diff --git a/fhem/CHANGED b/fhem/CHANGED
index 16e35542e..029507a67 100644
--- a/fhem/CHANGED
+++ b/fhem/CHANGED
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 # Add changes at the top of the list. Keep it in ASCII, and 80-char wide.
 # Do not insert empty lines here, update check depends on it.
+  - feature: state definition and split attribute added to 66_ECMD, 
+             67_ECMDDevice
   - FHEMWEB: JavaScripts and CssFiles attributes added
   - change:  avoid updating weather information on get (59_Weather.pm)
   - change:  removed noshutdown=0 for HTTP connections made in 57_Calendar.pm
diff --git a/fhem/FHEM/66_ECMD.pm b/fhem/FHEM/66_ECMD.pm
index 2e5bb71c0..8784dc3ef 100644
--- a/fhem/FHEM/66_ECMD.pm
+++ b/fhem/FHEM/66_ECMD.pm
@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ ECMD_Initialize($)
   $hash->{GetFn}   = "ECMD_Get";
   $hash->{SetFn}   = "ECMD_Set";
   $hash->{AttrFn}  = "ECMD_Attr";
-  $hash->{AttrList}= "classdefs logTraffic:0,1,2,3,4,5 timeout";
+  $hash->{AttrList}= "classdefs split logTraffic:0,1,2,3,4,5 timeout";
 }
 
 #####################################
@@ -316,6 +316,12 @@ ECMD_EvalClassDef($$$)
                         Log3 $hash, 5, "$name: parameters are $def";
                         $hash->{fhem}{classDefs}{$classname}{params}= $def;
                 #
+                # state
+                #
+                } elsif($cmd eq "state") {
+                        Log3 $hash, 5, "$name: state is determined as $def";
+                        $hash->{fhem}{classDefs}{$classname}{state}= $def;
+                #
                 # reading
                 #
                 } elsif($cmd eq "reading") {
@@ -487,6 +493,7 @@ sub ECMD_Read($)
 {
   my ($hash) = @_;
   my $buf = ECMD_SimpleRead($hash);
+  return unless(defined($buf));
   return if($buf eq "");
   
   ECMD_Log $hash, 5,  "Spontaneously received " . dq($buf);
@@ -631,6 +638,13 @@ ECMD_Write($$$)
     <li>classdefs<br>A colon-separated list of &lt;classname&gt;=&lt;filename&gt;.
     The list is automatically updated if a class definition is added. You can
     directly set the attribute.</li>
+    <li>split<br>
+    Some devices send several readings in one transmission. The split attribute defines the
+    separator to split such transmissions into separate messages. The regular expression for
+    matching a reading is then applied to each message in turn. After splitting, the separator 
+    is <b>not</b> part of the single messages.
+    Example: <code>attr myECMD \n</code> splits <code>foo 12\nbar off</code> into 
+    <code>foo 12</code> and <code>bar off</code>.</li>
     <li>logTraffic &lt;loglevel&gt;<br>Enables logging of sent and received datagrams with the given loglevel. Control characters in the logged datagrams are escaped, i.e. a double backslash is shown for a single backslash, \n is shown for a line feed character, etc.</li>
     <li>timeout &lt;seconds&gt;<br>Time in seconds to wait for a reply from the physical ECMD device before FHEM assumes that something has gone wrong. The default is 3 seconds if this attribute is not set.</li> 
     <!--
@@ -681,6 +695,12 @@ ECMD_Write($$$)
             <br><br>
             </li>
 
+            <li><code>state &lt;reading&gt;</code><br><br>
+            Normally, the state reading is set to the latest command or reading name followed
+            by the value, if any. This command sets the state reading to the value of the
+            named reading if and only if the reading is updated.<br><br>
+            </li>
+           
             <li><code>set &lt;commandname&gt; cmd { <a href="#perl">&lt;perl special&gt;</a> }</code><br>
             <code>get &lt;commandname&gt; cmd { <a href="#perl">&lt;perl special&gt;</a> }</code>
             <br><br>
diff --git a/fhem/FHEM/67_ECMDDevice.pm b/fhem/FHEM/67_ECMDDevice.pm
index d47a71f3e..9c42655c7 100644
--- a/fhem/FHEM/67_ECMDDevice.pm
+++ b/fhem/FHEM/67_ECMDDevice.pm
@@ -108,18 +108,30 @@ sub
 ECMDDevice_Changed($$$)
 {
         my ($hash, $cmd, $value)= @_;
-
+	#Debug "Device changed: $cmd $value";
+        
         readingsBeginUpdate($hash);
-        my $state= $cmd;
 
-        if(defined($value) && $value ne "") {
-          readingsBulkUpdate($hash, $cmd, $value);
-          $state.= " $value";
-        }
-        readingsBulkUpdate($hash, "state", $state);
+        readingsBulkUpdate($hash, $cmd, $value) if(defined($value) && $value ne "");
+        
+        my $state;
+        my $classname= $hash->{fhem}{classname};
+        my $IOhash= $hash->{IODev};
+        if(defined($IOhash->{fhem}{classDefs}{$classname}{state})) {
+          if($cmd eq $IOhash->{fhem}{classDefs}{$classname}{state}) {
+	    $state= defined($value) ? $value : "?";
+	    #Debug "cmd= $cmd, setting state to $state (OVERRIDE)";
+	  }
+        } else {
+	  $state= $cmd;
+	  $state.= " $value" if(defined($value) && $value ne "");
+          #Debug "cmd= $cmd, setting state to $state (DEFAULT)";
+	}  
+        readingsBulkUpdate($hash, "state", $state) if(defined($state));
+
         readingsEndUpdate($hash, 1);
         my $name= $hash->{NAME};
-        Log3 $hash, 4 , "ECMDDevice $name $state";
+        #Log3 $hash, 4 , "ECMDDevice $name $state" if(defined($state));
         return $state;
 }
 
@@ -247,41 +259,52 @@ ECMDDevice_Parse($$)
   
   # NOTE: we will update all matching readings for all devices, not just the first!
   
-  my ($IOhash, $msg) = @_;        # IOhash points to the ECMD, not to the ECMDDevice
+  my ($IOhash, $message) = @_;        # IOhash points to the ECMD, not to the ECMDDevice
 
   my @matches;
   my $name= $IOhash->{NAME};
   
-  #Debug "Trying to find a match for \"" . escapeLogLine($msg) ."\"";
-  # walk over all clients
-  foreach my $d (keys %defs) {
-    my $hash= $defs{$d};
-    if($hash->{TYPE} eq "ECMDDevice" && $hash->{IODev} eq $IOhash) {
-      my $classname= $hash->{fhem}{classname};
-      my $classDef= $IOhash->{fhem}{classDefs}{$classname};
-      #Debug "  Checking device $d with class $classname...";
-      next unless(defined($classDef->{readings}));
-      #Debug "   Trying to find a match in class $classname...";
-      my %specials= ECMDDevice_DeviceParams2Specials($hash);
-      # we run over all readings in that classdef
-      foreach my $r (keys %{$classDef->{readings}}) {
-        my $regex= ECMDDevice_ReplaceSpecials($classDef->{readings}{$r}{match}, %specials);
-        #Debug "      Trying to match reading $r with regular expressing \"$regex\".";
-        if($msg =~ m/$regex/) {
-          # we found a match
-          Log3 $IOhash, 5, "$name: match regex $regex for reading $r of device $d with class $classname";
-          push @matches, $d;
-          my $postproc= $classDef->{readings}{$r}{postproc};
-          my $value= ECMDDevice_PostProc($hash, $postproc, $msg);
-          Log3 $hash, 5, "postprocessed value is $value";
-          ECMDDevice_Changed($hash, $r, $value);
-        }
-      }
-    }  
+  my @msgs;
+  if(defined(AttrVal($name, "split", undef))) {
+    @msgs= split(AttrVal($name, "split", undef), $message);
+  } else {
+    push @msgs, $message;
+  }
+  
+  foreach my $msg (@msgs) {
+    #Debug "Trying to find a match for \"" . escapeLogLine($msg) ."\"";
+    # walk over all clients
+    foreach my $d (keys %defs) {
+      my $hash= $defs{$d};
+      if($hash->{TYPE} eq "ECMDDevice" && $hash->{IODev} eq $IOhash) {
+	my $classname= $hash->{fhem}{classname};
+	my $classDef= $IOhash->{fhem}{classDefs}{$classname};
+	#Debug "  Checking device $d with class $classname...";
+	next unless(defined($classDef->{readings}));
+	#Debug "   Trying to find a match in class $classname...";
+	my %specials= ECMDDevice_DeviceParams2Specials($hash);
+	# we run over all readings in that classdef
+	foreach my $r (keys %{$classDef->{readings}}) {
+	  my $regex= ECMDDevice_ReplaceSpecials($classDef->{readings}{$r}{match}, %specials);
+	  #Debug "      Trying to match reading $r with regular expressing \"$regex\".";
+	  if($msg =~ m/$regex/) {
+	    # we found a match
+	    Log3 $IOhash, 5, "$name: match regex $regex for reading $r of device $d with class $classname";
+	    push @matches, $d;
+	    my $postproc= $classDef->{readings}{$r}{postproc};
+	    my $value= ECMDDevice_PostProc($hash, $postproc, $msg);
+	    Log3 $hash, 5, "postprocessed value is $value";
+	    ECMDDevice_Changed($hash, $r, $value);
+	  }
+	}
+      }  
+    }
+  
   }
   
   return @matches if(@matches);
-  return "UNDEFINED ECMDDevice message $msg";  
+  # NOTE: In a split message, undefined messages are not reported if there was at least one match.
+  return "UNDEFINED ECMDDevice message $message";  
   
 }