Local App software

[Halfcrazy]

The Local app only auto detects Classics on port 502 so if you had an older one the app will not see it automatically.

[Tinman]

I haven't loaded up the latest firmware yet. I get very hesitant about such things if something isn't broken. I posted some of my configuration in the Intro section. I'm using a solar panel tracker on a motorhome. Harvesting some crazy amounts thorugh the Classic. 1.7/2.0 kw and more, so it says.

I'll try the other port. That might do it. I'll report back.

[Tinman]

Update: Port 3900 worked for a few minutes. On the status I got a Battey Temp not installed although it is there.

I will try the new firmware tomorrow. Since I just turned on the Classic 3 days ago, I guess why not.

BTW, the Classic reports over 7 kw in the last 4 days using my 3 100 watt Mono panels on my motorhome tracking system. Yeowzzzzahhhh.

[boB]

Update: Port 3900 worked for a few minutes. On the status I got a Battey Temp not installed although it is there.

I will try the new firmware tomorrow. Since I just turned on the Classic 3 days ago, I guess why not.

Did you get the direct Ethernet connection to work ?

BTW, the Classic reports over 7 kw in the last 4 days using my 3 100 watt Mono panels on my motorhome tracking system. Yeowzzzzahhhh.

Well, it ~IS~ a pretty good controller  ya  know....   

But really, that IS a bit higher than one might think.   How much peak power have you seen from that array ??
If you really saw 300 Watts, then,  ~maybe~...  But that would be sorta rare.  How long are your solar days ?
Are you in the south ??

boB

[Tinman]

Thanks for all the help. Okay, I can connect to the Classic via Local App. It was the port 3900 for my current version of firmware (as shipped-purchase about 2 months ago). I'll update the firmware today after my batteries hit float mode which should be before noon today.

In end, so far so good then and no harm in checking and re-checking everything. I have access to a huge inventory of networking equipment from thin client, tablets (Windows Xp/7, Android, Apple,HP WebOS) routers (enterprise class stuff) so I'll run the Classic through most of it just to see and report back here about any tweaks necessary.

Bob: Don't forget, I am using a panel tracker so I get direct exposure from sunrise to sunset. It is a two way tracker. I ran my panels in series and using 1/0 wire from junction box (on the roof since only one array) to controller and the same size from controller to batteries. I have very little line loss.

I silver plated all my electrical mechanical connections (everything but my slip ring). My inverter/charge bay is very well ventilated as is the battery bay. I have absolutely no shadowing at any time of the day/year. I might make a gift of tree pruning if some start to interfere with my harvest.

There is one thing that would really come in handy for those of us with "small" installations: Allow for different scales on the gauge displays, especially watts. More of an aesthetic thing than functional.

The one thing I did was to use a separate wireless router that I subnet off my main switch so it can't be bridged to my production network. My production AP has the ability to broadcast 7 different SSIDs at either 2.4 or 5 gig range. A  tablet running Windows Server will find it's way to a wall mount to display the local app along with camera feeds and some other home automation things as well as being the multi-media distribution server.

So all is good now. After I update the firmware I'll report back again and re-test the Cradlepoint. I'm sure that will work now too.

[Halfcrazy]

The main meter "Power" or watts is scalable in 1kw increments. Go to the "Config" tab on the top of the status window under the power meter. Then at the bottom of the window click "Classic". In the top of the status screen is a drop down box labeled "Power Meter Scale" select the scale you want and the power meter will change.

[Tinman]

BTW, the Classic reports over 7 kw in the last 4 days using my 3 100 watt Mono panels on my motorhome tracking system. Yeowzzzzahhhh.

Well, it ~IS~ a pretty good controller  ya  know....   

But really, that IS a bit higher than one might think.   How much peak power have you seen from that array ??
If you really saw 300 Watts, then,  ~maybe~...  But that would be sorta rare.  How long are your solar days ?
Are you in the south ??


I am a little north of San Francisco. In bulk mode I routinely see 295-297 watts from the array. Below is a screen shot of what the Classic is reporting as of about 12:30 PST so I have until the sunset to harvest. Right now in absorb so watts are down a bit.

I really like the retro style gauges. Today when everything is digital and looks sanitized it's nice to see something with design. I hope they continue to use the retro style because it is after all, a Classic. Just my 2 cents.

boB
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[Tinman]

I updated the firmware for both Classic and the monitor. That went just fine. I insured I had removed any config for port 3900. App can find the Classic and will stay connected for about 30 seconds, the "Connection Closed" is the message.

I'll try again tomorrow as the Classic is "resting" and thus can't be reached via the local app. That might be a good enhancement although it might use some power. Usually, I'd want to see the results of the day after the day is done or at least cumulative until the point there was no more harvest. As it is, once the Classic goes to rest the local app never finds it.

Tomorrow I'll run through this step by step once more from application install to end. I'll use a computer with a fresh install of Windows 7, no firewall, local area network only-wired, no anti-virus, running as admin and see how that goes. I'll try the cross-over cable as well if going through any of my routers doesn't work.

[boB]

I'll try again tomorrow as the Classic is "resting" and thus can't be reached via the local app. That might be a good enhancement although it might use some power. Usually, I'd want to see the results of the day after the day is done or at least cumulative until the point there was no more harvest. As it is, once the Classic goes to rest the local app never finds it.

That's interesting.   The local app should see the Classic whether it's running or resting.

Not sure what's going on there.

Hmmmmm....

boB

[atop8918]

Hi, Guys,
Just some insight into Tinman's issue connecting to the Classic which might help in general:

- The Classic advertises its IP address on UDP port 0x1212 (4626) so if you've got your Classic and Monitoring Computer on different routers (or UDP port 4626 blocked)  then the auto-detect won't work.

- The Classic will automatically close any open connections after 30 seconds of inactivity. Under normal conditions (using the Local App) this shouldn't happen because the Local app is constantly requesting modbus registers from the Classic. If you see the Classic disconnecting (from the local app) after 30 seconds it means that somehow data is not getting back and forth to/from the Classic. This may be an issue if you've got QOS or port triggering set up on your router/switch, or if port 502 is blocked on your firewall (although if this is the case it shouldn't connect at all).

- The Classic should always accept TCP connections despite the charge control mode (including resting).

- The Classic will only accept one TCP connection at a time so if you're running the Local app on one machine, you won't be able to connect to it from another.

- The Classic does use name resolution (DNS) when trying to connect to the MyMidNite server so if you'd like to use that feature (when I finally finish the website...sorry, no rocks, please) then that will be something that will need to be configured (manually for static or via DHCP).


Now this is all the way things _should_ work. There are bound to be some bugs to squash or some configurations to configure to make everything play nice on different networks (which are hideously complex beasts). I'm glad to try to fix as many bugs as possible so we can get the Classic working on everybody's network so please complain if it's not working!

I'm going to see if we can get a Cadlepoint MBR in house so I can debug your DHCP issue, Tinman, because that is probably a problem on my end. DHCP  is an UGLY protocol.

Thanks,
-Andrew

[Tinman]

The local app has now been running for hours 

The battery sensor indicator shows it is not installed but oh well, I know it is.

I went completely through everything, brand new cat5 cabling, different routers, wired/unwired, different computers and so on. I also took a look at the flow between the Classic and the local app (via router). Not knowing much about these things it could be a latency issue, especially on wifi. I have seen this before with some databases and since the local app is storing data locally that is where the database resides. When I've run across this in my applications usually accounting for increased latency corrects the problem.

It will not run on two of my machines, both of those are Windows 7 patched but not running SP1. I upgraded one to SP1 and then the app worked. On the machine I was working with mostly, SP1 had tried to install but failed, a pretty common thing. You need to look to see if SP1 actually installed correctly if you have auto-updates configured. Otherwise it is easy to let it slip by. The other machines do work with it. All are name brand (Lenovo/Dell/Motion Computing). It will not work with my Airlink WiFi router, wired or unwired. It does work with a Cisco RVS4000 gig router and through to a Ruckus 2.4/5 gig N band AP back to the computer.

The one thing I did notice was that after uninstalling the local app, Windows 7 may not clear the registery so the next time you reinstall it, additional entries are created. These show up in Windows 7 Firewall and you need to manually set them to allow access. If not, the application will not connect to the Classic. It went through that several times to verify it, you might want to do the same.

The registry entries can be cleaned up manually but most people probably shouldn't touch it, bad joojoo can happen quite easily. CCLeaner also know as crap cleaner seems to find the extra entries and removes them. If you uninstall the local app I highly recommend you run something to insure any entries are flushed from the registry. That way the reinstall is clean.

It could have been a combination of things that prevented the local app from working.

Some other things I noticed. If you happen to set port 3900 as the port to be used, sometimes port 502 will appear as a second classic even though it doesn't exist. After a while it appears to time out. That has gone away now that I'm using port 502 but I'll run some other configurations after a while to see if I can duplicate it. Some folks might want to use a different port and if it is repeatable, might be something to check.

Windows Embedded is a no go even with write filter off. Most people won't have such a thing so no big deal.


2.5 hours uptime and all appears to be good with the local app. Thanks for the suggestions and patience.

[Halfcrazy]

TinMan

If you go to the Charge menu and go to T Comp make sure there is a number for the temperature compensation adjustment if it is set to 0 or disabled it will just show as the temp sensor not being there.

Ryan

[Tinman]

TinMan

If you go to the Charge menu and go to T Comp make sure there is a number for the temperature compensation adjustment if it is set to 0 or disabled it will just show as the temp sensor not being there.

Ryan

My value is currently: -5.0 mV.  under Temps I see N/A 25c for the battery. The sensor is installed correctly as best as I can determine. I'll take it off and see if that changes anything. I have it near center top of the #4 battery (4 batteries in parallel with 1 being top left, 2 top right, 3 bottom left 4 bottom left looking down.)

[Halfcrazy]

Maybe the sensor is bad? Let me know in a pm your shipping address and I can send you a new one.

[boB]

If you happen to have an extra telephone cable that you can cut one end off of, and you
short ALL of the wires together, Plugging it into the battery temperature sensor phone jack
should make all the fans turn on and the display should show 100 degrees C.

As long as you cut the unused end of that cable off, cut off the locking tab from the
test plug end so you don't have to use a screw-driver to un-plug it, or just to make
it easier to pull back out again.

boB