The October 1 press release about the ST/STXR talks about an "Upgrade". I'm wondering if this is a firmware upgrade only, or is there more involved. Is this a rip it off the wall & send it back to the factory upgrade or a plug in the chip upgrade? I was told over a year ago that there are differences on the main board between the ST & the STXR. For this reason, there was really no way I could "upgrade" my ST to an STXR. Has the story changed, or are the differences not important in terms of power production? The obvious changes are the added support for the remote monitor and the dual speed fan. And the airflow through the unit has been changed.

It is both hardware (electronics) and software changes which will require a swap of the unit.

So is there any practical difference between a ST & a STXR after the upgrade? Does the STXR keep the dumbed down display? Can you plug in a remote display to an ST?

Since it is a swap out, will the unit have to be sent in first and we wait for it to be upgraded and returned or will an upgraded unit be sent out first and then the old one sent back? I would hope it's the latter. I would have no problem with giving them a CC number as insurance that they get the old one back.

The sound of silence indicates that Xantrex is not ready for us to know what they've decided (or if they've decided) to do about the upgrade. It would seem that they have a technical solution to the bad MPPT performance, but are still arranging the ducks.

Since Tobin is watching this board, perhaps we can provide some input now that the wall of denial has been broken. The years of angry customers being stonewalled has been replaced with "100% support". Maybe we can help identify what 100% might consist of.

My list of concerns about the upgrade are as follows:

1. How effective is the upgrade? Why should I believe that this time they'll get it right? Should I sign up first, or wait till someone else hones off the rough edges?

2. How long will my inverter be out of service? The electric bill is going to revert to its old ways during the outage.

3. How do I pack the old unit? I don't have the original materials.

4. Who pays the freight to Arlington? How much does that cost?

5. If Xantrex ships a replacement unit first, and then I return the old unit, what happens to the serial number of my unit? The power company recorded my serial number, and they seem attached to the idea of tracking it. Do I have to notify them about the change?

6. Do the building inspection people have to bless the new installation?

Hi Guys,

Tobin is on his Honeymoon and is out for 4 weeks. I don't think they have anyone to fill his shoes for the guppy board ...

If you read the IMHO thread your answer is there ... you won't get anything from anyone better than that [img]images/smiles/icon_wink.gif[/img] [img]images/smiles/icon_wink.gif[/img]

I have read on the re-wrenchs board that Xantrex will ship , you swap and ship back old inverter but This is NOT confirmed.
http://www.topica.com/lists/RE-wrenches/read/message.html?mid=905433482&sort=d&start=9534

Xantrex has committed publicy to making good but they intend to make sure every thing is right and are not going to rush out and change the 2000 inverters without there due diligance in testing and planning

So as much as we all want it yesterday , sit tight and all you questions will be answered in measured time ...

The ST/STXR upgrade registration is now live. Go to http://www.xantrex.com/suntie/index.asp
for information and to enter your registration.

A few highlights from the information at the Xantrex website...

Register online and they will send a confirmation within 7 days.

The required information is inverter model, build date, serial number, purchase date, and contact information. The build date and serial number are on the lower right edge of the inverter. There is no requirement for warranty information.

This is a return to factory upgrade. All units are upgraded to the new STXR specifications.

First distribution will be in January.

Your choice of "Ship Ahead" or "Exchange". If you give them a credit card number, they will ship an upgraded unit to you. You install the refurbished unit and ship their old one back. They pay shipping both ways. If you don't give them a credit card number, then they require your old unit back before they ship a replacement.

They will pay your installer to perform the swap. Or you can do it yourself (guess my time is free...).

[ October 30, 2002: Message edited by: Rob Larson ]

Thanks Rob.

I filled out the form for my STXR2500. On the final step where it shows all of the info for you to confirm, the purchase date did not show up. I went back and tried again and it still didn't show up. Just want to make sure it actually got into the system and is just a bug with the screen. I would hate to get an e-mail a week from now saying I didn't fill out the form correctly and to try again. [img]images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]

Upgrade progress...

I received my "registration confirmation number" by email. The email states that Xantrex will contact me by December 15 with an expected ship date for my upgraded inverter. First units are planned to ship in January.

Hi Folks,

I apologize for the deafening silence for so long. I've been out of town and just now had a chance to catch up in the pond. It looks like you have answered most of your own questions. We are out of the stage 1 conflict zone of denial (as stated above) and moving into stage 2 resolution. Therefore we start by making it easy for you to swap units by providing an upgrade unit upfront (after website registration) with no shipping costs and some compensation for your (the system dealer's) time. We are looking forward to making some action, providing a newly enhanced unit and furthering the RE ongrid industry.

Best, Tobin, Xantrex Tech