Universal Solar Inverter over Modbus RS485 / TCP custom_component (Growatt, Sofar, SolaX, Solis)

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704

Are you sure you are using my Integration and not the built in SolaX Integration with your Pocket WiFi?

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Integration one in the picture is the built in Integration. That connects to your Pocket WiFi and get’s basic information.

Integration two in the picture is my custom_component integration which only connects via RS485 on the Gen4 Inverters. Your Pocket WiFi does not expost Modbus over TCP.

My Integration in question (Number two in the image) does not interact with the SolaX Cloud at all. It is purely local connectivity over Modbus.

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705

Ok thanks, I will play about with that, still very new to HA. In practice though I ony need a few sensors visible or available.
Next the fun part! to make an automaton to switch on fans (for cooling wheat overnight) depending on weather from weatherstation( temp. and humidity)and battery charge, and also to enable/ control EV charging depending on PV power and/ or storage battery capacity.

706

Yes. I pick this possibility in some foreign discussion, apparently the port 502 is open with my firmaware. Solax2 is connected to inverter’s IP/502. By the way I don’t have registered my inverter so no API for me yet. I can share only one image, since I am new user.
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707

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708

I am a bit confused, if you were connecting to your Pocket WiFi you should be connecting to a private IP Address ie 10.x.x.x or 172.16.xx to 172.31.x.x or 192.168.x.x etc

5.8.8.8 is a public address owned by https://www.ripe.net/

Not sure why you would be connecting to a public address unless you are trying to connect remotely?

709

@lad1 : as @wills106 wrote 5.8.8.8 is a public address somewhere in Russia (st. Petersburg). So we are really confused

710

@Lad1 : Correction: Apparently, solax can create a local hotspot with address 5.8.8.8, This is not good practice and I am sure once you connect to your home network, port 502 wont be open anymore

711

With pocket WiFi you can connect locally into SSID of the inverter AP and it serves DHCP as 5.8.8.8. - connected to Rpi. At the same time the pocket WiFi is connected to my router (from this private address 19.168.1.xxx I get wrong readings).

712

You cannot have 2 DHCP servers on the same lan, results will be completely unpredictable. The pocketwifi cannot have 2 addresses, one 5.8.8.8 and one in your LAN …
Some people create a reverse proxy between both LAN’s, but I fear you are alone if you go this way.
We recommend to use the serial RS485 connection with an RS485 adapter (see our Wiki)

By the way, I am an experienced network engineer and although reverse-proxying between both LANs should work, I do not use it myself as you need yet another process or processor to keep alive. Furthermore, I believe the 5.8.8.8 lan is meant only for initial setup and not secured as it should be.

713

When the Pocket WiFi is in Access Point Mode, is there any security? Or are you free to connect to it?

714

Reverse proxy didn’t work for me. My skills aren’t there yet. I don’t see why the pocket WiFi couldn’t be broadcasting is own service AP with DHCP, and at the same time be connected to my local LAN router’s DHCP. On modern phones you have hotspot broadcasting WiFi while connected to other WiFi and shearing the internet. My settings are: Rasberry-Settings-network: LAN (routers DHCP) and WiFi (pocket WiFi DHCP second network).

715

No security, open WiFi. Do you thing, 5.8.8.8 could be used to access my network from outside?

716

You do realise that using the Pocket WiFi in AP mode could mean that I could just drive by yor house and dump your battery into the Grid or Force Charge it from the Grid at the most expensive time if you are on a Time of Use Tariff.

Basically I could cause you a lot of financial damage.

717

AP mode is only meant for initial setup.

Either use it for it’s intended purpose and connect locally via RS485 or just chuck the Pocket WiFi in the bin!

718

As I said, good luck if you want to go that way …
I personally wont spend time on this and as @wills106 writes, it is probably completely insecure.

719

Correction, there is a login page on 5.8.8.8, but with obvious credentials. You are absolutely right with this vulnerability, but the AP can not be switched off. It is an unforeseen problem for my owners, since Pocket WiFi is supplied by default. In the Solax app you can make only minor changes, but using your modbus addon there are other options.
Well then Pocket WiFi is not the way. My technician warned me about accidentally swapping wires (blue and white-blue) for RS485, it would damage the inverter, so I am bit reactant to hard-wiring.

720

I wouldn’t class that as any form of security.

Also it seems like Modbus is exposed on port 502 only when in AP Mode and that’s the easiest way of causing you trouble.

I’m not aware of any damage of getting the wires the wrong way.

You need to be careful of other pins on the Gen4 though as they have dry contact pins.

721

Thank you for help, I will try the wire. Hope this discussion will be useful for someone else too.

722

I hope so too and this is why I started to create this Integration in the first place, as Cloud connectivity isn’t everything!

I am grateful I have other contributors such as @infradom who has allowed this Integration to be used on a wider variety of Inverters and also everyone’s feedback on new Inverters to support / improvements.

723

Unfortunately, the Pocket WiFi keeps its local SSID without security and a web page with predictable password and IP number even when connected to your routers wifi network… It’s really annoying as it is also using 40 MHz of bandwidth in the 2.4 GHz band… I see about 5 inverters in my street,…

To have some form of security, you have to change the default password.

I removed mine since switching to Modbus. Good riddance.