Forfatter Emne: RTB v7 controller keeps freezing - please help!  (Læst 2879 gange)

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Offline Tysker

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RTB v7 controller keeps freezing - please help!
« Dato: Jun 15, 2018, 16:06 »
Hi everybody,

This is a follow-up to my "unusual power consumption" thread. I'm really out of my depth now, and would greatly value the forum's help. Apologies for (living in DK and) not speaking Danish - please feel free to post in Danish, I can read it just fine.

Here's my problem: My controller (v7 - I have a 2016 RTB with LAN and the small screen) keeps freezing. To be specific: All connectivity (internet/LAN) drops (triggering an email from the cloud "Styringen har mistet netforbindelsen"), the screen is blank/flickers every now and then, and the controller does not do anything (it certainly does not produce hot water when the temperature is below the delta). Communication with the extension board drops, too (red light). The entire unit consumes roughly 18W when in this state (probably due to the O2 probe still being heated etc.). Switching power off and on does not help; the only thing that gets the system out of the "freeze" state (which I equate to Windows' blue screen of death) is a reset, performed by pushing the main controller's reset button for 10 secs.

Following the reset, I update to current FW (667), change the system language and (from screenshots taken from the cloud after the first freeze) provide my current system parameters to the controller. The controller then works fine - until the next freeze, which occurs (apparently randomly) between some 5 and 24 hours after reset and independently from whether the system had operated (i.e., produced hot water) during that period or not.

I'm in contact with NBE on this. They advised that they don't think the "unusual power consumption" warning has anything to do with this issue. Their initial thought was that the main board has a malfunction. So I swapped that. Same freezing issues. I then physically disconnected the extension board (power, comms, I even removed the cables to the O2 probe). Same freezing issues. I changed the LAN over power converter in the pillefyr room - no difference. I used a different SW version (665) - no difference. As advised in the "unusual power consumption" thread, I checked the ground cable at the door (not sure which other ground cables to check) - no difference.

At the moment, I'm running the system with both the screen and the keypad next to the screen disconnected. I just started this, so I have no clue if that will solve things. I'm still receiving "unusual power consumption" event log entries after having swapped the main board (just now after having set "extension board connected" to "YES").

Can you guys please help me out - what could possibly cause the NBE hardware/software to freeze like this? I'm happy to try disconnecting a few cables, but apart from the fact that the values I'm getting all make sense, and I can see no unusual changes in the cloud graphs immediately prior to the freezing, I don't really know where to start, and there are not all that many cables that could be removed without rendering the system inop (but I could still do that and see if the freezing persists while not operating the boiler).

Thanks in advance - I'm getting a bit desperate by now.
Karsten
« Senest Redigeret: Jun 15, 2018, 16:25 af Tysker »

Offline motoz

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Sv: RTB v7 controller keeps freezing - please help!
« Svar #1 Dato: Jun 15, 2018, 17:22 »
Since you already swapped the mainboard I would start by disconnecting the ethernet cable. With older firmware versions it was quite easy to get the controller to reset or hang by broadcasting a crafted ethernet frame, if you can manage without the cloud connection for a while then this can be excluded (if it still hangs), and if not then NBE have a much better idea what to look for.
Bio Comfort 30kW, compressor cleaning, lambda. Termax 25cr boiler. Matene vertical pellet conveyor. PellMon open source pellet logger: https://github.com/motoz/PellMon

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Sv: RTB v7 controller keeps freezing - please help!
« Svar #2 Dato: Jun 18, 2018, 09:01 »
Thanks - I'll try disconnecting the LAN if I get freezes again. For now, I've not had any freezes since I posted my OP - with the screen and keyboard disconnected and T7 (compressor pressure) "off". I'll let the system run like this for a week and then start connecting things again and see what happens. I'm still getting the "unusual power consumption" event log entry approx. an hour after the system finishes DHW production (around the time when the DHW valve would be switched to "closed" and the pump would be turned off).

This is actually interesting - the v7 styring is, apparently, a bit of a snowflake. Motherboards should not simply freeze if a connected peripheral malfunctions - I guess there are programming techniques available on the SW side (avoid division by zero etc.) and filters etc. on the HW side. But I suppose if v7 cannot handle ethernet hickups without freezing, then it's entirely conceivable that any of the three items mentioned above could be problematic, too. I know that at least with the O2 proble, v7 simply switches it off if it detects implausible values (happened to me when I had a clogged chimney - the O2 probe was actually fine).

Does anyone know if v13 is more robust than v7? (obviously there won't be any issues with the LAN, but is it otherwise more robust?)
« Senest Redigeret: Jun 18, 2018, 09:03 af Tysker »

Offline Tysker

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Sv: RTB v7 controller keeps freezing - please help!
« Svar #3 Dato: Jun 19, 2018, 15:59 »
Next freeze just now @1520. So we can exclude the screen, keypad, and T7 sensors as likely culprits.

Before I disconnect LAN entirely, I've now swapped the 2nd LAN over power adapter - I'm using TP-Link TL-PA411. These are only used for this particular connection.

If I get another freeze, I'll disconnect the LAN. If that solves the problem, do you guys have any thoughts on how to proceed? The TL-PA411 setup worked fine for almost 2 years (9.16 - 5.18). I can try a WLAN to LAN adapter (I have a TP-Link TL-WA850RE here that I can temporarily repurpose). Any other thoughts? Could this be related to the stupid new electricity meters that the Danish government imposed on all of us in their wisdom?

Offline niels123

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Sv: RTB v7 controller keeps freezing - please help!
« Svar #4 Dato: Jun 19, 2018, 16:26 »
Might have been mentioned in the text train before but sounds like some network IP conflict
/Niels
RTB 10 kw version 7.0674 incl ilt sonde. 230m2
9000 kg pr år

https://stokercloud.dk/v3/#/niels123/main-page

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Sv: RTB v7 controller keeps freezing - please help!
« Svar #5 Dato: Jun 20, 2018, 10:13 »
Thanks Niels. I suppose that's possible - I changed ISPs in April (so new modem/router) and did get at least one IP conflict message since. I've now taken one router with DHCP functionality off my network (a FritzBox) and turned DHCP functionality from "auto" to "off" on the wifi extender.

It just never occurred to me that an IP conflict could cause the NBE controller to freeze ... is that something that can/should be fixed with a SW update?
« Senest Redigeret: Jun 20, 2018, 10:14 af Tysker »

Offline BoinkUser

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Sv: RTB v7 controller keeps freezing - please help!
« Svar #6 Dato: Jun 20, 2018, 11:49 »
Hi guys

Just to conclude.

IP conflicts and crafted frames should not bring your controller in this state with a frozen screen and no activity at all. The version Motoz refers to is an early alpha version, he was testing long time ago, when everything was still under development, and that resulted in a reset not a permanent freeze.

But you have a problem, and removing equipment is a good way to eliminate the source to the problem, also the ethernet can be removed. But please dont conclude its based on ip conflicts or special frames. I do not know your specific situation, right now, but you are free to write to info@stokersoft.com and i will do my best to help you or conclude if you have a hardware defect.

Regards Jens
Version 13 styring, styret fra 22" tablet, Opop 418 kedel
Opvarmer 238 m2 (heraf 119 kælder)

Offline motoz

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Sv: RTB v7 controller keeps freezing - please help!
« Svar #7 Dato: Jun 20, 2018, 12:31 »
I hope my suggestion to disconnect the network didn't read like I somehow implied that a network related software bug was a likely explanation. I just meant that since almost everything else have already been excluded by swapping/disconnecting hardware, this too can easily be checked by unplugging the network for a while and seeing if it still hangs. My V7 controller has been running without any kind of problem for two years, not even a single lost connection, so I regard it as really robust.
Bio Comfort 30kW, compressor cleaning, lambda. Termax 25cr boiler. Matene vertical pellet conveyor. PellMon open source pellet logger: https://github.com/motoz/PellMon

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Sv: RTB v7 controller keeps freezing - please help!
« Svar #8 Dato: Jun 20, 2018, 15:06 »
Thanks everybody for their input. I think this is really helpful - and I'm taking all input as what it is intended to be, an attempt to point at a potential cause for my problems. Jens, I do appreciate your offer and will do as you suggest if I get any further freezes.

I will keep you guys posted. FWIW, I just updated the system to "Android only" and am now running 7.0967.

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Sv: RTB v7 controller keeps freezing - please help!
« Svar #9 Dato: Sep 03, 2018, 13:15 »
Since my last post, no more freezes, so I'll have to assume that the issue was in fact related to IP conflicts. Thanks again for the help!