Dan & Howie,
As Dan said, there was quite a long period getting out the kinks out of
Optics but now I'm not having any problems. I'm monitoring 19 systems for
my customers and most problems recently have been getting a good internet
connection. I finally got one on Huges Net working and all problems were
the wifi extender. I put in a new one and it's working fine now. I use
Exede (Viasat) at my house and it works fine hard wired to the
modem/router. Had problems here with wifi extenders. The Optics is really
useful now trying to tweak systems with LiFePO batteries. Those delicate
voltage settings sometimes require a few small adjustments to balance
between minimizing generator run time and keeping the battery from shutting
down. The only problem lately with the Outback/Lithium combination is not
being able to set the low battery cutout high enough on the MATE 3 to get
the inverter to shut down before the battery does. I've had a few system
shutdowns where I have had to go to the site and reboot the battery. Many
of my customers are second homes and sometimes rented out so monitoring the
system is useful. I have had a few situations where I have had to talk the
renters through manually starting a generator or rebooting a battery,
saving me a 3 hour round trip service call.
John Blittersdorf
NABCEP Certified Solar PV Installer™
CV Wind Service (and solar)
200 West Road
N Chittenden, VT 05763
On Mon, Oct 12, 2020 at 11:01 PM Dan Fink <[email protected]> wrote:
> Mac; Interesting to hear that you've had success via satellite internet.
> Which flavor was it, Hughes, Excede or both? It was 3-4 years ago that I
> tried and failed with it at 2 different sites (one was my own
> residence).....there have been a few firmware updates since then, so I
> might just give it a try again.
> Satellite, powerline ethernet extenders, and LAN cable over 50 feet are on
> the official Outback "not recommended" list. Their networking document is
> located here:
>
> http://www.outbackpower.com/downloads/documents/appnotes/optics_conn_app_note.pdf
>
> Howie; I've found that a Klein Scout Pro 3 LAN cable tester is a handy and
> inexpensive tool for diagnosing bad or damaged-while-pulling LAN cables.
> And a cheap RJ-## LAN cable termination kit so you can make custom length
> cables for Outback and Midnite systems, instead of finding someplace to
> hide all the inevitable ugly extra cable length with the factory-supplied
> LAN cables.
>
> As for the Midnite remote monitor system, I've tried and failed on
> satellite, their application notes say it won't work, but I'd love to try
> it again if anyone else out there has had luck with Midnite over satellite.
>
> Dan Fink
> Owner, Buckville Energy Consulting
> NABCEP Certified PV System Inspector
> IREC Certified Instructor™ for:
> ~ PV Installation Professional
> ~ Small Wind Installer
> NABCEP Registered Continuing Education Providers
> d <[email protected]>[email protected]
> 970-672-4342
>
>
>
>
> On Mon, Oct 12, 2020 at 7:22 PM Mac Lewis <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> Hi Howie and Wrenches,
>>
>> We have quite a few OpticsRE sites functioning fine on satellite
>> internet so I don't think that there is any defined limitation there. I
>> like to use a Hub 10.3 with systems that you intend to have on Optics.
>> Optics not perfect but its better than other off-grid monitoring and gives
>> decent control to the administrator. Hoping to see something made for
>> mobile devices soon.
>>
>> I find online monitoring to be super useful as a solar integrator and
>> worth the effort to install properly. Hardwire is preferred way to do
>> this, but I have had good success using a TP Link Wireless Nanorouter in
>> client-mode (serving only the internet device hardwired in). The nice
>> thing about client mode is that the Mate won't get booted off of the
>> network by other devices connecting to the network through the TP Link.
>>
>> There may be some anomalies with integrating older equipment but I'm not
>> sure on that.
>>
>> Good Luck
>>
>>
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