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

[Rob F]

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.



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-Ro...96#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.



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



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.



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



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.



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



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.




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.




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.




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.




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




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



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.

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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.

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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