Robo-Tank v6.0 is Ready - Now v6.5

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Robo-Tank v6.0 is Ready - Now v6.5 - Rob F - 10-09-2021

Next Post Explaining First Time Installation

This post contains all the update summaries for version 6.x

Version 6.5 - April 9, 2022

Hi, I just pushed out an update. Aside from this I was able to improve the initial install process, it turns out the Quickmail library I'm using for emails didn't compile properly at random, now I know a couple people ran into this issue as I was able to verify it. Instead of going through the complex install of Quickmail I simply copy over the library files already compiled which is working on all Pi's, I've tested on Pi Zero, Pi3 and Pi4. I think the fresh install will go better now, for sure one more issue solved. It's also required to run Debian Buster operating system, if you run Debain Bullseye you need to recompile the main app and the startup app after update which isn't recommended. If you're running Debian Bullseye it's best to do a fresh install. If you don't want to lose your charts you can backup /var/www/html/chartData/ folder and restore later, this holds the CSV files for them.

To update go to settings, then system and click "check for update".

I'm very excited about this update as it includes a fail safe for the PCA9685 which controls the DC ports and eight PWM channels. This chip is controlled via I2C, it interprets various commands and sets the 16 outputs accordingly. In most if not all DIY controllers the command is sent to the PCA9685 and basically fingers crossed it made it in tact and the PCA9685 actually updated. This can be critical for things such as dosing pumps as normally one on/off command is sent, now the program will send the command to update the PCA9685 and immediately send another command to read the same pin to verify it actually updated. If it didn't it will continue to send the command until it's set correctly. This is universal so any command from any system is verified. It's rare a command doesn't make it but can happen just based on how I2C works so. Of course I can't take the credit for creating such a feature, I did find it in a couple Arduino libraries and was able to convert it to how I'm managing it. I strongly feel this is the best feature of the app.

I also added the same verification to GPIO's on the Pi, after it updates it reads the pin to verify it's set correct, I think switching issues on the Pi GPIO is much less likely but may as well verify. I actually thought I had done this but only in initial testing.

I got a basic logging system running, this records all actions and the source that triggered it. This is the start of my custom table template that'll be used throughout, it's responsive and you can sort each column ascending or descending. It can load 2,200 records in about a second. Later I'm planning to add live search, better time frame selection and filters. For today the sort order and time frame isn't saved so it'll default to "Today" and sorted by "Timestamp".

And here's some other minor fixes.

Browser Date/Time - Clock would not show 24 hour format after adding RTC
Schedules - Date added was saved wrong in database after RTC was added
I2C Scanner - Removed auto scanner as it is not required - this was scanning the I2C bus every 10 seconds for changes which was kind of crazy as it adds lots of extra traffic and very unlikely someone adds something with controller powered, now it only scans when the controller starts up.
Charts - pH chart table in database wasn't being updated
Charts - charts were still getting timestamp from internet time, changed to controller system time

Here's an little example of the log, at one point I had a nice example but didn't save a picture so this is just random things after a fresh install. There's a total of 10 sources, 3 actions and 6 equipment types. Eventually this will log everything, when you configure ports, change icons, etc... it'll be like an audit report.

[Image: logs.PNG]

Version 6.4 - March 17, 2022

Finally just released v6.4 and updated the original install post here.

https://www.robo-tank.ca/forum/Thread-Robo-Tank-v6-0-is-Ready-Now-v6-4?pid=6596#pid6596

To update go to "Settings" then "System" and press the "Check for Update" button.

Unfortunately not a lot of cool features this update but all very important, next should be more fun.

The biggest change is v2 and v3 controller compatibility, this took some work despite what it may appear. If you change controller version the main table managing all the pin is reorganized so all settings, schedules, rules etc are still connected to the correct port although it uses a different pin. It's kind of sad the work it took knowing how little it'll be used but I want everything to be as smooth as possible. When you change versions it also reconfigures the /boot/config.txt file so extra DS18B20 ports work when needed. When you view the sensor extension for v3 on the "Ports Configure" page there's an extra option for a DS18B20 sensor which will enable another 1-wire bus on the Pi, I expect will be highly used and people won't realize the trouble it would have been without that little feature so that'll be great.

I added support for a real time clock or RTC, it works with a DS1307 or DS3231. V2 and v3 controller have this onboard so it'll just start working after updating. When you plug one in the system will automatically detect it and do what it needs to, nothing to configure, only need to set the date/time on the "System Settings" page and you're good. You can enable/disable it there as well, the date in the header will update automatically and show the correct date. If this is enabled but no RTC is seen you'll get a date in 1969 or a new one will show year 2000. I also changed the Date/Time at top right corner of page, this was fetching the local system time so it was possible not to match what the c++ program was running at. Now the time displayed in the browser is from the c++ program. After you set the date/time for the RTC power cycle the controller so you can verify the date and time was retained and the backup battery is good. If it goes back to the year 2000 there's an issue with the battery.

I also removed the wiringPi library as it's been deprecated for a while now. Now I'm using the sysfs system built into Linux however this is deprecated as well but will be supported for many years ahead. By the sounds of it doesn't seem like the system replacing this is quite ready. I love this change however it sadly broke the DHT22 code. Originally this was tough to get working as the calculation is time based and I've not been able to get it working using sysfs. So yeah hope nobody is using the DHT22, for sure I will be working on this just didn't want to hold the update any longer.

I also added the "Invert" logic option for AC and DC ports, I thought this was already there but not so. I didn't add it to the light channels yet as I'm planning to change those again.

There were also some various UI issues and bugs that were found or reported, thanks to everyone who's been testing it and reporting problems, may of issues I may never know about if you don't report them. At some point I'm going to put a button in settings page to report an issue, it'll simply send an email to me if you have them enabled. I'm thinking this as when it happens is the best time to report it and that would be handy. There are still a few minor issues I need to address but they are mostly rare cases so I'll save some for next update.

Let me know how it goes and if you spot any issues.

Here's a copy and paste of what's in the database, I've been version changes if I remember, one day a list will appear when the update screen loads.

DC Ports - When put in manual mode the red dot on icon would disappear after a page refresh although it still remained in manual mode
System - removed wiringPi library to control GPIOs, now reading/writing GPIOs using sysfs
Dashboard - changed bottom dock to snap to bottom of browser
System - Added v2 and v3 controller compatibility
AC Outlets - Added ability to Invert output logic
DC Ports - Added ability to Invert output logic
Setup Wizard - Fixed form to configure new pca9685
RTC - Added support for DS1307 and DS3231 real time clocks
PCA9685 - system wouldn't allow more than one
Interface - Date and time on webpage now gets updated from backend instead of using computer date and time
Startup Wizard - Fixed DS18B20 scan and added controller version option

For contexts this is the Configure Ports page when v1 controller is selected.

[Image: configure_ports.PNG]

This is the Configure Ports page when v2 controller is selected.

[Image: configure_ports10.PNG]

This is the Configure Ports page when v3 controller is selected. When you click the icons on the left the large clickable view will appear.

[Image: configure_ports8.PNG]

This is the popup displayed when configuring a port on the v3 sensor extension for a DS18B20.

[Image: configure_ports9.PNG]

This is the System Settings page with the new settings, one for the RTC to enable/disable and set date/time and an option for controller version. The controller does need to reboot for controller selection but not for any RTC settings.

[Image: system2.PNG]

And this is the screen when you set the date and time from above image.

[Image: settings_date.PNG]

Version 6.3 - [b]December 25, 2021[/b]

Could not access Advanced view on Configure Ports Page
Could not disable schedules

Version 6.2 - December 18, 2021

Hello, I actually have an update ready.

If you have auto update on within an hour it should show the link near the time or you can go to system settings and click the "check for update" button. When the update finishes you'll only see a black screen, you need to clear your browser cache for it to work. You can press CTRL + F5 on the keyboard a few times and that should work.

Here's what was done, there were some other fixes here and there but I forgot to mark them down.

- Light should be working now.
- There was a problem with pH calibration on the 2nd point so that should work now
- Added an auto log out so people aren't using the front end logged out, now it should go to the login page after 24 hours idle.
- Custom rules - added ability to add delay to dosing pumps so they can't run more than expected. The setting was there just not added to the UI.

This is the new lighting system for now, I kind of rushed it to get them at least working, I'm still not happy with them though. The original was better and down the road I'll go that route again but with a different approach. Anyways now there are no light modes, instead things are grouped by light ports.

This is the page with nothing setup, you'll see buttons for each light port you assign via the "configure ports" screen. To add a mode click the light port/s.

[Image: lights7.PNG]

When you click a port it'll expand and one mode will be added. To add more click the "Add Mode" button in blue bar on the right. The switch is to enable/disable the port.

[Image: lights8.PNG]

If you click the clock you get a box to change the time, you can type it in but it's buggy so I recommend using the menu instead. This is just using the browser time selector but it's garbage so I'll get this changed to something better soon.

[Image: lights9.PNG]

After you add a bunch of modes this is what it could look like. If you click the blue header you can expand and collapse the modes.

The modes are auto sorted based on time, for example in the picture below on "DC Port 4" if you changed the mode 4:00:00 PM to 9:00:00 PM it would move to the correct location.

The light icon for each mode does nothing, I was going to add something but didn't and forgot to remove light. The garbage can deletes the mode. If you delete all the modes for a port it'll go back to being a button on the bottom of the page.

[Image: lights10.PNG]

When you disable a port it'll grey out and nothing can be changed.

[Image: lights11.PNG]

This is everything collapsed and what'll you'll see when you visit the page, click a row and it'll expand.

[Image: lights12.PNG]

You can see it's simple but not the friendliest to setup, there's no way to see how the lights will look at a specific period. If you move a slider the light will change in real time and stay at that level until an increment change in the dim. As the lights are basically set and forget this should work for today but yeah I will be making a lot of changes.

Version 6.1 - October 9, 2021

Configure Ports - Added Robo-Tank extensions to DB9 accessory types
Configure Ports - Added all pin functions to advanced tab
Program - Sensors were being checked when disabled
Added a toggle switch as a sensor type
Dashboard - Added sensor status to info boxes
Custom Rules - Off rules were not saved correctly

Version 6.0 - October 9, 2021

It's actually that time, feels good. Started this about 2 years ago for the old controller, put it on pause when I got into reef-pi and about a year ago started getting slowly back into it. A big portion of this time was learning and trying different languages and approaches so it's been a long journey. Overall I'm quite happy with how it's come together considering I've never made a complex web app.

This has been developed on the Pi 3 so I know it's good there but I have done basic testing on the Pi Zero W and Pi 4. With the Pi Zero W I can really feel a difference in images and graphs loading as the wifi isn't that quick. The program runs nearly the same speed as the Pi 3 and 4 so it should be ok.

As this is a continuation of the old software I'm staying with the version numbering so this will be version 6.0.

EDIT: There are some lighting issues, if you want to test this you'll need to wait a little longer. My extensions and extra I2C devices aren't working just yet either.

Features, this is only the beginning.

Centralized Scheduling System
- Create schedules for AC outlets, DC accessories and dosing pumps
- Schedules can be viewed in an easy to read sort-able and filtered list
- Schedules can run on select days or every X number of days
- Optional email alerts for each schedule
Custom Rules
- Create custom rules using any parameter such as temperatures, pH, float switches and other sensors
- Custom rules control AC outlets, DC accessories or dosing pumps
- Optional emails when custom rules start
- Add delays so custom rule doesn't run until sensor is stable
- Add delays so equipment doesn't switch immediately
- Override minimum time between doses so there's no accidental overdoses
Control AC Power Outlets
- Automatic or manual control of each outlet, mix and match
- Lock AC outlet in manual mode and resume to regular mode at later point (remembers manual mode after restart)
- View current status on home page
- Assign custom icons to each outlet, 60 icons available
- Assign custom name to each outlet
- Create multiple schedules for each AC outlet
- Control AC outlets using any sensor with custom rules
Control DC Accessories
- Automatic or manual control of each DC port, mix and match
- Lock DC Accessory in manual mode and resume to regular mode at a later point (remembers manual mode after restart)
- View current status on home page
- Assign custom icons to each DC port, 60 icons available
- Assign custom name to each DC port
- Create multiple schedules for each DC port
- Control DC accessories using any sensor with custom rules
Control Dosing Pumps
- Unlimited dosing pumps
- Dose amounts are in milliliters
- Easy step by step pump calibration system
- Adjust reservoir capacity for each pump
- View total doses remaining in each reservoir on home page and settings page
- Custom color for each reservoir to reflect amount remaining in reservoir
- Pumps won't run when reservoir is empty
- Automatic or manual control of each pump, mix and match
- Control dosing pumps using multiple schedules
- Set minimum time between dosing to prevent accidental over dosing
- Custom name for each dosing pump
- Control dosing pumps using any sensor with custom rules
Custom Light Modes
- Create unlimited light modes
- Create schedule for each light mode
- Control each channel independently
Monitor Temperature and Humidity Sensors
- Works with DS18B20 and DHT22 sensors
- Custom names for each sensor
- View temperatures in Celsius or Fahrenheit
- View minimum and maximum temperature readings
- All parameters can be used with custom rules to control any equipment
- Chart for each sensor
Monitor Multiple pH Probes
- Easy 1 point or 2 point auto calibration wizard
- All probes can be used with custom rules to control any equipment
- Customize name for each probe
- Chart for each probe
Monitor Sensors or Switches
- Custom names for each sensor
- All sensors can be used with custom rules to control any equipment
Other Features
- Smart startup routine resumes controller on power outages base on schedules and custom rules
- Software Auto Update feature
- Controller health is monitored
- Header status icons for controller health meter, controller connection and auto
- All settings are stored in a database
- Display time in 12 hour or 24 hour format
- Assign equipment to ports

RE: Robo-Tank v6.0 is Ready - Rob F - 10-09-2021

Installing Robo-Tank

Installation is fairly easy once you have your Raspberry Pi running, here's a manual with pictures explaining how to install the operating system on your Pi, you need to do this before continuing.

NOTE: You must install Raspberry Pi Debian Buster variant of the Operating System as shown in the pictures.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fED4...N7COY/edit

Follow the setup guide and it should go smooth. After the Pi restarts if the program won't open trying powering down the controller and power back up. If still won't load run the install script again.

A couple things to note - important.

During the initial app setup wizard you'll be prompted for controller version being used, leave this set to version 3 even if you have a prior version. After the initial wizard completes go to settings, system and change the controller version from there.
During the initial app setup wizard it will get to a point and tell you it's going to scan for I2C devices, it should find one with the address 99 or 98. This is the pH circuit on the controller. It will ask you what this is, click on the pH circuit and then it'll ask for a custom name and your set.
During the initial app setup wizard it will get to a point and tell you it's going to scan for DS18B20 sensors, if you have more than one plugged it you won't know what sensor is what unless you actually know the sensor ID which is unlikely so best to plug in one at a time so you can name them without confusion.
After initial app setup wizard completes the dashboard will be nearly empty, I decided to disable all ports so you need to go to "Settings", then "Configure Ports" and click on any ports you use and enable them and select the function. Eventually I will be adding something to the initial setup wizard.
The pH chart doesn't build until 5 minutes after it's added, the DS18B20's start immediately so you might wonder why, it will load, this will be corrected at some point.

Once installed you can go to "System Settings" page to check for future updates

Advanced Users

If you wish to explore the system or make changes you can't through the UI there's a few things you can do. One notable feature missing is ability to change DS18B20 temp sensor name after you give it the initial, you need to go to database DS18B20 table and edit the name there. This will come in UI soon, I kept forgetting about it.

Run phpMyAdmin to access the database.

Add /phpmyadmin/ to your Pi IP address like below.

http://192.168.1.45/phpmyadmin/

Username = root
Password = robotank

You'll see 4 databases, the first 3 don't mess with, the robotank database is the one. Be careful.

FTP Access

You can access all the files on the Pi server using any FTP program, if you make any changes to the files upload this way and you'll be set. The source code for the C++ program is there but if you change anything in those it needs to be recompiled which is easy but I'll go over another day. The UI files just need to be updated and cache on browser cleared to see changes.

host: 192.168.1.45
protocol: sftp
port: 22
username: pi
remotePath: /var/www/html/
password: raspberry

Raspberry PI systemd System File

The C++ program is launched using systemd system on Pi, if the program crashes it restarts in 3 seconds.

Run the following command to stop the service, this will close Robo-Tank.
sudo systemctl stop robotank.service

Run the following command to start the service, this will start Robo-Tank.
sudo systemctl start robotank.service

Run the following command to disable the service, Robo-Tank will no longer run when Pi starts.
sudo systemctl disable robotank.service

Run the following command to enable the service, Robo-Tank will now launch when the Pi starts.
sudo systemctl enable robotank.service

Run the following command to view a log of main c++ program.
sudo journalctl -fu robotank.service

I think that's it, good luck and let me know how it goes.

RE: Robo-Tank v6.0 is Ready - JFReyes - 10-09-2021

Excellent Rob. Unfortunately I'll be a laggard as I moved houses and had to dismantle my aquarium. God willing I will be back before the end of the year. Nevertheless, rest assured that not only will I try to break your software (that's what we developers do :-) but also catch up with reef-pi. I wish you success.

Regards,

RE: Robo-Tank v6.0 is Ready - Rob F - 10-09-2021

Sounds good and no worries, I hope you're up and running soon.

RE: Robo-Tank v6.0 is Ready - loksik.lubos - 10-10-2021

Rob. Skúsil som navštíviť novú verziu 6 všetko šlo dobre a po reštarte zostala iba čierna obrazovka.

Inak je to nadherne ze sa coskoro vrati dizajn stareho radica. Len este by som upravil velkost a styl pisma je moc male a zle citatelne z dialky

RE: Robo-Tank v6.0 is Ready - fred73 - 10-10-2021

Hi Rob

I keep getting this error

cheers

RE: Robo-Tank v6.0 is Ready - Rob F - 10-10-2021

(10-10-2021, 04:50 AM)loksik.lubos Wrote: Rob. Skúsil som navštíviť novú verziu 6 všetko šlo dobre a po reštarte zostala iba čierna obrazovka.

Inak je to nadherne ze sa coskoro vrati dizajn stareho radica. Len este by som upravil velkost a styl pisma je moc male a zle citatelne z dialky

Hi Loksik, unfortunately I'm not familiar with that screen, are you running the Raspbian Raspberry Pi operating system?

(10-10-2021, 07:47 AM)fred73 Wrote: Hi Rob

I keep getting this error

cheers

Hi Fred, it looks like it had problems installing Apache, the errors after are due to it missing.

Can you run these 5 commands, this time it will print out text to terminal based on the install package, I suppressed that for the main install.

I expect you'll get some errors with the first command.

sudo apt install apache2 -y
sudo a2enmod rewrite
sudo systemctl restart apache2
sudo chown -R pi:www-data /var/www/html/
sudo chmod -R 770 /var/www/html/

RE: Robo-Tank v6.0 is Ready - fred73 - 10-10-2021

(10-10-2021, 08:41 AM)Rob F Wrote:
(10-10-2021, 04:50 AM)loksik.lubos Wrote: Rob. Skúsil som navštíviť novú verziu 6 všetko šlo dobre a po reštarte zostala iba čierna obrazovka.

Inak je to nadherne ze sa coskoro vrati dizajn stareho radica. Len este by som upravil velkost a styl pisma je moc male a zle citatelne z dialky

Hi Loksik, unfortunately I'm not familiar with that screen, are you running the Raspbian Raspberry Pi operating system?

(10-10-2021, 07:47 AM)fred73 Wrote: Hi Rob

I keep getting this error

cheers

Hi Fred, it looks like it had problems installing Apache, the errors after are due to it missing.

Can you run these 5 commands, this time it will print out text to terminal based on the install package, I suppressed that for the main install.

I expect you'll get some errors with the first command.

sudo apt install apache2 -y
sudo a2enmod rewrite
sudo systemctl restart apache2
sudo chown -R pi:www-data /var/www/html/
sudo chmod -R 770 /var/www/html/

Got it working
Updated Raspi to latest version
uninstall reef pi and Reboot
Reinstall Version 6
Apache couldnt load due to still binding to reef-pi

Thanks Rob

RE: Robo-Tank v6.0 is Ready - Rob F - 10-10-2021

Awesome Fred. K05164

Good to know reef-pi was stopping it. Kind of surprised as it doesn't use it, I actually thought it would be possible to run them side by side, guess not.

After you use it for a bit let me know how you like it and be honest, I'm a big boy I can handle it. :)

RE: Robo-Tank v6.0 is Ready - albinochicken89 - 10-10-2021

Hey Rob! So Have everything installed and I can get my AC power bar ports to do things. How would you suggest setting up the expansions you offer? I have both the 6 sensor one and the 6 DC port one. Currently, I have their serial cables plugged into the PCA9685 Expander.

RE: Robo-Tank v6.0 is Ready - Rob F - 10-10-2021

Hey albinochicken89, good to hear.

You bet me on those, soon when you click the DB9 on configure ports they will be available as a function and the ports will appear like the power bar but yeah not today. We can do it though.

Did you connect the pca9685 and get the popup asking what it was? If not do that and select pca9685.

Then it will present a table with the 16 pins where you can select each pin function, can only be outputs on pca9685 so the extensions you want to plug in the DB9's otherwise you can't use the sensor ports. You'll want to move the power bars to it so assign the pins as AC outlets and the power bar should work on it.

Now you can plug the extensions into the DB9's but this time on the "Configure Ports" screen click the "Advanced" option and do basically the same thing you did with reef-pi, find the GPIO numbers and assign how you like. You'll notice you can't select any sensor options on those pins, that's sometime I forgot to change so you'll only be able to use the DC ports today, if you can navigate the database I can tell you what to change, it's easy if you can get in the database. Either way I'll make that change for tomorrow and send an update as I would love to try it, if you post your service ID from the system settings page I'll fire one off tomorrow, it's a meaningless number so it's safe to post. If you enable Auto Update you'll see when the update is ready next to the clock.

RE: Robo-Tank v6.0 is Ready - Dom59 - 10-11-2021

Hi Rob,
Just to say After some issues with my sd card and my computer??, first download is done? on my 2nd board.
On next days I will try to setup the system.

Amazing job you have done!

RE: Robo-Tank v6.0 is Ready - Rob F - 10-11-2021

Hey Dom, thanks, glad you got it running, hope it goes well setting up. Thanks for test driving it, that goes for everyone as well, I really appreciate all your time.

RE: Robo-Tank v6.0 is Ready - albinochicken89 - 10-11-2021

Hi Rob! Thanks for getting back to me, sorry it took a second for me to respond...I had to entertain some Halloween festivities lol.
I think I at least figured out getting the DC ports working (that was relatively straight forward. I went into the PHPadmin and switch the pins I needed for sensors to "type 8" since I am running float switches and 4 normally opened micro switches. For the life of me I can't get the sensors to actually work. My support ID is: 899499554 if that helps. It could also be wiring on my end...I haven't ruled that out.

For the microswitches I have them wired one on COM the other on NO. COM goes to 5V, NO goes to Data. and I have them set in Other and P-U. I'm not an expert by any means.

Something that might be cool in a future update is the ability to see the status of switches. It'd help me immensely instead of creating a rule, restarting the controller, and then testing to see if it actuates.

Outside of all that the rest of the new software rocks!!! I really really like it.

RE: Robo-Tank v6.0 is Ready - Rob F - 10-11-2021

No need to be sorry, I know this is my life not yours. :)

Glad to hear you're liking it and nice job with the database. I now have the extensions on the DB9 screen and on the advance tab any function can be selected now for the GPIO's as they are inputs/outputs, pca9685 still only offer outputs as that's all it does.

The support ID, now Controller ID, is only checked when it looks for a new update, if it sees an ID with version number it checks if it matches yours, if not nothing happens, if no ID is with the new version number everyone sees it, that's all it does. Probably tomorrow night I will push an update to you with the dashboard showing sensors, whenever you have time run it and let me know if it worked. I don't want to send the first to everyone in case something goes wrong it'll just ruin your system lol. I'm really excited about the update system, I'll definitely be pushing them quicker because of it.

For your sensor it looks like you need to move P-U to P-D. If you use 5v on one side of switch the jumper needs to be P-D (pull down resistor). With it at P-U (pull up resistor) it's being pulled back to 5v when it's in off state so it's locked in one mode. If the switch was wired to GND vs 5v the jumper is correct.

My very next thing starting tonight is adding sensor status to dashboard, they'll go in those boxes with temperatures, down the road you'll be able to select which to show, now it'll be all. I already have the images ready and I'll probably add a toggle switch option for another sensor type, I didn't think about it. The different sensor selection is only for pictures and labelling purposes. Down the road a bit I'm also adding a "Test Port" button on "Configure Ports" page, basically when you assign a sensor you could click test, a box will appear with image and settings so you can see it work and verify it does what you expect.

Did you have to restart controller for custom rule to work or just to try getting things working? Shouldn't need to restart for anything.

RE: Robo-Tank v6.0 is Ready - Rob F - 10-11-2021

This is the updated Configure Ports screen.

When you click a DB9 port on left side of controller you get this table. You can select AC Power Bar, 6 DC / 2 Sensors or 6 Sensors / 2 DC extension.

[Image: configure_ports6.PNG]

This is about what it should look like on mobile.

[Image: configure_ports7.PNG]

RE: Robo-Tank v6.0 is Ready - Dom59 - 10-13-2021

Hi Ro
I am not sure how to proceed.
Currently with reefpi, my AC outlets are plugged on your expander and 1 extension 6 sensors+ 2 dc ports plugged on main board. Can I connect a RTC on same pins i2c than the expander? Also is there something else to do with the RTC?

Dom.

And when I click on the pins « i2c devices », I see that. Would it be a mistake?

RE: Robo-Tank v6.0 is Ready - Rob F - 10-13-2021

Hey Dom, you can connect multiple I2C devices to that port however keep the cable as short as possible. On the pca9685 expander is an extra header you could use to daisy chain the RTC which might make things easier however you might have to add that header to the expander.

Today you can't connect the RTC, I haven't actually added it yet but it will be coming soon.

RE: Robo-Tank v6.0 is Ready - Rob F - 10-13-2021

(10-11-2021, 03:24 PM)albinochicken89 Wrote: Hi Rob! Thanks for getting back to me, sorry it took a second for me to respond...I had to entertain some Halloween festivities lol.
I think I at least figured out getting the DC ports working (that was relatively straight forward. I went into the PHPadmin and switch the pins I needed for sensors to "type 8" since I am running float switches and 4 normally opened micro switches. For the life of me I can't get the sensors to actually work. My support ID is: 899499554 if that helps. It could also be wiring on my end...I haven't ruled that out.

For the microswitches I have them wired one on COM the other on NO. COM goes to 5V, NO goes to Data. and I have them set in Other and P-U. I'm not an expert by any means.

Something that might be cool in a future update is the ability to see the status of switches. It'd help me immensely instead of creating a rule, restarting the controller, and then testing to see if it actuates.

Outside of all that the rest of the new software rocks!!! I really really like it.

I set the update for your ID albinochicken89 so it should show one is available within an hour of this post. Had to make a bunch of changes to the update system so took longer than expected. The sensors should show on dashboard and those changes on Configure Ports screen. After you update it'll still tell you v6.1 is available. That's because these one person updates don't actually update the version number. You'll have to let me know after you run it so I can remove you ID.

This shows the 5 sensor types available on dashboard, the icons update based on status. I did add a toggle switch as a sensor type. The images has two float switches to show how the icon changes.

[Image: dashboard5.PNG]

RE: Robo-Tank v6.0 is Ready - Rob F - 10-13-2021

(10-13-2021, 10:39 AM)Dom59 Wrote: Hi Ro
I am not sure how to proceed.
Currently with reefpi, my AC outlets are plugged on your expander and 1 extension 6 sensors+ 2 dc ports plugged on main board. Can I connect a RTC on same pins i2c than the expander? Also is there something else to do with the RTC?

Dom.

And when I click on the pins « i2c devices », I see that. Would it be a mistake?

Sorry, just noticed that picture. That pin would be Sensor 4 on extension so yeah you can't assign it, only through the database. It can be done now and the update will come soon.