@Coulomb & @Tarek Yag

This is a little comparison in mptt behavior between 60.95 and 68.04 FW. Clear sky.Max current.

Configuration is 2s4p  2x1600W . The same Trina Solar panels.

60.95

 

68.04

 

As we can see 60.95 works better. Current is near 17A , and voltage about 135V hence more power. 2.2-2.3 kW

The most impact to power in 68.04 is  less voltage at mptt point (minus ~10V) and current too . Result -  2-2.05 kW.

 

PS. I can not go above 17A current in my installation. But each string alone  goes above 10A.

I do not know what couse this.

35 meters of solar cabel 6 mm2 (9 AWG) gives me with this calculator loss about 100W at 20A.

https://www.rapidtables.com/calc/wire/voltage-drop-calculator.html

but 3A less current in parallel vs. single string gives more than 300W potential loss at full sun.

May be inverter mptt efficiency at 130V is so poor.

May be FW cut some current? Inverter specs say 27A max ???

On the other hand parallel gives me better behavior in low light  conditions so battery stays longer..

Edited August 22, 20241 yr by bratpit

On 2024/05/28 at 5:22 AM, Tarek Yag said:

Hi,

Based on the frequent need for firmware of these two models (which seem to always be identical, so far), and as I also own a VM IV TWIN 4000W. I would like for this thread to contain several firmware collected from attachments posted by other members in this forum. And would like to keep it open for any newer and future firmware contributed by other users. Original uploaders are referenced in the very next post of this thread.

You will find attached DSP (Main CPU / U1) firmware files (*.hex) for each version for VM III TWIN and VM IV TWIN models ONLY, plus the DSP reflash tool in a separate attachment for ease of download.

USE AT YOUR OWN RISK, NO GUARANTEES!

Detailed instructions on how to update/upload firmware of Removable and Round Display inverter models, posted by @Coulomb:
https://forums.aeva.asn.au/viewtopic.php?p=87767#p87767

Please note that my own VM IV TWIN inverter came with firmware 60.05, then I tested 60.06 for a few months, and I have recently upgraded to 60.89, all with their own advantages and disadvantages.
Please note that the attached firmware files in this post are ordered from newest to oldest as follows:

Kindly,
Tarek

VM III TWIN dsp 60.04.hex 253.04 kB · 37 downloads VM III TWIN dsp 60.05.hex 253.43 kB · 37 downloads VM III TWIN dsp 60.06.hex 255.57 kB · 43 downloads VM III TWIN dsp 60.89.hex 255.42 kB · 60 downloads

DSP Reflash Tool.zip 1.01 MB · 60 downloads

after installing 60.89 it appears as 60.76 on the inverter information and watchpower 

any Ideas why ? is there 60.76 and I mixed files  ?

On 2024/05/31 at 3:43 AM, Tarek Yag said:

@Coulomb @AMalakani

This is VERY important, an unprecedented FINDING!
I just tried the 70.00 firmware on my VM IV Twin 4kW which always had its fans at 100% speed.. and VIOLA!!!!
My fans just got smart for the very first time!!!! AHHH, no noise all the time, finally!!!! I tested the new firmware so far on battery only, and battery plus grid, and I can't wait to see what it is like when the sun rises!!!

I can confirm now that firmware 70.00 is the very first firmware that has smart fan control for VM IV Twin, at least.
And I would highly recommend AMalakani to try the other firmware (68.04) for VM III Twin on his unit, it most probably will give it the smart fan control for the very first time too.

I'm just very curious about how to keep obtaining the latest firmware for VM IV normal and twin variants, as we always refer to VM III firmware in forums, which I couldn't confirm whether they're the same or not, but so far they seem very interchangeable as I've always used VM III firmware on my unit. So, yes, this is the very first VM IV Twin firmware and it came with the 4.2kW new variant, as I can see!

Please note that I posted the same reply in the AEVA forums for the benefit of everybody, at the link:
https://forums.aeva.asn.au/viewtopic.php?p=101674#p101674

Note for Coulomb: You obtained your very first VM IV Twin firmware from that post on AEVA Forums, and it is version 70.00 unlike what you wrote in your previous post text here, so the attachment is totally correct.

If my current is 60.89 or 60.09 can I use 70.XX ?? and what are the deafferents

On 2024/07/05 at 9:29 AM, pintopf said:

I use a solution with an ESP32 microcontroller, which is connected to the serial interface of the display via a MAX232 converter.
The ESP cyclically sends a "QPIGS" request to the inverter and provides the result via the MQTT protocol via W-LAN.

(Example: String QPIGS = "\x51\x50\x49\x47\x53\xB7\xA9\x0D";  //hard coded string with CRC)

The ESP32 also receives commands via MQTT, appends the CRC16 checksum and sends the result back into the network.

The ESP32 is controlled via my home automation, using NodeRed.

I tried to send commands from SmartESS or Energy-mate but it ask me to set an address , I don't know what it means 

On 2024/08/22 at 5:58 PM, bratpit said:

As we can see 60.95 works better

Much better performance, in fact! I'm surprised at the energy production difference between these two versions, I don't think this is a (normal) difference in performance from a firmware perspective for the same inverter model.

By the way, are you using Solar Assistant for monitoring your inverter? Did you use a multimeter to check Voltage and Current of PV input a few times during the day? I just need to make sure that these readings are accurate.

@Coulomb, do firmware versions 60.95 and 68.04 share the same MPPT control logic?

20 hours ago, esmail-kassir said:

after installing 60.89 it appears as 60.76 on the inverter information and watchpower 

any Ideas why ? is there 60.76 and I mixed files  ?

I don't recall finding in forums or me uploading version 60.76 for VM III / IV Twin. Most probably you mixed files with other models, would you please provide a photo from WatchPower app?

20 hours ago, esmail-kassir said:

can I use 70.XX ?? and what are the deafferents

Yes, you can, it's your own choice. Unfortunately, differences between versions are undocumented.

19 hours ago, esmail-kassir said:

I tried to send commands from SmartESS or Energy-mate but it ask me to set an address , I don't know what it means

Address is always 1. As there are no other devices connected for built-in Wi-Fi kits, only the inverter it is attached to.

Edited August 26, 20241 yr by Tarek Yag

1 hour ago, Tarek Yag said:

Much better performance, in fact! I'm surprised at the energy production difference between these two versions, I don't think this is a (normal) difference in performance from a firmware perspective for the same inverter model.

By the way, are you using Solar Assistant for monitoring your inverter? Did you use a multimeter to check Voltage and Current of PV input a few times during the day? I just need to make sure that these readings are accurate.

@Coulomb, do firmware versions 60.95 and 68.04 share the same MPPT control logic?

1. I tried to make the conditions comparable, but not check it  by multimeter. So I think difference is valid with the same magnitude of error for both FW.

2. I only checked current by clamp meter at PV IN to measure eficiacy the inverter.Was 19.5A vs. 17.1A(can not checked this and I do not know where it is measured) measured by inverter himself  . So  17.1/19.5=88% at 125-130 V. 

what surprises me that I can not go above 17,1 from 11AM to 13 PM (horizontal line) at full sun in parallel panels.At one string current touched 11.5A sometimes.

It looks like inverter cut current at this level.

3. Yes I am using SA.

 

 

Edited August 26, 20241 yr by bratpit

56 minutes ago, bratpit said:

1. I tried to make the conditions comparable, but not check it  by multimeter. So I think difference is valid with the same magnitude of error for both FW.

Much respect for your logic! Yes indeed, this makes your experiments comparable. I just suspect that you have a hardware fault that is causing the inverter to give wrong PV readings like I have in my case, which we discussed earlier (inverter not completing CV charging stage even in AC mode).

59 minutes ago, bratpit said:

what surprises me that I can not go above 17,1 from 11AM to 13 PM

Are all of your solar panels of the same capacity and model? Because when connecting PV panels in series, the maximum overall current is strictly limited by design by the lowest (Impp) of the panels that are in that specific series.

1 hour ago, bratpit said:

3. Yes I am using SA.

I like this app so much, hoping to get it as the next upgrade of my home solar system.

25 minutes ago, Tarek Yag said:

Are all of your solar panels of the same capacity and model? Because when connecting PV panels in series, the maximum overall current is strictly limited by design by the lowest (Impp) of the panels that are in that specific series.

All the same. Azimuth and tilt too.Each string alone easily go above 10A (measured by inverter) if the sun condicions so permit.

Edited August 26, 20241 yr by bratpit

@bratpit, would you please provide a photo of the specifications sticker of your PV panels? I'm getting more interested into this matter.

Here you are:

https://static.trinasolar.com/sites/default/files/EN_Datasheet_Vertex_DE09.pdf

5 hours ago, Tarek Yag said:

I don't recall finding in forums or me uploading version 60.76 for VM III / IV Twin. Most probably you mixed files with other models, would you please provide a photo from WatchPower app?

Yes, you can, it's your own choice. Unfortunately, differences between versions are undocumented.

Address is always 1. As there are no other devices connected for built-in Wi-Fi kits, only the inverter it is attached to.

The main reason that I am interested in using commands is the same reason that led me here trying to upgrade my Triple A axpert Vm3 twin 6000

I used to had an issue where (once per month or week ) the inverter shutdowns during the night and sometimes beeps only during the day when PV available .and I couldn't get an error or fault code , a week a go my device read ,my 48 battery as 24 even the output is ok , only the charging was affected by this bug . it was ceased after a restart , then I upgraded the firmware and everything seems fine till now 

first thing : could you provide me with the command that can fetch a log  all faults code on screen  ? I have a PDF for the commands and I used chat GPT to generate such commands after let it read the file  but It cant understand the output 

 

the second thing : I lost which post you are documenting change log for firmware but I want to add that in 60.89 (which appears as 60.79 in watchpower and MCU) for the first time allowed me to use Lib protocol with my felicity battery , as I had to use Lic only on 60.06

On 2024/08/25 at 7:19 PM, esmail-kassir said:

after installing 60.89 it appears as 60.76 on the inverter information and watchpower 

The 60.89 in this post is correct; it should report as 60.89:

https://powerforum.co.za/topic/19010-voltronic-axpert-vm-iii-twin-4kw/?do=findComment&comment=192984

Edit: The one in Tarek's combined post is also correct:

https://powerforum.co.za/topic/29708-axpert-firmware-collection-for-vm-iii-and-vm-iv-twin-models-only/?do=findComment&comment=204421

 

Edited August 26, 20241 yr by Coulomb

7 hours ago, Tarek Yag said:

do firmware versions 60.95 and 68.04 share the same MPPT control logic?

Yes, Identical.

So it's quite surprising to see differences in results.

Unless there is other relevant code that I'm not aware of.

Edit: It will be really great to one day finally nail what the best MPPT logic is.

Edited August 26, 20241 yr by Coulomb

1 hour ago, esmail-kassir said:

could you provide me with the command that can fetch a log  all faults code on screen  ? I have a PDF for the commands

Use WatchPower, it can download the faults log, I'm not aware of any other method for fetching this log.

Edited August 26, 20241 yr by Tarek Yag
Image resized

10 minutes ago, Coulomb said:

Yes, Identical.

So it's quite surprising to see differences in results.

Unless there is other relevant code that I'm not aware of.

Edit: It will be really great to one day finally nail what the best MPPT logic is.

There is one element that I did not pay attention to.
Temperature. Some days differed by 8 degrees Celsius, unfortunately I don't remember(write) the days from which I took the charts

Edited August 26, 20241 yr by bratpit

1 hour ago, esmail-kassir said:

could you provide me with the command that can fetch a log  all faults code on screen  ?

There is really only QFAULT and  QFS, and frustratingly I can't find official documentation on either.

Some unofficial guidance:

https://forums.aeva.asn.au/viewtopic.php?p=71161#p71161 (Him again!)

https://powerforum.co.za/topic/4721-axpert-mks-ii-5kw-error-08/?do=findComment&comment=73822

These really only return the conditions the inverter found itself in when the most recent fault was recorded. That's because that's all that the inverter stores. It's not like there is a hard disk in there to store historic data.

Edit: However, this should hopefully be good enough to find the fault code and a few data points from any fault code that happens in the middle of the night, as long as it's not overwritten by some other fault code.

 

Edited August 26, 20241 yr by Coulomb

1 hour ago, esmail-kassir said:

the second thing : I lost which post you are documenting change log for firmware but I want to add that in 60.89 (which appears as 60.79 in watchpower and MCU) for the first time allowed me to use Lib protocol with my felicity battery , as I had to use Lic only on 60.06

All the lithium battery BMS comms code is in the "display" firmware, really the display and comms firmware. It should not matter what main (U1, 60.xx) firmware you are running, as far as what battery types you are allowed to choose from. Though if you are using Watchpower or another monitoring program, that  might have some interaction as well; I'm quite hazy on how that works. I thought that perhaps the Put Battery Type (PBT) command might NAK the arguments that it doesn't support, but no, it seems to accept all possible arguments.

30 minutes ago, bratpit said:

There is one element that I did not pay attention to.
Temperature. Some days differed by 8 degrees Celsius,

Good point. This could be clouding the results, so to speak.

Unfortunately, solar condition don't behave in an ideal way for making scientific comparisons.

I guess we'll just have to wait for more results, possibly from more users, to average out the changes due to solar conditions.

6 hours ago, bratpit said:

It looks like inverter cut current at this level. [ 17.1 A ]

Yes, it's quite possible that the PV current is limited to a particular value. Alas, the web page and user manual (for the VM IV that I checked) doesn't say what this limit is. Often, the 500 V max PV voltage models are "nominally" 350 V; 6000 W / 350 V = 17.1 A. If true, that means that whenever your Vmp is below  350 V, you won't be getting full power from the solar charge controller. Whenever your Vmp is over 350 V, the solar power should clip to 6000 W.

5 hours ago, Tarek Yag said:

Because when connecting PV panels in series, the maximum overall current is strictly limited by design by the lowest (Impp) of the panels that are in that specific series.

He has said that he can get at least 10 A from each string. So he must have two strings in parallel, each with many panels in series.

57 minutes ago, Coulomb said:

Yes, it's quite possible that the PV current is limited to a particular value. Alas, the web page and user manual (for the VM IV that I checked) doesn't say what this limit is. Often, the 500 V max PV voltage models are "nominally" 350 V; 6000 W / 350 V = 17.1 A. If true, that means that whenever your Vmp is below  350 V, you won't be getting full power from the solar charge controller. Whenever your Vmp is over 350 V, the solar power should clip to 6000 W.

Oh. That a good point.Never exited 17.1A in paralell.But in one series got 11.7A once.

Pardon 12A.

 

Edited August 26, 20241 yr by bratpit

4 hours ago, Coulomb said:

All the lithium battery BMS comms code is in the "display" firmware, really the display and comms firmware. It should not matter what main (U1, 60.xx) firmware you are running, as far as what battery types you are allowed to choose from. Though if you are using Watchpower or another monitoring program, that  might have some interaction as well; I'm quite hazy on how that works. I thought that perhaps the Put Battery Type (PBT) command might NAK the arguments that it doesn't support, but no, it seems to accept all possible arguments.

It is well known issue for my device that it doesn’t accept connecting to Felicity battery through Lib , the only inverter that does is the Felicity inverter 

so when I try to use it after updating, I was surprised. 
 

is there any post or thread about Lib and Lic in this forum or any other related to the most optimized manual settings? 

5 hours ago, Coulomb said:

There is really only QFAULT and  QFS, and frustratingly I can't find official documentation on either.

Some unofficial guidance:

https://forums.aeva.asn.au/viewtopic.php?p=71161#p71161 (Him again!)

https://powerforum.co.za/topic/4721-axpert-mks-ii-5kw-error-08/?do=findComment&comment=73822

These really only return the conditions the inverter found itself in when the most recent fault was recorded. That's because that's all that the inverter stores. It's not like there is a hard disk in there to store historic data.

Edit: However, this should hopefully be good enough to find the fault code and a few data points from any fault code that happens in the middle of the night, as long as it's not overwritten by some other fault code.

 

I used QPIWS\xB4\xDA\r

and the output was in hexa 

 “ 28 30 30 30 30 30 31 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 B2 A7 0D” 

5 hours ago, Tarek Yag said:

Use WatchPower, it can download the faults log, I'm not aware of any other method for fetching this log.

Is it different than the alarms section in watch-power mobile app ?