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Post by dmommen on May 12, 2021 15:57:51 GMT -8
Hi There, As a new user of this platform I want to say thank you for a great product! I have encountered a couple of issues after the creation of these two units I recently purchased. - Questions related to installation document
- pg. 19 - Jumper cable from JP4 (Part L) to the third pin from the left (Part I); the reference image on Pg 8 looks as though it is using the GND pin instead? I ask this question as with the suggested connection on Pg 19 I do not get any reading from testWXLink with the jumper connected in the suggested way
- pg. 16 - Step W9 Grove
Connector
Marked D3/D4
on Mini Pro LP
(Part I) to USB Central Port (Part E); I am not able to get any power from this device this way (I can by bridging 'LIPOBATIN'). Just to clarify the port this cable should be connected to on Part I is the one that has the label J1/Rain Bucket/Grove D3/D4. With the cable connected this way I have not been able to get a device to switch on.
- Strange Readings from testWXLink.py - these values seem to be off, I was also only able to receive this data one modifying the serial port referenced in 'testWXLink.py' to use ttyAMA0 vs S0 (I have followed the manual to the letter concerning disabling serial over SSH and enabling the serial port):
- -----------
Starting readWXLink
('block1 length=', 32)
('block2 length=', 31)
ReversedreceivedCRC= 3b77
length of stb1+sb2= 59
ab6627560b000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
006f128340cccc4cbdcccc4cbd6f1283bacccc4c3d000000000800
calculatedCRC = 3b77
Good CRC Recived
('protocol_ID = ', 3)
('protocol_software_version = ', 9)
protocol 3 - WXLink received
Rain Total= 0.00 in
Wind Speed= 0.00 MPH
Wind Direction= 0 Degrees
OTFloat=0000
AM2315 from WXLink temperature: 0.0C
AM2315 from WXLink humidity: 0.0%
WXLink batteryVoltage = 4.10
WXLink batteryCurrent = 0.05
WXLink loadCurrent = -0.05
WXLink solarPanelVoltage = -0.00
WXLink solarPanelCurrent = 0.05
WXLink auxA = 0.00
WXLink Message ID 8
LoRa Packet Decode Failure - probably short block receive
Tick! The time is: 2021-05-12 19:19:46.460846
Starting readWXLink
- Is AM2315 the internal (bundled) Temp/Humidity sensor or some external sensor?
- Is it possible that I have a faulty I2C hub?
Thanks, Dustin |
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Post by SDL on May 13, 2021 10:43:15 GMT -8
Hello D!
I understand that you talked with Dr. Shovic the other day and that you will be participating in our SolarMAX2 Beta program. That's great!
I'm going to answer your questions with that in mind. Let's get you up and running and then convert to SolarMAX2 when you get the parts.
1. Page 19 is correct. GND refers to the empty pads below the wire. Remove this wire to test your unit. It is only needed for long term reliablity and not day to day operation. This is built into SolarMAX2.
Page 16 - D3/D4 to USB Power Central - I can't tell from your picture. Do you have the two Grove cables reversed on the two connectors on the USB Power Central. Trace it carefully. Looks to me like they are reversed.
You should not need the LIPOBATIN wire to turn on the USB PowerCentral The Grove Cable from D3/D4 should do that. If your cables are correct, try swapping cables (bad cable maybe?) or use the LIPOBATIN until you get your SolarMAX2 parts, which eliminate this board.
2. 100% clear that you are the serial port correctly and it is working. Otherwise you would not get a correct checksum. Your values are screwed up (but note: You are getting a good voltage on the battery. If your solar panel is in the dark and the USB PowerCentral is off, the other values are reasonable. Move your two units apart. You may be saturating the receiver.
3) It says AM2315, but it is actually using the HDC1080 board in SolarMAX. I think if you fix your wiring, it may clear up the temperature and reading problem (currently at 0).
4) Possible, but HIGHLY unlikely. There are no active components on the board. Flip it over and see if all the pins are soldered.
Hope this helps!
BP
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Post by dmommen on May 16, 2021 7:19:44 GMT -8
Hi there! Thanks for the input. Just to clarify the images I have attached another photo. By the way, is there a way to physically distinguish the LoRa transceiver/transmitter apart? Thanks for your help, looking forward to the new units. Dustin Attachments:
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Post by SDL on May 16, 2021 13:23:31 GMT -8
The two boards are identical. Both are LoRa transceivers, but one is used for transmit and the other to receive.
BP
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Post by dmommen on May 16, 2021 15:38:55 GMT -8
Thanks, do you see anything unusual in my wiring? Update - I switched the connections on the USB Central and it powered on. In this configuration we now have: - USB Power Central to 6 Port Hub (Green)
- USB Power Central I2C to D3/D4 (Red)
This seems counter the SolarMax guide (pg.15): | Step W2 | 20cm Grove Grove Connector
Marked I2C on USB PowerCentral (Part E) | Any Port on
the 6 Port
I2C Hub (Part K) |
| | Step W9 | 20cm Grove Grove Connector Marked D3/D4 on Mini Pro LP (Part I) |
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Attachments:
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Post by SDL on May 17, 2021 18:24:26 GMT -8
Looks right to me. I2C on I2C and D3/D4 on the control port of the USB Powered Central.
\BP
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Post by dmommen on May 22, 2021 6:14:56 GMT -8
Hi BP,
Success - very pleased and somewhat relieved! So far I have 1 of 2 SolarMAX units up and running.
My first total runtime test on the 6600 mah PKCell LiPo battery recommended gave me about 7 hours of runtime before I lost the PI.
Can you help me with these questions please?
1) Is there a higher capacity 3.7v battery you can recommend as a straight swap? I assume I should be trying to achieve a run of at least 12 hours?
2) What is the design behavior of the unit if the battery is depleted? I.e. will the Pi power up when we have had enough sunlight to recharge the battery?
3) Have (i) Dash App / index.py and (ii) Blynk dashboard been updated for the new version of SolarMAX?
4) I need to reflash one of the SolarMAX units firmware with a different ID as they currently use/report the same ID. Could you share the steps on how to perform this action?
Thanks very much for your help!
Dustin
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Post by SDL on May 23, 2021 5:32:19 GMT -8
Dustin,
Congratulations.
You are running the beta of SolarMAX2 right? I'll assume that.
1) 6600mAh? What you need to find is about a 12000mAh 3.7V LiPo battery. CHECK THE POWER POLARITY ON THE NEW BATTERY. Many are reversed.
2) SolarMAX2 will shut the Pi off when the battery gets below about 3V (doing this from memory) and will turn on about 3.8V (again from memory). This hysteresis prevents the Pi from turning on and off too quickly. We have some thoughts about making this process smoother.
3) Yes, they are updated. But they will only show one SolarMAX2 ID#. Set in the dash_app code. solar_page.py I think.
4) Pretty easy if you know the Arduino IDE.
A) Install the Arduino IDE on your computer (Lots of tutorials on line)
B) Install the SolarMAX2 software (John sent you a zip file) in the Arduino directory (again refer to tutorials)
C) select "Tools->Board->Arduino AVR Boards->Arduino Pro or Pro Mini"
D) Change the ID in the early part of the code
E) Select the Serial Port your SolarMAX ID Board is on (Plug in a USB cord from your computer to the Mini Pro Plus Board)
F) Compile and download your change. May take a few tries depending on your computer.
BP
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Post by dmommen on May 23, 2021 8:21:11 GMT -8
Hi BP, Thanks very much for the response over the weekend. Yes, both SolarMax2 units are working as expected. 1) 6600mAh? What you need to find is about a 12000mAh 3.7V LiPo battery. CHECK THE POWER POLARITY ON THE NEW BATTERY. Many are reversed. -- The largest battery I could find immediately available on Amazon was the 10000 mah unit; I will swap the 6600 unit with this one and switch the Pi from a 3 A+ to a Zero W (the combination should work I assume) 2) SolarMAX2 will shut the Pi off when the battery gets below about 3V (doing this from memory) and will turn on about 3.8V (again from memory). This hysteresis prevents the Pi from turning on and off too quickly. We have some thoughts about making this process smoother. -- Great! Hopefully the combination of Zero W + 10000 mah should be enough 3) Yes, they are updated. But they will only show one SolarMAX2 ID#. Set in the dash_app code. solar_page.py I think. -- See the attached screenshot, I had to update solarmax_page.py to use ID# 4 (hopefully helpful to someone else in future) My main issue still outstanding is data reporting to Blynk. Following your suggestion that I might have not added the AuthCode correctly, I created a completely new instance and generated a new code. I then enabled the debug mode on updateBlynk.py and SkyWeather2.py; if you take a look at the attached console output you will notice that the 'Post 200' for the initial status is correctly received and reflects in the iPhone App but it appears as though the 'Current State' and 'Last Event' are never sent to Blynk? Thanks very much for your help, Dustin |
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Post by SDL on May 24, 2021 13:26:23 GMT -8
Hi BP, Thanks very much for the response over the weekend. Yes, both SolarMax2 units are working as expected. 1) 6600mAh? What you need to find is about a 12000mAh 3.7V LiPo battery. CHECK THE POWER POLARITY ON THE NEW BATTERY. Many are reversed. -- The largest battery I could find immediately available on Amazon was the 10000 mah unit; I will swap the 6600 unit with this one and switch the Pi from a 3 A+ to a Zero W (the combination should work I assume) 2) SolarMAX2 will shut the Pi off when the battery gets below about 3V (doing this from memory) and will turn on about 3.8V (again from memory). This hysteresis prevents the Pi from turning on and off too quickly. We have some thoughts about making this process smoother. -- Great! Hopefully the combination of Zero W + 10000 mah should be enough 3) Yes, they are updated. But they will only show one SolarMAX2 ID#. Set in the dash_app code. solar_page.py I think. -- See the attached screenshot, I had to update solarmax_page.py to use ID# 4 (hopefully helpful to someone else in future) My main issue still outstanding is data reporting to Blynk. Following your suggestion that I might have not added the AuthCode correctly, I created a completely new instance and generated a new code. I then enabled the debug mode on updateBlynk.py and SkyWeather2.py; if you take a look at the attached console output you will notice that the 'Post 200' for the initial status is correctly received and reflects in the iPhone App but it appears as though the 'Current State' and 'Last Event' are never sent to Blynk? Thanks very much for your help, Dustin 1) Either a Pi Zero W or an A+. I know those work. 2) Solved 3) Yep, the Dash app will only show one SolarMAX2. It is pretty convoluted to add another page, but not too hard to duplicate the graphs on a single page to show two SolarMAX2 IDs. Could you PM me your JSON file? I want to see how you have this configured. BP |
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Post by SDL on Jun 1, 2021 11:47:43 GMT -8
Dustin, Attached is a picture of our new beta test SolarMAX2 down in Palm Springs. Just hooked up a Raspberry Pi 4 SkyWeather2 to it last night. 10Ah Lead Acid. Worked like a champ last night and the battery is charging as soon as the Sun hit it this morning. John  |
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