Solar Dashboard Project

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yoemy
Posts: 6
Joined: Thu Jan 09, 2020 5:51 pm

New User, Graphs, and SD Card

Post by yoemy »

Hi, we just received out kit, prebuilt, and plugged it in, adding a Kingston 16GB Micro SD.

After running about three hours there is no log yet written and no graphed info, just the java cicles with the live data. Clicking the log icon brings up a window that says "Error: Failed to load logs." Clicking open takes you to "http://192.168.88.32/sdcard/2020/01/09/logs.txt" in the browser with the response "not found."

Seems like all of this maybe means the SD card is not being read or written to? Or is there some length of time it has to be running before there is sufficient data to log and graph?

Or, what stupid thing have I done wrong? LOL.

Thanks for any insight. Love this project.
amente
Posts: 31
Joined: Sat Dec 14, 2019 3:32 pm

Re: Solar Dashboard Project

Post by amente »

@yoemy Glad to hear that you love the project.

The data should be logged to the SD card every minute after it is inserted. Is the SD card formatted with FAT32 file system? If not, you can format it on your computer. I can send instructions if needed.
yoemy
Posts: 6
Joined: Thu Jan 09, 2020 5:51 pm

Re: Solar Dashboard Project

Post by yoemy »

Ah. That might be it. I rarely use SD cards and hadn't thought about formatting. I'll give that a try. Thanks!
yoemy
Posts: 6
Joined: Thu Jan 09, 2020 5:51 pm

Re: Solar Dashboard Project

Post by yoemy »

As of this morning the device is still responding "Not Found" for the log files and SD card.

I removed the card, put it in a laptop. Removed all Kingston write restrictions. Confirmed FAT32 and that it could be written from Windows 10. Put the card back into the device and same issue. I removed it again and did a full FAT32 reformat, wiping everything on the SD card including Kingston's hidden formatting and security folders. Again confirmed it was writable from Windows 10. Put it back in the device overnight. This morning same issue so I removed the SD card and looked again. The device had written one file, "2020", but it showed a 0 byte length. The timestamp was January 1, 2020. I have also reset the device by pulling the serial/power connection several times with the SD card in as sometimes changes in formatting or partition of SD cards aren't seen unless the card is removed, or reinserted, or in extreme cases the device is reset.

No changes.

Any ideas as to what to check next?

Thanks for any help.

P.S. I suppose I should add after reading some of the comments about 24 volt systems, we are testing on one group of six 38VDC, 330 watt panels - two sets of three in series, paralleled - outputting up to about 2KW at 114VDC, and converting to a 48VDC output to the inverter and batteries.
amente
Posts: 31
Joined: Sat Dec 14, 2019 3:32 pm

Re: Solar Dashboard Project

Post by amente »

Sorry to hear that logs and data still not working.

Was the file “2020” that was written on the SD card a folder? The format of the files written is year/month/date folders. For eg. For today’s data:
2020/01/10/logs.txt for diagnostic logs and 2020/01/10/data.txt for data logging

Other than the “2020” are any of these files or folders visible on the computer?

Do you have a lower capacity SD card, 2GB or 4GB handy to try?

Is the module connected to a WiFi network with internet access or is it accessed via own access point network?
yoemy
Posts: 6
Joined: Thu Jan 09, 2020 5:51 pm

Re: Solar Dashboard Project

Post by yoemy »

Was the file “2020” that was written on the SD card a folder? The format of the files written is year/month/date folders. For eg. For today’s data:
2020/01/10/logs.txt for diagnostic logs and 2020/01/10/data.txt for data logging.

A: Yes, I was expecting a folder based on the path. But it was actually listed by Windows Explorer anyway as a file.

Other than the “2020” are any of these files or folders visible on the computer?

A: No.

Do you have a lower capacity SD card, 2GB or 4GB handy to try?

A: No, but I will send someone out to see if they can find one later today and try that.

Is the module connected to a WiFi network with internet access or is it accessed via own access point network?

A: It is connected to our primary WiFi network. The internal access point network is also visible, however. It can be accessed either through the internal AP WiFi at 192.168.4.1, or through it's DHCP assigned address, currently 192.168.88.31. No difference in results either way.
yoemy
Posts: 6
Joined: Thu Jan 09, 2020 5:51 pm

Re: Solar Dashboard Project

Post by yoemy »

I shrunk the partition size on the card down to 2GB. Reformatted with FAT32. Same issues. Even tried adding the folder and file manually to see if it would then write to it. No luck, and deleted that. It appears to not see that the card is in the slot. Running out of,options to try, so we'll try another SD card later I guess.
amente
Posts: 31
Joined: Sat Dec 14, 2019 3:32 pm

Re: Solar Dashboard Project

Post by amente »

Here is something to try in the mean time. If you remove the cover from the device there is a USB micro connector inside. Connect that to your computer and it will appear as a serial COM device. If you connect to it with a serial monitor and a baud rate of 115200, then it will print out some diagnostic output. That might help us understand the issue better.
yoemy
Posts: 6
Joined: Thu Jan 09, 2020 5:51 pm

Re: Solar Dashboard Project

Post by yoemy »

We swapped out the new SD card for an old 4GB version from someone's cellphone and it started working. Go figure. My apoligies that I did not have time to hunt for a cable and get you any diagnostic information that might have explained what the issue with the original SD card was. We're in the middle of a move and I can't find anything! LOL. Thanks for the prompt responses and assistance, we're good now.
amente
Posts: 31
Joined: Sat Dec 14, 2019 3:32 pm

Re: Solar Dashboard Project

Post by amente »

I am glad to hear that it is working now and that I could help.

No worries about the diagnostic information and I will look into reproducing the issue.
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