TriStar Manual

46TriStar MPPT Operator’s Manual
5.0 Networking and Communication
5.1 Introduction
The TriStar MPPT 150V provides several communication options. The TriStar MPPT 150V uses
a proprietary protocol for the MeterBus
TM
network and the non-proprietary open standard MOD-
BUS
TM
and MODBUS TCP/IP
TM
protocols for RS-232, EIA-485, and ethernet networks. Addition-
ally, HTTP, SMTP, and SNMP are supported for web page, email, and network message support.
Morningstar’s MSView
TM
PC software provides system monitoring and logging capabilities via
RS-232, EIA-485, and ethernet. MSView
TM
PC software is available for free on our website at:
http://www.morningstarcorp.com.
Further, hardware and third party software that supports the MODBUS
TM
protocol can also be
used to communicate with a TriStar MPPT 150V.
Multiple communication ports can be used simultaneously. For example, a TriStar MPPT 150V
may be connected to a MeterBus
TM
network for on-site system metering, connected to the inter-
net for remote monitoring, and connected to an EIA-485 network to bridge data from other con-
trollers in the system to an internet connection. Note that the RS-232 and EIA-485 connections
share hardware and therefore cannot be used simultaneously.
Table 5-1 below provides a summary of supported features for each communication interface.
MeterBus
RS-232
EIA-485
Ethernet
Display system/network data on a TriStar meter
●
Connect a TSMPPT to a Relay Driver or other MS Accessory
●
Connect multiple TSMPPT together in a network
● ● ●
View and log data with MSView
TM
PC Software
● ● ●
View logged data stored in the TriStar MPPT 150V internal memory
● ● ● ●
UpdateTriStarMPPT150Vrmware
●
Program custom settings
● ● ●
View data in a web browser
●
Emailnotication
●
Text Message Alerts
●
SNMP Alerts
●
Table 5-1. Communication summary