ET112 not showing up in Remote Control

DIY
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1

I’ve installed an ET112 about 80 Meters away from the Easy Solar GX 2 unit and I have followed the docs but the device does not show up in Settings > Energy Meters

I’m using the Victron RS485 <> USB.

I followed the wiring diagram as 2.2.1

Orange = Data +
Yellow = Data -
Black = GND

I’ve checked with a multimeter:

Data + is 3V
Data - is 1V
GND is well, erm, GND…

Do these voltages seem right/wrong to anyone? I’m mindful I might not have used a twisted pair for Data+ and Data-…

I also recorded a video of the RS485 <> USB adapter flashing various colors/states… It appears to flash green for a bit then stops

2

I followed this guide which suggested to connect the red and brown wires on the RS485 adapter.

The RS485 adapter is not showing up in Settings > IO.

I ssh’d in and I can see it w/ lsusb

root@nanopi:~# lsusb
Bus 003 Device 002: ID 0403:6001 Future Technology Devices International, Ltd FT232 Serial (UART) IC

Should the RS485 <> USB adapter be visible in Settings > IO?

3

From ChatGPT

Since the output of dbus -y | grep modbus only shows Modbus TCP (com.victronenergy.modbusclient.tcp and com.victronenergy.modbustcp), this confirms that Modbus RTU is not supported natively on your EasySolar GX 2.

What This Means

  • Your RS485 adapter is being recognized by the system (/dev/ttyUSBX), but Venus OS does not support Modbus RTU directly on your device.

So I can’t use the ET112?! I have a feeling ChatGPT is talking nonsense here…

cc @teejay

4

Dont use chat gtp, its not allowed here…

Did you try a terminator on the et112, 80m is possible but only with good quality wiring

You could also try a powered usb hub inbetween the easysolar and the usb-rs485

5

Hi @DuivertNL - Thanks for your response.

Apologies re ChatGPT.

  1. I’m running over Cat6E - According to various community posts you can connect the adapter green & brown wires. I assume this is not the case?

Sources:
https://communityarchive.victronenergy.com/questions/147428/et112-not-showing-up.html
https://communityarchive.victronenergy.com/questions/2768/problems-with-rs485-adapter-to-connect-with-et340.html

  1. Can you please confirm if the USB <> RS485 adapter should be showing up in General > IO?
  2. I want to confirm that the RS485 adapter is being properly adopted by Venus, is there a way to validate this?

Thanks!

6

This is how your wiring should be only connect orange yellow and black

IMG_6715
IMG_67151179×289 98.5 KB

You can try to connect the usb /485 directly to gx device with the meter withour extending to see if it works

7

Hi Marc.

Sadly the ET112 and Easy Solar device are both permanently installed and cannot be removed.

I am not sure your advice is correct given what I’ve read from community posts. Are you absolutely sure?

Is it possible to please answer any of my queries(1-3)?

8

Picture i send you is from the manual, and i have it running exactly like that, what are you unsure about in my answer?

1 cat 6 is fine
2 i dont know how to see that? I see my et meters online in vrm and in remote console
3 sorry no idea

I also had a long run of cat 5 cable between et 112 and GX (35m) no problem at all

If you have it wired directly from rj45 connector on et 112 use these pins:

IMG_6719
IMG_67191179×953 80.7 KB

This is from the et112 manual from carlo gavazzi

If you terminate do it as described in this manual

I saw all the other old posts with wiring but they really are all wrong… no need for resistors and stuff…

Only follow the victron et112 manual and if using rj 45 on the et112 use the pinout provided by carlo gavazzi on the rj45, terminator is build in the et112 see CG manual how to “activate” that with just a wire

If after this it still doesnt work, check if your usb-rs485 adapter from victron is ok by downloading the Carlo Gavazzi UCS software and hook the adapter with energy meter connected up to an usb port of a pc running that software

9
  1. Are you running a short between Green and Brown OR are you using the terminator approach? I’m not using the RJ45 output on the ET112. I’ve switched over to the terminator approach as per the CG documentation and as before I have a solid green comms light but nothing is showing up in Venus.
  2. In Remote Console Click Settings then Click I/O. Do you see an RS485 adapter?
  3. No worries, thanks :slight_smile:
10

1 terminator wire on et112

2 i have no i/o in remote console settings, but 1 am not on gui v2 maybe thats the reason why

11

Are you familiar w/ SSH’ing into your install?

I want to prove if the command to check for modbus RTU is correct.

dbus -y | grep modbus is the command.