Finally! I am happy to announce the new firmware release for the Color Control. It was completed last week. There is more good news – the photo above shows the long-awaited batch of 200 pieces. Also, the back-orders (of more than 100!) were shipped last Friday, which still leaves stock to fulfill new orders.
Changes
The most important change is a bug fix: the connection between a BMV and the Color Control GX (CCGX) would get lost after a random time. The only way to restore the connection was to power cycle the BMV itself. This is now fixed.
The next one is support for the VE.Bus BMS: a CCGX can now be combined with a VE.Bus BMS. When you are planning such an installation, please take good note of the requirements and instructions. They are in the FAQ in the CCGX Datasheet.
Some other interesting improvements are:
– Added support for USB-GPS. After connecting a USB-GPS to the CCGX, you have to wait a little while, which can take up to one minute. After that the CCGX will automatically recognize the GPS. The GPS data will be forwarded to the VRM Portal, where it is used to update the location on the map. In the coming months we will add more tracking features to the portal. Besides sending the location to the portal, this is also shown in the setup menu.
GPS units tested for compatibility:
Globalsat BU353-W SiRF STAR III 4800 baud
Globalsat ND100 SiRF STAR III 38400 baud
Globalsat BU353S4 SiRF STAR IV 4800 baud
Globalsat MR350 + BR305US SiRF STAR III 4800 baud
– Added support for the AC Current sensor. The AC Current sensor is a simple external current sensor used to measure AC Current, Power (VA) and calculate the energy of a PV inverter connected to the AC input, or output, of a Multi or Quattro. These values will be shown on the CCGX, and forwarded to the VRM Portal. The two measurement wires can be connected to the AUX and/or temperature sense input of a Multi or Quattro. For more information, see the AC Current sensor manual.
– Added support for the Lynx Ion, the BMS of the 24V / 180Ah LiFEPO4 batteries
There is more and the full change log can be read here: Color Control – firmware changelog.
How to update
The easiest way to update is by connecting the CCGX to a LAN that has internet access. Manually updating is also possible: Color Control – how to update firmware with USB-stick or SD-card.
Future
Below will give you some insight into our intended direction with future releases, over the coming months:
– Tank monitor (NMEA2000)
– Improve the overview page
– Remote VEConfigure: upload and download VEConfigure settings remotely
– Modbus-tcp, so customers that use PLCs can far more easily read data from Victron products
– Wireless AC power sensors
– Support the VGR2, and later also lower cost GPRS modems, as the internet connection
– USB-Wifi sticks
– Integrate with Oceanvolt electric drives
And finally we want to make as much as possible of the project open source and put it on GitHub.
