The Busbar

Victron released Venus OS v3.81 on 7 October. On the Cerbo GX MK3, which Panbo reported last week, the device "no longer reboots while plenty of free memory remains", and about 19MB more RAM is available. Victron doesn't say how often the reboots happened. Anyone setting up a new MK3 should check it is on v3.81 or later. The release also fixes two problems introduced in v3.80. The Classic UI was missing AC and DC values for VE.Bus devices in the device list. And Modbus-TCP register 232 (/MicroGrid/OperationSwitcher/Operation) had been made read-only by mistake. New registers are 235 (MicroGrid AllowBlackStart) and 129 (the VE.Bus Weak AC Input setting). Installers can now enable Shared Voltage Sense on Pytes batteries.

The 2026 IBEX Innovation Awards, judged by Boating Writers International and the NMMA, were announced in Tampa on 6 October. Two products share the Electrical Systems category. One is ARCO's Zeus Omega, which we led with in June: the judges' citation says it "splits the alternator regulator in two", with a potted drive module at the alternator and a control module near the batteries, joined by one cable. The other is Egis Mobile Electric's Modular Power Distribution Module. In the citation's words, "small-boat DC systems have long been a patchwork of switches, fuse blocks, and bus bars". The PDM puts them in "one sealed, ignition-protected module" with fuses, resettable breakers, Deutsch connectors and NMEA 2000 control. Egis's product page gives no current ratings or price for it yet. AquaAmp's Smart DT Connector received an honourable mention.

Battery Pack Card is an MIT-licensed Home Assistant card by Sven Hamers that draws a lithium pack with its cells, temperatures and alarms. Version 1.6.0 (1 October) added a Battery Stacked Pack Card that draws a whole bank as cases in a cabinet. Version 1.7.0 (3 October) added a bank display styled after the JK BMS screen. It works out voltage as the packs' mean, sums current and capacity, and weights SOC by capacity. 1.9.0 (9 October) lists packs found through the JK-BMS RS485 add-on and credits "Andy" (Off-Grid Garage) for ideas. The same day, 2.0.0-alpha.1 added alerts for cell difference, cell voltage, temperature, low SOC, BMS alarms and a BMS switching charge or discharge off. Critical alarms break through a phone's silent mode. The card writes only its own automations, "never to the BMS". It isn't JK-only: Seplos, Daly, JBD and Pace work if their data is in Home Assistant.

Anker announced the SOLIX S5000 on 9 October. It is a 5,024Wh power station built on 314Ah LFP cells, with 4,500W continuous and 8,000W peak at 120V or 240V. It has four NEMA 5-20 outlets, an L14-30 and a TT-30 RV outlet. There are two solar inputs: 11–60V (1,000W) and 16–165V (2,000W), each up to 17A. It weighs 97lb on wheels, expands to 30kWh and lists UL 9540 and UL 9540A. Anker rates it at 6,000 cycles to 80% and gives a five-year warranty. The figure worth having is idle draw: 8.8W in 120V mode and 13.7W at 240V. By our arithmetic, 8.8W is 211Wh a day, about 4% of the battery, whatever you run. Anker continues the published-idle-draw approach we noted on the S2000. Launch price is $2,499.99 from 27 October; the MSRP is $3,599.99.

Dragonfly Energy filed an 8-K on 8 October reporting a 1-for-8 reverse stock split, effective 12:01am Pacific on 12 October. The stated aim is to raise the closing bid price "above $1.00 per share" and stay compliant with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a)(2). Authorized common stock falls from 400 million to 50 million shares, and the CUSIP changes to 26145B 601. The filing mentions no deficiency notice or deadline. This follows the eighth term-loan amendment a week earlier, under which lenders waived the September minimum-liquidity test. A reverse split changes the share count, not the business. For Battle Born owners, the open question is still the long-term backing for the warranty.