Off Grid cabin in Farellton Quebec

[Graham]

Here is my off grid system,
Classic 200 Lite, VFX3524, 4 250 watt Eclipsall panels

I'm using a Netduino to read modbus data from the classic and serial data from the VFX to display a web status page on a mobile device.

[Westbranch]

Nice job, what batteries do you have in the vented box? Looks like a poly box of some sort..??

[phonetic]

Like to to know about your Arduino reading  classic Modbus and Outback serial data ?
any links for the Arduino code ?

[mtdoc]

Like to to know about your Arduino reading  classic Modbus and Outback serial data ?
any links for the Arduino code ?

I'd be interested to hear more as well. How difficult is it to work with the serial data from the Outback Mate?

I believe the Netduinos are programmed with Microsoft .NET framework though and not the Arduino IDE so code wouldn't be directly transferable.

[TomW]

How difficult is it to work with the serial data from the Outback Mate?

I did that for some time using perl to read and process the output from the Mate serial port. Worked pretty well. I used USB to serial DB9 adapters but if there was a powercycle or shutdown of the logging computer the Mate would turn off the inverter. Not good.  I have a simple perl script that gathers the data from the Mate and logs it. PM me if you want to try it. If you want to use the Mate this way, Outback has a good mate serial communication document on the details.


Not to butt in but serial data from the Mate is not tough for raw data. You can send commands, too, apparently, according to the documentation but I never messed with it that far.

Tom

[Graham]

Like to to know about your Arduino reading  classic Modbus and Outback serial data ?
any links for the Arduino code ?

I have the source code at http://netduinosolar.codeplex.com/, I'm currently working on the outback interface through the RS232 port on the mate. Will post an update once I get it working.

[Graham]

Nice job, what batteries do you have in the vented box? Looks like a poly box of some sort..??

thanks,
I'm using 4 Deka 8L16 batteries in series, the box is actually a salt box.

http://www.theresourcestore.ca/proddetail.php?prod=8L16

[Graham]

How difficult is it to work with the serial data from the Outback Mate?

I did that for some time using perl to read and process the output from the Mate serial port. Worked pretty well. I used USB to serial DB9 adapters but if there was a powercycle or shutdown of the logging computer the Mate would turn off the inverter. Not good.  I have a simple perl script that gathers the data from the Mate and logs it. PM me if you want to try it. If you want to use the Mate this way, Outback has a good mate serial communication document on the details.


Not to butt in but serial data from the Mate is not tough for raw data. You can send commands, too, apparently, according to the documentation but I never messed with it that far.

Tom

I'm using the Outback mate port to detect when the generator is run from the FX operational mode so that I can display a calendar on the second tab of my app that shows the daily kWh + the days float/eq was achieved and  when the generator was in use.
I would be interested in looking at your code to see how you did it.
thanks.

[Graham]

Like to to know about your Arduino reading  classic Modbus and Outback serial data ?
any links for the Arduino code ?

I'd be interested to hear more as well. How difficult is it to work with the serial data from the Outback Mate?

I believe the Netduinos are programmed with Microsoft .NET framework though and not the Arduino IDE so code wouldn't be directly transferable.

Yes, the Netduino is using the .Net Micro framework and the code is written in C#, the code is not transferable to the Arduino but I'm sure there must be several open source modbus and embedded web server libraries for the Arduino, you would only have to port the code in the 'ChargeController' library and re-use the JScripts.
the code is  at http://netduinosolar.codeplex.com/

[mtdoc]

[
Not to butt in but serial data from the Mate is not tough for raw data. You can send commands, too, apparently, according to the documentation but I never messed with it that far.

Tom

Thanks for the info Tom.  I'm using Wattplot now which is actually a really nice program for the price.($50).   I does a good job with the Mate serial data and allows you some control over the  system - limited by the commands Outback allows. Unfortunately it's limited to Windows - so no running on a Pi.  Eventually I may delve into doing something with the raw serial data from the Mate but other priorities first.....

[mtdoc]

Like to to know about your Arduino reading  classic Modbus and Outback serial data ?
any links for the Arduino code ?

I have the source code at http://netduinosolar.codeplex.com/, I'm currently working on the outback interface through the RS232 port on the mate. Will post an update once I get it working.

Cool stuff. More low power monitoring options!

[Graham]

Like to to know about your Arduino reading  classic Modbus and Outback serial data ?
any links for the Arduino code ?

I have the source code at http://netduinosolar.codeplex.com/, I'm currently working on the outback interface through the RS232 port on the mate. Will post an update once I get it working.

I finally got around to getting the Outback Mate RS232 interface working, I have posted an update on codeplex along with a deployment tool in the downloads area that will install the app on a netduino without the use of the NetduinoSDK or visual studio.

Here is the updated main page with the inverter & generator loads


The prototype with the optional LCD

[Westbranch]

Ross, got a parts description for that netduino board?

ADD looked at your  site, have you thought of an alarm when you get to or through Absorb,  it struck me when I looked at the pic of the needle in the red zone an it didn't seem that you had any opportunity loads on (applied) , see your home page.

[Graham]

I added a parts list along with links to www.sparkfun.com for the required and optional components.
I don't currently have any alarm at this time, I would have to 'play' a sound using javascript in the browser and would have to make sure this works on all browsers (tablets, phones etc).
You could probably use the classic aux to switch on an opportunity load...

[Westbranch]

Hi Ross, reason I asked is SWMBO and I have been talking, she understands Opportunity loads and taking advantage of such, but she is not up to speed on how to read that on the display yet AND the system is not in  her 'world' (kitchen). Another poster described his alarm type setup that tells SWMBO if she can use the vacuum, etc..  Just an idea that might be useful.
cheers