Classic spec sheet

[niel]

in my general looking into it i find that much needs to be shown of the controller that is not being said in current writings. some things like the variable mv range for the temperature compensation and tare losses aren't said. the controller does so much and so little is actually presented in literature that i think a better effort should be made in this area to allow others to see its full capabilities and make better comparisons. they don't know if it's not said.

[Halfcrazy]

Good point Neil I hope we can make a list of items that sets us apart from the rest of the industry the Web interface is going to be huge especially if we can tie in other Mod Bus stuff?

PS
check your email

[tallgirl]

Certainly if the device is capable of integration with other Modbus devices, in the sense of being able to monitor and manage, that's going to be huge.

I was speaking with a product manager at another R.E. equipment vendor and mentioned that my kit will function as a Modbus slave sometime in 2Q11.  That should help level for those companies that don't yet support Modbus   It already functions as a Modbus master.

[boB]

Certainly if the device is capable of integration with other Modbus devices, in the sense of being able to monitor and manage, that's going to be huge.

I was speaking with a product manager at another R.E. equipment vendor and mentioned that my kit will function as a Modbus slave sometime in 2Q11.  That should help level for those companies that don't yet support Modbus   It already functions as a Modbus master.

Master and/or slave is just a Simple Matter Of Programming, (SMOP), right?  So, that's good you are doing both.
We are either/and/or, also.

boB

[Robin]

Yes we need fancy spec sheets and brochures, but there just hasn't been time. I suppose I should work on that before we run out of our initial orders? Hmmmm. I don't think that is going to happen though.
Tare losses are not bad, but we are planning on some tricks to bring it down even lower. There are a bunch of variables regarding tare losses, so a one size fits all doesn't work. Just like our power graphs, we may need a graph.

[Robin]

Since Modbus was mentioned here I thought it appropriate to chime in. Keep in mind that I am a mechanical engineer so when I speak about SMOP, sometimes I over simplify what can be done. We do plan on being able to interface with other Modbus systems such as the Xantrex XW inverter and remote. A lot of people think they need to buy equipment all from one manufacturer. This just isn't the case unless you just want the paint to match. That said, we should be able to accommodate those people that want connectivity. Other third party companies like Tallgirl, Righthand Engineering, Andrew's WattPlot and such will have a hay day keeping up with all the communications possibilities coming down the road. Good luck making the other guys talk though?

[tallgirl]

First, my background is in Electrical, Marine, Mechanical =and= Software Engineering.  So, I do understand that "Simple Matter of Programming" means different things to a lot of different people.  It also means that I can calculate whether or not your solar array will float 

The idea behind enabling the greenMonitor Lite as a Modbus Slave is that it will provide a bridge between some devices that don't "play" all that well on a network and those that do.  Some devices out there -- Enphase microinverters, for example -- have a very closed interface.  Others -- Morningstar gear of the kinds that MidNite doesn't make -- play very nicely on a Modbus.  My company's motto is "Bringing Intelligence to Renewable Energy" (or something like that -- I have to look at my letterhead to get the exact text!), and that's why I look at finding ways to make them all "speak" something like Modbus.  Then there are devices -- such as SMA Inverters -- that are Modbus "under the covers" but that use a gateway device.  Xantrex is another vendor with a "gateway" -- Xanbus is seriously broken and Modbus via the gateway is the only interface that is remotely reliable.

What's currently planned for Release 2.02 is Modbus Slave connectivity for all devices that are available on the virtual "Hub" that we use for internal software connectivity.  That includes devices that don't have Modbus (OutBack, Magnum, TED 5000, to name a few) and devices we are talking to locally (Morningstar, being the main vendor) that might only be on our Modbus segment.  We'll support the "Send Encapsulated Information" request so other software can walk our Modbus interface.

As regards RightHand Engineering and WattPlot -- neither support Modbus and their support is limited to Trace/Xantrex and OutBack.  WattPlot is OutBack-only -- WinVerter will do both.  I have swapped e-mail with both Randy and Andrew to try and get them to interface with our hardware components.  Some people like the software interface from those two better than ours, but we have -- I think -- the best hardware story going in the product space.  Other than APRS World, we're also the only "software" company that also does "hardware".

My software background is operating system design -- I've written several over the past 30 years -- and interfacing dissimilar devices of identical types is a very common O/S design problem.  None of the work getting different devices to "talk" has been a problem.  I mean, it's =hard=, but it is a "Mere Matter of Programming".  So, it would be possible to have a Classic querying our greenMonitor Lite to get inverter specs from a non-Modbus device, and then issuing control commands (Write Register / Write Coil) and having those get translated into actions.  It would also be possible to just have the greenMonitor Lite manage the whole mess, using the Classic as a Modbus slave.  That's the flexibility we offer -- we also go both ways

[Robin]

We will be publishing our ModBus interface soon. We are in discussion of what we can allow and what needs to remain locked. You will find our interface very similar to Morningstar.

[stephendv]

Firstly, a big congratulations for shipping the classic! 

I've read quite a lot about what the classic is supposed to be able to do before it was released on other forums, now that it is released, I can't really find much information in the brochure or the manual.  Here are just a few things I'd like to see explained:

- What is hypervoc?  (I know now what it is, by reading the forum, but this should be in the product literature)
- Is the classic both boost and buck, and what does this mean for my wind installation?
- The manual references the unreleased clipper as if it was a shipping product, could do with a clarification and link to any temporary solutions that might be available until the clipper is released.
- What are the efficiency curves of the various models at different voltages?