midnite classic

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  • Volvo Farmer
    Volvo Farmer Solar Expert Posts: 209 ✭✭✭✭✭
    #32
    Re: midnite classic

    That thing needs a set of married terminals on the shunt so I can still use my Trimetric ;)
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  • smatthew
    smatthew Registered Users Posts: 15 ✭
    #33
    Re: midnite classic
    Robin Gudgel wrote: »
    OK, I tried attaching a photo of the WhizBang Jr. Not sure I'm smart enough to pull it off though. If it made it, try to figure out how it works with only one wire?

    Well, I do see a 4 pin connector. perhaps communications occurs through that interface.

    I'm kinda worried about those electrolytic caps. Don't they suffer from long term stability problems?
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  • Cariboocoot
    Cariboocoot Banned Posts: 17,615 ✭✭✭
    #34
    Re: midnite classic
    smatthew wrote: »
    Well, I do see a 4 pin connector. perhaps communications occurs through that interface.

    I'm kinda worried about those electrolytic caps. Don't they suffer from long term stability problems?

    :confused:Why would they? Same kind of capacitors that are used in thousands of electronic circuits all over the world and known to last for many decades.
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  • NorthGuy
    NorthGuy Solar Expert Posts: 1,913 ✭✭
    #35
    Re: midnite classic
    Robin Gudgel wrote: »
    OK, I tried attaching a photo of the WhizBang Jr. Not sure I'm smart enough to pull it off though. If it made it, try to figure out how it works with only one wire?

    Very cute little thing. Is the purpose of it to avoid long analog wire runs?
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  • BB.
    BB. Super Moderators, Administrators Posts: 33,613 admin
    #36
    Re: midnite classic

    I would guess that they have a "digital" bus that can connect to many different devices. This makes the MPPT controller less complex and does not burden it with extra A2D's, connection points, etc.... Also makes the controller's much easier to add future functions via the digital data bus.

    I did a little bit of this years ago on large computer systems with a 1 bit bi-directional bus with automatic discovery/addressing (don't even remember the vendor now--used for clocks, small memory and key disks/cards, etc.)... Was very cool, however, I could not get others in our groups to implement it past my initial usage.

    -Bill
    Near San Francisco California: 3.5kWatt Grid Tied Solar power system+small backup genset
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  • NorthGuy
    NorthGuy Solar Expert Posts: 1,913 ✭✭
    #37
    Re: midnite classic
    BB. wrote: »
    I did a little bit of this years ago on large computer systems with a 1 bit bi-directional bus with automatic discovery/addressing (don't even remember the vendor now--used for clocks, small memory and key disks/cards, etc.)... Was very cool, however, I could not get others in our groups to implement it past my initial usage.

    Maxim has a family of very cute 1-wire products including various sensors. Each device has a hardware address and you can talk to them all using just one wire.

    However, Maxim's products are slow. With shunt you would need higher speeds.
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  • Robin Gudgel
    Robin Gudgel Registered Users, Solar Expert Posts: 58 ✭✭
    #38
    Re: midnite classic

    You guys are pretty smart. Yes the one wire connects to Aux2 on the Classic. It sends power to charge up a cap on the WBJr and then turns around and sends data. You end up with noise when using wires to connect to a shunt so we just eliminated the wires. I did this type of design almost 20 years ago at Trace when I made a 48V regulator to power the Trace Meter. The Trace meter was actually a Trimetric that we repackaged into the Trace Meter. We paid Bogart engineering royalties.
    Bob wanted to try the single wire trick just because it was a novel idea. It also makes it cheaper. Our competitors will not like a $59 battery monitor. You should still be able to hook up a Trimetric in parallel with our board. Just put ring terminals under the stand offs up against the brass shunt. We will have a clear plastic snap on cover to protect the components from damage by the large battery cables.
    By the way, someone was amused by the name WhizBang Jr. Wait until they see the WhizBang 1000!
    We will start talking about the KID more soon. Mario (the real kid) is mostly done with the electrical design and I am just now starting on the casting. Once we have castings in house, we should be ready for a beta test. The beta test on the Classic took too long and was open only to professionals. This one will be for consumers. Consumers are better at doing things to products that we engineers had never planned for.
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  • Cariboocoot
    Cariboocoot Banned Posts: 17,615 ✭✭✭
    #39
    Re: midnite classic
    Robin Gudgel wrote: »
    Consumers are better at doing things to products that we engineers had never planned for.

    What a polite way of saying "no one can mess things up like an end-user." :p
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  • niel
    niel Solar Expert Posts: 10,300 ✭✭✭✭
    #40
    Re: midnite classic

    it's true though for if there's something amiss or overlooked an end user will find it eventually.
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  • westbranch
    westbranch Solar Expert Posts: 5,183 ✭✭✭✭
    #41
    Re: midnite classic

    careful guys, Mr MURPHY is out there lurking, ready to pounce at a moments notice...:cry:
     
    KID #51B  4s 140W to 24V 900Ah C&D AGM
    CL#29032 FW 2126/ 2073/ 2133 175A E-Panel WBjr, 3 x 4s 140W to 24V 900Ah C&D AGM 
    Cotek ST1500W 24V Inverter,OmniCharge 3024,
    2 x Cisco WRT54GL i/c DD-WRT Rtr & Bridge,
    Eu3/2/1000i Gens, 1680W & E-Panel/WBjr to come, CL #647 asleep
    West Chilcotin, BC, Canada
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  • inetdog
    inetdog Solar Expert Posts: 3,123 ✭✭✭✭
    #42
    Re: midnite classic
    niel wrote: »
    it's true though for if there's something amiss or overlooked an end user will find it eventually.
    A basic principle, in addition to the power of sheer ignorance, is that the end user starts out with no understanding of how it was intended to be used and so is capable of coming up with totally fresh usage scenarios. :-)
    SMA SB 3000, old BP panels.
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  • westbranch
    westbranch Solar Expert Posts: 5,183 ✭✭✭✭
    #43
    Re: midnite classic

    &/or tries to put it to a use not designed into it and finds a weak point:cry:... or an opportunity:cool:
     
    KID #51B  4s 140W to 24V 900Ah C&D AGM
    CL#29032 FW 2126/ 2073/ 2133 175A E-Panel WBjr, 3 x 4s 140W to 24V 900Ah C&D AGM 
    Cotek ST1500W 24V Inverter,OmniCharge 3024,
    2 x Cisco WRT54GL i/c DD-WRT Rtr & Bridge,
    Eu3/2/1000i Gens, 1680W & E-Panel/WBjr to come, CL #647 asleep
    West Chilcotin, BC, Canada
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  • Photowhit
    Photowhit Solar Expert Posts: 6,006 ✭✭✭✭✭
    #44
    Re: midnite classic
    Robin Gudgel wrote: »
    ... You should still be able to hook up a Trimetric in parallel with our board...

    Robin, How much info will you let the battery monitor do/store? Will a Trimetric be redundant in the final implementation?
    Home system 4000 watt (Evergreen) array standing, with 2 Midnite Classic Lites,  Midnite E-panel, Magnum MS4024, Prosine 1800(now backup) and Exeltech 1100(former backup...lol), 660 ah 24v Forklift battery(now 10 years old). Off grid for 20 years (if I include 8 months on a bicycle).
    - Assorted other systems, pieces and to many panels in the closet to not do more projects.
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