Extension cord needed

[kb0zke]

Our Airstream has a Victron BlueSolar charge controller MPPT 150|35. This unit does NOT have Blue Tooth, so there is a cable that runs from the controller to a monitor. The controller is in the front street-side corner and the monitor is on the curb-side wall over the microwave. The cable for that monitor is either caught on something or just barely long enough to reach to the controller, which means that the controller is loose among the various wires and cables there.


Question: is there a ready-made extension cord that I can buy? If not, what type of connectors are those? I'd like to mount the controller to the wood, but I can't do that with the current cable. Three feet would probably do me. When I looked on the Victron site it looked like there might be such a cable, but a phone call to the New Mexico dealer said there wasn't.


This controller will be replaced later this year with a larger one, but I've got enough projects going now that I don't really want to get into that right now.

[jeffb831]

I'd order the bluetooth dongle and ignore the wall mounted display

[kb0zke]

Given that the solar controller is going to be replaced with a higher capacity one, I'd like the monitor to work. I contacted a Victron dealer who told me that they don't make extension cords. Another Victron dealer said he had one. It turns out that Victron uses the same pins on both the monitor and the controller, so cables can be installed with either end attached to either device. They do NOT make an extension cord.


I'll be at the factory in August, so I'll ask them about what to do. In the meantime, are there any electronics gurus here that know EXACTLY what connectors are used? And if I could make up my own extension cord? My BIL is a retired electronics tech and has boxes of stuff, but he isn't handy to actually show him what I'm wanting. If someone knows what connectors Victron uses he probably has a dozen or so in a box.

[Mollysdad]

What marketing genius at Victron decided that the unit with Bluetooth would be called "Smart Solar" while the unit without Bluetooth is called "BLUE Solar"?
Even with a language barrier Blue = Blue??

[BGClassic]

Per the manual, the Blue Solar unit has a VE Direct port, just like the Smart Solar (Bluetooth-enabled) units. The manual states there is a 10 meter cable length restriction on the VE Direct line. That's about 30 feet. Knowing Airstream, they installed a 10m cable in there, in the rat's nest.

Airstream saved a bunch of money on the Blue Solar vice Smart Solar units, evidently.

I would just spec out what Smart Solar controller I needed, and install it now, and use the Bluetooth connectivity. Wires are so antiquated anyway!

I assume OP wants to add a Cerbo GX as well. This stuff really works well together, with the shunt, and a Multiplus II.

[kb0zke]

Sounds like the general consensus is that I should get the new solar controller and a Cerbo GX, and just ignore the built-in meter. That may be the simplest solution.