evnow
Well-known member
I'm waiting for the firmware upgrade/fix. If that doesn't solve the problem, I'll ask for a swap.ENIAC said:
ECOtality Level 2 charger : Blink
- Thread starter Azrich
- Start date
Help Support My Nissan Leaf Forum:
Ingineer
Well-known member
bowthom said:
The frequencies (and their harmonics) used in switch-mode supplies are no where near the 2.4Ghz ISM band. There is also nothing present in the charge cord that could affect WiFi. (a very low power 1khz signal)
If the Blnk EVSE drops WiFi when it's plugged in, then it's due to a software problem, not EMI!
Typically the only things in a residential area that will interfere with 2.4Ghz WiFi (besides other WiFi) are Microwave ovens and other 2.5Ghz ISM band transmitters, especially wireless cameras.
Because the radio spectrum in the 2.4Ghz ISM band is always changing and has high utilization, I'd recommend anything you depend on to be connected via Ethernet. If the Blnk EVSE loses connectivity, it's really not a big deal, so I wouldn't consider it critical.
As several people have mentioned, bringing a laptop or phone out to the garage and seeing if it drops WiFi would generally indicate whether there is local interference at play. A phone would be a good choice, as they typically have a lower gain antenna and a lower power transmitter.
-Phil
Jimmydreams
Well-known member
evnow said:
When my Blink was acting up and not finding any wifi networks, I was on the phone with tech support. I told them that my computer about 8 feet away sniffed out 6 different signals while the Blink sniffed out zero. I unplugged and rebooted the Blink and it saw 4 of the 6.
That tells me that A) the Blink is slightly worse at sniffing wifi signals than my computer and B) there is a problem whereby the Blink will not see ANY signals when clearly there are signals present. I'm sure they're working on it.....
Knock on wood, I'm going on day 3 of proper Blink operations (using Blink as my timer, not the Leaf.)
ENIAC
Well-known member
I've never seen this behavior on my Blink EVSE.evnow said:
It certainly could be the app, Wi-Fi driver, or microcode. But in my experience, when that's the culprit everyone with the same H/W & S/W configuration can replicate the issue. This feels more like a H/W issue to me. Like I said, maybe a bus issue, a bad Wi-Fi card, bad base board, or even a poorly assembled unit.
TomT
Well-known member
I've had no problem and I have 5 WiFi signals present including my own..
evnow said:
bowthom
Well-known member
Hello,
I'm not saying that the interference is affecting WiFi signals, I'm saying the interference affects the logic within the blink unit. It doesn't matter how much signal is present at whatever frequency if the logic circuits can not or do not respond correctly because their power supplies have too much noise. I see unstable behavior and random weirdness coming from the logic side of the unit. Whether it's RFI causing logic issues or EMI causing logic issues, I see it as IC's behaving incorrectly. My unit displays problems like the touch screen being unresponsive, a utility error message popping up, system faults causing the whole unit to restart and loss of stored data.
I'm running CAT 5e cable today and we'll see what changes.
I'm not saying that the interference is affecting WiFi signals, I'm saying the interference affects the logic within the blink unit. It doesn't matter how much signal is present at whatever frequency if the logic circuits can not or do not respond correctly because their power supplies have too much noise. I see unstable behavior and random weirdness coming from the logic side of the unit. Whether it's RFI causing logic issues or EMI causing logic issues, I see it as IC's behaving incorrectly. My unit displays problems like the touch screen being unresponsive, a utility error message popping up, system faults causing the whole unit to restart and loss of stored data.
I'm running CAT 5e cable today and we'll see what changes.
DarkStar
Well-known member
I decided to play around on the Blink Network website and found out they already imported an account for me (probably for my Blink install on Tuesday). I reset the password and was able to get right in!
I got my charging schedule set up and my rate schedule configured. My only issue was one I described a while ago, having different rates for Saturday vs. Sunday and wanting to set up different charging schedules for Saturday vs. Sunday (due to the different rates).
Here are what the completed pages look like:
My Blink Charging Schedule
My Blink KW Rates
As you see, I've got the a weekend "standard" rate set up, however it is only in-effect on Saturdays. Sundays are off-peak the whole day. Luckily this should only affect the estimated cost very slightly ($0.03078 per KWh) and that's only if I'm plugged in.
Otherwise, I'm really happy with the layout and design of the Blink Network site and can't wait to start seeing charging statistics!
I got my charging schedule set up and my rate schedule configured. My only issue was one I described a while ago, having different rates for Saturday vs. Sunday and wanting to set up different charging schedules for Saturday vs. Sunday (due to the different rates).
Here are what the completed pages look like:
My Blink Charging Schedule
My Blink KW Rates
As you see, I've got the a weekend "standard" rate set up, however it is only in-effect on Saturdays. Sundays are off-peak the whole day. Luckily this should only affect the estimated cost very slightly ($0.03078 per KWh) and that's only if I'm plugged in.
Otherwise, I'm really happy with the layout and design of the Blink Network site and can't wait to start seeing charging statistics!
Coffee_Slurry
Well-known member
I have 18 visible (unique) WiFi access points at my home. Every house has one or two.
I also have a 2.4GHz spectrum analyzer and WiFi sniffer, but everything here makes me thing the problem is 100% software. 2.4GHz interference from an AC power and a charger makes no sense.
The A/C draws a lot more power and makes a lot more electrical noise, and WiFi cares not at all.
I also have a 2.4GHz spectrum analyzer and WiFi sniffer, but everything here makes me thing the problem is 100% software. 2.4GHz interference from an AC power and a charger makes no sense.
The A/C draws a lot more power and makes a lot more electrical noise, and WiFi cares not at all.
pksd1
Well-known member
DarkStar said:
How did you reset your password ? "Forgot your password" link has not generated a password for me (no email caming thru).
DarkStar
Well-known member
Yep, I attempted to log in using my "usual" passwords without success and then used the "forgot password" function to get it reset. I logged in fine and got the password changed without issues.pksd1 said:
Frequently these "password reset" emails will go straight to the spam folders... Check there too.
evnow
Well-known member
DarkStar said:
Nice find ! Finally a place to verify daily charge amounts. I see some differences between this and what my log shows ... may be all those crashes.
dyhopper
Well-known member
DarkStar said:
I passed this on to my EVProject contact last week and he said that a ticket was being entered for this. Hopefully it will be fixed soon.
Must be a rather unique situation here in Oregon. I had the same issue setting up my TED.
bowthom
Well-known member
Hello Blinkers,
Tonight's test:
Leaf timers set - 12:00 AM start & 6:00 AM stop @ 80%
No Blink timers set
Blink is now using ethernet (10/100baseT according to my router)
This is a baseline test, it produced multiple crashes during the night when using WiFi.
ON EDIT: 8:22 AM
Leaf charged to 80%
Blink is up running OK - no crashes last night. Only problem I had was the touch screen going unresponsive. Had to power cycle the blink when programming last night.
Tonight's test:
Leaf timers set - 12:00 AM start & 6:00 AM stop @ 80%
No Blink timers set
Blink is now using ethernet (10/100baseT according to my router)
This is a baseline test, it produced multiple crashes during the night when using WiFi.
ON EDIT: 8:22 AM
Leaf charged to 80%
Blink is up running OK - no crashes last night. Only problem I had was the touch screen going unresponsive. Had to power cycle the blink when programming last night.
TomT
Well-known member
According to Blink, this will not currently work reliably and my tests have born that out. The only reliable scenario currently is using the Blink timer by itself. But then, of course, you can't charge to 80 percent because Nissan, in their infinite wisdom, did not allow charge level setting without using a timer...
bowthom said:
dyhopper
Well-known member
mogur said:
Definitely worth trying though. Sounds like it's not reliable for everyone (most?), but I've had my Blink for several weeks and charge using this scenario every night and haven't had any problems.
ENIAC
Well-known member
That's what I do every night, only on Wi-Fi, and it works perfectly for me. I'm on my third week with the Blink.bowthom said:
Ingineer
Well-known member
I noticed when you have a timer set on the Leaf, the Blnk will incorrectly indicate "Charging" when it's connected, even after the big loud contactor opens. Most EVSE's will turn off their "charging" indicator if the vehicle goes high resistance on the pilot, which is what the Leaf does when a charging timer is set after a 1 second low resistance.
The Blnk correctly opens the contactor on high-resistance pilot, but still "thinks" it's in charge mode!
My guess is they've implemented the EVSE core functions in a microcontroller, (thankfully) and that communicates with the Linux computer to report status, etc.
Looks to me like the problem is poor software design on the Linux side. Many bugs and problems, almost like it was rushed out the door and never tested! You'd think with only 2 EV's on the market they would have thoroughly tested them both!
-Phil
The Blnk correctly opens the contactor on high-resistance pilot, but still "thinks" it's in charge mode!
My guess is they've implemented the EVSE core functions in a microcontroller, (thankfully) and that communicates with the Linux computer to report status, etc.
Looks to me like the problem is poor software design on the Linux side. Many bugs and problems, almost like it was rushed out the door and never tested! You'd think with only 2 EV's on the market they would have thoroughly tested them both!
-Phil
bowthom
Well-known member
Latest email from Ecotality, response to my posting problems & phone calls to support.
Don,
I found out from our corporate office that you can’t use both the timer on the car and the timer in the Blink at the same time. I am assuming that there will be an update that will automatically get downloaded to your unit that will remedy the conflict.
Don,
I found out from our corporate office that you can’t use both the timer on the car and the timer in the Blink at the same time. I am assuming that there will be an update that will automatically get downloaded to your unit that will remedy the conflict.
syntaxerror
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jan 13, 2011
- Messages
- 75
Jimmydreams said:
This isn't suprising at all. The Blink's two boards have no shields and there is a multitude of innerconnects without shielding. There is probably a lot of desense in the 2.4 band and the wifi is most likely performing sub-optimally. I just got my blink installed last week (no Leaf yet) and connected the blink via Ethernet. Their UI is pretty lousy as far as DHCP is concerned but all in all its working.
