PS2512 glitches [RE-wrenches]

[Nick Nicholas, APS]

Hi Wrenches:
    With regards to the Trace SWRC (Remote Display,) we have had problems
with scrambled displays also.  The cable provided was grey.  Sam Vanderhoof
mentioned to me once that the design's shortcoming was related to the fact
that the meter does more than communicate with the inverter, but requires
the control signals to physically pass through the remote meter.  When we
trouble shot a system with these problems, re-routing the wire away from
other power wires did not solve the problem.  In the end, the customer
accepted pressing reset.


            Nick Nicholas
            Chief of Engineering
            Alternative Power Systems, Inc.
            135 Colfax Ave. Grass Valley CA 959545
            530-274-0588 530-274-0589 530-913-5605
            aps at sbcglobal.net alternativepowersystems.com



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Alternative Power Systems
www.alternativepowersystems.com
aps at sbcglobal.net
135 Colfax Ave.
Grass Valley, CA 95945
(530) 274-0588 phone
(530) 274-0589 fax
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Phil Undercuffler, Positive Energy" <phil at positiveenergysolar.com>
To: <RE-wrenches at topica.com>
Sent: Wednesday, October 01, 2003 3:55 PM
Subject: Re: PS2512 glitches [RE-wrenches]


>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Jeffery Wolfe, Global Resource Options"
> <jeff at globalresourceoptions.com>
>
> > Anyone else getting flaky displays when connected to an SW remote
display?
>
> I have seen this problem crop up a couple of times.  The first was our
first
> PS, and the display would get all wonky.  Characters would reepeattt in
the
> display, or would be blanked by black squares, or blank lines would be
> inserted.  As Roy points out, pressing the reset button would clear up the
> display, but sometimes only for seconds.  We carefully cut shielding and
> ground cables at Trace Tech support suggestion, with fair results.
>
> We later purchased a remote display for shop/field use, and the display
was
> constantly garbling.  Since we were using it for programming purposes in
the
> field, we deemed it acceptable if annoying.  When it became apparent the
PS
> inverter wasn't a model we wished to support, we sold that display to a
> customer who wished to monitor his SW inverter inside the house without
> opening the power room closet.  Total physical distance, <10'.  Knowing we
> had to make the display stable, we pulled out all our notes on what we did
> the first time.
>
> Needless to say, nothing worked.  Numerous calls to TTS.  The client was a
> tech weenie, so he dove even deeper into the minutia of coiling cable,
> routing separate from power conductors, etc.  I wouldn't have been
surprised
> to see him answer the door wearing an aluminum foil hat.   To make a long
> story short, we swapped the cable with a standard computer cable and the
> problem went away.  Not just reduced, but went away absolutely--rock solid
> performance.  One last call to Trace, and the answer was "Oh, yeah.  What
> color was your cable?"  Turns out a handful of cables from one particular
> supplier caused problems.  Of course, now I can't recall whether the bad
> cable was black or grey--sorry.  But if you are having reoccurring display
> problems I would first try snagging the printer cable from the office.
>
> Phil
> Positive Energy
>
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