Victron Energy on Apple CarPlay

[arsein]

Good morning everyone,

I am very proud to be able to present you my latest creation that I hope will find the satisfaction of many Victron Energy users.

The app reads Victron BLE Instant Readout data locally on the iPhone, decodes the encrypted manufacturer data, and presents the most relevant electrical values on the phone. On Apple CarPlay, VE-Display uses a low-distraction device list: select a device and the app announces its key values through text-to-speech.

VE-Display | Victron BLE Monitoring for iPhone and CarPlay

VE-Display monitors Victron Energy devices on iPhone and announces key values on Apple CarPlay using local BLE Instant Readout decoding.

www.mf-lab.com

for more techical infos:

GitHub - mk4001/VE-Display: CarPlay app for monitoring Victron Energy devices

CarPlay app for monitoring Victron Energy devices. Contribute to mk4001/VE-Display development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com

Thank you!

PS: special price just for you guys, until the end of June!

 

[Nickg60]

Does it put the values on the screen or just read them out to you?

 

[chockswahay]

App sounds good, but is it really needed? Generally the solar panels are fit and forget for most of us.

 

[arsein]

Does it put the values on the screen or just read them out to you?

Thanks Nickg60 for your question.

Actually, at the beginning I too had tried to make a display of all the values on video but then I realized by carefully reading the Apple CarPlay policies that they would never approve it as these policies are very restrictive regarding the safety of the user while driving.

I then converted the application into a completely voice app, you just need to touch a single Victron element and you automatically receive all the values that compose it.

Cheers, Marco

 

[arsein]

App sounds good, but is it really needed? Generally the solar panels are fit and forget for most of us.

Thanks chockswahay for your question:

In fact, the app was born out of a personal need: I often found myself on the highway wondering if the DC-DC Orion XS worked properly as the great California has a smart alternator that works when it pleases. It is true that there is a button to force it to work but I would like to know on the fly the value, both of the current generated by the alternator and the state of charge of the battery.

And then I thought to myself if Victor didn't do it for Android why didn't he do it why CarPlay?

Cheers, Marco

 

[wildslammer22]

Thanks chockswahay for your question:

In fact, the app was born out of a personal need: I often found myself on the highway wondering if the DC-DC Orion XS worked properly as the great California has a smart alternator that works when it pleases. It is true that there is a button to force it to work but I would like to know on the fly the value, both of the current generated by the alternator and the state of charge of the battery.

And then I thought to myself if Victor didn't do it for Android why didn't he do it why CarPlay?

Cheers, Marco

Hi, Is there any config you need to do in the app? The app can see my Victron DC-DC and MPPT etc but isn’t reading or broadcasting any data. My batteries are also visible in the app but inert which makes sense as they aren’t transmitting any BLE data?

 

[arsein]

Hi, Is there any config you need to do in the app? The app can see my Victron DC-DC and MPPT etc but isn’t reading or broadcasting any data. My batteries are also visible in the app but inert which makes sense as they aren’t transmitting any BLE data?

Hi, there are only:
Smart Solar, Smart Shunt, Smart Battery Sense, Orion XS, Smart Charger familly product tested at this time ad reported in the description of the app. For each of these devices you have to collect the Victron Advertisement Key,
The path in VictronConnect may vary slightly by app version and product firmware, but the key is normally found from the device information screens:

1. Open VictronConnect.
2. Connect to the Victron device.
3. Open the device settings using the gear icon.
4. Open Product info.
5. Look for the Instant Readout / Bluetooth advertisement information.
6. Copy or reveal the Advertisement key.
7. Enter the key in VE-Display using the key button on the iPhone app.

Use the key exactly as shown by VictronConnect. It should be a 16-byte key represented as 32 hexadecimal characters.

Usually infos from SmartShunt contains all relative any-brand-battery value needed.
Which battery are you referring to?

thanks, Marco

 

[wildslammer22]

Hi, there are only:
Smart Solar, Smart Shunt, Smart Battery Sense, Orion XS, Smart Charger familly product tested at this time ad reported in the description of the app. For each of these devices you have to collect the Victron Advertisement Key,
The path in VictronConnect may vary slightly by app version and product firmware, but the key is normally found from the device information screens:

1. Open VictronConnect.
2. Connect to the Victron device.
3. Open the device settings using the gear icon.
4. Open Product info.
5. Look for the Instant Readout / Bluetooth advertisement information.
6. Copy or reveal the Advertisement key.
7. Enter the key in VE-Display using the key button on the iPhone app.

Use the key exactly as shown by VictronConnect. It should be a 16-byte key represented as 32 hexadecimal characters.

Usually infos from SmartShunt contains all relative any-brand-battery value needed.
Which battery are you referring to?

thanks, Marco

Thanks that’s very helpful. I’ll test it with my Orion XS, MPPT and Smartsense devices. I don’t have a Smart Shunt as I have an Ocean which has two batteries with the MPPT connected to the rear battery and the Orion to the front so the Shunt wouldn’t be able to read both charge inputs and give an accurate SOC

 

[arsein]

By popular demand I modified the app so that the experience was total, at least for once, for free...

Thank you all for your contribution and adherence!