Signal K Virtual BMV Plugin

Emulates a VE.direct battery monitor by injecting battery data from Signal K into Venus OS (Victron D-Bus) as a virtual device.

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Features

• Supports voltage, current, SoC, temperature, consumed Ah, time to go, starter voltage, relay state
• Real-time status reporting to the Signal K dashboard
• Compatible with VRM and GX Touch interface
• Exposes metadata '/Mgmt/ProcessName': 'signalk-virtual-device' to distinguish it from real devices

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Requirements

• Signal K server running on a Raspberry Pi or similar device
• Victron Cerbo GX with Venus OS (on the same network)
• SSH access to the Cerbo GX (see step 1)
• D-Bus over TCP must be enabled (see step 2)

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Installation

1. Enable SSH on the Cerbo GX

You can do this via:

• The touchscreen: Navigate to: Settings → Remote Console → Enable SSH

• The web interface at http://venus.local or the device IP: Go to Settings → General → Enable SSH

• Alternatively: Insert a USB stick with a file named ssh in the root directory and reboot the Cerbo.

Afterward, test with:

ssh root@venus.local

(Default user is root, no password needed by default.)

2. Enable D-Bus over TCP on the Cerbo GX

This step allows external devices (like your Raspberry Pi) to access the Victron D-Bus remotely via TCP on port 78. It is required so the plugin can simulate a BMV device over the network.

ssh root@venus.local
dbus -y com.victronenergy.settings /Settings/Services/InsecureDbusOverTcp SetValue 1
netstat -tuln | grep :78

3. Install the plugin

Look for signalk-virtual-bmvin the Signal K app store.

To install manually, clone or copy the plugin folder into ~/.signalk/node_modules/signalk-virtual-bmv and install dependecies with npm install inside the plugin folder.

4. Restart Signal K server

The plug in is enabled by default and should work right away with default settings.

Error "Venus OS not reachable: Connection timeout to Venus OS at venus.local:78"

If you find signalk-virtual-bmv getting a timeout connecting to Venus OS, your Cerbo GX is not reachable at venus.local. Open the Plugin Config section in the Signal K web UI and configure the connection settings.

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Configuration Options

Option	Description	Default
venusHost	IP or hostname of the Cerbo GX	venus.local
interval	Update interval in milliseconds	1000
productName	Name shown in VRM / Venus OS	Signal K Virtual BMV
paths.voltage	Signal K path for battery voltage	electrical.batteries.0.voltage
paths.current	Signal K path for battery current	electrical.batteries.0.current
paths.soc	Signal K path for state of charge	electrical.batteries.0.soc
paths.temp	Signal K path for battery temperature	electrical.batteries.0.temperature
paths.consumedAh	Signal K path for consumed Ah	electrical.batteries.0.capacity.consumed
paths.timeToGo	Signal K path for remaining time estimate	electrical.batteries.0.timeRemaining
paths.voltageStarter	Starter battery voltage path	electrical.batteries.1.voltage
paths.relayState	Relay state path	electrical.batteries.0.relay

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Output

The plugin creates a virtual Victron D-Bus service:

com.victronenergy.battery.ttyVirtualBMV

This will appear in Venus OS as a second battery monitor (BMV), visible on the GX screen and in the VRM portal.

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Testing

To verify D-Bus registration:

dbus-spy --host=venus.local --port=78

Or check on the Cerbo GX under: Settings → Services → Battery Monitor

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MIT © Christian Wegerhoff