Just wondering why Victron has such a weak Bluetooth signal in most of their products?
MTTP about 3 metres, Inverter about 50 cm BMV about 10 metres...
It is a shame that the Bluetooth is not really useful as it stands...
Any way to let Victron know about this crippling issue?
I was looking for a phone number or an email, but I can't seem to find it on their website...
Hi @Burt65
Now you gave us some more info and the "mystery begins to unravel"... :-))
The MPPTs and the BMV have plastic cases. The inverter has a metalic one.
Add that to your metal wall and you'll pretty see that the inverter range is limited by 2 (two) metal walls, not one like others two... A strong case of a Faraday cage.
As for relocating the antenna, the bluetooth module is a small module with the antenna on the PCB.
And the module is soldered on the main board, so relocating it may be difficult.
So, unfortunately, I believe you have to get used to this situation...
Alex
So you reckon by removing the front cover of the inverter I may get a slight better range to pass the wall like the other devices... I did think about the difference between the two material and was also thinking of cutting the front panel and just have an acrylic window in front of the board...
PS
Different question... Do employees from Victron get access to this forum, or is community only?
The community welcome is fairly clear on that https://community.victronenergy.com/questions/5889/new-victron-community-guidelines.html
"The community is predominantly volunteers, and the vast majority of the answers are provided by enthusiasts. It is not an Official Ask Victron site, for that please use the normal line of support."
It is also worth remembering that Victron does not provide direct support to users, the distributors are responsible for this, your supplier can also be found, and case logged with them, via the support link.
Time for this bot to go recharge its batteries..
Good idea with the acrylic cover instead of the current metalic one.
I've used that method some time ago for an APC UPS because the toroidal transformers on that UPS, on transitory regimes, badly interfered with the steel cover making it resonate.
But a cover must be in place, for the cooling airflow to follow the correct route.
Alex
Thanks, Alex, for confirming, what I had in mind. And you are also right about the resonating on the lid... Just removing it, cutting and re-installing it got rid of that issue as well... Win Win...
Possibly a better option would be to add a external bluetooth dongle on the VE.direct port. Seems a bit silly, if it already has internal bluetooth, but if bluetooth is critical because you have no GX device, could be an option.
Mind you, you may want to check with some experts if external bluetooth dongles are actually supported on devices with an internal bluetooth, I do not have the opportunity to test that.
The issue has been resolve and only cost me about $3 of acrylic...
No need to reinvent the wheel for this one, and definitely no need to piss money against the wall with extra gadgets...
Thank again to Alex for pushing me in the right direction...
Over and out...
Multis and quattros don't have bluetooth.
It is only intended for local, near-distance monitoring, and for small installations for creating ve-smart networks.
You can improve it on the Cerbo with an external dongle, but for what it was intended, it is fit for purpose - personally I get better distance than that, depends what is in between.
As a means of connecting devices and building scalable systems, that is intended for use over CAN, vedirect and Vebus wired networks.
@Burt65 using a term like "crippling issue" pretty clearly defines a complaint, LOL.
Victron does not have a direct support or complaints line - they're a manufacturer, and do not sell to the end-user. Your path of support is through your authorized distributor, as detailed in the Victron Support page.
That said, what you're experiencing is to be expected - bluetooth, by nature, is extremely susceptible to EMI and RFI, not to mention physical obstacles, and your inverter/charger has a lot of all of the above, so will have lower BT range than pretty much any other VE product on the market. Just the nature of the technology, really.
As mentioned it is designed for local monitoring. Yes I found you need to be fairly close for initial programming, but for monitoring purposes I find ~15 meters from inside my home to my travel trailer outside perfectly adequate. Outdoors without any obstructions the distance is further of course but I've never tested its limits. If you want to know what Victron hardware I'm using it is listed in my profile.
Unfortunately, my setup is behind a metal wall. But because the two MTTP have no issue sending the signal through the wall, and the BMV can easily achieve 10 metres, I was wondering why the Inverter can't do it.
I was actually looking for an email or a phone number to contact Victron and see if they have a solution. I need the Bluetooth to work the same across the entire range of Victron products I have, not just for some...
Come to think about, it is not the signal out the issue, but the receiver sensitivity of the Victron Bluetooth in the inverter that is very limited.. It could be just a matter of relocating the antenna if possible..
I can pick up my mppts and smart shunt from almost 15m.away through several walls in my home.
Where I placed WiFi access points affects it quite drastically. Have moved the AP off to one side of the house, and voilà, from my couch I can now see them.
The remote console over LAN is just as awesome.
BLE has a standard. If you walk 15m away with your BT earphones on they will disconnect. It is normal for a range. But reconnect you have to be closer.
You haven't told us which inverter you're using. So it's difficult to help.
However if you have a VE.Direct port on it you may be able to use the VE.Direct to Bluetooth interface, placing it outside the metal wall.
https://www.victronenergy.com/communication-centres/ve-direct-bluetooth-smart-dongle
