Hi,

The current ST and XR remote LCD displays information in the following format


245V 60.0H 066V
1000W 00000000WH


Which is

VAC HERTZ VDC
PAC TOTALS

So , lets pretend [img]images/smiles/icon_wink.gif[/img] [img]images/smiles/icon_wink.gif[/img] that I am going to modify the display so it can once again display technical information and possibly much more, what would you as users which to see the most ??


Things that could be options

Modes:
Mppt Tracking
Mppt Search
Grid Disturbance (display why offline)
waiting (display 5 minute count down)

Error codes in English

Volts AC , Volts DC , Current DC , Power AC , Power DC , FREQ , TEMPATURES (heat sink and ambient)

What I am looking for is would users rather see text messages as to what the inverter is doing VS. that technical mode that shows data that really isn't changing that often

The LCD is 2 line of 16 char's and if for say it looked like this

MPPT TRACKING
0123W 0123456WH

The VAC , HERTZ and VDC would either need to be scrolled/alternated with the message or not displayed at all.

So , if your spending the afternoon enjoying the new XR's performance and watching it , what operational information would you like to see and in what format

Remember , the display is very small , if for example you wanted everything , then suggest what order you would like the information , for example , you might want the PAC always displayed and VAC, HERTZ and Temperature alternated.

There are no buttons for the front panel display so what ever you would like would be the only display options for the XR unit display ...

And NO , sending me email will not get any further clarification out of me , remember , I am under an NDA with Xantrex and I am not allowed to discuss my work.

This is NOT a statement that this will be done , I only would like to know what you all think.

Thank you for your suggestions !!
[img]images/smiles/icon_razz.gif[/img] [img]images/smiles/icon_razz.gif[/img]

There are several reasons I look at the display. They can be grouped as follows:

1. Is it working? If yes, how much power is being produced, and the current total. AC voltage and frequency are not interesting if they are within acceptable limits. The DC voltage is very interesting, since it is what MPPT is all about. Perhaps the DC voltage could blink slowly when in MPPT search mode, and fast when in tracking mode. When there is a significant change in power available (cloud p***ing over?), then the current power production value could blink quickly for a few seconds. Temperature displays are interesting only when they reflect a current or potential operational degradation. Total time since startup is a basic measure.

2. If it is not working, or if there is some sort of degradation, then a text message describing the problem is important. The numbers display could blink the value that is out of spec, such as AC voltage.

3. Data collection mode. How much power is being produced, total power today, maximum power reached today, total time in operation today, number of AC disconnects, amount of time disconnected due to AC quality problems. Maybe a graph of the power production today.

There are several techniques for multiplying the information on a limited display. The first is to use just the numbers, without descriptive words like "WATTS" or "TOTAL". The second is to blink an out of spec value, such as AC volts. The obvious one is to simply alternate between displays. I really don't like alternating displays for normal operation - I just want to stare at the numbers as they change, not take mental notes and ***emble the total picture. You don't have to give equal time to each display page - once a text message has been displayed, it conveys no further information until the text changes.

There should be a normal mode display that gives the overall statistical picture. Perhaps once a minute it could flip briefly to a display that shows slowly changing information such as temperature. Delete the leading zeroes on the Watts & Total items.

When things are not working or in a state of flux, then the display can be much more busy. You want two levels of information - text interpreting the situation and numbers that quantify it. Perhaps the standard numeric display could be collapsed by deleting the words, leaving display space for the text message. The situation display should be displayed most of the time, but not to the total exclusion of the standard display. Maybe show the unusual status display for 10 seconds, flip to the standard display (with blinking of any out of spec values) for 5 seconds, and back to the unusual status display.

I say forget the display and instead develop some decent logging software where there are no constraints on how or what to display. [img]images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]

However, since this thread is about the display, I agree with the comments about not displaying relatively useless info such as AC voltage and frequency unless they were in an error condition. I would probably like to see a peak output reading and maybe a total operation time for the day. There are others, but with the limited display it probably would not be practical.

I have the remote monitor and since it does have buttons and non-volatile memory, I would like to see more options on that, but that probably won't happen.

The serial port on the ST produces a current status report every second. The data includes AC watts, AC voltage, AC frequency, DC volts, AC connection status, time to grid connect, and several other parameters that I haven't identified yet. If Xantrex would simply document the data format, then any software person/company could produce a remote display program for a PC or Palm type computer. The current ST/STXR would need an opto-isolator added to the serial port connection to protect against ground level signal problems (about $100). Or they could document the protocol on the XR remote display wire. Xantrex could produce a trivial complexity opto-isolator that only supports ground and data-out ($5 worth of parts), which would leave data-in protected for their diagnostic purposes. If they're really paranoid, they could put an IR emitter on the data-out port that could be read by a Palm device. A Bluetooth emitter could provide data to a test instrument that was simply near the device, rather than having to make a physical connection with all its safety concerns.

The basic point is that Xantrex doesn't have to do everything. There are other people out here that can provide support for their product, without their having to allocate precious resources to what they judge to be low priority projects. Think of what the IBM PC would have been if IBM decided that they were the only people who could program the PC. They would have had 5 programs at the start, and maybe eventually 20 total. Because they opened it up to third parties, we have thousands of available programs. Obviously Xantrex doesn't have the resources that SMA has to produce their own PC software, but there could be third parties that fill in the gaps while Xantrex develops according to their priorities.

Did You Mean something like this ?



The only thing holding me up from releasing this is I am very concerned that people would ingore the warnings about having to use the opto isoloator and either burnup there PC , cause the inverter to malfunction or worse.

I am kind of stuck at this point , the software works and I use it every day ... maybe you kind folks have some input into how I could release the sofware without the fear of being sued for damages ...

Using the phone jack connector for the remote isn't anybetter , its it PV minus , not earth ground , same issues as the RS232 port. The remote has no connections to anything and is battery powered ... hence no issues


[img]images/smiles/icon_razz.gif[/img] [img]images/smiles/icon_razz.gif[/img] [img]images/smiles/icon_razz.gif[/img]

[ October 10, 2002: Message edited by: Solar Guppy ]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Solar Guppy:
I am kind of stuck at this point , the software works and I use it every day ... maybe you kind folks have some input into how I could release the sofware without the fear of being sued for damages ...
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Why not just a simple disclaimer and/or liability waiver. This is software after all and not hardware. There are many of us who are quite capable of using something like this without casing any problems.

As long as you warn the purchaser about the requirements and disclaim any responsibility, I think you're safe. To be even safer, you could require a signed waiver of any damage caused by the software. You probably don't want to sell the opto-isolator yourself, but instead direct people to several places that sell the units.

My biggest worry would be what Xantrex would have to say about a damaged inverter. Would they do warrantee service on an inverter damaged by improper grounding of the serial port? Could they recognize the damage as different from any other cpu board failure?

Is that real data on the display? 93.5% inverter efficiency! Certainly not my unit!

Yes , it's is real data BUT not rms averaged on the DC side. There is about 2 volts of 120HZ ripple on the DC array and the CPU is been programed to sample at the low peaks of the ripple so when tracking it doesn't cause an array collapse.

The new fan software acutally buy's about 1% - 2% at this power level , the old software would on the ST would run non-stop at over 100 watts or on the XR would be constantly reving up and down the fan. The DC fan is speced at 17 watts 240VAC but with the fluke 39 ( a very nice hand held power meter) I was reading 40-50 watts. The new fan software regulates to heat sink tempature and most of the time the the fan is at 10% mode or less .... it now has 10 different speeds.

I had actually forgot about this ( the apparent high effiecntcy ratings) and will spend some time today seeing how far off the DC voltage is to a fluke DVM ....

FYI when running on the array , the XR is always within 1 volt of what the sunnyboy has determing was mppt is. Actually I have observed the sunnyboy getting lost a number of times in varible conditions .. it will be below mppt and slowly start retracking , very interesting watching the to units race for the best performance .... [img]images/smiles/icon_razz.gif[/img] [img]images/smiles/icon_razz.gif[/img]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Rob Larson:
Is that real data on the display? 93.5% inverter efficiency! <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>


Might be. From the IMHO thread.


<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Solar Guppy:
In two months folks will start being very very happy with there XR performance ...

I am under NDA with Xantrex [img]images/smiles/icon_wink.gif[/img] ....
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>