Hello @mvader (Victron Energy) , which of your employees can I write to directly to get answers to questions.
Unfortunately, I can't find a solution to my problem here in the forum.
asked
Question to Victron support
https://www.victronenergy.com/support
The first one you should ask is your dealer if he can't help you you can ask your question here in the community.
Victron don't have a direct end-user support.
So far I have saved myself the question to the dealer, because I probably already know the answer from him! He'll say, "I don't know!"
I'll ask the question very cheeky and probably for the 5th time.
With which Venus OS version can you operate 2 original Victron USB-RS485 adapters on an RPI4 B rev1.1 at the same time?
Up to 2.73 it's so semi, from 2.80 it's no longer possible.
Even if there is an official rPi Venus OS imagine it is still not officially supported and you'll be on your own with that.
If you want official support you need to buy a GX device from Victron.
Note on support
Although these types of modifications are encouraged, it is not possible for Victron to officially support modified and/or externally controlled equipment. Please ensure that all modifications are removed and that the equipment is configured to its original state before contacting our support channels.
Note that the Raspberry Pi image is a community effort: do not contact our service department or sales managers with questions about it. For any questions or issues, use the Modifications section on Community.
https://github.com/victronenergy/venus/wiki/raspberrypi-install-venus-image
Hi @lenny.cb
With original venus-os and original Victron devices, it should be straight forward.
I have tested several rs485 adapters at the same time, and it can present problems if there is an additional device/application for the original venus-os.
If there is an add-on to the original venus-os, you need to discuss it with the developer of the specific add-on software developer.
I see this is not so easy, because the developer of the add-on program may develop a specific 'add on' to solve his own problem/add-on and may not have the same hardware you have to test this on, so here you are a little on own hand.
I have followed the threads where you have presented your problems, and I think I can see what is the main reason why everything does not go according to what is intended.
After my understanding of the problems with usb-to-rs485/ttl/rs232 it ends up that the device you want to communicate with does not have any ID set by venus-os and everything becomes quite random. At least I can override this by turning off automatic detection and setting this manually, which is why I think this is the cause.
When it comes to bms where they do not actually have their own internal ID at all, and with more than one device, it becomes quite difficult to identify the devices and set this up automatically.
Possibly I am wrong here, so I like to see others come with input and correct me if my understanding is on the wrong track.
thanks @Johnny Brusevold for the detailed answer.
I think that the problem has more to do with the kernel or the USB drivers (or not :-)).
It's just funny, with v2.73 it works (apart from a few random restarts), from 2.80 it doesn't work anymore.
In the higher versions (from 2.80) I noticed that the BMS is found and queried BUT the ET112 is sometimes not found (or not displayed) and sometimes found but remains fixed at 5W (MPII then goes to "pass through" - which is supposed to be)
It is also strange that "large images" work (test with 2.82 and 2.90) but are slow.
Unfortunately, I can't explain the logic or the dynamics behind the errors.
When I then read "it even works for me with self-made cables" it's all over with me, because I have all original Victron components except for the PI4 with VenusOS (on cable USB to RS485 and USB to VE.direct)
I just want it to work correctly. I'm grateful for any help!
I have just checked the OE build receipts and GIT logs and I can advise that in VenusOS 2.7x the linux kernel was 4.19.81 and this is the same kernel used in 2.80. I would be surprised if it was therefore a kernel or kernel module issue.
You reference 2.90, that is not yet released.The latest test image is 2.85.
What actually is the error and what actual steps are needed to re-creat? What application and device is running over the RS485 communication channel.
Which RS485 device are you using, happy to check the USB Kernel driver side of things, but need to know the exact device being used.
Have tested version large 2.90-3 with RS485 and it works excellent, so you are right that it is not a kernel problem.
https://updates.victronenergy.com/feeds/venus/develop/images/raspberrypi4/
What I have discovered is that devices 'can' be detected and set up correctly, at the next reboot they appear as gps devices. So it seems like it's completely random what USBttyX is set as.
As I mentioned in another thread here, if I disable serial starter and set up manually it works with all RS485 devices I connect.
So I still think it has something to do with auto-recognition and ID, but am not sure where in the code it goes wrong.
@Johnny Brusevold
@lenny.cb The development feeds are not for general use. You will not get any support on these and might have problems. I would strongly advise you not to use them
Hi,
do you know where I can find the change-log for 2.90~3. I only find the image.
Thanks
Dirk
Beta changelog is with the ~5 post
https://community.victronenergy.com/questions/133780/venus-os-v2905-available-for-testing.html
One thing to consider and check is the /services directory. If you make any modifications to this directory, they are lost during a reboot. The reason for this, it is a memory file system (tmpfs on /service type tmpfs (rw,nosuid,nodev,mode=755) populated during boot. To make changes persistent across reboots you need to modify the source of the /services directory which is located in /opt/victronenergy/service. If the root file system is read-only, you will need to remount it R/W via mount -o remount,rw / then when done remount read only with mount -o remount,ro.
This is very likely the reason they can be detected correctly, but at boot detected incorrectly. Ensure there are relevant scripts in /service to start what you need. You may also need to modify config files for things such as udev to ensure when they are plugged in they are correctly identified. Take a look at /etc/udev/rules.d/serial-starter.rules as this can also impact how a rs485 USB adapter can be detected and handled by serial starter.
