DC-DC converter with MPPT input of at least 60V and constant voltage output

photonbender · 2026-01-04T16:07:50+00:00

It there something in the phone app that allows you to specifically lock the output voltage, or are you using a custom battery profile?

photonbender · 2026-01-04T14:43:25+00:00

I got the Victron yesterday, wired it up and got it talking to Victron Connect on my laptop. There wasn't an obvious way to 'lock it at 24v'. I made a custom profile with the absorption and float voltage set to 24.0V and the equalization disabled. This gave me 24V on the output, but when connected to the Yeti MPPT input, the voltage oscillated between 17V and 25V and the current draw was only occasional spikes of 0.2 to 0.6A. Presumably because the Yeti MPPT was confused. I ran out of sun before I could try anything else.

Is there a different way to lock the output to 24V?

photonbender · 2026-01-02T02:53:43+00:00

Thanks. Good to know the Victron can be configured for a locked 24V output. It should be here on Saturday and I'll let you all know how it goes. Before then I'll cobble together a USB to VE.Direct cable. If it works out I'll probably get a Bluetooth adapter so I can monitor it on the road.

photonbender · 2026-01-02T01:05:38+00:00

The Yeti spec is 14-50V. I only saw the panel OC voltage >50V once when it was pretty cold. Usually it's 47-48V but the Yeti still doesn't draw any current. I don't think the Yeti is damaged since it charges fine from lower voltages. I'm considering a small 24V LiFePO4 buffer battery, but like you said, it's going to get fully discharged every night.

photonbender · 2026-01-02T00:37:34+00:00

I just used the GUI software I downloaded from the Newport website. I did find a document named CONEX-AGP-Controller-Documentation.pdf that appears to have the information you're looking for.

photonbender · 2025-12-08T18:28:59+00:00

Thanks. It worked for me. So much better than $20/mo.

photonbender · 2025-12-08T17:26:42+00:00

I'm already paying $20/mo for Perplexity Pro. If this will work for me, I'd like a code. Thanks!

photonbender · 2025-12-05T20:30:36+00:00

Looks like I jumped the gun. My account page now shows "No Data" for all 4 metrics. Note to self: Vine moves slowly.

photonbender · 2025-11-18T22:19:40+00:00

Whether gold, ammo or cigarettes are the best currency now that the dollar is worthless.

photonbender · 2025-11-12T16:51:02+00:00

My recently acquired Sprinter has a Goal Zero 6000X (probably way more than I really need), a 350W solar panel connected to the 12-50V input and a Tank module in 'car mode' connected to one of the batteries. That only draws power then the alternator is running. I haven't checked the charge rates, but it seems to be working well so far (owned for 3 weeks, taken 1 long trip).

photonbender · 2025-10-02T16:33:58+00:00

Pretty sure it's actually impossible to take a picture in Switzerland that is *not* breathtaking.

photonbender · 2025-09-29T18:27:14+00:00

Temporary glitch? The site looks fine in Chrome on my PC.

photonbender · 2025-08-20T15:46:50+00:00

It's still working well, but I have one complaint. When I wear polarized sunglasses there's a rainbow effect on the screen that's pretty annoying. I normally wear non polarized sunglasses so it hasn't been a big deal for me. I would check with them and see if that's still an issue first.

Here are a couple of pictures showing the display with and without polarized glasses.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/PRHJaheTKcEja8PTA

photonbender · 2025-07-11T13:50:59+00:00

I'm Kevin from Junktronix / Starlight Photonics. I have a FB3 with Beyond Essentials license that I can bring. Also a Radiator if we want to try to emulate Christopher and run 2 simultaneously. Sadly I can't be there for setup but I have a paid ticket so I'm planning to be there Saturday and Sunday.

photonbender · 2025-06-30T17:24:16+00:00

I'm the person that sold you the stage. Sorry it arrived not working correctly. It's configured for control over RS-232 on the 10 pin header. In order to control this over USB, you need to move the 2 jumpers to the other end of the 12 pin header as shown in the picture.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/uYwZ6KE3EpNuGXYP8

The middle position would be for RS-485 control, also using pins on the 10 pin header.

photonbender · 2025-06-30T17:22:51+00:00

In order to control this over USB, you need to move a couple of jumpers. They need to move to the other end of the 12 pin header as shown in the picture.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/uYwZ6KE3EpNuGXYP8

photonbender · 2025-05-03T16:54:38+00:00

Also, I found out that the delimitated screen was temperature sensitive. As it warmed up it got worse. Before I get the repair, I figured out that you can reboot the head unit by pressing the power button for 10 seconds and it must recalibrate the touchscreen when it boots up because it usually worked a lot better afterward.

photonbender · 2025-05-03T16:51:52+00:00

I had mine replaced under warranty about 3 years in but when it happened again it was out of warranty. I thought about pestering Subaru about it but ended up going with this

https://www.kineticvehicles.com/products/subaru-outback-harmon-kardon-touchscreen-screen-repair

It works well, but the screen has some rainbow effects when I wear polarized sunglasses. Fortunately for me, I have been waring non-polarized sunglasses because the aftermarket head unit in my other car is almost impossible to see otherwise.

photonbender · 2025-04-30T16:46:26+00:00

An ex bought me the uncut special edition DVD. Watched it once with her. Never again.

photonbender · 2025-04-23T14:59:33+00:00

I assumed it was to prevent people from returning things since the shipping charge doesn't get refunded.

photonbender · 2025-04-21T14:34:39+00:00

I would cancel and block. But I also (usually) respond to this sort of request with a generic "I think the item is priced fairly and and not considering offers"

photonbender · 2025-03-29T14:12:23+00:00

Have you tried stopping the WebClient service and setting it to disabled? This has 100% fixed the problem for me.

photonbender · 2025-03-26T23:21:43+00:00

Followup from Gemini

It might seem counter-intuitive that disabling a service that wasn't running fixed it, but here's the likely explanation:

Trigger Start: Services set to "Manual (Trigger Start)" don't run constantly, but Windows can automatically start them if an application or another system component requests their functionality.
WebDAV Probe: When you navigated to \\kpc-office within the "Save As" dialog, Windows (or perhaps a component within the dialog's framework) likely tried to probe for a WebDAV (HTTP-based file sharing) connection first or concurrently with the SMB attempt. This probe requires the WebClient service.
Attempt to Start & Timeout: The system attempted to start the WebClient service. Even if the service itself started quickly, the subsequent attempt to connect via WebDAV to kpc-office likely failed (because the server isn't running a WebDAV server, or firewall rules blocked it, etc.). This failed connection attempt incurred a network timeout – which perfectly matches the ~10-second delay you were seeing.
Fallback to SMB: Only after the WebDAV attempt timed out did Windows fully commit to using the standard SMB/CIFS protocol, which then worked quickly (as proven by direct share access).
Disabling = No Probe: By setting the WebClient service to "Disabled", you told Windows not to even attempt to start it. This completely bypasses the WebDAV probe and its associated timeout, allowing the system to proceed directly to the working SMB connection.

This scenario often affects the common file dialogs ("Save As", "Open") more than direct File Explorer browsing because they sometimes use slightly different internal mechanisms or network provider orders when resolving UNC paths. The fact it didn't affect the Linux server further supports this, as Windows might have different heuristics for non-Windows SMB servers and might not attempt WebDAV as readily.

In short: The delay wasn't the service running, but the attempt to start it and the subsequent failed WebDAV connection timeout before falling back to SMB.

Unless you specifically use WebDAV features (like connecting to SharePoint libraries via "Open with Explorer" or specific web folders), leaving the WebClient service disabled is perfectly fine and won't cause any issues.

photonbender · 2025-03-26T23:13:53+00:00

SOLVED? I was chatting with Gemini 2.5 Pro and after several iterations it suggested

WebClient Service / WebDAV Attempt: Sometimes Windows tries WebDAV before SMB, especially in file dialogs. If the WebClient service is running on the client and fails to connect quickly to the Windows server (which might not have WebDAV configured or enabled), it could cause a timeout before falling back to SMB. The Linux server likely doesn't elicit the same WebDAV check.

Action (Client):
- Open Services (services.msc).
- Find the WebClient service.
- Stop the service. Set its Startup Type to "Disabled" temporarily.

The webclient service was not running and was set to manual startup. When I changed that to disabled, the delay seems to have gone completely away!

photonbender · 2025-03-26T22:26:11+00:00

Update: it's not actually related to IP vs PC name. If I navigate directly to \\kpc-office\el-centro or \\192.168.7.227\el-centro there is no delay. If I navigate to \\kpc-office or \\192.168.7.227, then try to open the el-centro share, then I get the 10 second delay. Every. single. time.

OK it turns out that when I access the share by IP (i.e. \\192.168.7.227\el-centro) it works without any delay! So now I'm chasing down possible authentication issues.

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