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G'day! I was able to connect RPi to MPPT 75-15 via VE.Direct to USB successfully, but following the Q&A on below page, I could not get RPi to recognise MPPT on pin 6, 8, 10. I have used a simple BSS138 based bi-directional level-shifted 5V from MPPT end to 3.3V RPi GPIO. Are there any other settings that have to be done on the RPi side? Any light from someone resolved similar issue is much appreciated!
Components: Raspberry Pi 3 B+ with Venus OS v2.62, MPPT 75/15 v1.54
Hi @mopk47,
The Venus Raspberry PI Image uses GPIO pins 6,8 & 10 for the console and you can not change that. I have dug pretty deep trying to change the console and never been successful. UBOOT also uses these pins so it's just not possible with the pre-built venus releases available.
If you want to use the internal serial UARTs on the Raspberry PI's you will need to get a Raspberry PI 4 and use the additional UARTS. I have a version that uses the additional UARTS to connect with ve.direct devices.
Best,
Scott
Thanks for the quick response, Scott. I was trying to use pin 6, 8, and 10 on RPi 2 without any changes. Do I have to use an RPi 4 for it to connect to MPPT? or a special version of Venus is required? Cheers.
Dear Mr.Scott ,
yes my Rpi is RPi ver 4
is there any advanced configuration to be done ? or simply plug and play ?
also what pins did you use ?
Thanks
CAUTION: Not all Raspberry PI 4s will run Venus OS. At this time, RPI4 for Venus OS is not recommended. Use an RPI3B+ for the best performance, but in the context of this thread, you won't be able to make use of the RPI4's additional serial ports.
A board version change to v1.4 was made a while back to support 8GB of RAM.
The v1.1 and v1.2 boards run Venus but the v1.4 boards do not.
It is likely that all currently shipping RPI 4s are the v1.4 board regardless of the amount of RAM.
A new kernel is needed to accommodate the v1.4 module. Victron is working on that but has nothing functional yet they can offer.
You may be able to find 2GB and 4GB RAM versions using the older boards on the used market but it would be hit and miss.
For what it's worth, you can mod the Pi's kernel to move the "good" UART over to wherever you need it. Raspberry Pi Documentation - Configuring the UARTs
