[RE-wrenches] Instruction manual / User interface rant

Tue Oct 18 07:05:49 PDT 2011

Ray, without a Mate how do your clients initiate an equalize charge via 
generator ?  Do you just set the Bulk Charge volts at an equalize V level ?

Carl,
Solarwks at cybermesa.com

On 10/17/2011 10:09 PM, R Ray Walters wrote:
> For this and cost reasons ($295!) I almost never offer a MATE on my 
> Outback systems. We just keep one on  the truck adjust everything, and 
> then pull it.
> I've waited for close to 10 years now for the computer interface, so 
> you could pull everything up in a Windows screen, click on the 
> particular parameter for more info and adjustment.
> The Pentametric does that, and its nice except for the old serial 
> connection.
> William, I'd be interested in being on the manual review board. Do we 
> get paid anything or is it sort of like all that unofficial product 
> beta testing we've done......
>
> R. Walters
> ray at solarray.com <mailto:ray at solarray.com>
> Solar Engineer
>
>
>
>
> On Oct 17, 2011, at 10:25 PM, <mark at hurshtown.com 
> <mailto:mark at hurshtown.com>> <mark at hurshtown.com 
> <mailto:mark at hurshtown.com>> wrote:
>
>> I am in full agreement.
>> The Outback remote darn near needs a college degree to operate.
>> The sensitive parameters you mentioned should be in the password 
>> protected area.
>>
>> Mark
>>
>>     -------- Original Message --------
>>     Subject: [RE-wrenches] Instruction manual / User interface rant
>>     From: William Miller <william at millersolar.com
>>     <mailto:william at millersolar.com>>
>>     Date: Mon, October 17, 2011 7:49 pm
>>     To: RE-wrenches <re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org
>>     <mailto:re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org>>
>>
>>     Friends:
>>
>>     I just returned home from a long drive to troubleshoot a problem
>>     with an Outback FX system.  I found that the customer, in the
>>     process of using a remote Mate to start the generator, had
>>     inadvertently turned the global charge control setting to "off". 
>>     This causes a problem that is very serious but hard to detect: 
>>     The generator will run but it will not charge the batteries.  No
>>     one can know how long ago this was done, but in the meantime the
>>     customers batteries were chronically undercharged.
>>
>>     Just a month ago I found another Outback system where the
>>     customer (or someone from another "solar" company) had selected
>>     the "drop" setting from the "use" menu.  Similar results to the
>>     previous case, but in this situation the customer had to use the
>>     bypass breakers to get power to the house while the batteries did
>>     not charge.
>>
>>     To my mind, this is one of the big problems with all
>>     manufacturers of technical equipment:  Poor user interface.  Who,
>>     in their right mind, would put controls to disable critical
>>     functions in the same menu tree as the control to do a common
>>     place, frequently used function such as starting a generator
>>     remotely?  And the screens are all almost identical.  This is
>>     extremely poor design.
>>
>>     On a similar subject, all off-grid inverter manuals are written
>>     very poorly.  For example, why put the installation instructions
>>     in the front of the manual?  You install a system once, but you
>>     operate it every day.  The installation instructions should be in
>>     the back and the operating instructions in the front (or better
>>     yet, in separate books).  Why are we trying to use the same
>>     manual for the installer as for the user?  A majority of users
>>     need a 4 page manual that includes:  1. how to turn the system on
>>     and off, 2. how to read and interpret a few critical meter
>>     functions, 3. how (and why) to equalize batteries and 4. what to
>>     do when your power goes out.  That's it.  For the few users that
>>     want to know more, they can wade through the installation /
>>     technical manual.
>>
>>     We provide our own checklists to all of our customers to perform
>>     the limited functions described above.  For a sample, see:
>>     file:///D:/William/Web/Dreamweaver/Miller%20Solar/MillerSolar/Services/Support/_support.htmll
>>     <file://D/William/Web/Dreamweaver/Miller%2520Solar/MillerSolar/Services/Support/_support.htmll>
>>
>>     We provide these instruction sets to our install clients and sell
>>     them to others, including other installers (off list, if you are
>>     interested).
>>
>>     I am volunteering to be on a peer review panel to critique users
>>     manuals for off-grid inverter manufacturer's.  Maybe if a few of
>>     us grey beards look over these manuals before they are printed,
>>     we can get them straightened out.  Anyone else on board?
>>
>>     Rant off.
>>
>>     William Miller
>>
>>     PS:  Any manual not pre-punched for a three hole binder is not
>>     worth the paper it is printed on.
>>
>>     Wm
>>
>>     William Miller
>>     Miller Solar
>>     Voice :805-438-5600
>>     email: william at millersolar.com <mailto:william at millersolar.com>
>>     http://millersolar.com
>>     <http://millersolar.com/>License No. C-10-773985
>>     _______________________________________________
>>     List sponsored by Home Power magazine
>>
>>     List Address: RE-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org
>>     <mailto:RE-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org>
>>
>>     Options & settings:
>>     http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org
>>
>>     List-Archive:
>>     http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org
>>
>>     List rules & etiquette:
>>     www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm
>>     <http://www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm>
>>
>>     Check out participant bios:
>>     www.members.re-wrenches.org <http://www.members.re-wrenches.org/>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> List sponsored by Home Power magazine
>>
>> List Address: RE-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org 
>> <mailto:RE-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org>
>>
>> Options & settings:
>> http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org
>>
>> List-Archive: 
>> http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org
>>
>> List rules & etiquette:
>> www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm
>>
>> Check out participant bios:
>> www.members.re-wrenches.org
>>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> List sponsored by Home Power magazine
>
> List Address: RE-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org
>
> Options&  settings:
> http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org
>
> List-Archive: http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org
>
> List rules&  etiquette:
> www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm
>
> Check out participant bios:
> www.members.re-wrenches.org
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org/attachments/20111018/4029c526/attachment-0004.html>