Report Card for Beta Units...??

[dbcollen]

I got my beta kid today. will get it installed on the boat when I get back from hawaii.

[Robin]

Uhhhh, yup.

[ClassicCrazy]

Beta Kid #29 delivered Friday around noon. Off work 4:30 PM , drive 100 miles freezing rain icy Wisconsin road conditions.  Got to sleep in a bit and replaced existing Morningstar Sunsaver MPPT with the Kid. Had to relocate and clean up this messy installation so now it is only half messy.  For now it has 4 - 50 watt ARCO panels 2 series then combined for 24v out ( this was the maximum I could do for Sunsaver). This charges a few different types of ( free) AGM batteries in 12 volt . The battery pack is literally at my feet and provides 12v for ham radio station and other loads. Installation complete less than 24 hours later !

The installation went pretty easily. I didn't look at the directions too much. Not at all for the programming - it was intuitive enough for the few settings I put in to get it up and running. But since it is an overcast day and the panels are covered in ice there is not much going on so the KID is clicking in and out of Resting every so often - the KID is displaying batteries at 12.3v and .7A   7 watt when it is on.

Some data is available over the internet via APRS . I have voltage , indoor temperature , and light level telemetry from an Argent Data OT2M http://wiki.argentdata.com/index.php?title=Telemetry. I also have a counter telemetry input available if anyone can think of something for me to use it for I will hook it up. I am considering upgrading to the newer OTusb or OT3M which has more telemetry inputs so could monitor more data like voltage input, etc.

Here is what is going on now though the previous week data is from the Sunsaver setup . You can see the light level increases and voltage climbs, and also how cold it was in my unheated camper. http://aprs.fi/telemetry/a/WT9M-8?range=week 

So for my no code no worry setup the installation of the KID was quite simple since I had most of the wiring already done though I did install a needed DC breaker on the PV input . The battery connection has a glass  type fuse.

The KID display reads 12.3 volts, a Trimetric reads 12.5 volts, and my Extech meter reads 12.4 volts at the battery.  To get at the terminals of the KID to take a meter reading there I would have to unscrew everything - maybe later sometime when the sun is shining.

I am very flexible so can reconfigure this setup any way I want to test out the KID as may be needed. I also have other panels I can add to this.

One question I had was - if I wanted to , could connect the input of the KID to my larger systems 24volt batteries to simply charge the 12v batteries ? Woudn't the amp limits be able to protect the KID from frying ?

Another question - Can I make a 100 amp shunt work for this with the Whizbang ?  I do have a Whizbang that is intended for another system but will install it on this . I need to do some rewiring to get the shunt installed. 

[mtdoc]

Beta Kid #30 arrived yesterday.  Not surprisingly for a Midnite product - it is very solidly built. 

One minor point - when opening up the case - after removing the single screw holding the back cover on - I found it quite difficult to separate off the back cover. Tolerances in the fitting  are VERY tight - which is a good thing for sealing it, etc - but it meant the only way I could get the cover off is to use a thin blade precision screwdriver to slowly pry a gap and work around the edges doing this to get it off. No big deal but it made me a bit nervous having to do it this way.   If that is by design, it might be worth mentioning in the manual. since the current manual implies that after you take the screw off the cover should easily come right off....

Due to weather it will be a few months before I get my 3rd PV array or microhydro installed - one of which I plan to be the permanent home of the Kid. In the meantime I'll likely temporarily substitute it in for one of my Classics for testing purposes.

[boB]

MTDOC, I think the reason that the back plate is so hard to get off right now is that the lip that
fits into the back of the Kid has paint on it which makes it thicker.   Newer backs will be masked.

ClassicCrazy,  100 amp shunt ?  How many miliVolts at 100 amps ?   I would think that
the Kid has an adjustment for the scaling and if not now, probably will in the future.

boB

[mtdoc]

Thanks boB. That makes sense.

[Robin]

The back for the KID was designed with .007" gap all around. That is about right for paint build up. When we got the first batch of castings from Canada we found that the main casting comes out of the mold warped inwards. I did not design for a warped chassis! We just received new first article backs from the casting house. We had them retool the lip on the back to move it in about .020. This should allow the warped casting to still work with the new backs without having to pry the back off. Haven't tried them yet, but for $8000 in additional  tooling charges, they better fit!
I don't know anything about being able to adjust for a 100 amp shunt? That may be a problem, but Bob and Mario will be discussing the issue. Might be simple?
By the way, the KID is the most impressive piece of gear in that picture.

[Bunkie314]

My first impression of the kid: it is quite robust and well built. Much heavier duty than what I was expecting. I have installed one kid with two 136w panels to maintain batteries for the winter. I did note a couple of things during the initial setup:

I had to do a reset to get the initial set menu items (battery voltage, type,  etc.) after battery on. It powered up in status mode for some reason. Reset brought it to these setup menu items, BTW I like the hold on instructions and count down for the reset.

The WBJR doesn't state charge or discharge current.  A sign (+/-) would be helpful/useful. Are you planning to add Ahr information? Stop amps etc? It also has "6c degrees" in the status display below the WBJR instead of info printed in manual. I had to add about a foot of wire to the WBJR lead due to locations of things (crimped and soldered), would this be creating an issue? Light indicates communications are per instructions.

[TomW]

#27 arrived Thursday. Nice, solid unit! Packed well enough to survive being dropped from a plane, too!

I did not have time to do much more than unpack it, fire it up on the bench and do a firmware upgrade because we had frozen drains from the Arctic Vortex that showed up with sub sub zero (F) temps for several days earlier this week and today I had to drive 3 hours through sleet and black ice to Ea Claire, Wisconsin in the dark to take my Amateur Radio tests this AM. Passed the Technician and General tests but choked on the Extra. 

Hopefully I will gather some needed bits and get it in the system in the next few days.

I noticed the tight cover but looked like it was just the paint and snug is good for parts that do not move or get removed often.

I really liked the drag and drop firmware upgrade method. Too bad it did not work on my Ubuntu laptop even though Ubuntu recognized it as a drive and the file transferred to the Kid without errors but was dead simple on Win 7 Home Premium on the laptop I keep for M$ only things like this. No drivers,to install, no confusion on ports or support software to put fresh firmware on the unit. +1 on that!

All told, well done, guys!

More info as I get it.

Tom

[Robin]

I will let Mario comment on the start up menu stuff. I know things keep changing though.
We did hear from another beta tester that is in the marine environment. He has issues with noise interfering with the marine radio. Bob has ordered some ferrite cores to play around with. This will help with RF. If it fixes things appreciably, then we will have a kit to offer for this issue. All MPPT controllers make noise by the way. It is more of a problem when around sensitive radios.
The other issue this beta tester had was with the wiring terminal block. We have a 30 amp terminal block that only accepts a 10AWG wire. This meets code. He wanted a larger terminal block to accept a 6AWG wire. We do not have room for that inside the KID, so I suggested to transistion to a larger wire from the battery breaker that is supposed to be installed within 18" from the controller. He may not even have an output breaker.

[Halfcrazy]

today I had to drive 3 hours through sleet and black ice to Ea Claire, Wisconsin in the dark to take my Amateur Radio tests this AM. Passed the Technician and General tests but choked on the Extra. 

Tom Congratulations. Now the impatient wait for the FCC to update the data base and get you a call sign. Hopefully we can catch you on the bands soon.

73
KB1UAS

[ClassicCrazy]

ClassicCrazy,  100 amp shunt ?  How many miliVolts at 100 amps ?   I would think that
the Kid has an adjustment for the scaling and if not now, probably will in the future.

boB

I have a couple of these 100 amp 50mv shunts that I salvaged . 

And my congrats also to Tom W for passing the ham radio exams !  ( you know that sounds like stories some of the old timers tell about some grueling ordeal involved in getting their license way back in the old days and how easy it is now ) 

[boB]

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  CONGRATS  TOM W !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well Done !!


100A at 50 mV...   That is 5 times more sensitive.  Should be doable of course.
Should actually be able to do 20 mA resolution !   Not that 20 mA is really necessary
or very much more useful than 0.1 amp but it could be done.

boB

[ClassicCrazy]

I had a 500 amp 50mv shunt that was for another project and also the Whizbang. I now have them connected to the Kid . It seems to be working as expected. I did need to extend the purple wire from the Whizbang about a foot.  When there is an option to set up a different shunt I will install the 100 amp .

I couldn't find any menus that shows the firmware version. I am assuming that this shipped out with the most current firmware since the one on the web is dated 12-31-13 .

[ClassicCrazy]

I notice that the  Kid display is not reading negative. I just checked to make sure on the Whizbang that the purple wire is pointing towards the wire that goes to the battery.