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5 hours ago, Sid Genetry Solar said:Are you kidding me? 66 weeks?
i am sure it is too long especially after almost 3 years trying to get the gs 12k to final function stage....have to sell replacement parts in advance (a backup for the backup)
the Victron LF ul listed inverter has them running where they can combine more than one of their inverters for additional power but they also have break downs....
off-grid does not require UL listing to get the federal tax credit (ITC)....as long as the local electrical inspector does not give ya problems...
that one is the forever version.....interesting....except the long China shipping time on that??? 154 pounder
ASL 11.0 transformer on ebay by David and what a ripoff .
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On 11/30/2022 at 6:44 PM, pilgrimvalley said:the Victron LF ul listed inverter has them running where they can combine more than one of their inverters for additional power but they also have break downs....
Can you provide a link/info for this? Just out of curiosity.
On 11/30/2022 at 4:33 PM, AquaticsLive said:The issue that comes up quite often is that they work great at first then a year later they start degrading. One cheap armnet daughter board we had during the second winter they got cold they starting having issues it was funny sort of freeze up because of the cold. Not cool when you have to fly all over the USA and replace boards and reprogram them at least they were smart enough to use a modular setup so wasn't bad just sucked laying on the floor in a freezing warehouse replacing them all. If you have the time to QA boards for a year or two that is okay but that is way too slow.
Interestingly, the only definitely partially faulty chips I've experienced in all of my years tinkering with electronics were...wait for it.........American-made chips purchased from Mouser Electronics. (I'm not talking about counterfeits or outright dead parts here.)
One was a Microchip PIC18F4610: The 4x oscillator PLL doesn't work. (I also bought a PIC18F2610 at the same time--exact same product family, just a 28-pin version of the '4610. PLL worked fine in that one--so it wasn't my programming or understanding at fault.)
The other was a 4MB SPI FLASH chip (M25P32). It only worked if I physically pushed down on the chip on the PCB! I double and triple checked the soldering and wiring--but neither were at fault. I swapped the chip out for a different one, and the problem went away. Boy that was a frustrating experience thinking my wiring, soldering or even programming were at fault--but it was none of those. And yes, I purchased it from Mouser Electronics, an official certified supplier--not eBay or any of those places.
Oh, and let's not forget the Microchip MCU used in the GS boards right now: the internal temperature sensor is useless. Across a half-dozen silicon revisions, they have not fixed it. (I bet the internal temperature sensor in the Asian chip will work perfectly...)
The Armnet board thing--unless it was confirmed to be a chip issue--could also have been a PCB issue, especially if it was a multilayer board with the chip-in-question being a BGA.
Can you provide a link/info for this? Just out of curiosity.
the off grid garage in Australia shows them hooked together on his YouTube video, when more power is needed the next Victron inverter kicks into the system....to output more power... he charges his Tesla car and runs a pool pump etc....always testing and tinkering with BMS and LiFePO4 batteries.... he runs 48 volt equipment but does show some 12 volt....
they have 240 volt systems there in Australia.
Andy will reply via his YouTube channel and you could likely get his email address also....he is kind of like the Wil Prowse way of commercializing his channel with some advertising and affiliate income via the channel and website..."edutainment"
you could probably talk to Victron directly
I would have to find the YouTube videos.... I think his name is Andy on the off grid garage channel....
I do not own much Victron equipment just a battery protect...so my knowledge of Victron is sparse at best...but everyone always talks their Victron equipment up for the most part...
the off grid garage in Australia shows them hooked together on his YouTube video
I do not own much Victron equipment just a battery protect...so my knowledge of Victron is sparse at best...but everyone always talks their Victron equipment up for the most part...
I do not use any Victron equipment . Almost all RV in Arizona with solar use Victron for ease of installtion and safety .
that one is the forever version.....interesting....except the long China shipping time on that??? 154 pounder
ASL 11.0 by David on his other ebay site that is more reasonable at 1300 dollars .
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12 hours ago, Sid Genetry Solar said:The Armnet board thing--unless it was confirmed to be a chip issue
Yeah it was a chip issue. The chip was clone equivalent to the ATMEL ARM AT91RM9200. We swapped them with the real ATMEL brand ones same board and never had an issue with the real ones. It was a clone so one of those I told you not to try it situations between the engineering team and the purchasing department. lol I still have one of the fake ones it looks just like the real one always something fishy when the price is so much lower.
8 hours ago, AquaticsLive said:It was a clone so one of those I told you not to try it situations between the engineering team and the purchasing department. lol I still have one of the fake ones it looks just like the real one always something fishy when the price is so much lower.
exactly, my thoughts and experience with many Chinese clones....if it is too cheap , it is likely a fake of inferior quality,,...
so you will definitely have to be careful with Chinese copies....
we broke all kinds of cheap tools, so avoid the Chinese tools, better to pay more for better quality tools...
unfortunately there are tons of Chinese things being sold everywhere.....
I specifically look for quality USA made tools when I buy vintage tools...
exactly, my thoughts and experience with many Chinese clones....
There is a big difference between a "Chinese clone", purposely trying to copy a specific chip...versus an independent manufacturer making their own chip. Direct clones are where things fall apart and go haywire (remember the counterfeit FT232 problems? FTDI did blow that problem out of the water though!)
The MCUs I'm referring to are NOT clones of U.S. chips. They are not advertised as "compatible with" any other processor, nor are they compatible with any existing programming system or even device setup/programming.
The MCUs I'm referring to are NOT clones of U.S. chips.
I know that the company desgn the chip and find that China can make it cheaper for them . IT will cost more to make the same chip in the USA .
IT will cost more to make the same chip in the USA .
I am sure in the USA they probably are paying 20 to 30 dollars an hour for each employee plus supervisor bloat expenses. what brand of micro chip is it?
in China do they pay their workers 1 dollar an hour or what?
the PowerJack 20k LF PSW SP MODULAR AMG Inverter just sold for 387 dollars plus shipping on eBay....hard to compete with the Chinese....🤔
exactly, my thoughts and experience with many Chinese clones....if it is too cheap , it is likely a fake of inferior quality,,...
A legitimate IC manufacturer discards product that doesn't test within specifications. A skeevy money-hungry offshore manufacturer won't.
A legitimate IC manufacturer discards product that doesn't test within specifications. A skeevy money-hungry offshore manufacturer won't.
Yes, you got that correct. Perfect, also be aware of switching vendors. Like tested using Digi-Key and then decide to bulk order with parts from Mouser. All our vendors have had their share of clone issues in the news in the past.