Venus OS driver (GX DEVICE) for the Victron Buck-Boost DC-DC converter — no VE.Direct required
The Buck-Boost 25 A / 50 A / 100 A is the odd one out in the Victron range: no VE.Direct, no Bluetooth, no GX integration. It is configured with the Windows tool TSConfig, and every measurement it takes stays inside that program.
I reconstructed the converter’s serial protocol and wrote a small Venus OS driver around it. The converter now shows up in the GX device list and on the overview page next to solar, in VRM and in Node-RED’s Victron nodes, with:
- output voltage, current and power
- input voltage
- MOSFET temperature
- charging state, and the state of the pin 1 remote on/off input
The driver is strictly read-only — it sends read commands and nothing else. The same interface accepts parameter changes and firmware updates, so writing is deliberately not implemented. Configuration stays with TSConfig, where it belongs.
Installation is through kwindrem’s SetupHelper. In Settings → Package manager → Inactive packages → new:
- Package name:
TsBuckBoost - GitHub user:
mcgyver78 - GitHub branch or tag:
latest
Repository, including the full protocol documentation: GitHub - mcgyver78/TsBuckBoost · GitHub
Verified on a 50 A unit (device id 113 / TS800C5) in a 12 → 24 V installation, against a SmartShunt and a BMS: output voltage 26.89 V vs. 26.88 V, output current 27.56 A vs. 26.93 A at the shunt — the difference being the system load that is drawn ahead of the shunt.
The calibration values (current factors, zero points, current sense chip) are read out of the converter itself, so the driver should work on the 25 A and 100 A models as well. I could only test the 50 A, though — feedback from anyone running a TS 400 or TS 1600 would be very welcome.