A Forum run by Enthusiasts of MidNite Solar

Hello:
After a few years that I own my Classic, I decided to connect it over the LAN and start using the Midnite Local App to monitor whats going on with my equipment. The app is great!

Since the Local App does not run in my iPhone I start to search in the forum and found the great app created by Graham for Android Devices. After the inspiration and ideas showed by Graham with his source, I decided to make my own version for iOS devices.

If you guys want to try the app, the invitation link is at the end of this post. The beta can be installed using Test Flight https://apps.apple.com/us/app/testflight/id899247664 (https://apps.apple.com/us/app/testflight/id899247664). After having Test Flight installed, please visit the following URL to install the App https://testflight.apple.com/join/YCC4MtdW (https://testflight.apple.com/join/YCC4MtdW)

At the moment, the app detect my Classic in the same LAN and add the device to the list.  I am int he process of test the app outside my LAN (port forwarding etc), still my router does not want to cooperate with me :)

After the device is detected, select in the list and it should jump to the monitor screen
https://azrockradio.com/wp-content/uploads/midnite/RPReplay_Final1600632831.MP4 (https://azrockradio.com/wp-content/uploads/midnite/RPReplay_Final1600632831.MP4)

Like Graham's app, make sure there's no another local app monitoring the Classic. If there is another application connected, the iOS app will try until the other app disconnect or it gets exhausted trying.

The app, is read only mode. Does not write anything to the Classics.

If want to try a remote monitoring and report me if it works, just click the Add button in the upper right, and add the host (host.no-ip.com for example) or the IP and the port, that in most cases is default 502.

If the manual add does not add to the list, maybe there's no IP to resolve to the address or URL (need to add a message to notify that in the next revision)

In the video, it shows how to add a demo device to at least see the gauges running with random values (thanks to the App Store guidelines and reviews have to add it)

There's a lot of work to do, but i like to think is a good start.

Hope you guys enjoy it and feedback is always welcome.

PD. Many many thanks to boB for the guidance and help!

PD2. Code
And of course, this section is called The Open Source and what is Open Source without the source.

For those who want to play around and help me make this app better, here is the link

https://github.com/urayoanm/Classic-Monitor/tree/master

I am using the following libraries

LMGaugeViewSwift - For the gauges
SwiftLibModbus - Swift modbus wrapper for libmodbus.org
CocoaAsyncSocket - to detect the Classic in the network
Charts - Implemented, not used yet (until we figure it out how to download the logs)

Not an expert sending code to Github, so if runs with issues downloading the code, let me know.

Nice on getting apple app - I don't have one but sure those who do will like it.
Did you see Grahams and Matt's MQTT project too ? It lets raspberry pi connect to Classic and then multiple devices can connect to Pi to get MQTT data and avoid the one network connection at a time .  Just thought I would mention it in case it might be useful in your setup.

Larry

Quote from: ClassicCrazy on September 22, 2020, 11:22:08 PM
Nice on getting apple app - I don't have one but sure those who do will like it.
Did you see Grahams and Matt's MQTT project too ? It lets raspberry pi connect to Classic and then multiple devices can connect to Pi to get MQTT data and avoid the one network connection at a time .  Just thought I would mention it in case it might be useful in your setup.

Larry

Thank you Larry.

Yes i saw it and I am interested! I saw there are different configurations with Raspberry Pi and ESP32. Any recommendations? Definitely the app has to have support for that too like Grahams.

One ESP32 option from Graham connects to one of the Classic serial ports and then it makes another wireless modbus network connection just like you would see from Classic.

The other ESP32 option connects to Classic modbus network port and changes data to MQTT publisher  so it can go to a MQTT server site and then one of Grahams android monitor apps can subscribe to that MQTT data and display it . There is no limit to the amount of MQTT devices that can subscribe.  It can publish to either an external internet MQTT or to a local one on a Raspberry Pi.

Larry

HI guys !   This is pretty neat !

I don't use an iPhone but I have Robin's old one.  I need to give  Urayoan the iOs version.  I think it is around 3 years old.

Urayoan  is from Puerto Rico.  One of my favorite places !

boB for now

Quote from: boB on September 23, 2020, 01:24:43 PM

HI guys !   This is pretty neat !

I don't use an iPhone but I have Robin's old one.  I need to give  Urayoan the iOs version.  I think it is around 3 years old.

Urayoan  is from Puerto Rico.  One of my favorite places !

boB for now

Hey boB! Glad to hear from you. Check it out with the invitation posted here and let me know if you in into issues.

Thanks Urayoan !

Being able to play with iOs applications like yours is exactly why I kept his old phone !

I don't have cell service but I am hoping that the wifi might help.

Quote from: boB on September 23, 2020, 01:37:52 PM

Thanks Urayoan !

Being able to play with iOs applications like yours is exactly why I kept his old phone !

I don't have cell service but I am hoping that the wifi might help.

Yes boB, with Wifi should work fine too. The app right now has support from iOS 10.3 to iOS 14. Let me know because i am in early stage of development, i can go down to iOS 9 if necessary.

And of course, this section is called The Open Source and what is Open Source without the source.

For those who want to play around and help me make this app better, here is the link

https://github.com/urayoanm/Classic-Monitor/tree/master (https://github.com/urayoanm/Classic-Monitor/tree/master)

I am using the following libraries

LMGaugeViewSwift - For the gauges
SwiftLibModbus - Swift modbus wrapper for libmodbus.org
CocoaAsyncSocket - to detect the Classic in the network
Charts - Implemented, not used yet (until we figure it out how to download the logs)

Using Xcode 12 using Swift

Not an expert sending code to Github, so if anyone runs with issues downloading the code, let me know.

Hi Urayoan,

Thanks for sharing your work.

As you probably know,   a number of members here have been asking for an IOS-oriented montioring App.

Am not quite there yet,   but thanks for all the work that you are putting into this.  Hope to be able to try it fairly soon.

Thanks again,  Vic

Quote from: Vic on September 23, 2020, 07:55:03 PM
Hi Urayoan,

Thanks for sharing your work.

As you probably know,   a number of members here have been asking for an IOS-oriented montioring App.

Am not quite there yet,   but thanks for all the work that you are putting into this.  Hope to be able to try it fairly soon.

Thanks again,  Vic

Thank you Vic. Hope the app get to be useful for others too.

If you want to try, just use this link to Test Flight. Is an open invitation to the beta. Feedback is always welcome

https://testflight.apple.com/join/YCC4MtdW

Quote from: Urayoan on September 23, 2020, 08:07:28 PM

Quote from: Vic on September 23, 2020, 07:55:03 PM
Hi Urayoan,

Thanks for sharing your work.

As you probably know,   a number of members here have been asking for an IOS-oriented montioring App.

Am not quite there yet,   but thanks for all the work that you are putting into this.  Hope to be able to try it fairly soon.

Thanks again,  Vic

Thank you Vic. Hope the app get to be useful for others too.

If you want to try, just use this link to Test Flight. Is an open invitation to the beta. Feedback is always welcome

https://testflight.apple.com/join/YCC4MtdW

Downloaded the app. Since I've been an apple person since the Apple II way back when I'm really glad to see someone tip their toes in the the world of apps for the Classics

Now... you wanted some comments, and I'll post some here. Perhaps we should move off the forum?

Any way, here goes an in no particular order

First off I was surprised how quickly/easily it found the classic on my network. That's usually a issue. Boom! found it and away we go.

The text on the meters doesn't fit the meters. I have clipping on all the numbers and text.
The meter, my opinion are to small on my iPad. There's plenty of room, so make 'em bigger. (auto sizing for the iPhones? and other devices?)
Last night when I opened the app, it returned 'resting' of the classic, which it was. However, the power meter still was showing 5.8kW, which apparently was the power that I produced that day.

IT seems to update damn near in real time. I like that, a bit jumpy, but more like what a analog meter would do.

Show me 58.5 V instead of 58. I know it a nit I had to pick

Make the text larger for the status, like MPPT and float. I didn't notice them at first.

I'll have to get some photos of the screen and send them to you.

DOn't shoot me! I like what I see so far

mike, wb8vge

Hello mike! No problem at all, I did ask for feedback and that's the kind of feedback I am looking for!

I have no problem to make the conversation private, but I feel confortable with open discussion too. The code is available for all who wants to play and if the feedback help others pin and make better the app for all of us, much better.

First of all, what model of iPad are you running? Let me know to check, for sure as you mention, the auto layout is not working as expected.

About the power meter, it not suppress to show anything in the center if there is no power generated. Let me know where the screenshots were send to check em out!

Thank you again for the feedback and time testing!

@ Urayoan

Quote from: qrper on September 27, 2020, 10:39:35 AM
Downloaded the app. Since I've been an apple person since the Apple II way back when I'm really glad to see someone tip their toes in the the world of apps for the Classics

Now... you wanted some comments, and I'll post some here. Perhaps we should move off the forum?

Any way, here goes an in no particular order

First off I was surprised how quickly/easily it found the classic on my network. That's usually a issue. Boom! found it and away we go.

The text on the meters doesn't fit the meters. I have clipping on all the numbers and text.
The meter, my opinion are to small on my iPad. There's plenty of room, so make 'em bigger. (auto sizing for the iPhones? and other devices?)
Last night when I opened the app, it returned 'resting' of the classic, which it was. However, the power meter still was showing 5.8kW, which apparently was the power that I produced that day.

IT seems to update damn near in real time. I like that, a bit jumpy, but more like what a analog meter would do.

Show me 58.5 V instead of 58. I know it a nit I had to pick

Make the text larger for the status, like MPPT and float. I didn't notice them at first.

I'll have to get some photos of the screen and send them to you.

DOn't shoot me! I like what I see so far

mike, wb8vge

I hope this works.

Iam running is0 13.7 with a iPad Air 2

Perfect!  I revisit the constraints and send an update soon to support better the size of different screens. As soon the update is posted, Test Flight notify of the new build.

If you find something else, let me know.

Thanks @Urayoan

Quote from: qrper on September 27, 2020, 06:15:08 PM
Iam running is0 13.7 with a iPad Air 2

Hello taper. Today I submitted an update that fix some of the layout issues for iPads. Still not perfect, but in think is more readable now. The update fix the add button for iPads too that makes the app to crash when try to add a device manually.

It has MQTT entries, but still not available yet.

Quote from: Urayoan on September 28, 2020, 07:12:14 PM

Quote from: qrper on September 27, 2020, 06:15:08 PM
Iam running is0 13.7 with a iPad Air 2

Hello taper. Today I submitted an update that fix some of the layout issues for iPads. Still not perfect, but in think is more readable now. The update fix the add button for iPads too that makes the app to crash when try to add a device manually.

It has MQTT entries, but still not available yet.

Installed the new update and here's what I got.

mike

Got it mike. It looks almost the previous one (not much change on my side). Thanks for the report!

If the iPad is in portrait mode, a bit better

Quote from: qrper on September 30, 2020, 01:34:12 PM
If the iPad is in portrait mode, a bit better

Didn't realize that in the screenshots at first. I think next update would give better support for large devices and hopefully MQTT support and persistence in detected devices.

Keep the feedback coming!

Thanks @ Urayoan

Hello everyone!

New update released today. Whats new?
1.Data persistence. Now detected or manually added devices, remain after app relaunch
2. Better list layout, now should be more readable
3.MQTT support - MQTT with the Graham implementation of ESP32 and Pi should work (ToDO add more screens with additional info)
4. Devices list can be deleted with left swipe (ToDO edit button to be implemented)

Know issues
if Modbus device is not reachable, the app can crash in certain circumstances
Horizontal layout disable for the moment
Better layout and fonts in any mode
State of charge gauge needs TLC

Grab your copy here
https://testflight.apple.com/join/YCC4MtdW

And feedback is always welcome

Additional Screenshots (cont)

Final Screenshots

Hi Urayoan,

Finally you did it ! I was hoping that somewhere in time somebody will solve the IOS software mystery and  give to us an IOS app to use for Classic .
Congratulation .. you've made my day ! I'm very happy to see this working. I did the test for a remote Classic 250 connect to an fix IP device and it works as well.
The only problem that I have seen so far is to add more IP's in the list .. and somehow to name them . I've added only one .. and not possible to add the second one. Don't know why .
I cannot keep in mind all the time the IP that looking for .. so an alias name to add would be great ! ... I'll come back once that I become familiar with this app .
Anyway .. Great work my friend !

Quote from: ecovolt on October 07, 2020, 03:42:35 PM
Hi Urayoan,

Finally you did it ! I was hoping that somewhere in time somebody will solve the ISO software mystery and  give to us an ISO app to use for Classic .
Congratulation .. you've made my day ! I'm very happy to see this working. I did the test for a remote Classic 250 connect to an fix IP device and it works as well.
The only problem that I have seen so far is to add more IP's in the list .. and somehow to name them . I cannot keep in mind all the time the IP that looking for .. so an alias name to add would be great ! ... I'll come back once that I become familiar with this app .
Anyway .. Great work my friend !

Thank you for the feedback ecovolt. To add more ips, just hit the add button and add it at will. Just select Modbus or MQTT.

About the alias, i did not think of that, is a good idea to implement it.

In the next revision, I am going to add the edit option (or complete it) by right swiping the record in the list. Right now the only option that works is delete.

@Urayoan

Quote from: Urayoan on October 07, 2020, 03:53:43 PM

Quote from: ecovolt on October 07, 2020, 03:42:35 PM
Hi Urayoan,

Finally you did it ! I was hoping that somewhere in time somebody will solve the ISO software mystery and  give to us an ISO app to use for Classic .
Congratulation .. you've made my day ! I'm very happy to see this working. I did the test for a remote Classic 250 connect to an fix IP device and it works as well.
The only problem that I have seen so far is to add more IP's in the list .. and somehow to name them . I cannot keep in mind all the time the IP that looking for .. so an alias name to add would be great ! ... I'll come back once that I become familiar with this app .
Anyway .. Great work my friend !

Thank you for the feedback ecovolt. To add more ips, just hit the add button and add it at will. Just select Modbus or MQTT.

About the alias, i did not think of that, is a good idea to implement it.

In the next revision, I am going to add the edit option (or complete it) by right swiping the record in the list. Right now the only option that works is delete.

@Urayoan

Reading your message for second time I understood what you are referring about adding a new IP. Please if possible send me a private message with tue host and see. Before the app add a new host, if can not resolve to a valid ip the app does not add to the list (and this can be in my side)

Urayoan,

Awesome on the iOS app, I do not have an iPhone either, but I know plenty who do. I am not sure if you can handle this, but I often use ngrok to tunnel my Classic's port 502 outside my firewall. This is a real necessity if you are using a cellular link to your system, as most cellular carriers block all incoming requests (unless you pay an arm and a leg) making the usual "opening" a port in your firewall non-functional. The issue is that the URL that is forwarded to your Classic's port 502 looks something like this: tcp://0.tcp.ngrok.io:12345. We have had trouble in the past with other apps and utilities being able to handle a port number that is 5 digits long. You may want to make sure that your app can handle a url like that and a port number that is 5 digits long.

Matt

Quote from: mcsarge on October 08, 2020, 10:20:29 AM
Urayoan,

Awesome on the iOS app, I do not have an iPhone either, but I know plenty who do. I am not sure if you can handle this, but I often use ngrok to tunnel my Classic's port 502 outside my firewall. This is a real necessity if you are using a cellular link to your system, as most cellular carriers block all incoming requests (unless you pay an arm and a leg) making the usual "opening" a port in your firewall non-functional. The issue is that the URL that is forwarded to your Classic's port 502 looks something like this: tcp://0.tcp.ngrok.io:12345. We have had trouble in the past with other apps and utilities being able to handle a port number that is 5 digits long. You may want to make sure that your app can handle a url like that and a port number that is 5 digits long.

Matt

Oh Matt, good to know that. I think it can handle the 5 digit port.

It can be a host where i can test it?

Looks much better..... will download the latest and greatest this afternoon.

Now... I'm going to sound like my wife here, but I personally find the meter displays way too dark for my taste. I bet you rolled your eyes on that comment!

Anyway, down the road when you get most of the bugs out, think about updating the meter displays to something brighter like what Graham has in his Android app.

I'm always impressed with people that can talk in ones and zeros. It took me three hours to get the LED on my Arduino to blink!

mike

Quote from: qrper on October 08, 2020, 10:44:17 AM
Looks much better..... will download the latest and greatest this afternoon.

Now... I'm going to sound like my wife here, but I personally find the meter displays way too dark for my taste. I bet you rolled your eyes on that comment!

Anyway, down the road when you get most of the bugs out, think about updating the meter displays to something brighter like what Graham has in his Android app.

I'm always impressed with people that can talk in ones and zeros. It took me three hours to get the LED on my Arduino to blink!

mike

Hahaha you make me laugh. I am planing to give support for light and dark mode later. I personally, like dark better, is easy on my eyes.

I was looking for different gauges libraries for Swift and there's no lots of it, so i am pretty sure in the future i am gonna need my own implementation to make it fit our needs.

 ;D ;D

When I was younger, I could watch a flea on a wall scratch its nose from across the room.

I no longer can see the flea, and sometimes the wall is a bit blurry.

All kidding aside, the older we get the more light our eyes require.

I can still do the 1206 SMD footprint with my naked eyes, but the smaller SMD devices are going to require a microscope for me to do.

Again, thanks for the app and will tinker with the latest one this afternoon.

mike

Quote from: qrper on October 08, 2020, 11:00:25 AM
;D ;D

When I was younger, I could watch a flea on a wall scratch its nose from across the room.

I no longer can see the flea, and sometimes the wall is a bit blurry.

All kidding aside, the older we get the more light our eyes require.

I can still do the 1206 SMD footprint with my naked eyes, but the smaller SMD devices are going to require a microscope for me to do.

Again, thanks for the app and will tinker with the latest one this afternoon.

mike

Oh yeah I am getting to that :)

This is what I am thinking, that would help? Kind of a poll to see if I am in the right track

https://camo.githubusercontent.com/0e5bd1dc4ab546cd4503d5ec735445b6f92570a5/68747470733a2f2f7261772e6769746875622e636f6d2f6c6d696e68746d2f4c4d4761756765566965772f6d61737465722f53637265656e73686f74732f73637265656e73686f74332e676966 (https://camo.githubusercontent.com/0e5bd1dc4ab546cd4503d5ec735445b6f92570a5/68747470733a2f2f7261772e6769746875622e636f6d2f6c6d696e68746d2f4c4d4761756765566965772f6d61737465722f53637265656e73686f74732f73637265656e73686f74332e676966)

downloaded the latest version using my iPhone

I don't know, but I sure don't see what you put up as screen shots.

I don't have the consumption page, and as a matter of fact, i only have one page,

and the text of the meters is overtop of the values being displayed
as soon as I figure out how to do a screen shot on the iPhone I'll upload it

mike

FYI...

downloaded from the link you posted.

Showed up as version 1.0 (12)
on my iPhone

mike

Quote from: qrper on October 08, 2020, 02:21:25 PM
downloaded the latest version using my iPhone

I don't know, but I sure don't see what you put up as screen shots.

I don't have the consumption page, and as a matter of fact, i only have one page,

and the text of the meters is overtop of the values being displayed
as soon as I figure out how to do a screen shot on the iPhone I'll upload it

mike

Oh yes, the Modbus part still not have the consumption part implemented yet. There are two modes in the app. Modbus and MQTT (using the implementation by Graham).

You are in the correct version, yesterday i was working to add the same screens but to the Modbus part.

Sorry for the confusion

Sounds like a plan.

here's the screen shot from the iPhone

Notice the text in the meter's faces are over the text of the meter i.e. battery is over top of the numbers

mike

Quote from: qrper on October 08, 2020, 02:34:51 PM
Sounds like a plan.

here's the screen shot from the iPhone

Notice the text in the meter's faces are over the text of the meter i.e. battery is over top of the numbers

mike

Oh perfect mike! What device do you have? Those texts needs to adjust to the size of the screen accordingly.

Did you check this? That's the plan with light and dark mode I have in mind to implement (like the idea of the gauge lib I am using). let me know what you think if I am in the correct track

https://camo.githubusercontent.com/0e5bd1dc4ab546cd4503d5ec735445b6f92570a5/68747470733a2f2f7261772e6769746875622e636f6d2f6c6d696e68746d2f4c4d4761756765566965772f6d61737465722f53637265656e73686f74732f73637265656e73686f74332e676966 (https://camo.githubusercontent.com/0e5bd1dc4ab546cd4503d5ec735445b6f92570a5/68747470733a2f2f7261772e6769746875622e636f6d2f6c6d696e68746d2f4c4d4761756765566965772f6d61737465722f53637265656e73686f74732f73637265656e73686f74332e676966)

Quote from: Urayoan on October 08, 2020, 02:48:42 PM

Quote from: qrper on October 08, 2020, 02:34:51 PM
Sounds like a plan.

here's the screen shot from the iPhone

Notice the text in the meter's faces are over the text of the meter i.e. battery is over top of the numbers

mike

iPhone 5 running latest iso

Mike


Oh perfect mike! What device do you have? Those texts needs to adjust to the size of the screen accordingly.

Did you check this? That's the plan with light and dark mode I have in mind to implement (like the idea of the gauge lib I am using). let me know what you think if I am in the correct track

https://camo.githubusercontent.com/0e5bd1dc4ab546cd4503d5ec735445b6f92570a5/68747470733a2f2f7261772e6769746875622e636f6d2f6c6d696e68746d2f4c4d4761756765566965772f6d61737465722f53637265656e73686f74732f73637265656e73686f74332e676966 (https://camo.githubusercontent.com/0e5bd1dc4ab546cd4503d5ec735445b6f92570a5/68747470733a2f2f7261772e6769746875622e636f6d2f6c6d696e68746d2f4c4d4761756765566965772f6d61737465722f53637265656e73686f74732f73637265656e73686f74332e676966)

iPhone 5
Latest ISO

Mike

Quote from: mcsarge on October 08, 2020, 10:20:29 AM
Urayoan,

Awesome on the iOS app, I do not have an iPhone either, but I know plenty who do. I am not sure if you can handle this, but I often use ngrok to tunnel my Classic's port 502 outside my firewall. This is a real necessity if you are using a cellular link to your system, as most cellular carriers block all incoming requests (unless you pay an arm and a leg) making the usual "opening" a port in your firewall non-functional. The issue is that the URL that is forwarded to your Classic's port 502 looks something like this: tcp://0.tcp.ngrok.io:12345. We have had trouble in the past with other apps and utilities being able to handle a port number that is 5 digits long. You may want to make sure that your app can handle a url like that and a port number that is 5 digits long.

Matt

After a small reading I realized that the ngrok configuration is not that hard, so i tested with my Classic from the outside and can confirm, the six digit port works fine with Modbus.

When i entered the host, I omitted the tcp:// part in tue host in my app. Just wrote the host as it is.

Thanks for the heads up
@Urayoan

Quote from: qrper on October 08, 2020, 02:21:25 PM
downloaded the latest version using my iPhone

I don't know, but I sure don't see what you put up as screen shots.

I don't have the consumption page, and as a matter of fact, i only have one page,

and the text of the meters is overtop of the values being displayed
as soon as I figure out how to do a screen shot on the iPhone I'll upload it

mike

Mike, new update, now the screens in the modbus side should show soc and consumption. I made some changes to the screens, now should show better the info and adjust better too

Installed the newest upgrade

looks much better, and like I said, I don't care for the dark meters, but that's just me

the text appears to clear the numbers now

I did notice the 'power' number changes without the voltage or current values changing. I suppose its reading data that the meters are updating.

mike

Poll!

Want to know what version of iOS do you have in you iOS device. Includes iPad models too. If version is 10.3 for example, it is included in the 10 version of the poll.

Thanks!

@Urayoan

Good morning and Happy new year everyone.

Yesterday I uploaded a new build for the ones using the beta tests. The previous one was expired. Sorry for that, just update using Test Flight.