Victron Cerbo GX

Zora reads a Victron GX device over the boat network, Ethernet or Wi-Fi. Batteries, chargers, inverters, solar, tanks and temperature sensors behind the GX. From Zora: the GX relays, inverter and charger mode, AC input limits, solar on and off, what the BMS allows, and generator start. Any Venus OS device with its local MQTT broker will do: a Cerbo GX, an Ekrano GX, a Venus GX or a Color Control.

Setup card: one page with the five things that must be true, and what you see when one is not. Print it before you go to the GX; part of this job happens at the device.

Before you start

A security profile set on the GX, MQTT on LAN enabled, and Zora given the GX password when the profile sets one.

Three of these are set on the GX itself, and one of them cannot be reached over the network, so deal with them while you stand at the device:

1. Choose a network security profile. Until one is chosen, the GX runs no network service at all. Set it on the GX screen or from VictronConnect over Bluetooth; there is no way to do it over the network. On current Venus OS it is under Settings, General, Access & Security.
2. Switch MQTT on, in the GX's Services menu. The menu only appears once a profile is chosen, and the name of the setting changes between Venus OS versions.
3. Note the password, if the profile set one, and the GX's IP address.

Zora and the GX must be on the same boat network.

Set it up in Zora

1. In the Zora Setup app, tap Add-ons & Third-Party, then the Third-Party Integrations tab, then Victron GX MQTT. It opens on the Connection tab.
2. Connection Mode: leave it on MQTT. Choose MQTT (SSL) only if the GX accepts encrypted connections and nothing else.
3. Venus MQTT Host: the field comes filled with venus.local. Replace it with the GX's numeric IP address. A name only works if the boat network resolves it; the address always does.
4. Venus MQTT Password: the GX's password. Leave it blank only if the GX has none. The GX checks only the password, so there is no user name to enter.
5. MQTT Keep-Alive: leave it on. Without it the GX publishes only its serial number. With it, Zora asks the GX every 50 seconds to keep sending everything.
6. Enabled, at the top: switch it on. It stays greyed, with Fill in the Venus MQTT host first, while the host is empty.
7. Tap Save. Victron MQTT settings saved confirms it, and Zora picks the change up within a few seconds.

The card's chip now reads enabled, and the GX's values start arriving. If nothing arrives, see When nothing arrives.

Two choices to make now

Both are easier to set now than to change later.

Use Device Names. Off, Zora names your Victron items by number. On, it uses the names set on the GX, which read better. The name is part of where each reading lands, so turning it on later leaves widgets, source choices and recorded history on the old names. Decide before you build screens.

Report Position. Publishes the GX's own GPS position, course and speed. Source priorities decide which fix the boat uses, so treat it as a backup for when the main GPS stops.

Tidy the data

The other four tabs are optional. A badge on each counts its rows. Tap Save after a change.

• Mappings: give a battery, tank, solar charger or VE.Bus device a name by its Venus ID, such as house for the house battery.
• Sensors: place a temperature sensor, by its Venus ID, where it belongs in Zora.
• Relays: the GX's two relay outputs, each with a display name. Zora can switch them.
• Filters: values to ignore, such as an unused solar charger's.

The Cerbo GX widget

The Cerbo GX widget shows the GX's own console on a Zora screen. It needs Venus OS 3.50 or later; an older GX serves its previous console, which asks for a login.

Leave GX IP address and GX password blank and the widget uses the connection set up here, and opens the console without asking for the password. Fill them in only for a second GX.

A GX the widget cannot reach shows not reachable at its address. One that drops out after the console has loaded shows not responding; tap it to reconnect. The widget checks again every 30 seconds.

When nothing arrives

Five things must be true, in order. Four of them look the same from Zora: nothing arrives and there is no error. The GX is what tells them apart.

1. Does the GX have a Services menu? No means gate 1.
2. Is MQTT switched on in there? No means gate 2.
3. Did any Victron value ever appear in Zora? Yes means gate 5. No means gate 3 or 4.

To tell 3 and 4 apart, open http:// followed by the address you typed into Zora. A password prompt means the GX is there and wants a password: gate 3. Nothing loading at all means the address is wrong: gate 4.

#	What is missing	What you see	Fix it on
1	No network security profile chosen	No Services menu on the GX	the GX, screen or Bluetooth only
2	MQTT switched off	Services exists, MQTT off	the GX
3	Password does not match	The GX's web page asks for a password	Zora: the same password, or clear it on both
4	Wrong host address	Nothing in a browser at that address	Zora: the numeric address
5	Keep-Alive switched off	Values arrive, then stop after about a minute	Zora: MQTT Keep-Alive