Open Source Android App available on Google Play

[Graham]

My 'Classic Monitor' Android App is now available on Google Play

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ca.farrelltonsolar.classic

or you can scan the QR code below with your device to open Google Play

Please note that this is a NOT a product of Midnite solar, nor do they support this application! The software is provided "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, express or implied.

The Classic will only support one TCP connection at a time, please make sure your local app (Android or PC...)  is not running when you attempt to connect with this app.

This app is best viewed on an Android tablet device in landscape orientation. If your system has a WhizBang jr, the SOC display will be enabled, tap on it to get the 'Countertop' view.

[atop8918]

Excellent work, Graham!
Thank you for your hard work.

-Andrew

[boB]

Yes, thank you !

I just installed it.  I'll be looking at it this week.

boB

[Halfcrazy]

This is very sweet. I use it on the road all the time to watch my system.

[offgridQLD]

Yes its a great little app for a visual overview of your classic. I  have been using it for some time. Favorite feature is the bidirectional gauge particularly how it calculates Amps X volts and displays it as a bidirectional watt meter dial. Makes great use of the WBJR. We now have a android tablet permanently mounted in our Kitchen to keep tabs on the system.

One question ,
                      I just downloaded the app again on a new android device and I noticed some changes the (Chart) tab shows some kind of graph.....is that section functional or still in development?

Great work

Kurt

[Graham]

Yes its a great little app for a visual overview of your classic. I  have been using it for some time. Favorite feature is the bidirectional gauge particularly how it calculates Amps X volts and displays it as a bidirectional watt meter dial. Makes great use of the WBJR. We now have a android tablet permanently mounted in our Kitchen to keep tabs on the system.

One question ,
                      I just downloaded the app again on a new android device and I noticed some changes the (Chart) tab shows some kind of graph.....is that section functional or still in development?

Great work

Kurt

Thanks, I like your youtube video that used the app to compare your array outputs.

I added a couple of new features at the end of October, the chart and the upload to PVOutput.org

the chart is supposed to read the minute logs from the classic and display it as a power graph of the last 24 hours. I did have some issues reading the logs timestamp data, this may be because I have a Classic Lite that doesn't have an MNGP to set the clock. I got it to work, at least on my system, by assuming each log entry is at a 5 minute interval, then calculate the average hourly power reading for the chart.
Unfortunately my cottage (along with my classic) is now closed for the season so I won't be able to look at the time stamp issue until I reopen in the spring.

Are you getting any data in the chart?

[Muskoka]

Edit: Disregard my post, put the phone in landscape mode and all is well.

Hi Graham, thanks for this. I have it installed on a Samsung Galaxy Mega, Android 4.4.2, and I don't see the options at the top of the screen, "Gauge" / "Calendar" / "Chart". I have the latest version installed from the Play Store and SourceForge. All I get is the "tree" view with all the values populated. Any idea why I don't see the other options?

Glen

[Graham]

Hi Graham, thanks for this. I have it installed on a Samsung Galaxy Mega, Android 4.4.2, and I don't see the options at the top of the screen, "Gauge" / "Calendar" / "Chart". I have the latest version installed from the Play Store and SourceForge. All I get is the "tree" view with all the values populated. Any idea why I don't see the other options?

Glen

I should probably include some documentation in the app at some point.
Here is some basic information about the app;

The gauges display in landscape orientation, you can adjust the scale of each gauge by tapping on it, once you're happy with the scale, you can lock it by checking the 'Lock Scale' box in the settings, this will save your scale values for the next time you start the app.
If you have a WhizBang Jr, the battery current gauge will be bi-directional indicating the current flowing in or out of the battery, you will also see the State Of Charge %, tap on it to get the large SOC view.
The main power gauge include two LED indicators that represent the state of the aux ports 1 and 2.
Swipe left or select the Calendar tab to view the calendar page, this will display the amount of kWh per day harvested by your system, (Float) will be included in the days where this states is achieved. You can navigate to earlier months with the < & > buttons on the page or return to the current month by pressing the crosshair button.
Swipe left again or select the chart tab to view a chart of the average power per hour of the last 24 hours.

Settings:
There are three sections in the settings page;
Connections.
Gauges.
PVOutput.

Under Connections you can set the modbus port (usually 502), you can also enter the static IP address of your classic or you can have the app scan your subnet for the classic by choosing a start address and the number of addresses to scan. It can take a few minutes to scan 255 addresses, once it finds the classic, it will remember this address and try it first the next time you start the app.

Under Gauges, you can have the bi-directional gauge display in watts rather than amps, you can also lock the scale as mentioned above.

PVOUtput
The latest feature allows you to record your daily energy log to the web even if your classic is not connected to the internet. When you display the calendar page, the app will save the day logs to a file on your device, once the app detect that it has access to the internet, it will upload the day logs to PVOutput.org. You will need to create an account on PVOutput.org, copy the API key and your System ID and paste the values into the PVoutput section of the settings. PVOutput requires a restricted the upload rate to one entry per 10 seconds, so it will take some time for the initial upload. The app remembers the last upload date and will only upload new values after the last upload. Note: this feature is still in beta and has not been fully tested.


Hope this helps.


Graham.

[Muskoka]

Graham, how long is the initial upload to PVOutput? Should I see some data after a few hours? It's all setup, but I still don't see any data.

Glen

Edit: I've downloaded the PVOutput Android app to test, and it's giving me a "Bad request 400:No System or Data Found" error, I have no idea why. If their app isn't working, it's likely why your app is not uploading data as well. Something is not setup right at my end, don't know what. Api key and System id are entered properly (copy/paste), other than that is their anything crucial that needs to be entered. I've filled all the pertinent fields, I think. When setting up your device there are 2 fields near the bottom about "Automatic Uploads (Primary and Secondary Device)", do these need to be populated, and if yes, with what? Nothing in those pull downs has anything to do with my system.

[Muskoka]

The data just "magically" appeared. All is well.

Glen

[Graham]

That PVOutput feature still needs some work, I was having the same problem uploading the data to their site then it just starts to work. I'll have to setup wireshark to see whats going on at the TCP level, I might be exceeding some restriction they have on their site...

Not sure what the 'primary and secondary device' is about, is this on the PVOutput settings page?

You can clear the last upload date by tapping on the "Clear Recorded Logs" in the settings page, this will re-upload the data the next time you start the app and view the calendar page.


Graham.

[Muskoka]

If you select "Edit" beside your "Registered Systems", about 2/3's the way down that page is a section called "Automatic Uploads" with a drop down for "Primary Device" and one for "Secondary Device". When my data didn't seem to be uploading I wondered if they needed to be populated.

Everything seems to be fine now. Thanks Graham.

Glen

[offgridQLD]

I have two classic 150s . I can view both of them live using this app. I just enter the port number of each classic 502 or 503 to bring them up. Classic 502 has the wbjr shunt so I usually just bring up 502 as I get all wbjr data and then every now and then I might call up classic 503 to view it's kWh output for the day.

One thing I have noticed is if I view classic 502 and go to the calendar or chart I get identical data entry's for both 502 & 503. Yet the live gauge view is obviously different for each classic.

Any ideas ?

Edid: Never mind I just worked out that I needed to fully close the app and reopen it again under each port number to change the calender and chart data. Just swapping port setting with the app running will bring up each classics live gauge view but a restart of the app is required for the individual calender/chart data.






Kurt

[offgridQLD]

the chart is supposed to read the minute logs from the classic and display it as a power graph of the last 24 hours. I did have some issues reading the logs timestamp data, this may be because I have a Classic Lite that doesn't have an MNGP to set the clock. I got it to work, at least on my system, by assuming each log entry is at a 5 minute interval, then calculate the average hourly power reading for the chart.
Unfortunately my cottage (along with my classic) is now closed for the season so I won't be able to look at the time stamp issue until I reopen in the spring.

Are you getting any data in the chart?

This is what I get when I call up the chart for each classic at 2:00pm today.

Classic (House) port 502, 2:00pm today


Classic (shed) port 503, 2:00pm today



Not sure what to make of the numbers I guess the vertical on the left is watts and the horizontal is time (though I not sure what to make of it)

Kurt

[Graham]

I have two classic 150s . I can view both of them live using this app. I just enter the port number of each classic 502 or 503 to bring them up. Classic 502 has the wbjr shunt so I usually just bring up 502 as I get all wbjr data and then every now and then I might call up classic 503 to view it's kWh output for the day.

One thing I have noticed is if I view classic 502 and go to the calendar or chart I get identical data entry's for both 502 & 503. Yet the live gauge view is obviously different for each classic.

Any ideas ?

I'm caching the file transfer data from the classic when you view the calendar for the first time, the transfer can initially take a few seconds. I should probably clear the cache whenever the settings are modified.


Graham.