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pyrorider avatar image
pyrorider asked

Use VE.direct to connect Multiplus Compact with Smartshunt?

Hi, can I use a plain VE.direct cable to connect a Multiplus Compact to a smartshunt? The camper currently has the Multiplus Compact built in and I am building a victron system around it, with a smartshunt being the "heart" to monitor power in/out, Battery charge state,...

I am planning to use the Bluetooth smart network to connect the smartshunt and an orion charger and lay a cable to the inverter (its a bit further away)

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2 Answers
neptuneuk avatar image
neptuneuk answered ·

Hi @PyroRider ,

I don't at all understand why you would want to try to do that connection setup.

Maybe you could expand your post to elaborate on your end goal? You may get more, or better informed answers.

However as far as I am personally aware there isn't anyway to interface the two products in that manner as the smartshunt uses a VE.Direct port (which can go to VE.Direct or USB) and the Multiplus compact uses VE.Bus. I am not aware of any Victron cable means of interconnecting the two other than via the Cerbo S-GX or GX.

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pyrorider avatar image pyrorider commented ·
I haven't seen that the MultiPlus Compact only has a VE.Bus port and no VE.direct ports.

My goal is to be able to use/monitor the system only via victronconnect on a mobile, without a cerbo, venus or control panel. Only parts are a Multiplus Compact, a SmartSolar Mppt, an Orion DC-DC charger and a smartshunt as I do not have the space or power available to mount and run a cerbo gx


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neptuneuk avatar image neptuneuk pyrorider commented ·
In that case you'll need a Cerbo (maybe look at the Cerbo S-GX). You wont need a control panel, as you can connect and view VRM online or just connect directly to the Cerbo and view the Cerbo control page. @Justin Cook elaborates further.
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pyrorider avatar image pyrorider neptuneuk commented ·
well then the single parts will have to work independemt because as I said, there is no place for a cerbo and the cerbo draws too much power to run all day on the 2 small panels we have
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Justin Cook avatar image Justin Cook ♦♦ pyrorider commented ·

If you just want BT access to your MultiPlus for very basic remote control/monitoring, there's a dongle for that: https://www.victronenergy.com/communication-centres/ve-bus-smart-dongle

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neptuneuk avatar image neptuneuk pyrorider commented ·

You could always use Venus OS on a Pi Zero2...... Uses virtually nothing

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Justin Cook avatar image
Justin Cook answered ·

No, that's not possible; not only because neither of them have the appropriate ports to directly communicate with each other, but also because they don't communicate that way in any case. You'd need a Cerbo or other GX device between them for there to be any comms possible. For more information please see the SmartShunt user manual and the MultiPlus Compact user manual.

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Related Resources

VE.Direct protocol FAQ