Local App 3.10 Bugs

[crunnells]

Hey guys,

I finally got my whole PV setup yesterday so I've been monitoring my Classic 150 (rev 4, firmware: 1043 and network: 1024) with the latest version of the Local App in OSX. Some problems I've been encountering:

1. While in the status panel for my classic, clicking on "Config" always brings up a "Data Written to Classic" dialog (what data?! I didn't change anything) after 2-3 seconds which then, apparently, resets the IP address on the Classic as I then get a "Connection was closed" dialog and the Classic will show up again under a new IP after a few seconds.

2. Status Panel scale (1-5kw) saves correctly in one session, but after reconnecting or restarting the app, the dial always loads up at 5kw. The setting in the drop menu will be correct, but you have to change it to something else, then change it back before the dial displays correctly.

3. Amp Hours under the Data panel shows erroneous data. Sometimes it's in the 100k+ daily AH (impossible) and currently it's showing a negative AH.

4. Live data panel calendar picker doesn't show the month name at the top of the calendar, so you kind of have to guess what month it is.

Any thoughts, or do I need to update my Classic firmware as well? I haven't tried it yet (as I'm on a Mac) but luckily I have Parallels so hopefully that'll work.

[TomW]

You probably should update the firmware on the Classic. These issues are known and are fixed in the new firmware.

The not keeping the power scale setting is that you need to click the blue "save" arrow in the lower part of the "config" pane. You may need to enter the Classics Serial Number in the box for it at the bottom, too.

Good luck with it.

Tom

[boB]

The data sent message when you click on the config tab is the local app sending the password (serial number) to the Classic...

You will also find that there are some problems when reading the off-line data from the Classic because not all
of the daily values are in the correct order, depending on if the days went over the edge of the 380 day boundary
inside the Classic or not.  This is being worked on now but may not be available for another week or so.

boB

[crunnells]

Gotcha. I'll try updating the firmware tonight and let you know how it goes.

The data sent message when you click on the config tab is the local app sending the password (serial number) to the Classic...

At the risk of seeming pedantic, I don't think showing an alert box after that operation is a good idea from a UX (user experience) standpoint; it creates confusion (eg: Data written?! I didn't do anything!), and should be hidden.

I fully expect an alert box after an operation that would require saving data (eg: changing anything in the Config tab), but I don't expect one while switching between panels. From the users' point of view, I'm just reading the config, not actually changing anything.

Just my two cents. Thanks for your help guys.

[boB]

Gotcha. I'll try updating the firmware tonight and let you know how it goes.

The data sent message when you click on the config tab is the local app sending the password (serial number) to the Classic...

At the risk of seeming pedantic, I don't think showing an alert box after that operation is a good idea from a UX (user experience) standpoint; it creates confusion (eg: Data written?! I didn't do anything!), and should be hidden.

I fully expect an alert box after an operation that would require saving data (eg: changing anything in the Config tab), but I don't expect one while switching between panels. From the users' point of view, I'm just reading the config, not actually changing anything.

Just my two cents. Thanks for your help guys.

That is a great idea !   I will let him know and maybe we can get rid of that notification.

Or, maybe it could be shown the first time only ?

boB

[crunnells]

That is a great idea !   I will let him know and maybe we can get rid of that notification.

Or, maybe it could be shown the first time only ?

boB

I would say if you're going to show it, be a little more descriptive about it. What data is being written? Why is it necessary (to the user)?

It seems to me that it's a behind-the-scenes kind of operation... Meaning, it's not something the user has control over, why it would be necessary to show it to the user? It looks like something that would be useful for a developer, to know that the Classic is receiving and writing data, but from a user perspective it's superfluous.

[crunnells]

I'd still like to write an iOS app that reads data from the Classic (so I don't have to run to my computer when I want to check the PV status) but I'm super busy for the first couple months of next year and won't have time for it.

[crunnells]

So I updated my Classic to the latest firmware on Saturday, and I can report that all of the problems I mentioned in my first post... Still exist. Except that now it's reporting the correct amount of amp hours.

Otherwise, the Local App still doesn't apply the saved scale value, and opening that panel resets the IP on the Classic, and the data calendar doesn't show the month name.

None of this stuff is really a big deal, but I figure it'd be worth mentioning to you folks.

[boB]

opening that panel resets the IP on the Classic

Is your Classic in DHCP or STATIC IP mode ??   You might try setting it to STATIC
and see if the IP address stays put.

I saw this here at my house once and have heard of it happening a few times.  Not sure
why that happens though, yet.

boB

[crunnells]

It may stick if I change it to a static IP, but it didn't have this problem prior to the last update. For now I just stay away from the config tab and content myself to having the power gauge set at 0-5k.

[Halfcrazy]

I am not sure if it is the latest App or the latest Classic code but one of them seems to have caused DHCP to be problematic on certain systems. I can cause an incrementing IP address on mine here.

Ryan

[crunnells]

I'm fairly certain it's the latest version of the Local App that's causing the DHCP issue. I didn't have this issue prior to upgrading the Local App with the old firmware in my Classic (from June 2012 I believe) and upgrading to the latest firmware results in the exact same behavior, which suggests the problem lies in the app itself.

Still, it's not stopping me from using it every day to check on production without looking at the unit itself.

[Tritium]

The Lifetime Values Amp Hours is still not correct. The daily Amp hours are divided by 10 when saved each midnight to the lifetime values.

Thurmond

[TomW]

I have also started to see some odd behaviour in the Local App. Disconnects and resets values several times a day. Exported data has obvious errors like 145 volt battery volts on a 24 volt bank. Days I know I made 3 or 4 KWH showing as zero.

Data gets reset on the display, too, not just in the Local App.

I ran it for a long while with no issues but the last week to 10 days it started acting up.

I suspect it is writing and corrupting data on the MNGP when the thing sends data? Usually after it does that "Writing Data to Classic" bit I get the errors and disconnects soon after.   Days I do not fire up the App I see no problems with it holding data in the MNGP.

I guess until a fix is sorted out I will just quit using the App.

Just wanted to toss that on the pile with others' issues.

Tom

[crunnells]

I've also noticed issues on the Classic (with the 12/2012 firmware) where if you go into the hourly logs, it doesn't cycle thru the hourly data correctly. Similar to what Tom just reported, it occasionally displays the wrong information for the field you're looking at (and it's obviously showing data from another field: e.g. showing max PV voltage as max battery voltage, etc.