I swapped from Chinese inverters/mppt six month ago for a victron system (had enough of those unefficient, noisy, unreliable chinese inverters), i now have one MPII 3kVA, one MPII 5kVA and an RS450/100 and i go to say i've still not bought a BMV 712, not about the price but the Junctek display is far better and the system is pretty good to evaluate the remaining capacity. I'm trying to implement an interface between Junctek shunt and the cerbo.
JuncTek Battery Monitor vs Victron SmartShunt
- Thread starter Horsefly
- Start date
Sverige
A Brit in Sweden
@Rickey , I have some questions, I hope you can help answer them:
1) what is the reason the 4 core cable between the shunt and main unit cannot be extended longer than the supplied 175mm cable length? This is really inconvenient in a real world installation environment where in many cases a location suitable for the main unit directly next to the shunt may not be available due to other pre-existing cabling and devices being in the same area.
2) Is the Bluetooth access point on KH160F within the main unit or the display unit?
3) Can more than one display be connected to a single main unit?
scubadoo
New Member
Deleted. Questions not directed at me.
Sverige
A Brit in Sweden
You or anyone else are welcome to answer. I directed my comment to Rickey as I was quoting his post and I think it’s an open secret he’s the developer of the product, but has hasn’t posted on this forum in a long time and I’m not precious about where I get my help from ?
scubadoo
New Member
scubadoo
New Member
2. The Bluetooth module is located in the main module mounted near the shunt unit. It all still performs fine without the display via the app.
3. Untested but I had no success with the previous Juntek wireless model.
We use an old phone permanently mounted up front in our motorhome to display the Junctek data simultaneously, Victron gear data, navigation etc.
3. Untested but I had no success with the previous Juntek wireless model.
We use an old phone permanently mounted up front in our motorhome to display the Junctek data simultaneously, Victron gear data, navigation etc.
Sverige
A Brit in Sweden
scubadoo
New Member
Unfortunately no WiFi involved but I have followed a few clever users of the previous KGxxx models who have persevered with output protocol details and achieved some amazing results.
e.g.
diysolarforum.com
forum.arduino.cc
and a few YouTube detailed videos also exist.
Not above my knowledge level but it appears to be a lot of work for not much gain.
A happy new year to you too.
Almost lunch time on new years day here.
e.g.
RS-485 Porn on Junteks Monitors
Has anyone messed with the Junteks (Junctek, Juntek, etc.) battery monitors? They're quite popular and on Amazon too under different names. Apparently the bluetooth module has an RS-485 port and the manual states that you can "connect it to your computer" but no other information on software or...
diysolarforum.com
JuncTek KG-F Batterymonitor Library
Dear all, I have just finished the first version of an Arduino library to interact with the JuncTek KG-F family of battery monitors (see here for example KG-F Battery Coulometer 120V Coulomb Meter Tester Wireless Bluetooth APP Control | eBay). I use them on my boat and wanted to be able to...
forum.arduino.cc
Not above my knowledge level but it appears to be a lot of work for not much gain.
A happy new year to you too.
Almost lunch time on new years day here.
Sverige
A Brit in Sweden
Thanks @scubadoo, good to see people are figuring out the comms and sharing info openly. It’s a bit beyond me honestly, but maybe someone one day will make a really simple how-to guide on getting a Junctek networked.
It would be cool if Junctek could in the future release a wifi module which plugs straight into the RS485 on the main unit and would allow the monitoring app to be used when you’re away from home, or simply out of range of the bluetooth connection, like on the other side of the house from the battery. I’m sure that would be a popular upgrade for existing users and they would sell well.
It would be cool if Junctek could in the future release a wifi module which plugs straight into the RS485 on the main unit and would allow the monitoring app to be used when you’re away from home, or simply out of range of the bluetooth connection, like on the other side of the house from the battery. I’m sure that would be a popular upgrade for existing users and they would sell well.
Texas-Mark
Solar Addict
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FWIW, I use a cheap prepaid cell phone (without a SIM card) to monitor all of my BT solar stuff. Then I remote into that phone via wifi with my PC or working cell phone. Not the most elegant solution, but it works fine. I also have a couple of Blink cameras I use to see the displays on equipment too.
I can't speak for the Victron, but I have a couple of the Junctek units (including the most recent version) and find the "accuracy" more than adequate. Then again, I rarely go more than a few days without fully charging my batteries.
scubadoo
New Member
The Junctek battery monitor is easily A & V calibrated via their app in 1% steps.
After slight tweaking both my Junctek and Victron SmartShunt agree within 0.01V, 0.02A and 1 or occasionally 2% SOC across the entire usual battery levels.
After slight tweaking both my Junctek and Victron SmartShunt agree within 0.01V, 0.02A and 1 or occasionally 2% SOC across the entire usual battery levels.
Last edited:
Presume it's an android phone. What PC <----> Android App/software do you use?
Texas-Mark
Solar Addict
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- Aug 4, 2021
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Yes. I use a combination of Screen Copy and Any Viewer. I believe Airdroid will work too.
Sverige
A Brit in Sweden
Does anyone else have trouble with the mobile app disconnecting and not reconnecting via Bluetooth unless you quit the app and reload it? This is on iOS 16.7 but possibly the same on other platforms too?
Has anyone found a solution or workaround to this, or is it a case of quit and reload app every single time you want to use it?
Has anyone found a solution or workaround to this, or is it a case of quit and reload app every single time you want to use it?
Texas-Mark
Solar Addict
- Joined
- Aug 4, 2021
- Messages
- 1,284
With the Android app, I find that it does not stay connected for a long time (I am using a non-active cell phone for monitoring all of my BT solar devices). I had also found that sometimes, even clicking the "search" button to reconnect does not work and it requires rebooting the Juntek device (I think the device thinks it's still connected when it's not). However, I found that if I just close the app every time I am done looking at it, it always reconnects fine the next time I open the app. I do have the iOS app to, but I rarely use it and always close the app anyway when I'm done.
The Bluetooth device of KH160F is located in the host computer, and one host computer can connect up to 2 monitors.
It is expected that a coulomb counter with wifi function will be launched by May 2021
Sverige
A Brit in Sweden
How can a user buy a second monitor display for KH series? I looked at all listings on AliExpress “Junctek factory store” but didn’t find any listing which was display only?
Sverige
A Brit in Sweden
I guess you mean May 2024? I hope you offer it for sale as host computer unit only, so users who already bought a battery monitor and have a shunt and display unit can upgrade their system just by buying the new wifi main unit.
Sverige
A Brit in Sweden
I’m still curious about how a second display may be added to the KH160F. I see on the main unit “RS-485 display“ and “RS-485 link” connectors. Is it enough to just buy a second display and connect to “RS-485 link” on the main unit, or is some setup required?
@Rickey can you please confirm connections, setup and how to buy second display?
@Rickey can you please confirm connections, setup and how to buy second display?
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