What does a Raspberry Pi + Venus OS do that I can't do with CerboGX?

[corn18]

I have a full Victron system on my RV with a Cerbo GX and display. I got a Raspberry Pi to play with and installed the Venus OS to check it out. Works great, but I have not hooked it into my Victron setup. Just wondering if there is something that the RPi + VenusOS can do that my CerbGX cannot.

Thanks, Corn

 

[rmaddy]

The only benefit of a RPi + VenusOS over a Victron GX is that it doesn't empty your wallet nearly as much. The GX has the benefit of supporting far more types of connections. The RPi only supports USB connections.

Both devices run the exact same VenusOS. Both can be customized the same. Anyone with a GX will not find any benefit with a RPi other than it being cheaper to tinker with.

 

[sunshine_eggo]

So you would need VE.Direct to USB interface for every MPPT/BMV and what about devices (inverters) with VE.bus or VE.can only?

 

[rmaddy]

So you would need VE.Direct to USB interface for every MPPT/BMV and what about devices (inverters) with VE.bus or VE.can only?

VE.Bus devices (like a MultiPlus) need the MK3-USB adapter.

VE.Can-only devices require some additional stuff. Searching on the Victron community site revealed the following:

VE.Can or?? How do you connect your Lynx Shunt to Venus Pi? - Victron Community

community.victronenergy.com

There are other threads related to VE.Can and the Raspberry Pi on that site.

 

[sunshine_eggo]

Thanks... Not sure how I spaced on the MK3-USB... dumb... I haz one... ?

 

[corn18]

Well, it was a cool experiment. What other cool things can I do with a Raspberry Pi?

 

[upnorthandpersonal]

What other cool things can I do with a Raspberry Pi?

- Grafana data logging and visualization
- Control unit for things that need to run periodically
- Camera unit for monitoring system remotely with a couple of cheap webcams
- Automation of stuff around the system based on generation and usage (power diversion when battery is full, etc.)
etc. etc.

 

[Justeric]

I have a full Victron system on my RV with a Cerbo GX and display. I got a Raspberry Pi to play with and installed the Venus OS to check it out. Works great, but I have not hooked it into my Victron setup. Just wondering if there is something that the RPi + VenusOS can do that my CerbGX cannot.

Thanks,

I have a full Victron system on my RV with a Cerbo GX and display. I got a Raspberry Pi to play with and installed the Venus OS to check it out. Works great, but I have not hooked it into my Victron setup. Just wondering if there is something that the RPi + VenusOS can do that my CerbGX cannot.

Thanks, Corn

Hi are you using the raspberry pi 4 rev 1.4. Am having trouble setting it up I wouldn't mind some assistance

 

[corn18]

I read somewhere that Venus OS needs to run on a Pi3. Not sure what the issue is with the Pi4.

 

[rmaddy]

I read somewhere that Venus OS needs to run on a Pi3. Not sure what the issue is with the Pi4.

When I setup a RPi last year you pretty much needed a 3B+. Only a few specific versions of the 4 would work. It seems there is a version of Venus OS that works with the 4.

Read through:

Venus OS on Raspberry PI 4 - Victron Community

community.victronenergy.com

 

[Refinished]

I read somewhere that Venus OS needs to run on a Pi3. Not sure what the issue is with the Pi4.

The wiki suggests that it can run on early revision rpi4s, but I was not able to get it to boot on a rpi4 revision listed as working. On an older rpi3, it booted right up. Good luck getting a pi of any generation/revision right now! They seem to be sold out everywhere. The pi touchscreens and buck converters needed to tie the system together are all still available.

https://github.com/victronenergy/venus/wiki/raspberrypi-install-venus-image

Added comment: Setting up VenusOS to work with Victron devices and the on-line VRM service could not have been easier. After getting the OS on the pi, it is as plug-and-play as it could possibly be and it seems very stable and reliable so far.

 

[Justeric]

When I setup a RPi last year you pretty much needed a 3B+. Only a few specific versions of the 4 would work. It seems there is a version of Venus OS that works with the 4.

Read through:

Venus OS on Raspberry PI 4 - Victron Community

community.victronenergy.com

Rev 1.4 is the latest and also troublesome. I have gone through all the links attached here but still

 

[rmaddy]

Rev 1.4 is the latest and also troublesome. I have gone through all the links attached here but still

The Victron Community thread I linked references version 2.7ish.

 

[Justeric]

Hi am stuck here

 

[Sky Noris]

I've got it working on the Pie 4 B with 2 gig of ram. I did this with a custom image file. I can send anyone interested a link. Once booted it's possible to set everything up via Bluetooth or alternatively plug it into an eithernet port on your router and type the ip address the router assigned into your webrowser.

 

[squowse]

With the Venus OS on a raspberry PI - can it be programmed to control the devices with logic?

For example to switch relays on and off based on battery state of charge?

Is this within the cerbo style interface, or can it be done using separate modules?

Thanks

 

[rmaddy]

With the Venus OS on a raspberry PI - can it be programmed to control the devices with logic?

For example to switch relays on and off based on battery state of charge?

Is this within the cerbo style interface, or can it be done using separate modules?

Thanks

Venus OS (GX or RPi) does not have built-in support for relays controlled by SOC. If you do some searching on the Victron community forum you may find some mention of others wanting this and possibly some links about it being possible with a bit of coding.

The BMV-712 has a relay controllable by SOC. And I believe a MultiPlus can be setup to control a relay by SOC using a "programmable relay" assistant.

 

[Refinished]

With the Venus OS on a raspberry PI - can it be programmed to control the devices with logic?

For example to switch relays on and off based on battery state of charge?

Is this within the cerbo style interface, or can it be done using separate modules?

Thanks

Look into VenusOS + Node RED, which is available as an already integrated image.

Example Flows

Contribute to victronenergy/node-red-contrib-victron development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com

 

[squowse]

Look into VenusOS + Node RED, which is available as an already integrated image.

Example Flows

Contribute to victronenergy/node-red-contrib-victron development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com

Thanks, yes I saw that. I will look into it.

 

[Justeric]

I've got it working on the Pie 4 B with 2 gig of ram. I did this with a custom image file. I can send anyone interested a link. Once booted it's possible to set everything up via Bluetooth or alternatively plug it into an eithernet port on your router and type the ip address the router assigned into your webrowser.

Please do