So, I did an absolutely stupid thing today. I finally decided to put my IotaWatt in a nice box next to the panel, and in that process…ripped the 9V connector off the board inside the base unit. Sigh. (Don’t ask.) I never should have waited so long.
Anyway, I just ordered a new base unit, and was wondering…can I just move the microSD card from the old to the new base unit? I’m hoping to avoid having to setup the new one, and retain all the past history of the old one.
To answer your question, yes, you can just move the SD card to a new unit. You will need to go through the initial step of commissioning the WiFi of the new unit as the WiFi configuration is not stored on the SDcard, but once connected, it should just continue where the old unit left off.
But first, lets talk about the old unit. Those AC jacks can be problematic. Traditionally connectors like that were thru-hole soldered and had a lot of mechanical integrity. IoTaWatt uses surface mount connectors. They have plastic pins that register in holes in the PCB to provide great sheer strength, but the four solder pads don’t really provide the same lifting strength that thru-hole did. Also, the pads are large and sometimes don’t reflow that well.
If the connector came off but didn’t rip the solder pads off the board, you should be able to just solder it back on.
That’s one solution. Another is if you have a V5 unit and not using all of the inputs, or can sacrifice one, you can use one of the three-phase voltage inputs on inputs 13 or 14. Just configure it as a VT, connect your AC adapter, and then go through your inputs changing the voltage reference to the new VT.
Thanks for the reassurance that I wasn’t a total clown with that connector coming off.
I did try to solder it back on. Unsuccessfully.
Oh, I didn’t even think about using another input, but given I’m using them all and wish I had a few more, and the fact that my order was already placed and it’s a great product, I’ll just swap in the entirely new unit.
Roger on the wifi setup…thanks.
Maybe if I can get someone better at soldering than I am to re-flow the pads, I’ll have two units and get some more CTs!
Given you have 2 remaining VT inputs, you could probably set the existing one up with CTs onto the active lines of some power points, if you have anything you wanted to break out into its own data point. At least then it isn’t going to waste :3
Of course, it means two configuration urls, and two places to view data (unless you have them feeding into influx, emoncms or PVoutput)
Oh, I meant once the new one you ordered arrives, the old one that has the broken connector on it still has the two 9V AC connectors on the other end, so you could theoretically use it elsewhere in your home (if you pop a fresh SD card in it after moving the existing one to the new IoTaWatt).
Since you mentioned above that you use all 14 CT inputs, and would want some more, this could be a blessing in disguise, as you can use the old “broken” IoTaWatt with up to 13 CTs, and a VT plugged into input 14 (if your old one is the one shown above. Only just realised that once before the 2nd quarter of 2019 didn’t have the extra AC Ref inputs).
Means an two extra power points being installed where you currently have your IoTaWatt set up, but does mean you can measure more things!
When you have something connected to either of them, you’re not meant to use anything in the CT input with the same number. So it doesn’t quite double what you can monitor, but it’s pretty close!