asked
BlueSolar MPPT 75/15 VE Direct to Ethernet
Hi All, I have a question about connecting a BlueSolar MTTP to an Ethernet LAN Switch. I understand the best way to do this is to use a Colour Control GX acting as a gateway. However, I noticed that VE direct to RS232 interfaces are available online. Thus, if I use a VE direct to RS232 converter, and then a RS232 to Ethernet converter in order to connect BlueSolar MTTP to an LAN Switch, will it work? I understand, from the data communication whitepapers, that the RS232 to Ethernet works well with BMV Text protocol but i am not sure if it works on VE.Direct. Anyone with similar experience before? Thanks a lot Kind regards,
This will not work. There is no information in the Text protocol to reach VRM. If you were to get the serial to ethernet and get to your switch, then what were you planning to do from there? Some have done this in order to use ethernet as a transport mechanism to get the serial data a long distance, it is converted back to serial at the other end.
You really need a Venus device like a CCGX or VenusGX. Remember, you can install Venus OS on a RaspberryPi for a very cost effective solution.
Thanks a lot for your response. Actually what I want to achieve is to connect multiple BlueSolar MTTP to the LAN and upload all the data to the Data Server. So the purpose of using Ethernet is data transmission and the data analysis can be programmed in the data server. I have multiple locations and all the devices are solar powered, so adding additional device like CCGX will increase the power consumption, resulting in more batteries. So the question is actually if i use 2 converters, can the message still be transmitted? If not, probably i need to use VE direct to RS232 only. Thanks a lot
Hi MatthewXX et al
Did you arrive at a solution? We ended up using a RS232 to Ethernet bridging device, plus a second device (RS232 to TTL) to ensure signalling compatibility between the SmartSolar charger (MPPT 75/15) and the bridge.
