New Beta code REV 1609 -- 10/4/2013

Started by Halfcrazy, October 04, 2013, 10:02:22 AM

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Vic

This may not belong in this Thread ...

But,  just re-installed a new Classic 150,  in a position where one was removed some time ago.

Installed the WbJr board etc,  and Updated the FW to the latest Production code -- 1609/1608;  10/04/13.

Have been running the venerable 6/29/12 FW on Classics,  elsewhere.

Have been watching things,  and it seems that the Vabs is NOT being Temperature Compensated.  Have used the Default value of -5.0 mV/C setting.

Do not find a setting that would switch this Comp value on/off.  Did try specifying EQ temp Comp = YES, but had no effect on compensating Vabs.

So for now,  have manually set the Vabs to the correct value to Comp Absorption voltage.

I must be missing some added menu item.

The 6/29/12 FW has been Temp Comping Absorption correctly with other Classics at other sites.

I will try changing the 5 mV value to see if it must be changed by the user ...

Will try Removing and Reseating the BTS connector ...

Must be missing something(s)  here,   Thanks,   Vic
Off Grid - Sys 1: 2ea SW+ 5548, Surrette 4KS25 1280 AH, 5.25 KW PV, Classic 150,WB, Beta Barcelona, Beta KID
Sys 2: SW+ 5548s, 4KS25s, 5.88 KW PV, 2 ea. Classic 150, WB, HB CC-needs remote Monitoring/Control, site=remote.
 MN Bkrs/Bxs/Combiners. Thanks MN for Great Products/Svc/Support&This Forum!!

Halfcrazy

Vic
Temp Comp still works fine here. Try 2 things for me:

1- Go to the Temp's Menu and see what it thinks the Battery Temperature is?

2- Go to the Charge menu and then to Tcomp Menu and then push the top right button labeled View and see what voltage it is trying to get to?

Ryan
Changing the way wind turbines operate one smoke filled box at a time

Vic

#17
Hi Ryan,

Thanks ...  I had noted previously that in the Temps menu that there was 12.7C for the battery,  which did seem a bit lower than  I'd expected.  But have NEVER seen what happens when the BTS is not installed,  when writing the post above.

Did go back to disconnect the BTS,  and noted that it knows and says that the BTS is not present and 25C value is being used.

Will go back to see what is Charge - Tcomp screen has to say.  Thanks,  Vic
Off Grid - Sys 1: 2ea SW+ 5548, Surrette 4KS25 1280 AH, 5.25 KW PV, Classic 150,WB, Beta Barcelona, Beta KID
Sys 2: SW+ 5548s, 4KS25s, 5.88 KW PV, 2 ea. Classic 150, WB, HB CC-needs remote Monitoring/Control, site=remote.
 MN Bkrs/Bxs/Combiners. Thanks MN for Great Products/Svc/Support&This Forum!!

Vic

OK,  went back,  and re-powered the Classic,  it went into its Absorb stage,  and now,  Vabs IS Temp Comped.

The "more" screen on Tcomp menu does have the correct Comp voltage value.

But,  just after updating the FW,  in the initial charge stage,  it quite clearly did not Comp Vabs --  the comp value is around 1.4 volts which is quite noticeable.  But the value was settable by just going to the Voltage page in the Charge menu.

Had done the VMM just after the FW UD.

Had wondered if this issue might just have been the first time through the loop kind of thing (?).

There is one thing that has never been clear to me;  when changing Charge voltage or EA settings,  for example,  does the Enter function save ONLY that screen's values,  or all of the settings that are user changeable?  Might guess it is only that screen.

OK,  bottom line; Vabs is now Temp Comped.

Thanks.   Am in transit now to another project.   Vic
Off Grid - Sys 1: 2ea SW+ 5548, Surrette 4KS25 1280 AH, 5.25 KW PV, Classic 150,WB, Beta Barcelona, Beta KID
Sys 2: SW+ 5548s, 4KS25s, 5.88 KW PV, 2 ea. Classic 150, WB, HB CC-needs remote Monitoring/Control, site=remote.
 MN Bkrs/Bxs/Combiners. Thanks MN for Great Products/Svc/Support&This Forum!!

tecnodave

#19
I have a question about the install for the 1608/1609 firmware upgrade. I borrowed a windows notebook to do this but I was unable to determine whether the downloader reset the notebook back to its previous setting of com 3 from the com 8 setting used by the Classic USB drivers to download the code to the classic.
I used the online instructions for windows 8 and when the process was finished I could not find the window for the configuration of the ports, first time in windows 8

Thanks David
#1 Classic 150 12 x Sharp NE-170, 2S6P, 24volt L-16 Rolls-Surette S-530, MS4024 & Cotek ,  C-40 dirv.cont. for hot water
#2 Classic 150 12 x Sharp NE-170, 2S6P, 24 volt L-16 Interstate,Brutus Inv.
#3 Kid/WBjr 4/6 Sanyo 200 watt multilayer 4/6 P
#4 Kid/WBjr 4/6 Sanyo 200 watt multilayer 2S 2/3 P

Mike_Midnite

The process for changing the port number is the same in all versions of windows. In device manager locate under ports, CDC serial emulator, if you see a boot loader device you did not install the driver and should follow those instructions again. Now I will describe page 11 of the windows 8 firmware instructions. Right click CDC serial and click properties. Now click on the port settings tab and then click advanced. At the bottom of this screen it says com port number. Change this to 8. Now just click OK on all the open windows and follow the instructions for updating the  classic.
Mike Wood
Midnite Solar Inc
Mike@midnitesolar.com

tecnodave

#21
MidNite mike,
The Classic did get updated to 1608/1609 and it works fine, haven't got WBjr yet so I can't try yet. The question is about the borrowed laptop being restored to com 3. I was pressed for time but have since reread the instructions and now know where I need to go to reset it to com 3

The install routine is a bit different than the reset to original configuration I ran out of time and.  Needed to return notebook

The boot loader device was gone so that is what confused me.

Thanks for response,     David
#1 Classic 150 12 x Sharp NE-170, 2S6P, 24volt L-16 Rolls-Surette S-530, MS4024 & Cotek ,  C-40 dirv.cont. for hot water
#2 Classic 150 12 x Sharp NE-170, 2S6P, 24 volt L-16 Interstate,Brutus Inv.
#3 Kid/WBjr 4/6 Sanyo 200 watt multilayer 4/6 P
#4 Kid/WBjr 4/6 Sanyo 200 watt multilayer 2S 2/3 P

Mike_Midnite

I cannot think of a reason to set it back to 3. You could do it but the classic has to be plugged in. If something else he had used 8 it should not conflict unless the classic was also plugged in.
Mike Wood
Midnite Solar Inc
Mike@midnitesolar.com

boB

Quote from: Mike_Midnite on November 27, 2013, 01:35:49 AM
I cannot think of a reason to set it back to 3. You could do it but the classic has to be plugged in. If something else he had used 8 it should not conflict unless the classic was also plugged in.


Right.  Windows knows what is plugged into it by the information given to it by the unit itself
after that setup.  You can always change it if you want just like it was changed to com 8.

boB
K7IQ 🌛  He/She/Me

tecnodave

#24
Thanks boB and mike,

I didn't want to change my friends new notebook and I was worried that changing port to com 8 would interfere with its original com 3 configuration. I have been on Mac and iPad for a while now and could not find ports. I changed it in CDC emulator but need to change it back in ports LPT and COM. brain cells now reprogrammed to understand windows again.

Is MidNite going to support utilities in Mac OS?  I might buy a new windows laptop to make this easier but I like my Mac PowerBook better

Thanks,   David
#1 Classic 150 12 x Sharp NE-170, 2S6P, 24volt L-16 Rolls-Surette S-530, MS4024 & Cotek ,  C-40 dirv.cont. for hot water
#2 Classic 150 12 x Sharp NE-170, 2S6P, 24 volt L-16 Interstate,Brutus Inv.
#3 Kid/WBjr 4/6 Sanyo 200 watt multilayer 4/6 P
#4 Kid/WBjr 4/6 Sanyo 200 watt multilayer 2S 2/3 P

TomW

Quote from: tecnodave on November 27, 2013, 08:11:12 AM

Is MidNite going to support utilities in Mac OS?  I might buy a new windows laptop to make this easier but I like my Mac PowerBook better

Thanks,   David

David;

In a way, they kind of already do. There is a Python script that is cross platform. I use it in Ubuntu Linux and others use it in various versions of OSX. If you have a USB port on your machine and Python you should be able to install Classic and MNGP updates just fine from a terminal window!

I think they support Winders because it is so widely used.

Anyway, that Python script is around someplace and it is actually quite easy to use. Toughest part may be getting the firmware file extracted from the archive they distribute. It was an .exe file and I use Wine to unpack it. Wish they just offered the file itself for us non M$ users.

If you need a bit of hand holding to run it from Python, I and several others can certainly help.

Tom
Do NOT mistake me for any kind of "expert".

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)


24 Trina 310 watt modules, SMA SunnyBoy 7.7 KW Grid Tie inverter.

I thought that they were angels, but much to my surprise, We climbed aboard their starship and headed for the skies

tecnodave

TomW

Thanks,  I haven't got around to using other interfaces on the PowerBook yet as I have been in computer burnout but it does intrigue me.    Just what is Python?    There are other things that I would prefer to do in Windows so the dashboard and utilities are not the only things I would use windows for.

David
#1 Classic 150 12 x Sharp NE-170, 2S6P, 24volt L-16 Rolls-Surette S-530, MS4024 & Cotek ,  C-40 dirv.cont. for hot water
#2 Classic 150 12 x Sharp NE-170, 2S6P, 24 volt L-16 Interstate,Brutus Inv.
#3 Kid/WBjr 4/6 Sanyo 200 watt multilayer 4/6 P
#4 Kid/WBjr 4/6 Sanyo 200 watt multilayer 2S 2/3 P

TomW

#27
David;

Python is a programming language. This explains it better than I can:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Python_%28programming_language%29

To use it you would simply execute the provided script in a terminal window. If you don't know what a terminal window is then it probably is not for you.

Someone smarter than myself could probably wrap it in a typical Mac GUI but it is not really needed.

Difficulty is relative to the users computer ability but there is really nothing hard about doing updates with the Python script. Then, I am a bit of a geek.

Tom
Do NOT mistake me for any kind of "expert".

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)


24 Trina 310 watt modules, SMA SunnyBoy 7.7 KW Grid Tie inverter.

I thought that they were angels, but much to my surprise, We climbed aboard their starship and headed for the skies