question

david-kebler avatar image
david-kebler asked

how to communicate from multiple devices in battery bay to "ops"? Cerbo GX?

So I imagine others have the same issue whether in a home, boat or RV: Multiple victron devices are in another place from where users want to monitor/interact with those multiple devices. How are folks doing this? What if any ways does victron support this?

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We will have multiple victron devices in the battery bay of our motorcoach. Those being ac/dc charger, dc-dc charger, shunt/battery monitor, 2 inverters. How (what is the best way) to get communication sent to the cabin above? I anticipate having a tablet installed in the cabin (near driver ops).

Bluetooth:

One major issue with bluetooth will be it won't be strong enough to reach from the battery bay to where this tablet will be mounted. So how to repeat/amplify the signal?

How to pair multiple devices? I guess some new phones/tables support BT5 can connect to up to 7 devices. Otherwise is there some kind of hub? Does the victron app support connecting to multiple devices at once? Is there some dashboard in the app to view basics of all connected devices?


VE-DIRECT:

If using the ve-direct is there some kind of bus that has a single outbound communication cable (serial?). If I recall using ve-direct you can't use all the groovy apps developed for android and I'm not going to code up a whole interface etc for these devices so I am thinking ve-direct is not the way to go unless I'm trying to do some automation and need the "raw" data from the device.


Wifi or ethernet bridge:

Seems as if victron just never wanted to go down this road for communication which leaves us with ve-direct (a proprietary serial communication?) or bluetooth (limited signal strength, multiple pairing issues, only one phone/table may pair to a device). Has anyone tried to set up a bridge into a ethernet IP network? That would have been for me the best. Each device having its own socket API. Then one just needs a server app/browser app with plugins for each victron device. sigh


Bluetooth
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3 Answers
seb71 avatar image
seb71 answered ·

At least for certain devices, you can use a Cerbo GX.

The two inverters are set up to work in parallel (using the same battery)?

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david-kebler avatar image
david-kebler answered ·

Cerbo GX? link? - oh that's a new victron product. https://www.victronenergy.com/panel-systems-remote-monitoring/cerbo-gx Ok doing some research. Changed my title to wondering if cerbo gx is essentially my last comment on Ethernet ip bridge.


yes two inverters on same battery bank (800Ah) for two separate 20amp circuits.

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seb71 avatar image seb71 commented ·

yes two inverters on same battery bank (800Ah) for two separate 20amp circuits

If they are not configured to run in parallel, this complicates the monitoring.

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david-kebler avatar image
david-kebler answered ·

So I'll look around at other posts for cerbo gx questions but I'm just going to post mine here anyway.


1. The ONLY way to access a browser UI is via VRM which requires an internet connection? Not going to work with a coach going down the highway. (argh why does everything "smart" have to phone home creating another point of failure, http server should be onboard of cerbo). So looks like otherwise I must feed a hdmi cable from by battery bay to ops (not happening). So.. so far not looking like a solution for me.

2. Can't tell from docs but does the cerbo support pairing/connecting to multiple victron devices or is bluetooth only outbound to a phone/tablet? In the later case then you can only connect to cerbo via ve-connect and there are only 3 ports ?

3. Are all current victron devices compatible with cerbo? i.e phoenix ip43 smart charger, Orion dc-dc charger, phoenix inverters.


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seb71 avatar image seb71 commented ·

Here is the Cerbo GX manual:

https://www.victronenergy.com/media/pg/Cerbo_GX/en/index-en.html

And an image from that manual to make an idea what you can connect to it:

162c57fbb32770.png

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jordanb avatar image jordanb commented · 
1. The ONLY way to access a browser UI is via VRM which requires an internet connection? Not going to work with a coach going down the highway.

I have a CerboGX - it is connected by ve.bus and ve.direct to Multiplus and MPPT controllers, and a few other things including ethernet router (12vdc powered).

On my boat, with DC power only and no internet, I can access the CerboGX on my Mac or iPhone using Victron Connect app and tap "Remote Console" which brings up a web browser with the CerboGX UI - it's a "mirror" of the Cerbo UI, so whatever you do in the remote UI in your web browser also happens on the CerboGX Touch display (assuming you have a touch display connected). No internet required. No VRM required, but you do need a 12vdc WiFi router connected to the Cebo and the computer/mobile device.


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