A2 RS485
- Roll Up 30 Short RS485 24V DC
The pairing Somfy documents most closely is the Somfy Sonesse 30 RS485 24V DC motor (1241144), the 30 mm motor for smaller roller shades on a low voltage bus. Somfy names this tool as the recommended way to set it. For larger shades, the Somfy Sonesse 506S2 RS485 motor (1002286) brings 6 Nm on the 50 mm platform, and the Somfy Sonesse 50 535A2 RS485 SDN motor (1002288) carries 35 Nm for heavy commercial fabric.
Check the motor's control type before you order. A Sonesse 30 DCT motor uses dry contact control, and Somfy sets its limits with a different part, the Somfy Sonesse 30 ST30 Limit Setting Tool (9014599). RTS motors set their limits from an RTS remote and need neither tool.
Hand-held tool or USB adaptor and laptop
Somfy gives SDN installers two commissioning paths. The 9017142 handles limits and addresses one motor at a time at the window. The Somfy USB to RS485 Adaptor for SDN (9015260) connects a Windows laptop to the bus, where SDN Set pro by Somfy and the SDN configuration software assign groups and build the whole network.
The two suit different jobs. The hand-held tool suits limit work on a ladder and service calls where a single shade stops short. The laptop route suits first commissioning of a full floor. Our USB to RS485 adaptor guide covers the software side.
Setup notes before the first limit
Power comes first. Somfy specifies a Somfy approved 24V DC power supply for the Sonesse 30 RS485, with power cable runs up to 240 ft at 14 AWG, 150 ft at 16 AWG and 100 ft at 18 AWG. The motor draws up to 3.2 A for 300 ms while you program it, so size the supply for that peak.
Somfy publishes the button sequence in the RS485 Setting Tool Instructions and the Datasheet, and the wiring in the ST30 V2 and ST50 DC wire detail drawings. Follow the sheet for your motor generation, since connectors differ between Sonesse 30 and Sonesse 50 DC models. Our Somfy spec sheet library holds the install guides for each motor, and the Sonesse 30 RS485 wiring guide walks through the motor side.
Keep the tool in the commissioning kit with the adaptor and spare cables. You will reach for it on new SDN installs and on service visits for years after. Browse the rest of the kit in Somfy motor accessories.
Sources: somfysystems.com product page 9017142 (RS485 Motor Limit Setting & Address Reader Tool, compatible products, documents, warranty); Somfy Sonesse 30 and 50 RS485 product sheet (quick setting functions); Somfy 24V DC Low-voltage Motor Range Databook 5-2019 and Sonesse 30 RS485 data sheet D-0002 (connectors, cable 9019191, power cable lengths, programming current).
FAQ
Do I need the RS485 Setting Tool for a Sonesse 30 RS485 motor?
Yes. Somfy sets limits on the Sonesse 30 RS485 with the Limit Setting Tool 9017142, and lists the tool as the recommended way to set the motor. The motor has no radio receiver, so an RTS remote cannot set it. Somfy sells the tool and the JST to RJ45 cable 9019191 separately from the motor.
Can the 9017142 read SDN motor addresses?
Yes. Somfy names it the RS485 Motor Limit Setting & Address Reader Tool. It reads the address of the motor you connect to and can discover motors on the bus. Installers use that to label each shade on the project schedule before the integrator groups motors in SDN software or a building control system.
Does the RS485 Setting Tool work on Sonesse 30 DCT motors?
No. Somfy sets Sonesse 30 DCT limits with a separate part, the Sonesse 30 ST30 Limit Setting Tool 9014599, connected through the DCT communication cable 9014793. The 9017142 serves RS485 motors on the Somfy Digital Network. Match the tool to the control letters in the motor name before you order, since the two tools do not cross over.
Is a laptop needed if I own the hand-held tool?
Not for limits. The 9017142 sets end limits, rotation direction and resets at the window with no laptop. Building groups and programming a full SDN network runs through the USB to RS485 Adaptor 9015260 with SDN Set pro by Somfy on a Windows laptop. Larger projects use both, the hand-held tool for limits and the laptop for network setup.
Shade Motors Direct is an authorized source for genuine Somfy motorized window shade, blind, and drapery parts.
