Physically accessing the Evolution 2 controller?

[DrTron]

All,

I've decided to ditch the MobileLink and go with genmon (likely on a Zero W and a pHat).
Looking at the inside of the generator (I have a 26kW air-cooled Generac with the Evolution2 module), I can't see an easy way to access the underside of the module (where the molex likely is). Who did this before and which panels did you have to remove to get to the module? Or is it just inserted into the panel from the top and can be pried out?

I just thought I'd ask before I have to disassemble the whole generator....

Thanks!

[skipfire]

@DrTron the port you plug into is accessible from the bottom of the module where the battery is. You take off the side panel as you would to service it and it's one of the plugs underneath. It uses the same port as MobileLink so it will be occupied but the cable just has a simple click.

A warning, MobileLink uses volatile memory for your wifi settings (no clue why they made that choice) and so every time it loses power it forgets your wifi setup. The RS485 WiFi MobileLink that comes with the Evo2 can be run along side GenMon and that is the MobileLink that typically comes with Evo2 air cooled units, but if you want to make sure you can drop a photo of that plug, it likely has 4 pins out of 8 populated (2 top and 2 bottom).

Disclosure: I'm the guy behind PintSize

[DrTron]

We're not that far apart, I live in Central MS, so we about have the same environmental conditions.
The generator sits on the south side of the house, so not much shade.
On the plus side, one of my Wifi access points is about 10yd away in the attic, so I'm hoping I can get away with having the Pi in the generator enclosure, in the battery/controller compartment. There it would be well protected from the elements, and hopefully have sufficient Wifi connection. At least the MobileLink module has no issues, and that's inside the generator as well.
I may put a small heatsink on the Zero W, but I run two 3B-Pi's on the (North) side of the house in plastic enclosures, and they never overheat. So we'll see.
Thanks for the insight!

[skipfire]

MobileLink is actually the small gray disk on the back of the generator near the gas entry point with the antenna coiled on the outer plate. I was able to change signal from my Pi by 10dB by rotating it 90 degrees, so the position and orientation can both make a difference and it's different for every install since it's a combination of so many site factors. But moving it to the outside later is pretty straightforward.

[DrTron]

MobileLink is actually the small gray disk on the back of the generator near the gas entry point with the antenna coiled on the outer plate.

I haven't looked that far yet, the cable to the MobileLink from the controller vanishes somewhere on the gas-entry side of the generator, but it's not really of importance.

I think your cable is fully configured, but essentially only pins 7 & 8 are needed for the serial communication (if the Pi is run off the generator battery via the barrel plug), so if I ever need the Mobile Link again, I can splice it into the existing plug.

[skipfire]

@DrTron you are correct that it uses 7 & 8 for data while MobileLink uses the other 2 on the top row, the HAT also uses the middle two on the bottom for power though that's not exclusive. You can either splice or we offer a splitter, whichever you prefer if you want to run both. I do not run both, I don't want to risk an update breaking genmon.

[DrTron]

That makes sense, running the generator offline to prevent any breaking updates.
We've had the generator about two years now, and I don't think they ever pushed an update. But better not risk it.
I don't see any flaws in the current firmware, so there you go.

[djstroh]

According to my installer most people do not enable the Generic WiFi because it does not always work. This means they never have done an update.

…

On Sun, Jan 5, 2025 at 12:00 PM DrTron ***@***.***> wrote: That makes sense, running the generator offline to prevent any breaking updates. We've had the generator about two years now, and I don't think they ever pushed an update. But better not risk it. I don't see any flaws in the current firmware, so there you go. — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#1231 (reply in thread)>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AGMIBSVVMOAG4IFN7D5MH7T2JGFOLAVCNFSM6AAAAABUUGWTKGVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43URDJONRXK43TNFXW4Q3PNVWWK3TUHMYTCNZUGE2TKMA> . You are receiving this because you are subscribed to this thread.Message ID: ***@***.***>