SwitchDoc Labs SolarMAX2 Assembly And Testing Manual Download

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SolarMAX2 Assembly and Testing Guide

September 2021

Version 1.51

For powering solar systems such as systems based on the

Raspberry Pi, Arduino and ESP32/ESP8266

and the SwitchDoc Labs System

Version 1.1 September 2021

Summary of Contents for SolarMAX2

Page 1: ...X2 Assembly and Testing Guide September 2021 Version 1 51 For powering solar systems such as systems based on the Raspberry Pi Arduino and ESP32 ESP8266 and the SwitchDoc Labs System Version 1 1 September 2021 ...

Page 2: ...tion 23 USB Cable Wiring 23 Fully Wired SolarMAX2 for Reference 24 Lead Acid Battery Tab Wiring 25 Connect your 12 V Lead Acid Battery 27 Testing Your SolarMAX2 System 29 Testing With SkyWeather 29 Testing with a Raspberry Pi without SkyWeathe2r 30 What is in the SolarMAX2 Data Packet 31 Power Management and Pi Protection in SolarMAX2 32 WatchDog Timer Enable 34 Installing Your SolarMAX2 System 34...

Page 3: ...Errat a Page 1 Version 1 1 September 2021 ...

Page 4: ...collect and return data about the solar panel system to the powered or other computer via a 433MHz link SolarMAX2 collects and transmits the following data every 30 seconds Battery Voltage Battery Current Solar Panel Voltage Solar Panel Current Load Voltage Load Current It also supplies the following about inside the SolarMAX2 box Inbox Temperature Inbox Humidity Page 2 Version 1 1 September 2021 ...

Page 5: ... Page 3 Version 1 1 September 2021 Table 1 1 Solar Max LeadAcid Solar Max LeadAcid Minimum Nominal Maximum Solar Panel Voltage 15V 18V 18V Solar Panel Voltage Solar Panel VOC 25V Solar Panel VOC 5V Load Current 5A 5V Load Current Solar Charging Current 4A Solar Charging Current Battery Type 12V Lead Acid Battery Type Size of Battery Large Size of Battery Cost of Battery Low Cost of Battery Availab...

Page 6: ... is Required for the SolarMAX2 Kit 12 V Lead Acid battery We recommend 20000mAh https amzn to 2qGCVd8 This battery fits PERFECTLY in the Bud Enclosure below M2 Nylon Hex Thread Assortment https shop switchdoc com products 140pcs box m2 nylon hex thread assortment kit Solid Core Hookup Wire 22 Gauge https amzn to 3202Ppa Bud Enclosure NBB 22241 Style B 6 25 32 x 10 23 32 x 6 25 32 https amzn to 2zk...

Page 7: ...nal https amzn to 2U6IN9J Tools Soldering Iron Straight blade Small Screwdriver Crosspoint Small Screwdriver Super Glue Silicon Caulking Wire cutter Wire stripper Pliers Drill Drill Bits for 1 holes 2 3 holes Page 5 Version 1 1 September 2021 ...

Page 8: ...for 12V Lead Acid Batteries Part E USB Weatherproof Plug Part F USB Plug w terminals Part G 433MHz Transmitter and Antenna Part H 16MHz Mini Pro Plus Computer Part I HDC1080 Temp Hum Part J Short USB Type A to USB micro Cable Cables Part K 20cm Grove Cable Part L 30cm or 50cm Grove Cable Part M Grove Connector to Female Pin Header Cable Page 6 Version 1 1 September 2021 ...

Page 9: ...Page 7 Version 1 1 September 2021 ...

Page 10: ...Part C High Current INA3221 with Large Screw Terminals Part F USB Plug with Terminals Note and marking in plastic Page 8 Version 1 1 September 2021 ...

Page 11: ...Part J USB Type A to USB Micro Cable Part A and Part B MC4 Minus and Plus Plugs and Pins Page 9 Version 1 1 September 2021 ...

Page 12: ...Part G 433MHz Transmitter and Antenna Part J 20cm Grove Cable Page 10 Version 1 1 September 2021 ...

Page 13: ...t L Grove Connector to Female Pin Header Cable Step by Step Assembl y Step 1 Drill two 2 3 holes in the upper left side of the lower part of the Bud Box See Part A and Part B location on pictures above Page 11 Version 1 1 September 2021 ...

Page 14: ...center Two vent holes and one hole for the Part F USB Weatherproof Plug Step 3 Insert Part E USB Weatherproof Plug into the BUD Box with the cap on the outside in the rightmost 1 hole Screw down If you are using a large capacity Lead Acid Battery put the cap in the leftmost 1 hole Page 12 Version 1 1 September 2021 ...

Page 15: ... the back of Part D the Solar Controller Place the smaller heat sink on the top of Part D the Solar Controller If the heat sinks don t want to stay on us a small amount of superglue under the heat sinks Page 13 Version 1 1 September 2021 ...

Page 16: ...tach Nylon Headers with screws or nuts to all the boards Note that the Solar Charger has screws and headers included in the package with the heatsink Step 7 Glue an additional nylon spacer on Part I HDC1080 Temp Humidity Sensor and two on Part C INA3221 the same height of the spacers from Step 5 to provide a stable base Step 8 Removed Step 9 Removed Page 14 Version 1 1 September 2021 ...

Page 17: ...E into the Solar Charger Board Part D Note you won t have the battery in the box yet But it s OK if you do Just don t short out the terminals on the battery Step 11 Label all parts optional but you will be happy you did Step 12 Using some Silicon Caulking attach some door screen over the center and left 1 hole to keep the bugs out of the box Page 15 Version 1 1 September 2021 ...

Page 18: ...Now we move on to the wiring of the SolarMAX2 Page 16 Version 1 1 September 2021 ...

Page 19: ...ing that https www switchdoc com 2015 07 handy tip building braided cables for projects NOTE We have now determined that if you are using 22 AWG wire you do not need to to double the wires One wire is sufficient for all the currents used inside the box Now insert one end of the braided wire with then ends stripped of the insulation into the pin the male pin has the larger hole in the end and crimp...

Page 20: ...Step 2 Place the other end of the black wire into the terminal of the Solar Charger SOLAR IN terminal Page 18 Version 1 1 September 2021 ...

Page 21: ...T UNTIL END OF WIRING W2 12V Lead Acid Battery terminal Part D Solar Controller Board BATIN W3 Part B SolarPanel MC4 Plug Plus Part C INA3221 IN2 W4 Part A SolarPanel MC4 Plug Minus Part D Solar Controller Board SOLARIN W5 USB Plug w Terminals Terminal Part D Solar Controller Board OUT1 W6 USB Plug w Terminals Terminal INA3221 IN3 W7 Part C INA3221 IN1 Part D Solar Controller Board BATIN W8 Part C...

Page 22: ...ppers Select the proper grove cables and connect them as shown in the table Page 20 Version 1 1 September 2021 Table 1 Grove Wiring Table From To GW1 Part H Mini Pro Plus I2C Part C INA3221 I2C GW2 Part H Mini Pro Plus I2C Part I HDC1080 Temp Humidity I2C GW3 Part H Mini Pro Plus D3 D4 White is no connect Part D Solar Controller Board OUT1 EN1 Yellow Red ON Black OFF No White connection See pictur...

Page 23: ...Page 21 Version 1 1 September 2021 ...

Page 24: ...This completes the Grove Wiring for SolarMAX2 Page 22 Version 1 1 September 2021 ...

Page 25: ...ightly bent out as in the second picture This makes sure that the pins are connected in the header USB Cable Wiring Step 1 Take your short Type A to Micro USB Cable Part J and plug one end into the Micro USB plug on Part H Mini Pro Plus Computer Step 2 Plug the USB Plug w Terminals Part F into the USB WeatherProof Plug Part E This finishes the USB Wiring Now on to the Battery wiring Page 23 Versio...

Page 26: ...Fully Wired SolarMAX2 for Reference Page 24 Version 1 1 September 2021 ...

Page 27: ...7 in the wiring chart above CHECK IT AGAIN If you get this wrong you will destroy your controller Step 2 Take the Red Cold Press Crimp spade connector and place the stripped wire from the INA1 Screw down connector on the INA3221 ADC Part C into the spade connector and crimp the connector to hold them in place and make connection with the spade Page 25 Version 1 1 September 2021 ...

Page 28: ...connector and place the wires from the 12V BATIN Screw Connector on the Solar Controller Board Part D into the spade connector and crimp the connector to hold the wires in place and make connection with the spade Page 26 Version 1 1 September 2021 ...

Page 29: ...tep 2 Slide the Yellow Spade connector connected to the wire which is connected to the terminal on the Solar Controller Part D 12V BATIN screw down terminal on the Negative Spade on the 12 V Battery CHECK YOUR WORK Step 3 Slide the Red Spade connector connected to the Yellow Wire which is connected to the IN1 screw terminal on the IN3221A Part C board onto the Positive spade on the 12 V Battery Ma...

Page 30: ... will work either Reverse connection LED indicator when the battery is reverse connected at the BAT IN or SOLAR IN the corresponding orange LED REV BAT or REV SOLAR turns ON informing the user a reverse connection error If you have hooked up everything correctly you will see a number of LED lights on the Mini Pro Plus Part H and on the Solar Controller Part D Page 28 Version 1 1 September 2021 ...

Page 31: ...o pick up the SolarMAX2 433MHz signals You can buy one here https shop switchdoc com products software defined radio sdr and antenna Testing With SkyWeather Next login into your Raspberry Pi and cd SDL_Pi_SkyWeather2 Note You can t be running SkyWeather2 in the background when you are running this test You must kill the process by doing something similar to this your process number will be differe...

Page 32: ...6 148 150 152 Found Fitipower FC0012 tune r Exact sample rate is 250000 000414 H z Sample rate set to 250000 S s Tuner gain set to Auto Tuned to 433 920MHz Allocating 15 zero copy buffer s time 2021 09 18 14 29 08 model SwitchDoc Labs SolarMAX len 44 messageid 448956 deviceid 1 protocolversion 1 softwareversion 14 weathersenseprotocol 10 loadvoltage 5 160 internaltemperature 12 348 internalhumidit...

Page 33: ... day hour 3 minute 10 next run at 2021 09 19 03 10 00 PDT buildTimeLapse trigger cron day hour 5 minute 30 next run at 2021 09 19 05 30 00 PDT connecting to broke r starting 433MHz scannin g starting 433MHz scannin g Connected with result code 0 processing SolarMAX Dat a This is the raw data time 2021 09 18 14 33 19 model SwitchDoc Labs SolarMAX len 44 messageid 448970 deviceid 1 protocolversion 1...

Page 34: ...10 for SolarMAX2 The solar data collected by the device is loadvoltage Voltage supplied to the Raspberry Pi or other Computer V batteryvoltage Voltage of the LiPo Battery V batterycurrent Current being supplied by the battery mA loadcurrent Current being supplied to the Raspberry Pi or other Computer mA solarpanelvoltage Voltage of the Solar Panel V solarpanelcurrent Current being supplied by the ...

Page 35: ... of the USB Power to the Pi when SolarMAX2 has determined that it is time to turn on the USB Power Doesn t occur on power on to the SolarMAX2 computer but only after the Hysteresis function has determined that it is time to turn on the USB Power Ten Minute Timer Used to prevent a quick turn off and turn on on a well discharged battery If SolarMAX2 turns the USB Power off to the Pi then this timer ...

Page 36: ...oPlus board Now it is enabled If your SolarMAX2 MiniProPlus hangs then it will be rebooted by the WatchDog Timer after 60 seconds Makes your system much more reliable Here s an article about watchdog timers https www switchdoc com 2017 08 reliable projects 1 watchdog timers raspberry pi arduinos Installing Your SolarMAX2 Syste m Plug your solar panel into the appropriate MC4 plugs on the outside o...

Page 37: ...le If you need a USB Micro or USB C cable you will need to get the appropriate converters to go from USB Type A to your device SkyWeather comes with a Type A USB input so you just need a Male to Male Type A USB extender cord Enjoy getting all this data about your solar system Page 35 Version 1 1 September 2021 ...

Page 38: ... radio to gather and transmit data to a Raspberry Pi or Arduino Connecting up a radio to the Raspberry Pi Understand how your Solar Panel system is behaving by looking at the4 data Understand your solar environment and what affects it Learn about the new technology called the Internet of Things Suppor t As with all SwitchDoc Labs products technical support is given through the forums on Forum swit...

Page 39: ...ed to product quality such as operating without following the operating manual and cautions natural disasters or force majeure SwitchDoc Labs LLC has compiled and published this manual which covers the latest product description and specification The contents of this manual are subject to change without notice Page 37 Version 1 1 September 2021 ...

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