Hello all,
I installed a new battery/solar/inverter system in my RV a few months back using predominantly Victron components. I chose the Cerbo-S GX, but hesitated to purchase the Victron display due to cost. After researching generic LCD options on this site, I purchased a Waveshare 7" LCD with capacitive touchscreen for my display. In addition to using a generic display, I wanted to locate the display in the cabin of the RV, maybe 5-10m away from the Cerbo.
Things initially worked perfectly, then they didn’t. Here is an account of my situation:
Step 1. My first install placed the new LCD immediately beside the Cerbo in the equipment bay using a 1m HDMI cable and powered directly from the Cerbo power-only USB port. The display and touchscreen worked perfectly.
Step 2. My second install was intended to simulate moving the display further away from the Cerbo using HDMI over Cat6 cable extenders. I used the same 1m HDMI cable from the Cerbo to the Tx extender, about 10m of new Cat6 cable, the Rx extender, and a new 1m HDMI cable from the Rx extender to the LCD. I powered the extenders and the LCD from separate USB power supplies. The display and touchscreen worked perfectly.
Step 3. My third install was to relocate the LCD to the inside cabin of the RV. I used the same 1m HDMI cable from the Cerbo to the Tx extender, the same Tx extender, and a new run of installed 10m of Cat6 cable, the same Rx extender, and the same 1m HDMI cable from the Rx extender to the LCD. I powered the extenders and the LCD from different USB power supplies in the cabin. The display worked, but the touchscreen did not work.
Step 4. To troubleshoot the system, I went back to Step 1. I placed the LCD immediately beside the Cerbo in my equipment bay using a 1m HDMI cable and powered it from the Cerbo power-only USB port. This was exactly the same hardware used in Step 1. The display worked, but the touchscreen did not work.
So, I’m a bit stumped. I initially had the touchscreen working fine with both the direct connection (step 1) and simulating distant connection (step 2). Something changed when I physically relocated the LCD to the RV cabin (step 3). I first assumed it was one of the new components that caused the problem, either the installed Cat6 cable or the new USB power supplies, so I went back to step 1.
Since I could not get the touchscreen to work when I reproduced the same direct connections that worked successfully in step 1, I’m now thinking something changed in the LCD. Any thoughts?
regards,
Karlos