M116A3 Build

[lfhoward]

Discussions are always better with pictures!

The Pi 4 inside of a Sixfab project enclosure, wearing its modem hat, and connected to a 12 volt test battery:


The Pi 3b+ in a Canakit case, with GPS and 3 USB to Victron cables connected:


Size comparison. Even though the Pi 3 & 4 have identical footprints, the Sixfab box has room for the 5 volt, 3 amp power converter, two cellular antennas, the hat & modem, and a cooling fan! It is a well designed system.


With those blinky LED lights and transparent cases, these Pi’s will be installed hidden inside a compartment, so as not to keep us awake at night. The Sixfab hotspot can use larger antennas (external) if need be. I will have to test the reception inside the compartment using the stock antennas. Cell reception on our phones is usually not possible inside the trailer if the reception level outdoors is only one bar, probably due to the aluminum skin. Hopefully the Sixfab hotspot will be better at bringing in signal than our phones.

[bdosborn]

You guilt tripped me into getting the Cerbo GX out and doing the initial setup. Just for kicks I hooked it up to my PC monitor and a USB keyboard and it all works.

The Victron monitor is crazy expensive, its nice to know that I can use any hdmi monitor. BTW, I did the same thing with the Pi but you'll need to edit the Pi SD card. Here's how to do it:
https://github.com/victronenergy/venus/wiki/raspberrypi-install-venus-image

Here's the instruction on how to get to the SD card partition size:
https://www.victronenergy.com/live/ccgx:root_access

Bruce

[lfhoward]

Bruce, that’s brilliant, thanks. I realized after reading through the pages you linked, that I am running Venus version 2.66, whereas the current version is 2.73. 2.70 and up requires a reflash of the SD card, so I will be starting there. I’d also like to make the /data partition larger than the default 300 MB, since I have a 32 GB card. Maybe the new version of the OS (2.7x) already fixes this? It will be interesting to see.

[lfhoward]

To follow up on the Venus OS:

I reflashed the SD card with the newest version 2.73. This fixed the partition issue automatically. I now have 10.2 GB of space to save data files on the card. The new OS partitions the SD card 3 ways evenly (2 OS partitions and 1 data partition). Nice!

Thanks, Bruce!

[bdosborn]

Oops, I'm on version 2.66 too. Thanks for the heads up, looks like I need to reflash as well.

Bruce

[lfhoward]

I liked the Sixfab project enclosure so much, I bought another one for the Victron Pi.



It will keep all the USB to Serial connections and the 5V power converter safe from being bumped or wiggling out of their places. It will also keep the Pi cooler because it has a cooling fan, whereas the small case in the photo above does not. I noticed it does get warm when it’s on, even with heat sinks. The enclosure should be here next week.

[lfhoward]

Today I tested the Raspberry Pi’s at the trailer, using an external 12 volt battery. I wanted to make sure everything is actually going to work. And it is!

The Victron Venus OS Pi was able to see one of my solar charge controllers and report its stats to the VRM. (I only plugged in the one device.) It also verified the trailer was inside its geofence using the GPS.

The Sixfab Hotspot Pi was able to connect to cell service with an excellent signal strength outside of the trailer. When I moved the device inside of the compartment where it will eventually live, signal strength was still excellent. That’s a win. I was worried the trailer skin would degrade the signal.

Also I turned on the battery heater to get the temperature up so that I could solar charge. The battery started at 36°F and The beehive heaters got it to 39° using 1.4 Ah of power in about 30 minutes. That’s about 10 minutes per degree, and about 0.5 amp hours per degree. Not bad. The solar charger can definitely put that power back and then some during the day.

[John61CT]

This is really great stuff.

A reference HowTo at some point would help visibility...

[twisted lines]

This is really great stuff.

Always tempted; May have rolled over the edge

[lfhoward]

This is really great stuff.

A reference HowTo at some point would help visibility...

I will write one up after I get everything installed!

[bdosborn]

Today I tested the Raspberry Pi’s at the trailer, using an external 12 volt battery. I wanted to make sure everything is actually going to work. And it is!

You can set up some nifty graphs in the advanced section of VRM. That's how I track the voltage versus current on my battery load tests:


Bruce

[lfhoward]

Here is the requested How-To thread, posted over in Electrical Secrets:

https://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=74325

Please have a look and let me know what's missing or if anything is unclear. Bruce, since you've used the VRM before, can you post up some cool graphs to show people on the other thread what the VRM can do for them?

I wonder how many people we have on the site running Victron devices?

Cheers,
Lauren

[Capebuild]

Lauren, that is quite the write up post over in the electrical section. I just skimmed it but will save it in my electric folder so when I get to the point of setting up my components for use I'll revisit it. Thanks for posting all that. You asked who has Victron devices.... I have the MPPT 100/30 and the BMV712 battery monitor. I haven't gotten to the point of programming/setting them up stage.
Great information. Thanks!!
John

[mnswamp]

Lauren,
I'll echo John's comments about your writeup. Wow - great info. I had not decided on a final approach, but I really like what you've done here and plan to liberally borrow!

marsh

[lfhoward]

John and Marsh, thanks for the kind words! I am glad the write up can be useful. If you have a Victron MPPT charger and BMV battery monitor, you are set to benefit in a big way from the VRM. I’ll post some picture of it actually running so you can see what kind of data you can monitor. But the VRM should also let you control the devices through the Victron Connect app as if you were standing next to them in bluetooth range. That’s what I’m most excited about— power management strategies I can implement from home as needed. I should be able to turn on and off the load switch on my charger remotely, which will control whether my battery heater thermostat is on or not. Victron’s stuff is super cool. If you need any help setting them up, feel free to let me know.