Victron energy GlobalLink 520 User manual

GlobalLink 520
Rev. 08 07/2022
ENGLISH

Table of Contents
1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 1
1.1. Supported countries March 2022 (This list will change over time) ..................................................... 1
2. Installation ............................................................................................................................. 3
2.1. What's in the box? ........................................................................................................... 3
2.2. Assembly instructions ....................................................................................................... 3
3. The status LED ....................................................................................................................... 4
4. Cellular connectivity ................................................................................................................. 5
4.1. 4G LTE-M .................................................................................................................... 5
4.2. Antenna ....................................................................................................................... 5
4.3. Internal SIM card ............................................................................................................ 5
4.4. Custom SIM card ............................................................................................................ 5
4.4.1. Steps to replace the SIM card ................................................................................... 5
5. Product compatibility ................................................................................................................ 7
6. Power ................................................................................................................................... 8
7. Data transmission to VRM .......................................................................................................... 9
8. Digital inputs ........................................................................................................................ 10
8.1. Digital inputs as VRM alarm notification trigger ........................................................................ 10
9. Relay switch ......................................................................................................................... 14
10. Input Voltage Measurement ..................................................................................................... 15
11. Firmware updates ................................................................................................................. 16
12. Settings and diagnostics ........................................................................................................ 17
12.1. VictronConnect ........................................................................................................... 17
12.2. Settings ................................................................................................................... 18
12.3. Victron smart devices and RuuviTags ................................................................................. 19
12.3.1. Setting up Victron smart devices incl. RuuviTag sensors ................................................. 19
12.4. Custom names ........................................................................................................... 20
13. Troubleshooting .................................................................................................................. 22
14. FAQ .................................................................................................................................. 23
15. Appendix ........................................................................................................................... 24
15.1. Data attributes sent to VRM ............................................................................................ 24
15.2. Enclosure Dimensions ................................................................................................... 26
GlobalLink 520

1. Introduction
The GlobalLink 520 allows you to connect other Victron equipment, such as your Battery Monitor (BMV), SmartShunt, Solar
Charger, Phoenix Smart IP43 Charger or Phoenix Inverter to the Victron Remote Management (VRM) portal via VE.Direct or
Bluetooth. RuuviTag and RuuviTag Pro sensors via Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) are also supported. The VRM portal is available
to use free of charge to view the status of your installation from anywhere in the world using your desktop or mobile device.
The first five years of cellular connectivity are included in the purchase price. The device comes pre-configured and is ready to
use right out of the box. You do not need to change any settings.
Make sure you have LTE-M coverage in your country before purchasing this device: https://1nce.com/en/coverage/. However, this
list does not show the operators per country nor the exact coverage of LTE-M per operator.
We created a list from existing VRM data showing which operators have more than one GlobalLink 520 active on their network
and added a link to the coverage map: https://community.victronenergy.com/articles/119936/globallink-520-lte-m-coverage.html.
1.1. Supported countries March 2022 (This list will change over time)
• Argentina
• Austria
• Australia
• Belgium
• Canada
• Denmark
• Finland
• France
• Germany
• Great Britain
• Jamaica
• Japan
• Jersey
• Korea, Replublic of
• Latvia
• Netherlands
• New Zealand
GlobalLink 520
Page 1 Introduction

• Norway
• Poland
• Puerto Rico
• Romania (Bucharest area only, pending further roll-out LTE-M)
• Spain
• Sweden
• Switzerland
• Taiwan
• US Virgin Islands
• USA
GlobalLink 520
Page 2 Introduction

2. Installation
2.1. What's in the box?
• GlobalLink 520
• 1.5m power cable with 1A inline fuse and M10 eyelets and power connector
• 2 pluggable terminal blocks
What's not in the box
• VE.Direct cables
2.2. Assembly instructions
1. Make a note of the VRM Portal ID indicated on the sticker on the GlobalLink 520.
2. Mount the GlobalLink 520 close to the device you wish to monitor.
3. Connect your compatible devices to the GlobalLink 520 via a VE.Direct cable (available in different lenghts) or via Bluetooth
(see chapter Victron smart devices and RuuviTags [19]).
4. Connect the DC Power (8V - 70V).
5. The LED will start blinking blue while trying to connect to the network (this can take up to 5 minutes).
6. The LED will blink green and yellow when one VE.Direct device is connected, or green only when two VE.Direct devices are
connected.
7. Visit to the VRM portal to 'add' your installation to your account using the Portal ID you wrote down in step 1. You can only
add your device to VRM once it has connected to the network (blinking yellow and/or green).
GlobalLink 520
Page 3 Installation

3. The status LED
LED state Meaning
Blinking blue Connecting to VRM. If the LED keeps blinking blue, check the network coverage for your region.
Blinking green Everything is OK: A connection has been made both to the VRM and to two VE.Direct devices.
Blinking green and
yellow
The device is connected to VRM, but only to one VE.Direct device: Check the cable and power
to the second VE.Direct device.
Blinking yellow The device is connected to VRM, but not to a VE.Direct device: Check the cable and power to
the VE.Direct device.
Continuous red The device detected a problem and will automatically reboot to try and rectify it. This process
usually takes a few minutes.
Blinking purple The device is updating its software. This process usually takes a few minutes.
GlobalLink 520
Page 4 The status LED

4. Cellular connectivity
The GlobalLink 520 is a cellular device which connects to LTE-M compatible 4G networks. The cellular provider of the included
SIM card is '1nce'. Their global network of operators is constantly expanding and you can check LTE-M coverage in your area
here: https://1nce.com/en/coverage/.
4.1. 4G LTE-M
LTE-M is the abbreviation for LTE Cat-M1 or Long Term Evolution (4G), category M1. This cellular technology is designed to
connect Internet of Things (IoT) devices to existing 4G towers while using low energy. LTE-M supports handover and roaming,
making it possible to use this device in a moving vehicle such as a campervan (with an external antenna).
4.2. Antenna
The GlobalLink 520 has an internal antenna and an SMA connector for an optional external antenna. A switch on the top of the
device determines which antenna is used. If the switch is set away from the SMA connector, the internal antenna is used, when
set towards the connector, the external antenna is used.
Do not set the switch to "external" if there is no external antenna connected, as this can permanently damage
your device.
The GlobalLink 520 is not rated for outdoor use. You can however connect your own outdoor antenna to the device to improve
your signal strength if the internal antenna does not have good enough reception (note: you can find the signal strength in VRM).
LTE-M uses the following frequencies: 703-803 and 2520-2620 MHz.
Even if the connection still appears to be quite stable and works with a poor signal, the performance drops drastically, as can be
seen in the table below. Data is then, for example, not transmitted at the scheduled intervals.
RSSI Signal strength Description
>= -65 dBm Excellent Strong signal with maximum data speeds
-65 dBm to -75 dBm Good Strong signal with good data speeds
-75 dBm to -85 dBm Fair Fair but useful, fast and reliable data speeds may be attained, but marginal
data with drop-outs is possibly
-85 dBm to -95 dBm Poor Performance will drop drastically
<= -100 dBm No signal Disconnection
4.3. Internal SIM card
Inside the device is a nano SIM card which is used for connectivity. This SIM is locked and can only be used in combination with
this specific GlobalLink device. It has a limited data bundle for the device to operate and receive updates over the air.
4.4. Custom SIM card
It is possible to replace the factory installed SIM with another SIM card. Make sure your operator does support LTE-M (CAT-M1),
which is not the same as regular 4G (LTE). On average the GlobalLink 520 uses between 1 and 2MB (megabyte) of data per
week. Note that actual usage may be calculated differently by your operator.
4.4.1. Steps to replace the SIM card
1. Detach all cables and make sure that the device is not connected to a power supply or battery.
2. Open the GlobalLink 520 enclosure with a Phillips screwdriver.
3. Locate the SIM card holder on the center of the board, slide the cover of the holder slightly to the left (or right, whichever way
the PCB is turned) and pull up to open the holding mechanism.
4. Place your SIM card in the holder with the connectors facing down, flip it to the closed position and slide it into place.
5. Reconnect all cables, power up the GlobalLink 520, open the VictronConnect app and go to the settings to set the PIN and
APN of your operator.
6. Wait a few minutes for the device to establish a connection, indicated by the green blinking LED. If it takes more than 15
minutes, the device will automatically reboot and try again. If that doesn't work either, you can disconnect the power for at
GlobalLink 520
Page 5 Cellular connectivity

least 10 seconds and try again. If the PIN is not correct, an error message will be displayed. This is not the case for the APN,
please double check.
In the event that you switch back to the factory installed SIM card from a custom SIM card, the custom
APN must be deleted.
GlobalLink 520
Page 6 Cellular connectivity

5. Product compatibility
The product supports the VE.Direct protocol and Bluetooth broadcast data advertisement.
The two built-in VE.Direct ports are compatible with:
• MPPT Solar Charge Controllers which have a VE.Direct Port
• BMV Battery Monitor 700 series
• BMV Battery Monitor 710 Smart series
• Multi RS Solar and Inverter RS Smart Solar
• MPPT RS
• Phoenix Inverter VE.Direct
• SmartShunt
• IP43 Chargers
The following smart devices are compatible with Bluetooth broadcast data advertisement:
• Smart Battery Sense
• SmartBMV
• SmartShunt
• SmartSolar MPPT charger
• Lithium Battery Smart
• RuuviTag and RuuviTag Pro
The device is not compatible with our Peak Power Packs.
Please see the table in chapter 7. Data transmission to VRM [9]for a list of which data is send to the VRM portal. More
information is also available on our website: https://www.victronenergy.com/panel-systems-remotemonitoring/globallink520
GlobalLink 520
Page 7 Product compatibility

6. Power
The GlobalLink 520 can be powered directly from your battery bank and operates between 8V and 70V.
System voltage Average current with relay open Average current with relay closed
12V 20mA 40mA
24V 10mA 20mA
48V 5mA 10mA
GlobalLink 520
Page 8 Power

7. Data transmission to VRM
After power-up, the GlobalLink 520 will connect to the LTE-M network. Once connected, it will gather information from the
connected VE.Direct and compatible Smart device(s) and transmit it to the VRM portal.
The table below lists compatible VE.Direct and smart devices with the data sent to the VRM portal every 15 minutes. Devices not
listed are not supported.
Please note that some of the transmitted data is only available via a VE.Direct and/or via a Bluetooth live data advertisement
connection.
Device Data transmitted to VRM
MPPT Solar Chargers, MPPT RS PV power, voltage and current, battery voltage and current, error code, charge state,
yield, load current
Multi RS Solar, Inverter RS AC input voltage, output voltage and current, inverter state, mode
Phoenix Inverter VE.Direct AC input voltage, battery voltage, AC out voltage and current, inverter state, mode,
alarm reason
SmartShunt Battery voltage, current and power, SoC, AUX voltage, alarm status and reason
Phoenix Smart IP43 Chargers Output (1/2/3) voltage and current, error code, charger on/off, charger state, relay state
Smart Battery Sense Battery voltage and temperature
BMV Battery Monitor Battery voltage, current and power, SoC, alarm status and reason
Lithium Battery Smart Battery voltage, cell 1..8 voltage, state, error, balancer status
RuuviTag and RuuviTag Pro Temperature, humidity, air pressure
GlobalLink 520
Page 9 Data transmission to VRM

8. Digital inputs
The GlobalLink 520 comes with two digital inputs, which also act as pulse counters; you can view their current state and the
number of detected pulses (rising edge, 1000Hz max) in VRM. The Globallink 520 resets the pulse counters on a reboot, the
module also reboots when there is no network.
Pinout Input
pin1 input1
pin2 input2
pin3 gnd
The inputs are non-isolated. They operate at 3V3 levels and can withstand up to 5V input. Each input has an internal 10k pull-up
resistor to 3V3.
We recommend wiring it to a potential free relay that switches the input between free floating and shorted to ground. Or otherwise
an open collector/optocoupler output, which also switches the signal between free floating and shorted to ground.
8.1. Digital inputs as VRM alarm notification trigger
It is possible for the digital inputs to trigger an alarm notification in VRM and send an email to selected users, if desired.
The GlobalLink 520 is intended to be a low data consumer and sends cloud updates every 15 minutes.
It is therefore normal that there is some latency delay between the change of the digital input state and the signal to VRM and any
subsequent alarm. So it may not be suitable for applications where a near real-time alarm is essential.
Alarm options are set in VRM Settings -> Alarm rules menu.
In this menu you can see the default alarms that are pre-configured. For more information on all possible VRM parameters, see
the VRM portal documentation.
Add a new alarm rule in VRM using the digital inputs as a trigger
It is possible to add a new alarm rule in VRM by clicking the 'Add new alarm rule' button.
The Digital inputs are displayed as separate devices to the other Global Link parameters when creating a new alarm rule.
GlobalLink 520 [0] - Internal data
GlobalLink 520 [1] - Digital input 1
GlobalLink 520 [2] - Digital input 2
You will also see other connected devices separately in this list.
GlobalLink 520
Page 10 Digital inputs

Once you have selected the digital input device you wish to use to trigger an alarm, click next.
Then select the parameter;
Digital input state and click next.
Then enable either the ‘High’, or ‘Low’ value, depending on the alarm behaviour you would like. This may take some testing with
your specific digital input wiring and the results shown in VRM to get the results you want.
It can be useful to enable the Digital input state widgets in the advanced tab of VRM to get a sense of the behaviour and the
reading that you should configure for the alarm.
GlobalLink 520
Page 11 Digital inputs

Then set the minimum time that the condition is active for before an alarm notification is created.
Note that the time set is the amount of time the high or low condition is active before an alarm is generated. It can then take an
additional amount of time (up to 15 minutes) before that alarm is sent to VRM and email notification is sent.
Once the new alarm rule has been added, review the email notifications, enable or disable email alerts for registered users of the
site.
Then click ‘Save all changes’
GlobalLink 520
Page 12 Digital inputs

Example of the email alarm notification;
There is a shortcut from the alarm settings to the VRM alarm log. The history of your digital input alarms will be recorded there.
GlobalLink 520
Page 13 Digital inputs

9. Relay switch
The GlobalLink 520 comes with one relay which can be operated from VRM from the device list page.
Pinout
pin1 NO
pin2 COM
pin3 NC
You can queue changes to the relay state in VRM. Changes will be propagated the next time the device connects and transmits
its data, and can thus take up to 15 minutes to take effect (or longer if the device has no connection).
GlobalLink 520
Page 14 Relay switch

10. Input Voltage Measurement
The GlobalLink measures the voltage on its own power connector. If none of the connected VE.Direct or Smart devices is able to
measure voltage, this value is used instead in VRM.
Note that this measurement is not very accurate. At 14V it's +/- 0.2V, at 24V it's +/- 0.5V and at 48V it's +/- 1V.
GlobalLink 520
Page 15 Input Voltage Measurement

11. Firmware updates
The GlobalLink 520 can automatically check and update its firmware to the latest stable or beta version, depending on the setting.
Auto-update settings can be changed or disabled via the Settings menu in VictronConnect or the Device list on the VRM portal.
1. Open the VictronConnect app and tap on the GlobalLink 520 from within the Device list.
2. After successfully connecting, tap on the cog wheel icon in the top right hand corner to open the Settings menu.
3. Tap on the Auto-update selection menu. There are 3 options to choose from:
a. Disabled: disables Auto-update
b. Official release (stable): Only official release firmware versions will be installed (automatically)
c. Beta release: Installs (automatically) latest beta version if it is newer than the previous beta or release version
4. If a new firmware update is available, the unit starts updating and the LED will blink purple. This can take up to 10 minutes.
Do not power down the unit even if the LED stops blinking for a while.
GlobalLink 520
Page 16 Firmware updates

12. Settings and diagnostics
Not all Android devices can connect to the GlobalLink 520. An example is the HUAWEI Y6 2019 and there
may be other Android phones that are also incompatible.
Unfortunately, if you are using an incompatible Android phone with the GlobalLink 520, you have no choice
but to use another compatible mobile device.
Please do not contact Victron Support if you find your mobile device is not compatible. This is a known
limitation of the GlobalLink 520 firmware and is currently not supported..
12.1. VictronConnect
The status of the GlobalLink 520 with firmware v2.05 or newer can be monitored live with a Bluetooth enabled device (such as a
mobile phone or tablet) using the VictronConnect app.
If you don't see your device in VictronConnect, it is possible that Bluetooth is disabled. You can enable Bluetooth from the device
overview in VRM. After enabling this, it can take up to 15 minutes for the change to go into effect.
When you open the VictronConnect app, you can select a GlobalLink 520 from the overview, which shows the serial number and
the BLE signal strength.
When successfully connected, the status screen will load. This can take longer than you are used to with other devices due to the
fact that the GlobalLink 520 needs to wait for information from the LTE-M network. This should be less than 30 seconds.
GlobalLink 520
Page 17 Settings and diagnostics

On the status screen there is information about the connectivity to the LTE-M network and the Victron Remote Management
portal. For the device to work properly, the SIM status should be Ready and the LTE-M status must be Connected. You can also
check if the correct antenna is selected and the current signal strength. The status screen also shows the operator name and
number. It is not possible to select one yourself, even if more than one network is available in your region.
In the status screen it is also possible to see the status of both VE.Direct ports, the number of connected Bluetooth (smart)
devices and the status of both digital inputs.
If you connect to the GlobalLink 520 very early during power up, it is possible that it will show an error for
the SIM Status. Please power cycle the device and wait for the device to be fully booted before connecting.
The device does not restart automatically when an error is detected and there is an active connection via BLE
(VictronConnect).
12.2. Settings
The Settings page is accessed by clicking on the cog wheel icon at the top right corner. The Settings page provides access
to view or change the settings of the GlobalLink 520. This page also allows you to view product information such as installed
firmware versions, toggle the GlobalLink 520 on-board relay, or change or disable the update channel.
If you select a release candidate firmware, please note that the release candidate firmware is not intended
for normal use. In particular, it is not intended for use in critical and/or unattended systems: for example, an
accidental error on our part may render the system remotely inaccessible or even cause a system reset or
shutdown.
GlobalLink 520
Page 18 Settings and diagnostics