Revisiting Power/Battery Status

[JOHN WADE]

Michael, we really need to have a way to monitor/verify power and battery status on zone expansion boards.  These may be remotely located and powered independently from the main panel.  Loop resistance is also high on my list of needed feedback.

[Michael Burrell]

John,

Apologies for the delay; I just realized I hadn’t responded to this one.

At this time, the only way we can verify or confirm power on the AEXIN or AEXOU is by powering the board using the remote power supply option. If power is lost in this configuration, it would generate a bus device trouble, which acts as an indirect indicator. I fully admit this isn’t ideal and not the approach I would have preferred.

To be fully transparent, the power supply added to these two devices was implemented by Engineering as a way to give installers a simple, basic power option. It was intended to be a convenience feature, a small bonus. However, this power supply is an independent circuit/board embedded within the AEXIN or AEXOU. It is not integrated in a way that allows us to interact with or monitor it through the device. Addressing this will require a hardware rework of both units, which we do plan to tackle in future revisions.

I understand the intent was good, but as you and I both know, the lack of direct monitoring for power and battery status can be a real issue.

Additionally, we’re actively working on loop resistance and power monitoring for the main panel and XIN modules. We currently have an internal beta showing control loop power status, and improvements for the AEXIN are in development as well.

Thanks,
Mike

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