I have set up my RasPi 4b and it is connected to the VNC network. When I look at the GUI it kind of shows the way the power goes. It still seems like something is not correct or could be changed to make it better. I have connected a ETT112 that shows the output and is connected as Single phase, PV on AC out. I still cnanot see my MTTP solar controler, Or the Inverter but It can see the RasPi and shows it as named in my setup but it always says it is off. Even when it is working and showing output. I put a picture to show what I mean. I have looked at every page in the manual and the interface. It does seem different on the tablet than it looks on the desktop. The interface looks different. Also only uses the old GUI on the screen at the unit. you can see how it shows that things are off is that supposed to be like that also shows the Solarpi is off. Any Help
Thanks for respondin, I have the VE direct connected via a Victron BMV 512 into the RaspberryPi. I also have the ET112 which is compatible with the the Venus OS. I is connected on the AC out of the Inverter which gives me the numbers that you can see. But no MK3/USB I believe that is where the ET112 comes into play which also use a Victron USB wired into the ET112 then into the Rasspberry Pi. When I set it up I used an Ethernet connection which is not available with the level of plan that I have with Victron. I feel that is part of the problem in the picture you can see that it has Raspberry as the VRM ID It might work the way it did when I set it up BUT if I paid more but I did not plan to pay at all ttill I could not do anything that I wanted or as it was before. They stopped offering the Ethernet and now it is all bluetooth which is not great. The basic level should be able to cover me but I think it is how I set it up is not the same so it points to the orginal device not the Gateway as in the pic. Maybe there is an issue with the Raspberry Pi being seen as the controller. So I may need to redu it with just bluetooth but I donât want to do that if it will mess it all up, So I donât know if that make sense I have included two pictures of what I mean.
please upload a complete diagram of your system, also with the communications interfaces. This will make it easier to assist. If you have a Victron MPPT for solar, then this also needs itâs own VE direct cable.
The raspberry pi running Venus OS IS the gateway.
ET112 devices are used as AC monitors, these donât really substitute for a direct inverter connection which is the heart of the Venus system. What inverter do you have?
Hi Mike Thanks I have been working on this for a min. I think this is the most up to date and correct diagram with the com ports. Not shown here is the Wired connected computer that comes from the house via an Ethernet cable then I have a separate wifi rotor that which connects things in the studio where the set up and solar are. I donât know if the two Rotors or how it is set up will affect anything but I wanted to mention it. Because it feels like to me that the original set up via just the Ethernet is affecting how it works now.
Right: You Arenât using a Victron inverter OR a Victron MPPT, so why would you expect Venus / PiGx to be able to show these?
The Victron inverters and MPPTâs have sophisticated communications interfaces, that allow for detailed data to be transferred to the Venus OS. Without this data the OS has no information to generate the inverter tile or the MPPT tile.
It sees others. Why would think it could not see them. The Raspberry Pi. is not Victron.
longer explanation below.
I understand I have switchâs that I would use with Gui Mods within the VenusOS and GIOP pins on the Raspberry Pi. I do not expect to be able to see them, except that Victron can recognize other units in some cases. It did with the Raspberry Pi.(calling it a generic unit) I just am not sure how.?? and like I had said I think I have set something up via the free upload and that is different now with the paid plan. I was just trying to get it back to before way it worked was different but without starting over I am not sure how to fix it. I admit I am doing something that Victron does not support and if I am in the wrong place sorry I just was helped buy people in this forum before maybe it or they have moved, These folks who created code and made things like GUI mods and NodeRed which make it so you can make widgets and other interfaces and make them with less coding knowledge. But somewhere I got stuck because of the way it was set up (ie free to paid) So I started out with the RaspberryPi and other people have done some of these things or controlled things with the RaspberryPi. I have other programs that can see information that would alow me to track the info via eiter TTL protical. (I dont know what that really means) Or RJ485 I believe. I know it is not something I would expect from Victron. Victron is awesome for making the info available and setting up these places for people to work on there projects. If I had the money I would buy a MultiplusII or maybe a Quatro. But for now I was learning and setting up my system and trying to get my RasberryPi to see what my Inverter and Solar Charge controller are seeing. Maybe even control them to stop charging at a certain percentage, I have found programs that can see both the batteries and the Solar charge controller via Bluetooth. Just not victron yet. So yes I was hoping that using some other tools I could come up with a way to register the MTTP controller and the Inverter via Bluetooth or via some other port. Or just turn them off and on with a Switch and some other things.
I just got stuck because I did not understand that the change from free to paid would make it unusable without upgrading to a higher pay grade. the way the the interface is set up when it is free is to different to when you set to pay. And the difference between Android, Windows and Unix make it hard to use with overlapping systems. Like Andriod phone and Windows desktop, which has no bluetooth with windows and needing a Ethernet connections then not being able to use the Ethernet connection with my level of pay. Then it does not work the same and the fix is only to spend more money. That is not what I was hoping for. Now I am trying to learn enough to be able to copy code and paste it into someplace and not mess the whole thing up and then starting over. . But That means I have to communicate with those things.
As far as Iâm aware, use of VRM is FREE.
Venus OS is a free Victron product for use by developers with Raspberry pi, Beaglebone etc.
As such, it (pi) lacks the built in interfaces that the Cerbo includes, some of these interfaces can be emulated by plug in adapters.
says it all.
When you do this, then you will be able to see the inverter.
I want to say thank you and you are welcome to not answer any other emails but Even if I dont like what someone is saying I try to just be exepting and move on but you seem like you are coming after me for asking questions. Of things you donât understand or know about.
it is not always free
now you are aware of a way that is not free. You learn stuff all the time. If you used an Ethernet cable to set up the system you can not use that with the free version. not clear when I started. This created a link from my computer which seems to have made an issue that is what I was trying to understand and may have caused other issues but I may be wrong.
I did not make up this Raspberry pi thing just thought it was cool and was looking for those that would understand that kind of thing to reply not those that donât. âsome of these interfaces can be emulated by plug in adapters.â thats what I am trying to do. why would you not answered with that.
Obviously they victron do support some aspects of third party integration or they did when I started and do buy other users support some aspects of third party hardware/ I just did not get the right one so I was trying to figure out how to make this work. I just saw a guy with a non victron inverter that was asking questions that someone answered.
I was not insulting anyone just looking for answers if you donât have any that is fine you are welcome not to say anything.
As far as Iâm aware, use of VRM is FREE.
Venus OS is a free Victron product for use by developers with Raspberry pi, Beaglebone etc.
As such, it (pi) lacks the built in interfaces that the Cerbo includes, some of these interfaces can be emulated by plug in adapters.
SolarKing:
I admit I am doing something that Victron does not support a
says it all.
SolarKing:
f I had the money I would buy a MultiplusII or maybe a Quatro.
When you do this, then you will be able to see the inverter.
Not at all, please donât mis-understand me with this.
In order for the Venus OS (running on the pi) to âseeâ the inverter, it must have data communications with it. This does NOT happen by bluetooth, but rather than a wired link. How would you expect a NON Victron inverter to be capable of communicating data to a Victron system?
Some other equipment - eg Grid connected (PV) inverters share data according to a published standard. There is no such standard for battery inverters.
Victron have 2 great books, Wiring Unlimited and Energy Unlimited, I recommend that you go and read these.
Yes, this was answered earlier: the Mk3/USB and VE-direct /USB interfaces. you are using the VE direct interface to plug in the BMV.
ET112 is made buy another manufacturer and it works with Victron like magic. Raspberry Pi is not Victron it works well. Thatâs why I would think the way I did. they are wired but not necessarily made for them. Using a copy USB connector. for one.
a short answer is machine protocols are the same across many machines com ports Like TTL and RJ45 which are general and common, thats why I can see them on the RaspPi they are made to put out machine info that use common machine language or a protocol that is common and in place before Victron. both the Solar controller and the Inverter have these ports or one of them. but also using a separate BT controller on the Inverter would be another way to maybe get info into the RaspPi. then use the GPIO pin on the Raspberry Pi and Relays switchâs within the Victron app to set up controls. that the plan there are other parts. but loosly
like I said it was the Ethernet cable change that seemed to cause the problems for me, and I got stuck because after the payments started it looks different and act different/ I think because of the whole Ethernet cable change up. this was the question. but you are unaware of this issue so you can not address it. If someone could look at the pics and see why my interface looks like it does. not whether or not I could or should do it. Just trying to figure out how others have done it. and why mine looks the way it does and can I change it.
this place in China makes copies of some Victron stuff.
they make products for Victron in China. They are well a copy but they probably use the same programming language but just tweaked for there stuff. I have done this with the batteries and with the Renogy invertor. Or found programs that work with the BMS on the battiers so just another way to gain access to the batterys
the Renogy inverter has a parent manufacture it is made buy another company SRNE I believe. It has a program that is free and can see the BT signal for the Renogy. But it is missing something it wont connect to the device. if I can use that program or the info from it then I can get info into the Raspberry Pi. again a long shot I am not expecting Victron to do anything just hoping someone has done some of these things, I should just relie on reddit but I know one person here who was vary helpful name Kenvin he set up the setuphelper and Gui mods that I am trying to use, so I probably should just ask him but I was just being curious and put out a question to this group. I get it you donât think I should try or that it has no solution. I have seen others do similar things and think it may be and it is worth the effort because in am learning.
when will I be able to buy Victron. Just as a comparison a 100 amp battery from Victron is 1000$ as compared to a similar one that is 150 so since the mark up for Victron is so high I will probably never be able to afford a Multiplus or others that is why I am doing these things if I waited to afford Victron I would never do it. feel free to donate to the cause.
Not at all, please donât mis-understand me with this.
In order for the Venus OS (running on the pi) to âseeâ the inverter, it must have data communications with it. This does NOT happen by bluetooth, but rather than a wired link. How would you expect a NON Victron inverter to be capable of communicating data to a Victron system?
Some other equipment - eg Grid connected (PV) inverters share data according to a published standard. There is no such standard for battery inverters.
Victron have 2 great books, Wiring Unlimited and Energy Unlimited, I recommend that you go and read these.
SolarKing:
. âsome of these interfaces can be emulated by plug in adapters.â thats what I am trying to do. why would you not answered with that.
Yes, this was answered earlier: the Mk3/USB and VE-direct /USB interfaces. you are using the VE direct interface to plug in the BMV.
Whom are you paying? (and for what?) Victronâs VRM is free for use.
a short answer is machine protocols are the same across many machines com ports Like TTL and RJ45 which are general and common,
You need to appreciate that there is the physical layer of an interface and a protocol layer, and the two are different. The physical layer is the electrical connection, the protocol layer is the âlanguageâ that the 2 processors on either end use to communicate.
While TTL has quite a few different standards on the physical layer, and conversions such as RS232, RS485 etc, the communication protocol used is manufacturer specific. The RJ45 is a connector specification, but is the most common one used for Ethernet connections. Ethernet also has many communication protocols, and often several layers of such. For example, your energy meters may communicate over the Ethernet connection, using for example TCP/IP Modbus (which may use UDP instead of TCP). Venus has been written to interface with specific and generic Modbus devices over TCP/IP, this is why you can interface with your meters and see the data.
The Raspbery pi while not a Victron product, does run the Venus OS, which has been adapted by Victron to run on that platform.
Solar Controllers from Victron (donât trust the Chinese copies) have 2 different protocols that they use over the VE-Direct physical connection {which is TTL, either 3.3v or 5V).
Victronâs inverters use VE-Bus - which I believe uses RS485 on the physical layer, uses a specific protocol as well, this can be accessed from the Victron downloads page. It also uses RJ45 connectors and standard Ethernet UTP cables for the physical connection. Whilst Victron inverters are not the only inverters with a data connection, they are the only manufacturer that make the communication protocol an âopenâ document. Which is why I and many other developers use Victron equipment. The Venus OS âexpectsâ the inverter data to be on the VE-Bus; trying to use other equipment or interface for this WILL NOT WORK - how can it as it does not have the correct protocol? If you need to insert data into the Victron Venus OS, like it came from a Victron product, then you need to look into how the dBus services in Venus work.
BMS systems typically use a CAN interface - with another physical standard, and numerous different protocols. the setuphelper and Gui mods that I am trying to use
These will not be really useful until you get the base system communication right. I get it you donât think I should try or that it has no solution.
Carry on asking questions, but also do a lot of reading. Iâm just trying to point out that trying to get the Renolgy inverter to communicate with Venus os is likely to be a futile exercise.
stating from scratch, there is a lot to learn - Iâve been working with Victron interfaces for over 10 years now, and am still learning new stuff - mainly as software and protocols keep changing.
Thanks that is a great reply I will take all that into consideration. I included two photos of the payments or the pages where they are from I may have been misguided but I was told this is what I had to do to gain access to the online portion or the system I may have misunderstood but it was a couple of weeks of trying to figure it out and this is what I came up with. it is not a lot of money but I am well poor.
ike I said it was the Ethernet cable change that seemed to cause the problems for me, and I got stuck because after the payments started it looks different and act different/ I think because of the whole Ethernet cable change up
Whom are you paying? (and for what?) Victronâs VRM is free for use.
a short answer is machine protocols are the same across many machines com ports Like TTL and RJ45 which are general and common,
You need to appreciate that there is the physical layer of an interface and a protocol layer, and the two are different. The physical layer is the electrical connection, the protocol layer is the âlanguageâ that the 2 processors on either end use to communicate.
While TTL has quite a few different standards on the physical layer, and conversions such as RS232, RS485 etc, the communication protocol used is manufacturer specific. The RJ45 is a connector specification, but is the most common one used for Ethernet connections. Ethernet also has many communication protocols, and often several layers of such. For example, your energy meters may communicate over the Ethernet connection, using for example TCP/IP Modbus (which may use UDP instead of TCP). Venus has been written to interface with specific and generic Modbus devices over TCP/IP, this is why you can interface with your meters and see the data.
The Raspbery pi while not a Victron product, does run the Venus OS, which has been adapted by Victron to run on that platform.
Solar Controllers from Victron (donât trust the Chinese copies) have 2 different protocols that they use over the VE-Direct physical connection {which is TTL, either 3.3v or 5V).
Victronâs inverters use VE-Bus - which I believe uses RS485 on the physical layer, uses a specific protocol as well, this can be accessed from the Victron downloads page. It also uses RJ45 connectors and standard Ethernet UTP cables for the physical connection. Whilst Victron inverters are not the only inverters with a data connection, they are the only manufacturer that make the communication protocol an âopenâ document. Which is why I and many other developers use Victron equipment. The Venus OS âexpectsâ the inverter data to be on the VE-Bus; trying to use other equipment or interface for this WILL NOT WORK - how can it as it does not have the correct protocol? If you need to insert data into the Victron Venus OS, like it came from a Victron product, then you need to look into how the dBus services in Venus work.
BMS systems typically use a CAN interface - with another physical standard, and numerous different protocols. the setuphelper and Gui mods that I am trying to use
These will not be really useful until you get the base system communication right. I get it you donât think I should try or that it has no solution.
Carry on asking questions, but also do a lot of reading. Iâm just trying to point out that trying to get the Renolgy inverter to communicate with Venus os is likely to be a futile exercise.
stating from scratch, there is a lot to learn - Iâve been working with Victron interfaces for over 10 years now, and am still learning new stuff - mainly as software and protocols keep changing.
Neither of those payments are to Victron or related to VRM.
VNC is free for use on local network only, you only need to pay to operate it over the www.
Not sure what the other one is - but not Victron.
VNC is not needed to communicate with a pi running Venus OS - mostly this is done either on local console - with screen keyboard and mouse plugged into the pi, or over the local lan using the piâs ip address or venus.local as the URL.
Much of this has been covered by @MikeD . This is merely an addition.
Victron officially supports those devices. Some versions of Venus OS contain code that allows them to interact with Victron gear. Of course, Victron doesnât support all devices under the sun. As mentioned before, third-party equipment, with varying degrees of success, may work with unsupported Venus OS modifications or third-party software.
I strongly suspect you were scammed.
A Victron inverter is at the heart of the system. I donât know if Victron supports a virtual Victron inverter to emulate the real thing. That might be the way to go, if supported or through unsupported third-party software.
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SolarKing:
