SpongeBob's Power Management System

[davidbrady]

Right now I'm booting up an old Windows XP machine. I got my hands on some Powerlink AS PIM configuration software; the software only runs on XP. I'm gearing up to support all my soon-to-be Vantare owning brothers (and sisters) with all that's need to refresh, recondition, or rebuild the Power Management System. I was on the phone today with a long time Vantare support person who said it'd be $10,000 to replace any one of the micro-controllers which oversee the remote circuit breaker management. Seems, the supplier wants that much to re-gear and program the whopping 2KB program inside the PIC16C57's. Well, I can pick up an Arduino Mega 2560 for $49.95 which offers plenty of power to replace all 4 of the micro-controllers. This stuff is very reliable, but I want to have a plan for the inevitable...

Not being able to leave well enough alone, I've also been talking to Scheider, the SquareD folks, about their follow on product the Powerlink G3. It has ethernet support and an internal web browser server. All the configuration can be done via a web browser. It's perfect for integrating ipad or android control. Lots to play with!