# Tuning the Soliton 1



## ddmcse (Oct 9, 2008)

You have to start some where 









min battery 100
max batt current 680
max motor voltage 170
max motor current 1000
max motor pwr 240
slew 25000

deadband 0
half throttle 90


I am still trying to get used to the lack of a jerky start 
I'll have a wireless router setup soon to view data on an android tablet 








there is no comparison between the logisystems 156v 1000a and the Soliton1 , total night and day.
instead of using little screw drivers to adjust the controller you simply use a web browser . obviously you know how to do that or you wouldn't be here.
fire up the laptop connect the network cable 
change settings drive a little pull off to the side change settings drive a little check settings


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## Qer (May 7, 2008)

ddmcse said:


> I am still trying to get used to the lack of a jerky start


Hm. Should I interpret that as a feature request? Perhaps a check box for false teeth rattling start?

That's a pretty impressive looking gauge tablet you have there. Been busy, eh? Do you pick all the data through the ethernet logging from the Soliton or how does it collect the info?


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## Tesseract (Sep 27, 2008)

ddmcse said:


> ...
> slew 25000
> ...
> half throttle 90
> ...


Well, you're definitely trying hard to recreate the jerky start of your old controller by running with the above two settings! Unless you have a really stout racing clutch (the kind that is practically undriveable in traffic with an ICE) I wouldn't set slew rate faster than 2000A/s. The main reason is that you probably won't notice any difference in throttle response because the clutch will slip more as slew rate is increased, resulting in a lower effective slew rate.

Your half throttle setting of 90% means that motor current will go from 0 to 900A over the first half of the travel while over the second half you'll go from 900-1000A. I personally feel you get better driveability - especially when trying to maneuver around parking lots, etc. - from slightly reducing the half throttle percentage rather than increasing it, but this is clearly a personal preference.

Oh, and I really like that dashboard, too. I suspect many of our customers would feel the same once they find out about it.


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## DIYguy (Sep 18, 2008)

Tesseract said:


> Oh, and I really like that dashboard, too. I suspect many of our customers would feel the same once they find out about it.


YES! I want one.


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## ddmcse (Oct 9, 2008)

the dash is a downloadable app in android market any android phone /tablet /computer will run it I do not take credit for the app. 
EVDASH.apk http://code.google.com/p/evdash/downloads/detail?name=EvDash.apk
it is way cool


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## ddmcse (Oct 9, 2008)

That's a pretty impressive looking gauge tablet you have there. Been busy, eh? Do you pick all the data through the ethernet logging from the Soliton or how does it collect the info?[/QUOTE]

soltion 1 network cable to wireless router 
tablet gets wifi from router app and knows soliton 1 is at 169.254.0.1 blue light goes green you've got data 

i've noticed the light stays green on the app more than the web server dishes out the controller page .
what is the web server used ? I loose connection and end up restarting controller . I only have 9 miles so I need more testing


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## ddmcse (Oct 9, 2008)

Tesseract said:


> Well, you're definitely trying hard to recreate the jerky start of your old controller by running with the above two settings! Unless you have a really stout racing clutch (the kind that is practically undriveable in traffic with an ICE) I wouldn't set slew rate faster than 2000A/s. The main reason is that you probably won't notice any difference in throttle response because the clutch will slip more as slew rate is increased, resulting in a lower effective slew rate.


you are right and I will probably change to 2000. I do get a little slip I wasn't used to the throttle and the apparent lack of balls , that's not what it is. 



Tesseract said:


> Your half throttle setting of 90% means that motor current will go from 0 to 900A over the first half of the travel while over the second half you'll go from 900-1000A. I personally feel you get better driveability - especially when trying to maneuver around parking lots, etc. - from slightly reducing the half throttle percentage rather than increasing it, but this is clearly a personal preference.


I need to fiddle some more but I can see the whole parking lot scene being much more pleasant than before period.



Tesseract said:


> Oh, and I really like that dashboard, too. I suspect many of our customers would feel the same once they find out about it.


I was trying to figure out how to stuff paktrakr data into this app and then Logisystems made it easy for me. Like some EE's say at work "You're going to happy that thing blew up on you."


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## DIYguy (Sep 18, 2008)

kewl. What's the tablet worth? Is it a 7" or 8" or?


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## Qer (May 7, 2008)

ddmcse said:


> what is the web server used ?


Total home brew, extremely minimalistic and tailored for Soliton use.



ddmcse said:


> I loose connection and end up restarting controller .


Yep. A known problem that is on my todo list, although not extremely high on the priority list since it doesn't interfere with the prime task for the controller; runing a car. 

It's very easy to make the web server hang by hitting reload in the browser, so don't do that. Always let the web pages finish loading before doing something new, otherwise you confuse the hell out of the TCP-connections and the whole thing hangs.

One of these days I'll add some kind of time out. Don't hold your breath.


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## ddmcse (Oct 9, 2008)

DIYguy said:


> kewl. What's the tablet worth? Is it a 7" or 8" or?


It's a 10"
Archos 101 was $299 but just about any android will run the app I can run it on my droid phone 
archos has a 10" for 199 less some features of the 101


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## EV-propulsion.com (Jun 1, 2009)

Here is Pete's original display thread for those interested in reading more....
http://www.diyelectriccar.com/forums/showthread.php?t=46241

mike
www.EV-propulsion.com


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## ddmcse (Oct 9, 2008)

I'm getting used to the throttle 









the controller does a sane EV start when you press down on the throttle 
nice and easy sipping juice . 
step on it hard and you're gonna get it . 
3rd gear, dead stop, serious spin not a wimpy one


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## ddmcse (Oct 9, 2008)

EV-propulsion.com said:


> Here is Pete's original display thread for those interested in reading more....
> http://www.diyelectriccar.com/forums/showthread.php?t=46241
> 
> mike
> www.EV-propulsion.com



ok check this part out if the dials aren't cool enough when you tap on the dial it gives you the digital output say 156.00volts or 40c temp


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## ddmcse (Oct 9, 2008)

DIYguy said:


> kewl. What's the tablet worth? Is it a 7" or 8" or?


 The 10" is too big I'd say a 5" would be perfect .
5" archos is probably cheap 

the Supra is a summer car w/targa top and the screen is close to impossible to see


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## LithiumaniacsEVRacing (Oct 9, 2010)

Dan,

Listen to Jeff, he builds the Soliton's with Sebastian. He knows what he is talking about. 

Nice to see you on this forum. Numidia, PA on the 25th if your ready?



Tesseract said:


> Well, you're definitely trying hard to recreate the jerky start of your old controller by running with the above two settings! Unless you have a really stout racing clutch (the kind that is practically undriveable in traffic with an ICE) I wouldn't set slew rate faster than 2000A/s. The main reason is that you probably won't notice any difference in throttle response because the clutch will slip more as slew rate is increased, resulting in a lower effective slew rate.
> 
> Your half throttle setting of 90% means that motor current will go from 0 to 900A over the first half of the travel while over the second half you'll go from 900-1000A. I personally feel you get better driveability - especially when trying to maneuver around parking lots, etc. - from slightly reducing the half throttle percentage rather than increasing it, but this is clearly a personal preference.
> 
> Oh, and I really like that dashboard, too. I suspect many of our customers would feel the same once they find out about it.


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## ddmcse (Oct 9, 2008)

Finally get some use of the 1000 amp shunt and gauge . I reconnected my shunt gauge and the rest of the paktrakr last night. I had a much better SOC after the drive to work today. Proof of better efficiency of the soliton 1 vs Logisystems ? we'll see after more testing. I did see why the car feels so much more powerful , I'm getting 750 amps on the gauge. versus 600 max (even after fiddling) with the Logisystems . it went right to 750 on the nose twice. there might be more to be had there with an adjustment.


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## LithiumaniacsEVRacing (Oct 9, 2010)

ddmcse said:


> Finally get some use of the 1000 amp shunt and gauge . I reconnected my shunt gauge and the rest of the paktrakr last night. I had a much better SOC after the drive to work today. Proof of better efficiency of the soliton 1 vs Logisystems ? we'll see after more testing. I did see why the car feels so much more powerful , I'm getting 750 amps on the gauge. versus 600 max (even after fiddling) with the Logisystems . it went right to 750 on the nose twice. there might be more to be had there with an adjustment.


Let her rip! I want to see you cranking 120mph down route 17! LOL


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## Qer (May 7, 2008)

ddmcse said:


> I reconnected my shunt gauge...


You do know that you can connect a meter directly to the Soliton? Right?


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## ddmcse (Oct 9, 2008)

Qer said:


> You do know that you can connect a meter directly to the Soliton? Right?


yes I do . This was an existing shunt already in place . The Android app displays Amps too , The gauge is in the pillar pod .

I spent 1/2 hr disabled today . I figured it was throttle cable out of zero. 
initial login displayed pack voltage low (set @ 100) I knew that was not true and the meter tested 160-ish . i cleared the error and i remembered reading that the zero could get out of whack . so I tried to set zero . but after a few times there still was no love. i discovered the new fangled connector for the throttle wasn't really snapped into place it was just there. you have to push it in pretty good to get the click . then I got the zero out error . set zero and it's all good again.

I would want to be able to pick my own IP for the Controller . I know why you use 169... but I would rather assign the IP. then I could easily get it onto my own network and configure in pajama's


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## Qer (May 7, 2008)

ddmcse said:


> I would want to be able to pick my own IP for the Controller . I know why you use 169... but I would rather assign the IP.


Yeah, well, it's quite possible to do but there's a few problems with it:



Every new feature takes up program space and space is quite limited in embedded systems. So every time there's a new feature on someone's wish list we have to decide if it's simply useful enough to use up space that could be used for other features otherwise.
Since it's likely that a Soliton owner will mess around with the parameters in the beginning and then eventually find a setting that works and leave it like that it feels like a feature with very limited usage.
There's a consequence to the feature too; if you change the IP and later either sell the controller or simply forget what you changed it to, how are you going to reset it to factory settings since that's done through the web interface...?

So that's why the IP is hard coded.


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## Rob A (Feb 7, 2010)

I plan on using a digital dash full time. I have purchased the sealed connector for connecting the Ethernet cable to the Soliton 1.
I have been doing some testing with 24V and the rear wheels off the ground. The controller works excellent.


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## ddmcse (Oct 9, 2008)

Qer said:


> Yeah, well, it's quite possible to do but there's a few problems with it:
> 
> 
> So that's why the IP is hard coded.


end of story

so how about degrees C ? I have hit 50's it's time for water cooling 

although it's completely cool to the touch everywhere on the device


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## Tesseract (Sep 27, 2008)

ddmcse said:


> so how about degrees C ? I have hit 50's it's time for water cooling
> 
> although it's completely cool to the touch everywhere on the device


Err... what is the question?


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## ddmcse (Oct 9, 2008)

on a scale of 1-10 how bad is hitting 50c . i haven't really studied the temp at this point I realize you are covering my ass by limiting. adding the water was a future project but it seems I should escalate that effort in front of others .


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## Tesseract (Sep 27, 2008)

Hitting 50C is of no concern. If you see the error light blinking slowly during normal driving - ie, you are routinely exceeding 65C - then I'd say you really *need* liquid cooling. It sounds like you are doing pretty well without it, still, it never hurts to go liquid, especially in a heavier vehicle (defined by me as exceeding 3500 lbs), a hotter climate (like here in Florida, where it gets hot enough to bring the underhood temperature up to where thermal limiting begins!) or if you just like to drive like a madman everywhere you go.


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## ddmcse (Oct 9, 2008)

I changed some settings and tried "Quiet" and thought it might change all the settings in place for "performance" but it doesn't so I left it in quiet and it is quiet. Performance does make a bit of a racket . I dropped the slew down to 2k and half throttle to 80 . smoking of tires video to follow


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## ddmcse (Oct 9, 2008)

I got my Tach sensor connected and I'm getting RPM data now . I need to find the wire to send this data to the stock tachometer in the dash 
here is a graphed out map of the Motor Current and RPM during the ride home form work. about 2700 rpm for roughly 60mph.









She's my daily driver 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7V-5TGT_II


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## valerun (Nov 12, 2010)

this is awesome stuff. Qer / Tesseract - you guys need to add references to this app to your manual. Just installed and it looks pretty good. 

BTW did you guys ever considered doing CANbus interface to the controller? Then any CANbus dash app can pick it up and display...


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## Tesseract (Sep 27, 2008)

valerun said:


> this is awesome stuff. Qer / Tesseract - you guys need to add references to this app to your manual. Just installed and it looks pretty good.


Not in the manual - that's for covering the installation and operation of the controller, not any third-party devices no matter how cool/worthy. However, we could, and should, describe this kind of stuff on our website (which is currently being totally redone to not rely on Wix's Flash-based structure).



valerun said:


> BTW did you guys ever considered doing CANbus interface to the controller? Then any CANbus dash app can pick it up and display...


In my opinion, Ethernet is far superior to CANbus for Human Machine Interface (HMI) applications. CANbus may be ubiquitous in vehicles but it doesn't even have a standard connector, much less a standard data format. CANbus is a total nightmare.


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## Qer (May 7, 2008)

valerun said:


> Then any CANbus dash app can pick it up and display...


CAN is just a real time certified bus where you send packages with a pay load of 0-8 bytes. The packages are addressed with a from address and the address determines the real time priority. The problem is that, as far as I know, there's no common standard over what goes by what address so a specific sensor in one car could have, say, address 14 while in another car it's address 31.

To make things worse I talked CAN-bus with one guy with a history in the automotive industry and apparently interfacing with a CAN-bus in a vehicle is a bit combersome because not only can the addresses differ, the physical impedances can also differ which means that to be able to interface with the CAN bus in different cars (without making the other CAN devices go into limp home mode because they detect the bus to be fubared) we'd have to either do several versions of the Soliton for different car brands or we'd have to do some kind of dongle that interface the Soliton with a specific brand of CAN bus.

So as far as I can tell a CAN bus on the Soliton would turn out to be an EVnetics-specific CAN bus that wouldn't automatically just interface with your favourite gizmo just because it's stamped with a cool acronym. Odds are that to get your new, fancy Soliton to reuse for example the CAN connected RPM gauge, fuel tank gauge and engine lamp you'd end up having to add some kind of messy CAN to CAN converter and that would mean the whole point with a built in CAN adapter would be lost. A converter like that could as easily be made to convert between Ethernet and CAN, which means that we don't have to add some funky extra connector and electronics to interface to a bus that probably almost noone will use anyway.

And sure, we could do an Ethernet to CAN adapter for specific cars, but the only way that would be profitable would be if it were for, say, a conversion shop that only convert a specific type of car model and do enough of them to pay for the development time for such an adapter. If I'd guess wildly without having enough facts for a more serious estimation I'd say we're talking a few man months, and that's only for the software...


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## valerun (Nov 12, 2010)

Tesseract said:


> Not in the manual - that's for covering the installation and operation of the controller, not any third-party devices no matter how cool/worthy. However, we could, and should, describe this kind of stuff on our website (which is currently being totally redone to not rely on Wix's Flash-based structure).


I would also vote for including a section on third-party apps / gauges / etc. like this into all the marketing materials / product descriptions you post on various EV parts sites. Availability of such gizmos is quite important for a lot of people's purchasing decisions.


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## ddmcse (Oct 9, 2008)

Big lesson learned today. Don't even waste you time using windows with the Soliton1. 
I've pulled my hair out many times with the known problem of reloading the web browser. it has happened to me just about every time i try to change a setting.
I was trying to update from 1.3.2 to 1.4 and it just was not going via web page or uploader.exe . Win7 IE? 8 maybe
I don't know why I haven done this before but a simple boot into Linux and using firefox I was updated in a flash . 
It would be worth it to use a Live Linux CD for the update to 1.4 

DD


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## Qer (May 7, 2008)

ddmcse said:


> Big lesson learned today. Don't even waste you time using windows with the Soliton1.
> I've pulled my hair out many times with the known problem of reloading the web browser. it has happened to me just about every time i try to change a setting.
> I was trying to update from 1.3.2 to 1.4 and it just was not going via web page or uploader.exe . Win7 IE? 8 maybe


That it's not reliable to upgrade the software through a web browser in Windows is a known problem that, I'm afraid, is impossible to fix by me since it's a bug in Windows network code. The workaround is to use uploader.

You're the first I've heard has a problem with uploader or even configuring the controller. I have to ask if you're running something that could possibly interfere with the communication, like a fire wall, virus protection or something else like that and if it helps if you turn those off (or change browser).

What browser(s) did you use, btw?



ddmcse said:


> I don't know why I haven done this before but a simple boot into Linux and using firefox I was updated in a flash .
> It would be worth it to use a Live Linux CD for the update to 1.4


A Macintosh should probably work too. As far as I know only Windows has a problem with the upload through the web interface so, yes, using for example Linux is a perfect legit way of solving the problem for good. 

One of these days I should try my Android phone. Considering Android uses a Linux kernel it should work flawlessly as well. I don't know what those dudes in Redmond has done, but there's something weird going on in Windows network drivers that causes problems that is not present in, for example, Linux.

However, usually it only affects the upload through the browser, configuring is usually not a problem, so if you can give me more info about what you did I can try to take a look at it and see if I can get it a bit more robust.


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## rochesterricer (Jan 5, 2011)

Does this happen with all browsers in Windows?


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## Tesseract (Sep 27, 2008)

rochesterricer said:


> Does this happen with all browsers in Windows?


No, this is a relatively uncommon problem (as far as we know). For what it's worth, two of our customers said that rebooting the laptop while it remaines connected to the controller (powered on, of course) solved the connection problem.


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## rwaudio (May 22, 2008)

rochesterricer said:


> Does this happen with all browsers in Windows?


I've used an XP netbook and a windows 7 laptop to configure and update the Soliton1. I had better luck with Chrome as the browser than IE, but in both cases I had better reliability waiting for the connection before running the browser. On the netbook it would actually tell me when the connection was made with the Soliton by saying I was connected to a network with no internet access.

The logger seems less picky, at least on the netbook because I can open it and have it running all the time, when the network is ready on the Soliton1 I see data update, then I know that I can run the browser to configure it. Remove the connection or turn off the Soliton and the data just stops, but turn it back on and the data resumes by itself. I don't know if this is normal operation or not, but it is observed operation.


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## Qer (May 7, 2008)

The logger is so stupid that if it were a human being it wouldn't be able to put on a hat without help. It pretty much put it's fingers in it's ears and shouts out the data to everyone no matter if they want to hear it or not.

Stupid, simplistic, reliable.


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## dtbaker (Jan 5, 2008)

I dunno if it has anything to do wth the issues you've noted, BUT I have just solved a nagging client issue where a long-establish website went south for users running MSIE9 and windows7.... turns out that MSIE9 'depreciated' a number of tags commonly used in older html, and also changed the default browser to interpret 'strictly' instead of trying the 'transitional' interpretations first.


the solution is to edit the source of the webpages and add a ldoctype line to make SURE that MSIE uses the more flexible rules.

try adding this to the very top of the html:

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN"
"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html>
.....



the other thing that may be of interest to you is that I know of a very small chipset that can be obtained w/ Linux and a built in webserver like Xitami or whatever.... the manuf I know about is 'gumstix.com' . It might be an interesting alternative depending on what you are using now.


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## Qer (May 7, 2008)

dtbaker said:


> <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN"
> "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">


That would work better than todays <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC '-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN'> ? Interesting. Have to double check to see that it doesn't screw up with other browsers of course...



dtbaker said:


> the other thing that may be of interest to you is that I know of a very small chipset that can be obtained w/ Linux and a built in webserver like Xitami or whatever....


Well. The web server is extremely secondary to the system and the current solution, where the web server always yield to more important tasks and simply dies rather than risk corrupting anything important, feels perfect for the Soliton.

Redoing all the core PWM functionality to run in a RT-Linux system so it's guaranteed to never screw up would be a pain. Validating that it actually doesn't, ever, not even if there's a small flaw in, for example, the kernel code would be pretty much impossible for me without hiring people to help. I'd love to hire helpers (in fact, I have a wish list...) but, well, na. It's that annoying thing about money (or lack of) which kinda makes it impossible...

You're simply stuck with me and my tailor made monolithic code!


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## ddmcse (Oct 9, 2008)

It is easier to do what should be done already and that is to dump 
Internet Exploder and use a better browser.
I've had the issue with both XP and Win7 IE7 and IE9. It's a forgettable issue you generally don't go into change settings everyday.


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## ddmcse (Oct 9, 2008)

save settings to text

displays
Minimum gauge voltage 180V 
Maximum gauge voltage 80V 



on the controller it is set to:
min 80v
max 180v


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## hbthink (Dec 21, 2010)

This may be answered elsewhere but can I use a Soliton 1 or Junior with a 340V Battery Pack and then program the controller so my FB4001A only sees a maximum voltage of say 170v DC so its not damaged? What are the issues with using the controller to limit the DC level from a high voltage pack?

Steve
using Soliton Junior with FB4001A


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## DIYguy (Sep 18, 2008)

hbthink said:


> This may be answered elsewhere but can I use a Soliton 1 or Junior with a 340V Battery Pack and then program the controller so my FB4001A only sees a maximum voltage of say 170v DC so its not damaged?


Yes, you may.


hbthink said:


> What are the issues with using the controller to limit the DC level from a high voltage pack?


No issues.


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## hbthink (Dec 21, 2010)

Ok thats good. Now one other question the pack voltage total is 332.8 volts at 12.8 per module voltage rate. Its float voltage though is 13.8v for a total of 358.8 volts and the fully charged voltage could be even higher at 14.6 per pack or total of 379.6volts. Which voltage should I use for my max calculation and will the Soliton Junior be damaged if float or charge voltage hits it in excess of 330v max rated voltage?

I could also just limit the top end from the charger to keep the charged voltage lower?

Also would the average current be lower with the pack strung at a very high voltage but limited by the controller?

Steve


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## Tesseract (Sep 27, 2008)

hbthink said:


> ...will the Soliton Junior be damaged if float or charge voltage hits it in excess of 330v max rated voltage?


Your controller won't be damaged by too high a pack voltage, it will simply refuse to start up. The upper limit is 340V for the Soliton1 and Soliton Jr, 425V for the Soliton Shiva.

Sounds like you better remove a battery or cells from your pack...



hbthink said:


> Also would the average current be lower with the pack strung at a very high voltage but limited by the controller?


Err... whut?

The higher the pack voltage, the lower the average current drawn for a given amount of output power since:

VBATTERY * IBATTERY = VMOTOR * IMOTOR 

(minus a volt or two on the motor side in losses)


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## ddmcse (Oct 9, 2008)

can someone look at this log and check for errors? 
thanks
DD


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## Tesseract (Sep 27, 2008)

ddmcse said:


> can someone look at this log and check for errors?
> thanks
> DD


Evnetics technical support is at the expected email address... (ie, "support" at our domain name (not spelling it out because of spambots)).

BTW - I tried to look at that log file but it appears to have come from a Linux computer as the numbers all run together, one line to the next. Qer can read that, but I can't.


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## ddmcse (Oct 9, 2008)

format changed to csv


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## Ziggythewiz (May 16, 2010)

Tesseract said:


> BTW - I tried to look at that log file but it appears to have come from a Linux computer as the numbers all run together, one line to the next. Qer can read that, but I can't.


FYI when working with Linux files in windows you can usually read them fine in wordpad (while notepad won't) and resaving makes it notepad compatible.


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## Tesseract (Sep 27, 2008)

Sorry, that's still too f'ed up for me to read. I didn't see any text errors when scrolling through it, but your log file still isn't formatted in a way I have ever seen before. 

Since you seem to want to put me on the spot, what's the problem you are trying to look for?


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## Tesseract (Sep 27, 2008)

Ziggythewiz said:


> FYI when working with Linux files in windows you can usually read them fine in wordpad (while notepad won't) and resaving makes it notepad compatible.


Yeah, I always forget that WordPad sucks less than Notepad, but even still it doesn't import right. I think there are not only no line feeds, there are no carriage returns, either. Hard to tell when one line ends and the next begins in that case.


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## Qer (May 7, 2008)

ddmcse said:


> can someone look at this log and check for errors?
> thanks
> DD


Yep. One big error. I can't make heads or tails of that file. 

Could you give me the original logger.txt that the logger program generates? Or, if you've made your own logging program, explain what the different columns correspond to?

I've figured out that the second (rather than the first) column is running time but the rest of the columns are a complete mystery to me.


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## ddmcse (Oct 9, 2008)

the log file was created using the EVSpeedo android app
I can open them by importing into OpenOffice Calc , not as easily as the logger.exe file but still easy. 
something cut out on me twice today and I happened to be logging 
lowest pack V was 145 . the cut outs happened right before I climbed a hill going to work . pack sag is not likey the issue as I climbed the hill without a problem after the 2 cut outs 
I got no throttle response and it does not appear to be pack voltage and the 12v system was fully charged


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## Tesseract (Sep 27, 2008)

Just to clarify for anyone else interested, the problem is that the Soliton1 is temporarily blocking the throttle "randomly".

I suggested via email that in his case the only reason the controller will temporarily block the throttle is when the pack voltage is taking too long to rebound from the minimum value allowed when no current is being drawn (the controller will also block throttle if the brake input is active, or the tach input has detected motor overspeed (or noise!), but neither of these apply in his case).

One of the biggest indicators that a lead-acid battery pack is nearing the end of its life is that its internal resistance starts rising, so that pulling a certain amount of current results in more and more sag. It also will take the pack longer to recover from a hard amp draw, and then the above situation can happen. This could be considered annoying, but it might also be a handy early warning sign for you to make sure your AAA membership is paid up. 

Of course, it is entirely possible there is heretofore unknown bug in the 1.4 code, in which case ddmcse will have performed a valuable service by calling it to our attention. No cash reward for that, though, I'm afraid...


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## Qer (May 7, 2008)

ddmcse said:


> the log file was created using the EVSpeedo android app
> I can open them by importing into OpenOffice Calc


On a related note here. I put my crappy Google skills at use yesterday and gloriously failed to find anything relevant about the EVSpeedo app. Or rather, I found the home page but that wasn't extremely helpful when it came to understanding the log file format.

So, anyone know how that format looks so it'd be possible for me to read those too? Could come in handy I guess...


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## ddmcse (Oct 9, 2008)

here is a clip of the ".log" file in a zip file 

a screen shot of the log format in short.png

trip.png 
is what i do with the data 
chart pack volts and amps
this is a 6 mile run with a stop at the bank and a couple of hills .


A friend of mine is writing an android app for me and I should have it on monday 3/13. 
It is going to be what the doctor ordered. I do not need dials and GPS.
I need Numbers. Large Numbers with Color backgrounds saying you are cool, sorta cool or you are not cool.
I requested that the file it creates is just like the one the logger creates.
It will only work with one controller


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## ddmcse (Oct 9, 2008)

my android app in a test run 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BN0Dzct5E7k&list=UUe7QPcHSUa2-CjWVsK7-0PA&index=1&feature=plpp_video

It makes more sense when you see it running than still shots

it has helped me keep my foot off the pedal and I've cut down amps allowed 
a few times in the config page. 
but lets face it, a close to 4000 lb supra does require a bit of juice to push her down the road 
check out my blinker when pulling in the driveway and see how quickly the Soliton1 goes about air cooling when you let off the pedal. 

DD


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## ElectriCar (Jun 15, 2008)

Kewel! Just need to find a good screen to use and sell us a package!


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## ddmcse (Oct 9, 2008)

lets see who is using what for cooling on the Soliton.
Don't be shy and post pictures if possible.


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## ddmcse (Oct 9, 2008)

*Tuning my Soliton 1*

my new Ecar app has helped me dial into the best amp allowance for the beast keeping me out of golfcart mode and keeping the supra as a surpa. 
I've noticed that no matter what the battery limit is set to, the rule is what the motor current is set at is what will get "pulled" from the pack. This could pound the pack so keep an eye on this. I just drove down town without the "lite" version and had to run "eXtreme" talk about amp envy my piddly 170-ish volts barely fills the red zone of the eXtreme 500 volt gauge. what are acceptable sags on a 450 volt pack ? If you are pushing 3000 amps where do you get nervous ?


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## piotrsko (Dec 9, 2007)

comments: did you change colors? I could see stuff in the thumbnail.

I'm still aircooled on my Sol. haven't had an issue yet. see garage.

I'm nervous at 6oo amps, probably totally paranoid at 3K


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## Tesseract (Sep 27, 2008)

*Re: Tuning my Soliton 1*



ddmcse said:


> I've noticed that no matter what the battery limit is set to, the rule is what the motor current is set at is what will get "pulled" from the pack. ...


That's not supposed to happen. Are you *sure* that your battery current limit is being ignored? Try setting it to something ridiculously low, like 200A, and use our logger program to verify that motor current times duty cycle (both are reported) equals the battery current limit.


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## ElectriCar (Jun 15, 2008)

ddmcse said:


> lets see who is using what for cooling on the Soliton.
> Don't be shy and post pictures if possible.


Already started a thread about that. Look under the controllers heading.


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## ddmcse (Oct 9, 2008)

Technically my post asking the question was done before yours but that is a detail and I hate details with the exception of the diyguy it seems that most people choose the warp cooling system obviously the screen name do it yourself guy is a wise choice for him.


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## ddmcse (Oct 9, 2008)

Lunch time!
I usually get left overs,
She gets a Big Gulp 
220v


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## Tesseract (Sep 27, 2008)

Hey ddmcse... are you going to answer my question in post 62 or just leave us all hanging?


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## ddmcse (Oct 9, 2008)

200 amps sounds like golf cart mode, it's not fun and I don't like setting up the laptop. I flashed to v1.5.1 now so it's not apples to apples anymore. But since you guys go out of your way to help me and others I'll return the favor. I'll post data later today.


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## ddmcse (Oct 9, 2008)

battery max set to 200 amp
motor current limit set to 425

I was pulling 300+ mC in the parking lot throwing mode #1029 or #1026 something like that. I can see the mode error displayed in my android app 

logger 1.5 used to log text file

forum has a limit on text file size brb.


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## Tesseract (Sep 27, 2008)

ddmcse said:


> battery max set to 200 amp
> motor current limit set to 425
> 
> I was pulling 300+ mC in the parking lot throwing mode #1029 or #1026 something like that. I can see the mode error displayed in my android app ...


You do realize that motor current can be higher than battery current, right? You have to multiply the values in the PWM and MotorC columns in logger.txt then divide by 100 to get battery current.

It's because of this extremely common misunderstanding that I added Appendix B - a brief overview on how modern motor controllers work - to the Soliton Owner's Manual.


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## ddmcse (Oct 9, 2008)

if you notice my post #27 I am aware that mC is or can be more than battery current. This is what I am trying to control. I'm trying to find the happy settings that get me to work everyday and a certain level of performance. I know how to let it rip and pound my batteries to the ground squealing the tires. To me the best control so far seems to be what I set motor current limits at.


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## Tesseract (Sep 27, 2008)

ddmcse said:


> To me the best control so far seems to be what I set motor current limits at.


Logfile or it didn't happen.


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## ddmcse (Oct 9, 2008)

I got my NEDRA membership


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## Tesseract (Sep 27, 2008)

ddmcse said:


> I got my NEDRA membership


Thank you for finally providing a log file.

Your controller is, indeed, limiting pack current. I selected two entries from the file at random - one where pack current limiting is not in effect and one where it is.


```
[SIZE=1]76970    41.48    236    237    41.30    160    22.00    0    0.09    0.11    0.06    12.40    5    Running[/SIZE]
```
Requested motor current is 236A, actual motor current is 237A, duty cycle is 41.3%, which means pack current is ~98A.


```
[SIZE=1]78630    42.45    361    300    66.70    153    22.50    0    0.10    0.12    0.07    12.41    1029    Running, High pack current[/SIZE]
```
Requested motor current is 361A, actual motor current is 300A, duty cycle is 66.7% so pack current is 200A and the controller reports that pack current limiting is in effect.


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## ddmcse (Oct 9, 2008)

People can now run my android Soliton app on a windows lapper
http://bluestacks.com/

I haven't had a chance to get it to work yet . you need a google account and 1 gig of ram

I installed bluestacks and I can see apps available on the market including mine but I haven't got around the device list showing all the devices i've installed my app onto. so i'm not quite sure how to make it install on windows pc yet. but that was the first try yesterday.


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