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freesurfer avatar image
freesurfer asked

USB MK3 cable length limit?

I wonder if there is a maximum length for the network cable that goes between the VE Bus port on the mulitplus, and the MK3 USB adapter that plugs into the PC.

I have my Multiplus II 48/3000 installed in a space where it is a hassle to rig up a laptop and play around with settings, so would be more convenient to run a network cable about 20-30m.

MK3
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reginald-potts avatar image reginald-potts commented ·
My RE cabin is 30M from my house and I just added a Cat6 8P8C 30M cable to the GX device VE Bus port in the cabin and the other end to MK3 USB which I leave disconnected by my PC in the house. Whenever I need to access Multi2 settings I just plugin USB, fire up VictronConnect local tab and it works great. I often need to switch Multi2 charger on late at night to charge battery on my low rate grid connection, saves going out in the cold & dark. :-)
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3 Answers
Justin Cook avatar image
Justin Cook answered ·

@Freesurfer, the Victron RJ45 UTP cables (which are the only supported cables) are available in up to 30m!

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Trevor Bird avatar image
Trevor Bird answered ·

The following is from page 4 of the Victron manual describing the Victron VE.Bus to E-Plex interface. It says the maximum length of cables in a VE.Bus network should be up to 100 metres.

3.2.1 VE.Bus

Connect one of the sockets on the VEC labelled VE.Bus to your target VE.Bus system. The total length of Cat5 cables in a VE.Bus network should not exceed 100 meters.

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Paul B avatar image
Paul B answered ·

In practice I have found that much over 10 to 20 mtrs will not work even using victron cables, so test well before hand, like I have a site that I cant get over 8 mtrs, now in practice this maybe because of induced noise from nearby cables, So if in a perfect world then yes you may get 100 Mtrs, but I have not had that sort of sucess

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