Got a request for info, so I figured I'd bring this over here.
I use a bunch of victron bits in my RV now and have added a raspberry pi running the victron venus image and I have a second pi that rocks a 4g card to provide internets.
First up, the Internet Pi:
This is a Pi 3+ that has a sixfab 4g hat installed. I've now got it wired to my 24/12->5v converter that powers both raspberry pi's.
The image is simply Raspbian, and I used the setup instructions on the sixfab site to get it going.
I can't lie, this was annoying - the OSS bits were EASY. The hard part? Getting it activated with a carrier who's name rhymes with IGottaPee. In the end, Calling them was fruitless. I had to activate the sim card with a spare smart phone, then I swapped it over to the pi. It worked perfectly.
For extra modding points, the hat is now wired into the 4g antenna's inside my Furrion rooftop TV/LTE antenna. This required a couple of SMA to u.fl connectors that are east to find on Amazon. The Pi is configured to act as an access point, providing both NAT and wireless AP with DHCP using the onboard wifi chipset.
The Victron Pi:
This was an experiment, and I love it. It's another 3+ that's installed in my battery/electrical bay and runs the victron released venus firmware. I've added a USB GPS receiver as well as three victron usb interfaces: a mk3 and a pair of ve.direct interfaces. One of the directs is cut and extended up to the head end of my BMV712, the second goes into my 150/45 smartsolar controller. The mk3 connects to my multiplus 3k inverter. Between these three, I get a solid picture of all my power generation and usage. The Best part is when I'm in storage, I still get data from those boxes. I can keep an eye on the SoC, power usage (I'm currently maintaining my dometic cooler/freezer with some spare pizza inside) and solar collection stats.
Questions? ask away.
I use a bunch of victron bits in my RV now and have added a raspberry pi running the victron venus image and I have a second pi that rocks a 4g card to provide internets.
First up, the Internet Pi:
This is a Pi 3+ that has a sixfab 4g hat installed. I've now got it wired to my 24/12->5v converter that powers both raspberry pi's.
The image is simply Raspbian, and I used the setup instructions on the sixfab site to get it going.
I can't lie, this was annoying - the OSS bits were EASY. The hard part? Getting it activated with a carrier who's name rhymes with IGottaPee. In the end, Calling them was fruitless. I had to activate the sim card with a spare smart phone, then I swapped it over to the pi. It worked perfectly.
For extra modding points, the hat is now wired into the 4g antenna's inside my Furrion rooftop TV/LTE antenna. This required a couple of SMA to u.fl connectors that are east to find on Amazon. The Pi is configured to act as an access point, providing both NAT and wireless AP with DHCP using the onboard wifi chipset.
The Victron Pi:
This was an experiment, and I love it. It's another 3+ that's installed in my battery/electrical bay and runs the victron released venus firmware. I've added a USB GPS receiver as well as three victron usb interfaces: a mk3 and a pair of ve.direct interfaces. One of the directs is cut and extended up to the head end of my BMV712, the second goes into my 150/45 smartsolar controller. The mk3 connects to my multiplus 3k inverter. Between these three, I get a solid picture of all my power generation and usage. The Best part is when I'm in storage, I still get data from those boxes. I can keep an eye on the SoC, power usage (I'm currently maintaining my dometic cooler/freezer with some spare pizza inside) and solar collection stats.
Questions? ask away.