PowerForum Solar Data Collection - using a Raspberry Pi 3 :-)

[Guest]

59 minutes ago, Mark said:

can't wait chaps...

Contact @edmundp for your upgrade, once Edmund says he is happy to release, all paid for SolarMon systems will have the option to move over to SolWEB free of charge ... with compliments from Edmund. 

[Guest]

I am now transferring chats about SolWEB, to here: http://powerforum.co.za/forum/79-solarweb/

Data reading using Pi will continue here.

 

[Guest]

After a lot of soul searching, listening to advice here on the forum about the complications and risks of Win10IoT, I am now running my reader on a Windows 10 32bit 8.9" tablet.

This one: http://mecer.co.za/mecer-xpress-executive-a890a-8-9-windows-8-1-tablet/

Paid R1650.00 incl VAT for it.

Why this 180?
We cater for Windows ver 7,8 or 10 - 32 or 64bit on a Phablet, Tablet, laptop or Pc's - I think that is enough.
Security risks with Win 10 IoT plus extra development learning time and resultants costs.
Versus Windows having the option to add install more security software like say Nod32 ESET suite, if you want.

And:
A Pi has no screen, costs extra, tablet has that built it, and you can remotely access it via TeamViewer.
A tablet has the option for not only WiFi, but also i.e. 3g, depending on the model you choose. So remote sites can send data if there is cell coverage no ADSL for with Afrihost / Axxesss, data is not that expensive anymore.
And on a Pi a "UPS" option costs extra, tablet has that built in. Jip, I ran out of battery power, twice, due to weather.

And a thought that struck me, a Pi has a microphone / speaker / camera, so with Skype you can chat to a person onsite, watching with the camera, and talk them though on what to do if you are not there. 

Ps. There are some on our side of the fence that still wants to do the Win10 IoT Rpi 3B development, being developers and loving to learn new stuff, lets see what the future holds.

And the Linux versus Windows chats, unless a Linux developer/s want to spend a lot of their free time to re-write what we have done / still doing, that chat is really a waste of time as more Windows developers has offered resources than any Linux guy/guys so far. 

[cvzyl]

TTT

I am not a developer and have no idea about a lot of these things but I am a user. I have a weather station that used to run on a Windows laptop using Cumulus software. I have switched to the CumulusMX version which can run on RPi. I have it running on a RPi2 and must say it is absolutely brilliant. Screen? You don't need one. I configure it using ssh and once it is set up you forget about it. I view my data on a browser from wherever I am via the cloud services I upload to as well as my own website (www.langebaaninfo.com).

The RPi running Raspbian is a stunning solution for this type of work. It is set up and forget. This is just my personal opinion from an end user perspective, it is small, you connect a standard micro USB power supply to it (could be a battery backup but since my inverter is already my load shedding protection and it is connected to a UPS as well I thought it's not necessary for a battery power supply), and you forget about it.

I cannot wait for Manie and jdp to complete the development of the RPi version of the software for the Infini. My personal preference would be for a really small utility type application that runs headless and just do the reading of data and uploading to cloud services with maybe a local mysql database storage of data. I really don't need a display on the monitoring machine, if I want to see what is happening with my system I open emoncms or pvoutput.

It's just my 2c. Sorry if this is hijacking but personally the comparison between an RPi and tablet/laptop/PC/NUC is a no brainer. My equipment is in the garage, there is dust, it's not always locked so could be an attractive item for affirmative shopping, etc. I don't want a tablet in my garage, no matter how cheap it is.

C

[___]

1 hour ago, The Terrible Triplett said:

risks of Win10IoT, I am now running my reader on a Windows 10 32bit 8.9" tablet

Dude, that's like the guy who changed his name from Piet Windgat to Jan Windgat. You fixed the wrong part! :-)

 

1 hour ago, The Terrible Triplett said:

Paid R1650.00 incl VAT for it.

Not a bad price. A pi with an adafruit screen and a case would likely come in about the same price.

1 hour ago, The Terrible Triplett said:

remotely access it via TeamViewer

TV is insecure. After their recent vulnerability I would not go there. Use VNC over an encrypted channel (such as ssh or some kind of vpn).

 

1 hour ago, The Terrible Triplett said:

Pi has a microphone / speaker / camera

Optional extra. Cheap webcam on the tablet should give you the same.

 

1 hour ago, The Terrible Triplett said:

more Windows developers has offered resources

There are more windows developers here. There are just more windows developers PERIOD (man, they are as common as weeds!). I think its just me and jdp who does the Linux thing, and even jdp loves windows a bit too much for my liking. So its just me... :-P

In other news, I started testing a solution known as vrmlogger (its a Victron thing) on the Rpi over the weekend. It allows you to run enough of the venus code on Raspbian to log data from vedirect devices to their vrm site, and as the comms channel is dbus, it is easy enough to connect other things to it. It's a bit raw around the edges, but very well done.

The downside is that there is presently no mk2 support. I'm working on also adding mk2 support, and it really isn't very hard at all, the issue around the mk2 is really this: That with the ccgx software there is support for upgrading the firmware of the mk2 chip on the fly. This works really well with the ccgx, because the ccgx has a built-in mk2 chip and a hardware reset line, so the firmware is easy to reboot after a flash operation. Not so with the usb version, so using the mk2-usb with an Rpi and the original mk2dbus software faces some challenges.

Of course, there is an mk3 coming. Already used on the cape for the BBB.

So lets just say us Linux guys (guy really, singular) are a bit behind because we're working on the next wave of tech :-)

[viper_za]

1 hour ago, The Terrible Triplett said:

After a lot of soul searching, listening to advice here on the forum about the complications and risks of Win10IoT, I am now running my reader on a Windows 10 32bit 8.9" tablet.

This one: http://mecer.co.za/mecer-xpress-executive-a890a-8-9-windows-8-1-tablet/

hhmmm

On ‎1‎/‎4‎/‎2016 at 9:51 AM, viper_za said:

Hi Jaco

 

Do you think your software will run ons something like this
http://www.mustek.co.za/mecer-a890a-wifi/
Has only one USB port but im sure with a powered USB hub you can have more for both the BMV and the inverter.

My plan is to leave this as the "server" for the software permanently connected to both.

[Guest]

@viper_za Yes, I have connected a 7 port DLINK USB hub to the Mecer A890A WiFi. 
5 of the 7 ports on the hub are used. Did not connect the power to the HUB though. Not required and may just cause marakas on the cables where I am not using standard supplier cables. 

EDIT: It is lying next to my devices, with screen off to reduce power consumption to wot, I guess 2 watts?

 

@cvanzyl - I agree with it all BUT recall that we are not Linux developers, we are catering for more than just i.e Axpert / infini's and we do switching on the reader itself. SolWEBRdr is but one small complicated piece of software, SolWEB is where it all happens for the users, on the web. 

It is not near as easy as it all sounds to just go and redo it all on Linux for a Pi.

To have our reader headless, off course we can do that, probably have that option in release 2, but we do have good reasons why we want the reader to display on the spot what it is doing with nothing in between.

Remember:
SolWEBRdr is the READER only, with a change over functions and data upload to PVOutput built in.
SolWEB is the software you use to view all your information, the SolWEBRdr sent to the web.

And all SolarMON features are now over in SolWEB, between reader and web. Testing being conducted to see and feel how it all functions, with good feedback from @Mike so far.

 

@plonkster Go and price all the tablet has, and then put that in below R1650 for a Pi ... I could not.  If I could wait for dealer prices, tablet would have been even less.

You are on a mission with Victron, respect, but it will not solve the Voltronic, Infini's, Mike's turbine controller nor Morningstar anytime soon, for there is but one @plonkster to do all that. 

PS. Plonkster, I presume you are not going to give us more pointers on the MK2 code I sent you a while ago? 

 

Guys, I am going to say this one more time: We are NOT Linux developers.
Nor do we have use for Linux in our "toolbox". IF we ever do need Linux, we will just contract a developer.

So UNLESS a)) someone puts there money where their mouth is and contract a Linux developer to redo it all and keep on paying for more devices or b)) someone re-writes it all in Linux by copying what we have done to date, and is prepared to keep on adding new devices, to then share back with us for free ... there is NOT going to be a Linux version for a Pi on the way anytime soon. 

For now we are developing a reader that will run on Windows, Finish and Klaar / Over and Out. 

[___]

1 hour ago, The Terrible Triplett said:

PS. Plonkster, I presume you are not going to give us more pointers on the MK2 code I sent you a while ago? 

You never attached the code to the email. I remember wondering what the heck that was about, concluded you just needed to vent, and forgot all about it.

1 hour ago, The Terrible Triplett said:

will not solve the Voltronic, Infini's, Mike's turbine controller nor Morningstar anytime soo

You're probably right about the "soon" part. But I am planning on solving that problem in the end. I'll probably start with the morningstar, if you're game, simply because I already have half the code for that. I just need a small project to force my head into understanding how the dbus comms work. I understand the idea, but not the detail just yet.

I'm not yet sure about inverter support. It is of course fairly simple to do, you just inject the value you read from the inverter using the same dbus object names and paths as used by other processes, and voila, it should just work. I have limited time with this, but with enough Ice Cream behind me I might yet make it.

I want to touch on something else, which goes a bit deeper than the superficial OS debate. The underlying philosophy. I think @jdp might have similar feelings here.

Solweb has a fundamentally different philosophy to what I'm building, and I think this is what got in the way from the start. I don't want this thing to live in the cloud. I don't want it to be software as a service. I don't want it to be just a reader. I want it to be a flexible framework that could work with or without the internet. I want the option of having my data on some remote site, but fundamentally that allows me to use remote functionality where it might be useful, instead of shipping all of it off to some remote site. I think there is something to be said for both approaches.

Because of the difference in philosophy, if I got involved it would have meant that I donate my skills without getting what I want in return. I don't want that thing that you're building... I want something different :-) I help out where I can (with the blue comms), and you help out where you can (providing hardware to play with), I'm sorry that it could not have been more.

In other news, as I recall, the boys in blue are talking about also making the vrm code open, so you will be able to run your own vrm site at some point too. On the one hand I'm frustrated that these things take so long. On the other hand, I am one of the reasons why it's taking so long :-)

Edit: added some stuff to philosophy above.

[Guest]

($#*%$ ... the mail came back as being rejected!!! Just saw it in my junk folder.

Plonkster, you are MORE than welcome to the Morningstar. I will even give you the code for it, to save you some time.

SolWEB is designed for local operations also, just need IIS and SQL installed on the local machine - but that is not conducive to power saving.

BUT ... and here I think we all lost the plot.

The reader was supposed to be generic. Ideally it should have been for any and all devices that any and all of us has, or may get, running on a Pi. Develop new code for new devices, that is time consuming.

And once data is read, what each one does with that data, some want PVOutput, some emonsms, it really did not matter. As long as ALL the data is read from the devices and sent to a users pre-defined location they prefer - mine is SQL Server, who really cares in the end.

That is why we have and will always keep the reader separate. We are open to proposals, for in Windows we can figure things quicker, and that has to be worth something? 

BUT... always a BUT ... to cater for a user having say 2 x BMV's, 2 x vastly different controllers, that does make things a wee bit more complicated that say a Axpert or infini? Just a wee little bit, easy to overcome if the underlying concept is agreed upon upfront.

Will send the Blue code again, for if we can make that more stable, that it also reads ALL the data your Multiplus can give, never do we want to adjust the inverter in any way, I would make me very happy. Not looking forward to the C code from Victron.

And we also would like to know if your MPPT is giving the data, as we would expect it to give, if we may test there?

So lets share where we can ... we like you, even if you are using snake oil to develop with, we can ignore that. 

[___]

11 minutes ago, The Terrible Triplett said:

Plonkster, you are MORE than welcome to the Morningstar. I will even give you the code for it, to save you some time.

I have code for it, thanks. pymodbus means I don't have to go protocol-diving :-)

11 minutes ago, The Terrible Triplett said:

just need IIS and SQL installed on the local machine

You see, that's where you lose me. Man, in this world where we have nginx, thttpd, apache, lighttpd, etc... why on earth would you go with IIS? Okay, that is a rhetorical question. People use if because they know it, or more often, because they know nothing else. You've probably never heard of most of the above either (with the possible exception of perhaps one). I just cannot bring myself to use IIS. Ever. Something in me just... breaks... it's a culture thing, I just cannot be a part of the MS culture :-) I mean, sure, if I have to eat and selling my body doesn't pan out... the MAAAYBEE...

11 minutes ago, The Terrible Triplett said:

Develop new code for new devices, that is time consuming

In my experience this is precisely not the case. It is in fact so simple that when faced with learning how mqtt/dbus/python/linux work, most developers prefer to rewrite the reader code. And they are right: It actually is less work. The only thing that is LESS work than that is if the other guy is willing to buy into your framework, and yeah, I'm just too much of an anti-MS open source guy for that to ever happen.

11 minutes ago, The Terrible Triplett said:

And we also would like to know if your MPPT is giving the data, as we would expect it to give, if we may test there?

How do you intend doing that? I have a CAN-bus based BlueSolar, and it speaks NMEA2000. If you're having trouble with the mk2 protocol, this is going to break your brain... :-)

Edit: I will tell you what is scarce. What is scare is access to hardware. If I had an infini, or an axpert, and a long weekend with the kids and wife going to the in laws... then the code is a minor triviality, especially if I just have to transcode the logic from published C# code. That was precisely what made the morningstar so quick to code for: Someone made a munin plugin for monitoring theirs and we found it...

[___]

On the MPPT controller: The trouble with the can-based controllers is that the Rpi and your average tablet doesn't have can hardware. Once you add the hardware, you find that a lot of the functionality is actually handled by the can controller chip itself. Almost all the hard work is done by lower layers and the upper layers just have to pick the values from a binary buffer.

My present solution uses an arduino to translate the values to vedirect. It's somewhat sloppily done, but in time I hope to make it fully functional with vedirect-dbus (the Victron version).

https://github.com/izak/arduino-victron-canbus

[Guest]

Plonkster, I will say this one more time: If Linux and nginx, thttpd, apache, lighttpd and all that was as easy as you say it is, with all the coding available on Github, and I am NOT saying it is not, no I am NOT(!), then we ALL here would have been using some form of that today, sharing what we can contribute under say a Power Forum group, and not be pulling in different directions, long weekends or not. 

So please, keep on dissing the platform we have chosen, at least I am reading my devices and not one of us has had to wait for a wife to get out of the house in order to get it done. 

Finding devices, komaan!!! That's easy:
- Do you have Windows 7 or better? Yes.
- Is the device close to the Windows OS? Yes.
- Can we install VS? Yes.
- Can you install TV? They have souped up their security a bit more. And exit it once we are off the device, if you want, for who will want to hack your PC?
Result: Sorted, we can do any device anywhere anytime.

Getting the job done, I think, instead of wasting time telling everyone the pro's of everything other than Windows. 

 

Dammit!!! I quickly looked, I missed that the 150/70 and 85 is different to the other MPPT's!
Ag so be it, not going to bother then, as we cater for all the rest already.

[___]

33 minutes ago, The Terrible Triplett said:

- Do you have Windows 7 or better? Yes.

Last copy of windows I bought for myself was Windows 95. Last version of windows I officially supported (in a university lab setting) was Windows 2000. Last version I keep a copy around of (to run VEConfigure for example) is XP, on a Virtual Box. I literally don't have windows on any physical computer anywhere, don't own a windows phone, don't drive a BMW (with iDrive).

Oh wait, hang on... you said "or better?". So does that mean it runs on Linux?

:-P

[Guest]

1 minute ago, plonkster said:

... you said "or better?". So does that mean it runs on Linux? :-P

Left that door open for you. 

[___]

More re Can-bus. Heard a rumour that the vebus (the protocol used between Victron inverters for paralleling and 3-phase and stuff) is moving to can-bus soon. A good move I think, it's just a little harder to shoot yourself in the foot with canbus. This certainly isn't a field that stand still for long...

[Guest]

I hope they will make all the protocols one day standard across the entire range, as simple as VE-Direct. 

[Guest]

@plonkster - code is gemail vir die Victron. 

Kom ons kyk of jy ons kan help, soos ons jou sal help net waar ons kan. 

[___]

45 minutes ago, The Terrible Triplett said:

code is gemail vir die Victron

Es gibt keine!

[Guest]

No "02 - Victron - M2 Test Software.txt", 84kb attachment?

[___]

No email at all. Not even in the spam box.

[___]

If it's not too complicated, why not ask here? I'm a big fan of knowledge transfer.

[Guest]

See the code, the instability is somewhere where we read the data.

[___]

1 hour ago, The Terrible Triplett said:

See the code, the instability is somewhere where we read the data.

Dude, is this vaporware? I don't see anything.

[Guest]

Hom weer gemail ... 

[___]

15 minutes ago, The Terrible Triplett said:

Hom weer gemail ... 

I'm pretty sure you got the wrong address there :-) Second letter is an s... I have more than one name :-)