Morningstar Meterbus; Serial - Progress Solar/Wind SLT 700 Series Operator's Manual

5.2 Morningstar MeterBus

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Morningstar's proprietary MeterBus protocol allows communication between compatible
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Morningstar products. Use a MeterBus network to:
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• display net system data for multiple TriStar / TriStar MPPT 150V systems**
• communicate with a TriStar Digital Meter 2 or TriStar Remote Meter 2
• communicate with a Relay Driver or other compatible Morningstar accessories (see sec-
tion 2.5 for more details)
**A Morningstar MeterBus Hub (HUB-1) and either a TriStar Digital Meter 2 (TS-M-2) or TriStar Remote Meter 2 (TS-RM-2) are re-
quired, not included.
A MeterBus Hub (model: HUB-1) is required for MeterBus networks containing multiple
TriStar MPPT 150V controllers. The ports on the hub are electrically isolated to prevent damage in
the event of broken grounds or voltage differences between controllers. Figure 5-1 below shows an
example MeterBus network with two (2) TriStar MPPT 150V controllers and a TriStar Remote Meter
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2 (TS-RM2).
TriStar-MPPT
Controllers
MeterBus
Network Hub
Figure 5-1. An example MeterBus network.
Up to five (5) controllers can be networked together with a single hub. Multiple hubs can be daisy-
chained together to allow networks of up to 14 controllers and a meter.
Refer to the HUB-1 and TriStar Meter manuals for more information about Morningstar MeterBus
networking.
52 Networking and Communication
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Remote Meter
5.3 Serial RS-232
The serial port connection on the TriStar MPPT 150V is a standard 9-pin isolated RS-232 port. See
figure 3-5 for the port location.The TriStar MPPT 150V communicates through the serial port via the
open standard MODBUS
Connect the TriStar MPPT 150V to the serial port on a PC to:
• program custom charge settings with MSView
• view real-time data with MSView
• log real-time data with MSView
• configure ethernet settings
• update controller firmware with MSLoad
NOTE:
The RS-232 and EIA-485 ports share hardware. Both ports cannot be used
simultaneously.
NOTE:
If your PC does not have a serial port, a USB to Serial cable can be purchased
at your local electronics retailer.
The serial connection is ideal for configuring custom settings or monitoring a single
TriStar MPPT 150V controller. Figure 5-2 shows a serial connection between the controller and a PC
with MSView PC software.
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Figure 5-2. A serial connection between a PC and the TriStar MPPT 150V
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protocol.
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PC software
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PC software
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PC software
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firmware utility
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Serial Cable
TriStar MPPT Operator's Manual 53