bushman10 Posted April 18, 2016 Share Posted April 18, 2016 My installation in Paarl has finally been commissioned on Friday past after Muni installed their Smart Meter. The Victron is feeding one phase and two Schneiders are feeding the other two phases with excess from panels going back to the Munie. The next step is now to start monitoring these units and reporting the outputs. I have a laptop I can dedicate so I need somebody that can supply me with all the correct cables and come and visit me and install the software and get the monitoring up and running and reporting on the web. I will pay for your consulting services and of course the cables. Email me on [email protected]. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Hobson Posted April 18, 2016 Share Posted April 18, 2016 I think Plonky is nearby. ___ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
___ Posted April 18, 2016 Share Posted April 18, 2016 Eish, now that I have a day job again, I have to do these things on the weekend, and do you know how much paper work it is to get permission from the minister of internal affairs to go out on weekends? :-P I'd love to play with it, but I can't commit serious time to it :-( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
___ Posted April 18, 2016 Share Posted April 18, 2016 If you're keen on plugging in some cables into an Rpi, and hook that up to the web, especially if I can jump-start a schneider plugin for my software off that, I might just do it for free :-) Chris Hobson 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushman10 Posted April 18, 2016 Author Share Posted April 18, 2016 @plonkster - I have nothing against a Rpi so will gladly oblidge as long as you can supply all the hardware and cables needed (will refund all the H/W costs of course). Weekends suit me fine as I am up and down to JHB during the week. You are even welcome to sample my homebrews :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushman10 Posted April 18, 2016 Author Share Posted April 18, 2016 The cable runs from the two Schneider units will require 2 x 7m cables and to connect to the Victron will require 1 x 1m cable. I am assuming all three units connects at the same time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superdiy Posted April 18, 2016 Share Posted April 18, 2016 2 hours ago, bushman10 said: their Smart Meter. I hope that thing is far away from you and your family. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushman10 Posted April 18, 2016 Author Share Posted April 18, 2016 @superdiy - yes the Smart Meter is in the courtyard outside at the connection point where Escom comes into the property. superdiy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushman10 Posted April 18, 2016 Author Share Posted April 18, 2016 How do you access the Rpi? Is it via a WiFi connect pc or does it need its own screen and keyboard? Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 18, 2016 Share Posted April 18, 2016 You can run them headless, but Open GL app will only work on a HDMI screen not via VNC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushman10 Posted April 18, 2016 Author Share Posted April 18, 2016 So then you have to buy the Rpi and a separate screen and I assume a keyboard as well. Mmmmmmmmmm - seems as if I am going to have to stick to my spare laptop that I already have. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 18, 2016 Share Posted April 18, 2016 If you do not use OpenGL apps then you only need a wifi dongle or lan cable oce it has been set-up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
___ Posted April 18, 2016 Share Posted April 18, 2016 4 hours ago, bushman10 said: How do you access the Rpi? Is it via a WiFi connect pc or does it need its own screen and keyboard? Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk It depends. First prize is to plug it into your internet connection with an ethernet cable. Second prize (this is how I run it) is you plug in a wifi USB dongle and configure it for your wireless network. How you access it beyond that depends on what you run on it. I run a linux-based image on mine (Raspbian Jessie), so I use ssh (secure shell) to log into it. This is the de facto Unix standard for remote connections, but you have to be comfortable in a shell*. If you run windows on it, then you can use vnc or some kind of remote desktop technology. Then what jdp says applies: OpenGL and other direct rendering tech doesn't work. That stuff often doesn't even work if you plug in a second monitor/projector. Fwiw, on Linux with X** the same applies, direct rendering doesn't work on secondary monitors (opengl, xv, directfb, etc). * A shell is what windows people might know as a "command interpreter", and there's only one for windows, ye olde command.com or cmd.exe. Don't be fooled, the shell programs on unix systems (bash, csh, ksh, etc) are miles ahead of anything on windows. Has been since 1984. ** Sometimes people talk of "X windows" but that is wrong. It is simply called X. X is client-server... also since the 80s, which means your application need not run on the same system where the display lives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
___ Posted April 18, 2016 Share Posted April 18, 2016 Of course you can also access it via keyboard and screen. Plug in usb keyboard, snap in hdmi screen. That's how we configure the network details first time round... Or if you have another linux system (assuming you run Linux on the pi), you can remove the sd-card, plug it into that other system, and edit the files directly. Must be Linux unfortunately, the filesystem used is ext4. Which btw is a very nice journalling filesystem which also beats the pants off anything Microsoft... since the 90s. :-P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 19, 2016 Share Posted April 19, 2016 Also a problem for me at this stage and not sure if I can get around it is that if you use VNC you can not see the desktop like when you use Teamviewer on windows. VNC creats a new virtual desktop and what ever you run in there will not show on the desktop and you can not see what is going on, on the desktop. So if you have a touch screen and you start software on it you can not interact with it via VNC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 28, 2016 Share Posted April 28, 2016 Or you connect to the Rpi with remote desktop. Bushman, did you come right? Where is the Power Forum store for the parts required? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 28, 2016 Share Posted April 28, 2016 BTW I got VNC working to see the desktop not a new session. But you can still not see any OpenGL or accelerated graphics via VNC. It still does do what I need it to do. Works very well. Will give a demo of what I am working on when it is done. Will use the same stuff for the solar project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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