DropBox link

 

This presents a DropBox link to the primary fileset I use.

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/ni6611j5plgwc1zbsav05/RPi4-backup-Oct-12-2026.zip?rlkey=hrofwrglzvh4eve1e88hi58lj&st=9g65qss3&dl=0

A note on Python

 

I have used Python programming tools extensively for years. Recently (2019), Python made the use of environments, more or less, mandatory. I make copies of the software I use, including Python scripts, available for public use for free. While I use to publish them in this blog, I now make a zipped copy available on DropBox and post a link.

It shoulld be noted that most of the folders included in the zip file that have python scripts will also be venv folders and require that a venv be setup as I am not uploading the bin folder that accompanies a venv and contains a pyhton iinstallation. Too much data and too big a file. The folders reflect my setup, in part, and are installed in /var/www/html/.

More HUE lights

 

I ordered a couple of Philips HUE lights for the basement.  They do not have color changing ability but that is uneeded in their current role.

My current phone allows me to use the official Philips HUE app where before, with the iPhone 7plus, I could not.

There was a certain amount of chaos involved since I was unfamiliar with the new app. I had been using the HUE Essentials app and the online HUE Clip Debug web app to program and make changes.

However, by moving between the three tools, I was able to do some minor reorginazation and incorporate the new lights into the system. The porch lights now shut off at 11PM automatically. The front porch light is now Orange for the Halloween holidays.

Me and Google

I spent some time in a series of dialogues with the Googlle AI in their online search engine.

I have decided to make a major change based on the AI's corroberation of my ideas.

According to the AI, I'm overworking the Triron charge controller.

Reducing the load will be achieved by the major improvement of adding a second Triron to work in parallel with the first. At that point I will have 2s3p and 2s2p configurations. The first, 2s3p will place a 600w load on one Triron and the second, 2s2p, will place a 400w load on the other Triron.

This will make the batteries charge faster and make overcast days less of an imposition.

I'm also replacing the stock solar connector cables with #8 copper cable to reduce line load.

To add the second Triron, I'll need to rearrange the control board. I hope to move the inverter up enoough to allow placing the second Triron beside, and to the left of, the exising, first Triron. Whether I succeed remains to be seen.

Data issue, more

 

I've been thinking about the problem. The azimuth and elevation get saved to file. This means the NOAA2.py script is run.

The Triron portion sends nothing to file.

The NOAA data timestamps are between scheduled Triron readings. This implies the NOAA script is off schedule.

Moved the call to the python NOAA2.py script, to the bottom and just before the storage lines.

Second effort: moved the script call to inside and bottom of the same loop as the other calls.

Seems to be working.

Data issue continued

 

The modification in the last post did not work.

Another session with Google AI yielded another, slightly different, piece of code.

That modification has been made.

An error in the PHP datetime code had been resulting in the return of the DST problem.

The addition of '$' to the existing 'date' statement corrected the problem.

The problem resurfaced when I retrieved an old copy of the PHP script without making the updates.

Whether the latest modification works remains to be seen.

Data gaps continued

 

   Data gaps is a misnomer. What happens is the PHP script runs but the Triron charge controller does not output data sometimes. The script does run the python NOAA2 script and writes elevcalc and azicalc the the csv file.

   I used Google AI to pinpoint the problem and come up with a solution. I gave the agent relevant data and a result was formed from analyzing the github software sources and my data. The agent explained what was happening and pinpointed the PHP library from github as the origin of the problem.

   The AI wrote a simple software modification to prevent the script from writing blank lines to the csv files.

The code:

========================================================================

    // --- Your existing code above ---

    // VALIDATION: Ensure both power data points are present and valid

    if (

        isset($tracer->realtimeData[2]) && $tracer->realtimeData[2] !== '' && $tracer->realtimeData[2] !== false &&

        isset($tracer->realtimeData[5]) && $tracer->realtimeData[5] !== '' && $tracer->realtimeData[5] !== false

    ) {

        $i = 2;

        $dat[$i] = $tracer->realtimeData[$i] . ",";

        fwrite($myfile2, $dat[$i]);

        $i = 5;

        // Make sure to append your newline character (\n) here if this is the end of your row!

        $dat[$i] = $tracer->realtimeData[$i] . ",\n"; 

        fwrite($myfile2, $dat[$i]);

    } 

    // If the data is missing, it falls through here and writes nothing.

} // <-- This is your existing closing curly brace for the parent 'if' statement

========================================================================