The kloppk WiFi Module Thread 802A/803A

[Conatus]

I've recently purchased the MEP 803A WiFi Board off ebay and will be playing with it soon so i wanted to start a thread to discuss the installation, use and hacking of the unit

EDIT: ebay link removed

I'd like to start off by saying i'm very impressed with the overall build of the unit, packaging and product manual. very professional.
A few things i'm wondering:
Will it auto start based on battery voltage or time to keep the gen-set fresh?
Can i connect it to my network so i can remote access the unit.

What is to come in this thread:
Full product install and review.
How the item functions in my install.
How i attempt to connect it to my network.
Arduino or Raspberry PI controller build to monitor a battery array and auto start to charge.

 

[kloppk]

...Will it auto start based on battery voltage or time to keep the gen-set fresh?..

The firmware, as designed, does not automatically start the generator for the purpose of charging he generators batteries when they eventually start to drop in voltage.

The battery voltage can be monitored via WiFi when the generator is off to determine when the batteries might need topping off.
Probably much more efficient to use a battery charger instead of running an 802 or 803 just for charging it's batteries.

 

[Conatus]

@Kloppk is there a way to have it connect to my router instead of connecting to it and having it serve dhcp? Even disabling the dhcp server would solve one problem. Having it connected to my lan is important to me as i want to be able to monitor and control it from my phone and pc while on the lan and and across the internet.

 

[Hard Head]

I just hard wire in a pulsetec dual charger and keep it hooked up all the time. It works better than just solar as it will top off the batteries if needed and does constant conditioning 24 hrs a day unlike solar. I just mount it in the accessory box.

 

[Conatus]

@Hard Head the idea of a battery tender is great if you have another source of power on site. My Mep is my sole source of power.

@kloppk I finally installed my kit. The manual was well written and easy to follow. I'd like to acknowledge the many many hours you must have put into developing this kit. The only issue i had was on S1-5, my switch is different than the one pictured in the manual (pictures will be posted later). there were already two wires going into the terminal and no matter what i did i couldn't get the 3rd to go in and tighten up. Ultimatly i combined two of the wires into one and got them in. This issue may have been me not seeing how the clamping worked but i felt like i tried everything before cutting.
Now all of these ideas and comments are based on what i want to do with the unit and don't hinder the functionality of the unit as it is described at all. Also i am writing this after reading the manual and installing the unit, not after playing with the interface.
DHCP- It would make it so much easier if i could disable DHCP (i'm assuming it serves dhcp)
Client Mode- It would be nice if the wifi could connect to my router in client mode, i can work around this easily if i can disable dhcp.
IP address- The ability to change the Ip address would help with lan integration.
Security:
Custom credentials- as the wifi credentials are printed on the board it would be nice to be able to change them and reset to default if forgotten.
Web login- as configured i can see why this is omitted but if connected to a lan or wan a login for the webpage would be a must.

 

[kloppk]

The manual was well written and easy to follow. I'd like to acknowledge the many many hours you must have put into developing this kit.

Thank you!
It certainly was a lot of work both hardware wise and the firmware development of the 4,800 lines of code that run it.
The Beta testers from S.S. who's feedback and feature suggestions help shape the final product.

The only issue i had was on S1-5, my switch is different than the one pictured in the manual (pictures will be posted later). there were already two wires going into the terminal and no matter what i did i couldn't get the 3rd to go in and tighten up. Ultimatly i combined two of the wires into one and got them in. This issue may have been me not seeing how the clamping worked but i felt like i tried everything before cutting.

Unfortunately there were at least 3 variants of the S1 switch used in the 802/803's over the years. The fact that different switch's and gauges were uses over the years is mentioned in the manual and that the pictures in the manual may not reflect the switch's and gauges in ones unit.

Client Mode- It would be nice if the wifi could connect to my router in client mode, i can work around this easily if i can disable dhcp.
IP address- The ability to change the Ip address would help with lan integration.

DCHP and the IP adddress are hard coded into the firmware and can't be changed by the user.
The firmware was designed so that it will work in a worse case scenario when there is router or internet available and provides direct WiFi connectivity to a cell phone or laptop.

Custom credentials- as the wifi credentials are printed on the board it would be nice to be able to change them and reset to default if forgotten.

Edit: The full credentials are on the sticker on the PCB. If forgotten the credentials are in the printed users manual included with the kit.
If the manual is lost one can always download a copy of the manual from the classifieds listing and save it as a PDF on your computer to have as a backup copy.
Of course one could also e-mail me for it too.

If someone needs a custom firmware configuration I can certainly customize a unit prior to shipment.

 

[Conatus]

I was wondering if the two wire start wires reference ground or 24v positive directly so that i could use 1 or both of them to monitor the battery voltage? I also have a battery for my networking equipment and want to use a raspberry pi to monitor the voltage and automatically start the generator. so why not have it monitor the generator batteries as well.

 

[kloppk]

I was wondering if the two wire start wires reference ground or 24v positive directly so that i could use 1 or both of them to monitor the battery voltage? I also have a battery for my networking equipment and want to use a raspberry pi to monitor the voltage and automatically start the generator. so why not have it monitor the generator batteries as well.

One of the two wires is tied to +24 volts thru a 3.3K 1/2W resistor. So yes, one could monitor the sets battery voltage by measuring the voltage on that wire to determine the sets battery voltage to trigger a restart if the sets batteries voltage gets low. The second wire is connected to a 430 ohm resistor to ground.

 

[Light in the Dark]

I just hard wire in a pulsetec dual charger and keep it hooked up all the time. It works better than just solar as it will top off the batteries if needed and does constant conditioning 24 hrs a day unlike solar. I just mount it in the accessory box.
View attachment 777955View attachment 777956View attachment 777957View attachment 777958

I like the position you chose for the power entry.

 

[M1028A1ShelterCarrier]

I got my kit installed this last weekend. The only issue I had was a couple gauges that were not labeled. Luckily the very complete manual included the wire numbers to match up to. I hooked it up via two wire to an Outback Radian that provides all of our power off grid. Now on snow days, the generator will receive the start signal and charge everything up.

 

[Conatus]

@Kloppk I've moved away from the wifi start and moved to the 2 wire start in conjunction with an arduino connected to a pi to monitor the voltage in my batteries and start the generator when needed. One thing that is not clear to me is how to ensure the aux fuel is on when in 2 wire start. the manual says aux fuel can remain on so long as fuel is available. does this mean if i enable aux fuel via the web gui, that any time the generator starts either via wifi or 2 wire that the aux fuel will automatically be on?

 

[kloppk]

No. In the current firmware build the controller defaults to the Aux Fuel pump to be OFF at each start regardless if it is started via WiFi or 2-Wire.
To enable the Aux Fuel pump the gui must be used to enable the Aux Fuel pump after each start.
This is to prevent the Aux Fuel pump from accidentally being enabled with no fuel source being supplied and possibly damaging the Aux Fuel pump.

If having the option of the Aux Fuel pump being automatically enabled at each WiFi or 2-Wire start I could re-program your controller to provide an option in the SETTINGS menu to set the default state of the Aux Fuel pump at start up.

PM me directly if this is something you'd like to pursue.