question

Bill avatar image
Bill asked

Getting all the victron devices to talk together.

I am hooking up 2 Smartsolar 100/50's, BMV712, SBS & RPI-Venus GX to update VRM. My BMV712 will be mounted forward in the RV, far away from the controllers and I am positive the BlueTooth will not be able to connect to the VE.smart-network via the BT. I was hoping there was a diagram the showed how to hook these up so they all communicate but so far, my search has not found anything.

Currently the RPI-GX connect's via VE.Direct to USB interface cables to the SS CC's. And my guess is the BMV will need to be connected the same way?


BMV Battery MonitorVenus OSVenus GX - VGXSmart Battery Sense
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3 Answers
Matthias Lange - DE avatar image
Matthias Lange - DE answered ·

Yes, you have to connect the BMV via VE.direct to USB to the Venus device.

The smart network is only to transmit voltage/temperature between BMV, MPPT and SBS, not to a Venus device.

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spirou avatar image
spirou answered ·

The BT connection will easily go over 10, maybe 15m. Although that doesn't solve your problem of connecting to RPi, it still means you can probably have a smart network between mppt and bmv.

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nebulight avatar image
nebulight answered ·

I'll also add you can't have a VE.Smart network with a GX device with DVCC turned on (conficting data). You can buy a USB Extender kit that can have very far runs. Make sure it's not a normal extension cable, but an extender as it will amplify the signal. I have one in my camper van and it works well. Total length I think is 35ft but I know you can go further.

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