Reading the SBL2e's A/D's

[Vance G]

I bought a SBL2e with the intent of using the 4 A/D inputs to remotely monitor important solar electric system values (voltage, current, temp.) on remote systems that have Internet connectivity.

I've had the device now for a couple weeks, been putting it through its paces.

Hardware-wise, I think it's just the thing for the task. The price is right - this is just a shoestring effort by a few off-grid users to find a way to check up on their systems while they are away, or check up on a system that can be hard to access to see if there's a trend toward some kind of failure that we need to address.

I am now at the point where I need to get the values from the A/D's out of the device and onto a Web page. I have no problems getting the raw reads from the A/D's via a Telnet session, but I am at a loss as to where to go next. I have read through each relevant doc on the NB site looking for more info but have found none. Looking for solutions on the Net as far as getting info from a Telnet session onto a Web page have been fruitless so far. I was hoping for a solution that would not require me to write code that would reside on the 2e - just query the device remotely for the values then parse & format them on a Web page.

In another thread on the Hardware side, other users have alluded to examples in the 2e Development Kit that might help me.

At $299, the development kit is outside the budget for this project. And I am not even sure if the docs contained in it will get me down the road.

Is there any freely available info on the 2e that would help me on this quest? Or, alternatively, is there a cheaper option as far as procuring documentation than buying the full Dev. Kit.?

Thanks.

[BillC]

If you are looking for a cheap and cheerful way of getting some A/D inputs to post values to a website you could look at the Roving Networks rn121 wifi module, you just need to setup with a few telnet commands, no programming needed.

See http://www.rovingnetworks.com/rn-121g.php

Bill

[Vance G]

Bill:

Interesting device. I'll keep it in mind.

I can probably program the SBL2e, but I can't afford to buy the Dev. Kit just to find out how. It appears that some C functions exist to read the A/D's - those are what I need. But I guess you can't get that info unless you fork over $299.

Looks like I am stuck with getting data via Telnet and converting it with a pocket calculator. Not very efficient.

[v8dave]

As far as I can tell, that is how the license agreement with Netburner works. You purchase the initial development system and this gives you the code to programme those devices and you are then free to order as many bare boards as you need and no royalties as purchasing the boards entitles you to the use of the code.

If you are only building one commercial system then your cost to do this has to include the cost of the development system. If this is for a home hobby, then yes, it is probably quite expensive and an alternative would be better suited.

Dave...