WatchMon CORE - What is different?

WatchMon4.4 and WatchMon CORE are almost the same.  But, what is different?

With WatchMon CORE we have taken a hard look at where our customers were having difficulties and tried to address them.  The WatchMon CORE is compatible with all previous products that WatchMon4.4 was compatible with e.g. Expansion1, Expansion2, ShuntMon2 etc. 

Relay instead of Mosfet Output.

For a more robust solution we have moved away from Mosfet outputs and embraced Relays.  This can be seen too on Expansion3 that has 3 mechanical and 3 SSR relays and has also removed the mosfet outputs.   This change was because mosfet outputs being a major source of failure due to inrush current.   We have found relays more reliable and easier for our customers 

IsoMon now needed to communicate with BlockMons, LongMons and LeafMons.

Some components directly needed by only our legacy cell monitors have moved onto the IsoMon3 board and bidirectional rather than single direction isolation has been incorporated into the IsoMon.   It is therefore essential if upgrading from a WatchMon4 to a WatchMon CORE to use an IsoMon3 to communicate with these individual cell monitors.   With our new CellMate-K9 the IsoMon isn't needed.

Extra Pin on CMU serial

We have reworked the serial connection to match the same sequence of the shunt plug (5V, RX,TX, GND) and add a fault detect pin. This will prevent confusion between the Shunt and CMU, reduces the consequences of a mistake and gives us scope to add planned functionality with the Fault pin.  It is however important that the WatchMon4's CMU plug and cable is not used with the WatchMon CORE.  IsoMon3 is essential when using our legacy individual monitors.

Ambient Temperature Sensor

This was missing from the WatchMonPlus range and originally mounted on the WatchMon4 supervisor. This has now been relocated to be remote to allow better sensor placement and prevent the impact of the heat generated from the onboard DCDC from affecting the readings.

SOC% meter 

The "at a glance" state of charge display of 4 LEDs (represent 100%, 75%, 50% and 25%) has been included it in the WatchMon CORE.  This was introduced on the WatchMonPlus range and from the positive feedback was determined it should be part of the standalone supervisor.

Larger DCDC supply

To improve the ease of installation we have increased the power rating of the WatchMonCORE to be able to handle 6 CellMate-K9, ShuntMon and Expansion3. This was from the learnings of customers attempting to use the MultiMon-MM8 that needed a external supplyt at a different voltage to the rest of the system. To simplify the approach for CellMate-K9 the power is now directly feed from the supervisor DC-DC which has had is power rating increased to 6W with the same voltage range of 8 to 65v supply. Do not use the 5V source to supply other circuits or fans etc..

CanBus

The communication bus is now fully isolated to prevent issues when connected to some equipment that is not properly grounded. The Isolation requirement is now stipulated by some inverters available in the market. The 120ohm terminating resistor is now mounted to the circuit board and can be removed if required (via cutting the resistor leg). This eliminates the need to combine the resistor with the cabling on the plug.