Hi Aaron, was looking at the Photos you posed and I noticed that I still has not updated the top line of the Inverter LCD display.

FYI: I've just done that and the download file has been just updated.

Footnote added 2025-02-16 14:05 by KeepIS
Added a Photo of the LCD on my thread, I won't pollute your thread with it.
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Looks Good, I think I'll  make up a new nano and program it with the new code, get a bit more practice doing that and swap it over later, have to make a backup board anyway.

I added a Footnote to my previous post.

  Revlac said  

"I did have the 2 Zener diodes (D5 and D6) in backwards"

To put it bluntly, I mistaken the K marking on the version 2 power board for the diode symbol direction.  

I remember that throwing me as well, eyes are not as good as they once were, so I checked the circuit connection for the anodes when installing the Diodes.

I took close up photos of the first working power boards for future reference, I've build around 6 power boards and 5 controllers since then.

Programming the Nano with the Arduino IDE is slower and overwrites your settings "EEprom" data each time you program it, which is why I use AVRDudess.

NOTE
When talking about the Arduino IDE and programming the Nano, I'm referring to writing a HEX file to the Nano using the Arduino IDE
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Edited 2025-02-17 13:21 by KeepIS

Hi Aaron,

Just an FYI update, I have just uploaded the updated zips with a lot more information for the settings in the Battery Menu options block:


The file in the Zips is called "Battery Menu Settings.pdf"

Full Zip with Nano Info

Just Hex files and basic info
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Edited 2025-02-18 13:04 by KeepIS

I got the Tera Term installed (on my widows pc) and running after a few attempts, now I see the com port is greyed out and not able to be selected, so went back to Arduino IDE to find its also greyed out, however it did have a little text at the lower right corner about the nano being plugged into com3 so it knows its there, I then tried another blank nano same thing happens, so checked drivers and no errors or problems, these are new nano's with that tiny micro USB port.

I see the same problem question when searching the web.

Think I have a bad cable so will need to find another, bit strange that it still works on the Linux computer with the Arduino IDE, the other nano with the larger usb port will still work on either computer and Tera term, also I plugged in the converter into the same nano then onto the pc and same result but it uses a different cable.
Was going to make up another nano as a spare anyway.

Might get some time later to try this.

Apologies if some of that doesn't make sense.

  Quote  

Think I have a bad cable

Another possibility is the Nanos don't have the bootloader installed. That you get a com port number suggests the cable and CH340 USB/serial chip are ok.

To properly test the cable and CH340 tie the nano reset pin to ground to disable the nano pins and bridge Tx and Rx pins.
You can then use TeraTerm to echo text you type back to the screen.

Another thing to check is the serial port speed (after removing the above jumpers). Factory fresh nanos are often 57600 baud, so set TeraTerm to that. While you are in Serial Port Setup set the character delay to 0mS and the line delay to 5mS. The bottom of that screen will show details of that port.

If all that is good but it still won't go you can use another working Nano or Uno as a programmer to load the bootloader. Instructions and the bootloader programming program are on the Arduino website.

Thanks Phill, yeah the port speed often needs changing, I should have posted a bit more info and some screenshots soon.

I will have a read here too, https://core-electronics.com.au/guides/serial-monitoring-with-tera-term/

  Quote  

now I see the com port is greyed out and not able to be selected

As Arron can't see the USB port (greyed out), it does sounds more like a cable or driver issue.

TeraTerm doesn't care about any Nano bootloader or port speed in order to highlight a valid USB port, that's a port on a separate USB micro controller which is on the Nano board.

The Arduino IDE also shows that port available for selection, regardless of bootloader status and only complains if it can't identify a Nano for whatever reason.

I just confirmed both applications with a Nano and no bootloader.

A few screenshots of the ports greyed out.




had a look at settings in Device manager and don't see the ports (com and LPT) listed, failed to notice this earlier, the board is listed down the bottom as USB FT232R usb UART.
So perhaps I still have a Driver problem, serves me right for being half asleep while trying this out last night.    


And now a different board and cable, works as it should.

Why have you got TCP/IP ticked?

EDIT: Answered my own question.

Just trying to duplicate what is happening, that option is ticked by default when there are NO system serial ports detected.

If you go to Setup -> Serial port, and you see the Port entry blanked, it again means there are no ports detected by windows, it's the same for the IDE.

However Device Manager Shows USB-SERIAL CH340(COM 3)

EDIT again: Leaving my English comprehension errors in.  

I Should read your post correctly, it works when the Port is found in device manager.
 

It looks like a driver issue if you are using the same USB lead and Hub both times.

I've seen this with some fake CH340 controllers, but I haven't seen it on the 5 different types of low cost Nano boards I use, most are CH340.
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Edited 2025-02-19 12:04 by KeepIS

Footnote added 2025-02-19 13:31 by KeepIS
Aaron, here is a link to a problem I had with some CH340 Nano boards, this doesn't stop you from connecting to or seeing the COM port, but it does cause a problem when you try to program them, not relevant here but something to keep in mind if you see something like this with a Nano board.

Link to CH340 problem
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A while back the USBasp  AVR Programmer and AveDudess worked a treat on this windows computer, it uses a different USB cable and now it wont show up either, so it seems to be a driver issue, nothing should have changed since last time I set it up.

Anyway not too concerned about it, will figure it out later.

Had another play around with drivers and now it picks up the nano on com3, still not convinced yet, its still getting garbage in the serial monitor even after getting the settings done, some progress perhaps.





Now the difference between Tera Term and Arduino IDE terminal serial monitor, (for the purpose of changing items on the menu)  Arduino IDE terminal serial monitor will send a command after pressing send or Enter, And Tera Term will send it as you type? so it works better for the menu on the inverter, Am I on the right track thinking this?

I have seen PUTTY but not sure if its useful for this or I could try it as well.

TeraTerm is a real terminal emulation program, the IDE, from my brief usage, is not a fully functional Terminal emulation and was not designed to be.

Putty should be able to be configured to NOT send a CR as part of a standard line termination sequence, like TeraTerm.

Terminal applications are designed to be configurable for different application interfaces using various line terminating formats along with a multitude of other application interface settings to correctly display and communicate data.

I will say that I've found TeraTerm to be very robust when it comes to handling serial ports.

I assume that when using TeraTerm you are going into Setup -> Serial port and selecting open.
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Edited 2025-02-20 08:17 by KeepIS

Thought I would try a few different settings and Baud speeds and nothing seems to work with this lot of new nano's, yet somehow 2 of them programmed (inverter and LCD nano's) earlier and worked fine on this windows computer.
A few screenshots, also found the same stuff displayed using the IDE, while it works ok on the other computer running Linux mint and the IDE......




Now I tried an older Nano (has red and green LED"s) and programmed it with the MPPT Code and then checked to see if it would run in the Terminal, and YES it works as it should, so to me that rules out a Terminal problem.



So I'm going to put this down to a driver issue and and some user error etc, Not to be concerned about it I will just use the other Nano's.

The Inverter was running well this afternoon, I put a bit better heatsink on the 5v Reg, the other one was small and the fins were the wrong orientation for the vertical mounted PCB.
Will soon get the Full capacitor boards installed and some other wiring to complete.

A USB FT232R usb UART is unusual on a Nano so as you said it may be a driver issue.
Can you read the type number on the chip?

To test different drivers use the loopback method mentioned earlier so that you will get a response no matter what port speed is used. When what you type is echoed back you have the right driver.

It is also possible they are non-genuine chips that the driver recognizes as fake and refuses to work with.
In that case you can use an external USB UART connected to Rx and Tx.

If you don't have one use another Nano with the reset pin held low. Its CH340 can then be used via its Rx and Tx cross-connected to Tx and Rx on the dud one. Plus Gnd to Gnd and 5V to 5V.

Pretty much guarantee its a fake, there is no markings on the 16pin chip, and I did just notice the text on the micro is also different to the others.
Still it works on the other computer with Linux mint, Will probably have a go at it some other time, there are many more important things to do, may make a separate post for this one, probably should have before.

A separate post is a good idea to keep this main build post clean and readable.

I'll post one more comment though, when you programmed the LCD and Inverter, did you use the Programmer board, that will work on both the IDE, and the standalone programmer application that I put in the download ZIP, if so, that bypasses the USB port on the Nano. The USB port is, of course, needed to talk to the Terminal program for the Inverter setup Menu though. Feel free to leave any response until you get time and/or start a separate thread for this.

I did use the programmer board (over Christmas) to program  the inverter and LCD, with AvrDudess and it worked a treat, if I hadn't said before, instructions were great and easy to follow.
Tried tonight to connect the (spare) nano and the programmer board and somehow the driver is missing or changed and now back to not seeing the port, so will play around with it some other time.

Have been running the inverter late this arvo and the 5v reg is still getting a bit hot even though I changed the heatsink, there is no airflow in the cabinet with the door closed, I have a few things to check, just thinking if it would be worth running a separate power supply and reg for the LCD and or other accessories.

I meant to comment on the 5v regulator heat and heatsink, you are spot on, once in a cabinet with no ventilation, the 5V reg feels hot to touch, although in reality they can run very hot and it's common to see a commercial PCB almost burnt around these 5V regulators but still working perfectly.

In my case, I mounted a tiny heatsink fan next to board on the side of the cabinet, but it could even be inside the cabinet if needed, a small volume of air across the Nano controller board was all it needed for that 5V reg to run cool.

As you also hinted at, another measure I took was to mount a separate 5V regulator on the LCD board, I found this was the main cause of extra heat in the Nano controllers 5V regulator, that may be all you need, so it's worth trying first as it's so simple to do.

The 5V regulator on the Controller is powering the controller board circuits only, and all external 5v power is now supplied by another small switch-mode-supply, this also helps limit the chances of Inverter and Solar regulator noise getting back into the Nano controllers 5V rail.
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Edited 2025-02-22 14:04 by KeepIS

The 5V regulator was always destined to become warm if a 5V linear regulator is employed, especially driving the backlight on the LCD.

That is why the initial design used a switching 12V-5V regulator, which would run just a couple of degrees above ambient.

With no heatsink the temperature of the 5V regulator and dissipating ~ 1W, will be ~ 48 degrees above ambient, its maximum operating temperature is 85 degrees but please don't do that, run it cooler with a small heatsink :)

Some possible options come to mind;
1) An on/off or push on switch in series with the backlight.

2) A timer, turns off the LCD after 30 seconds of backlight, push button to trigger on again.

3) Try a resistor in series with the backlight to reduce current from 50ma to 10 or 20mA the reduced brightness may be adequate.

4) Go back to the switching regulator but do use the 5V rail monitor/shutdown part on the LCD and controller Nanos.

The 5V rail monitors and linear regulator were a belts and braces approach, introduced to stop Nano corruption as the 5V rail died. With the 12 - 5V switching regulators weird things happened at around 1V of supply rail. So you could try using the rail monitor parts with the switching regulator, if Nano corruption does occur then refit the linear regulator and associated parts which shuts down the 5V rail as the 12V rail falls and look at using one of the above options 1-3.