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jeepin95 avatar image
jeepin95 asked

API For Publishing To VRM?

I've been searching the community and google and haven't found this directly answered, but maybe I'm not looking in the right place. I recently purchased an MPPT for our travel trailer, and will probably be getting a SmartShunt shortly, then perhaps expanding. I already have a Particle Boron in the trailer sending various telemetry data through their webhooks and would like to be able to use the Boron for sending data to VRM.

I realize that I can run a Raspberry Pi with Venus that will send data to VRM, but I would prefer to not need the Raspberry Pi as the middle man, requiring WiFi or some other form of internet connection. The Boron is already connected to LTE and publishing to other locations when LTE is available.

The API appears to be all about reading data from VRM, but I haven't found any way to actually push data to VRM. I would be looking at pushing data every 5-10 minutes realizing that I would be missing datapoints.

Is there an API that would let me POST data to VRM? I looked at MQTT but that seemed like it was more about sharing data internally via Venus, is MQTT a way to push data to VRM and I'm missing that documentation somewhere?

Thanks

MPPT ControllersVRM
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3 Answers
Guy Stewart (Victron Community Manager) avatar image
Guy Stewart (Victron Community Manager) answered ·

Hi @jeepin95,

I am guessing from your post you have found and read the VRM API documentation

https://www.victronenergy.com/live/vrm_portal:start

https://docs.victronenergy.com/vrmapi/overview.html#introduction

While it is not explicitly stated there, the API to post your own data to VRM is not public.

The flexible public DIY solution is with Venus-docker-grafana - https://github.com/victronenergy/venus-docker-grafana

I know it is not exactly what you are looking for, but I think it is the best fit for what I think you're trying to do.

The downside for you is that you will require more of your own backend/serverside resources (rather than using the VRM network).

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jeepin95 avatar image jeepin95 commented ·
Yes, I have read those and not seeing the POST API I was afraid it wasn't public, but hopefully I had just missed it. I do have Venus running on a Pi, but didn't want to run a Pi if I didn't have to. I'm already running a Particle Boron which is logging other unrelated data over LTE and was hopeful I could just use that to read Ve.direct messages and post them to VRM. Looks like I will probably end up skipping VRM and publishing to my own dashboard to keep the parasitic loads to a minimum by not running a Pi.


Are there any plans to eventually make the POST API public for things like this?


Thanks

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Guy Stewart (Victron Community Manager) avatar image Guy Stewart (Victron Community Manager) ♦♦ jeepin95 commented ·
I don't know any plans to add it, and I don't think it will.

The grafana method is the proposed solution for the advanced user that would need it (and then also probably more).

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Allan Yates avatar image
Allan Yates answered ·

One possible use case for posting to VRM is when their is a desire to encapsulate the CCGX posts to VRM in satellite short burst data messages. When there is no internet connectivity, a solution could take the CCGX data, like position, send it via satellite to a service, which would then post it to VRM.

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johanndo avatar image
johanndo answered ·

You may enjoy reading the open source Venus OS code, there is a lot of information how it works on Venus in the source code and in the Wiki, how the datastructures should look like etc., however to use the data interface you need a Device ID (your device MAC address), Victron certificate for encrryption and authentication of the secure data connection - I think a clear text transmission is also possible to mock a Venus on a rPi.

It would be serius programming, not point and click.

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