Product data

63Morningstar Product Connectivity Manual
built-in EIA-485 interface. The TriStar MPPT 60 connects to a network router using the Ether-
net port. All devices in the system are connected together on a EIA-485 bus. Incoming requests
from the LAN or Internet that are addressed to devices on the network are bridged through the
TriStar MPPT 60 onto the EIA-485 bus.
For products such as the Relay Driver that have a serial port, an EIA-485 adapter (model:RSC-1)
canbeusedtoconnecttotheEIA-485busasshowningure3below.Productsthatdonot
have a serial port require an additional Meterbus adapter (model: MSC) to convert the RJ-11
interface to serial.
Figure 3. Networking Morningstar products that do not have Ethernet ports.
The EIA-485 bridging feature must be enabled in the network settings of the TriStar MPPT 60
controller as follows:
Open the TriStar Live View webpagea.
Click the “Network” link at the topb.
Under the “Settings” section, check the box for the “c. Bridge Ethernet MODBUS requests to
EIA-485 network” option.
Click the “Save” buttond.
NOTE:
The RSC-1 EIA-485 adapter requires power from the battery or DC-DC converter to power the bus. The
RSC-1 can be powered directly from a 12V system battery. For 24 or 48V systems, a DC-DC power
converter is required.
!
CAUTION:
All incoming requests addressed to controllers and devices that are connected (bridged) to the EIA-485
port on the TriStar MPPT will be passed both READ and WRITE modbus requests without exception.
Setting switch #8 on the TriStar MPPT only prevents WRITE requests to the local controller. For this
reason, we do not recommend enabling internet access to systems with bridged EIA-485 networks
unless extra network security measures are implemented.