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

[Enigma79]

    pid='8026' dateline='1662019517']

[Rob F]

Hi, today you have to setup 2 custom rules for the ATO, once I get the ATO functions built in it'll be easier.

If you only use one sensor for ATO create the custom rule for it and have it turn the pump on when water isn't touching the sensor. Then create a 2nd custom rule using the same sensor and have it turn the pump off when water is touching the sensor.

Then for the reservoir create another custom rule using the sensor to monitor the reservoir level and have it turn off the pump when water isn't touching the sensor. Then like the ATO create another custom rule to have the pump back on when water is detected.

Overall you should have 4 custom rules. I would start with just the 2 for ATO to get that working as expected and then work on the reservoir sensor.

If you use 2 sensors for ATO you can combine like you did above.

Hope this makes sense, if you need more info let me know.

[Enigma79]

Hi Rob,

Thank you for getting back. The app looks good and like the function you have provided, it works on my pi3 and beta deluxe controller. Great work and I hope you had a good holiday. Happy new year!


Yes, I tested by adding two rules and then it worked, using the two sensor combo to turn on when levels are correct and turn off when the tank water level is correct. I did not get the alert on the dashboard or emails. A test email functionality would be great. What is the use of the half function like on/off and off/on. I was having a hard time understanding the default state of the ac devices and the use of the red dot, tried different options, could not get my return/wave maker/ skinner/heater to turn in after reboot and did not find the startup sequence. Also, could not figure out the temp sensor calibration and after seeing your response I guess I need to set two custom rules for upper and lower thresholds. Can you point me to the manual for this app and how to set it up.

I was not too confident, so reverted back to original reef pi software, luckily I have two SD cards so I was able to use my old one and everything is back to normal now.

[Rob F]

Thanks and happy new year to you as well. Also forgot to thank you for testing driving the app, any feedback you have would be great.

The dashboard alerts aren't a thing yet, I just added that option so I didn't have to redo a bunch of screens, that is something higher on the list I want to get done. I did forget about adding a test email feature, that's something I'll definitely get to.

The on/off and off/on function in the custom rule allows you to temporary turn on/off an outlet during the custom rule. For example maybe you have one sensor but want to turn on/off or off/on an outlet or DC port you could do it without 2 custom rules.

When the controller starts up all outlets and DC ports are switched off, then the system checks all schedules for both and if a port should be on based on a past schedule it will. Very soon I'm also adding a check for custom rules during the startup, for example maybe the power went out for a period and the water level dropped and ATO needed to run, when it starts it would know the sensor isn't touching water and startup the custom rule.

Whenever you have a red dot on an AC outlet or DC port it means that port is in manual mode. When it's in manual mode nothing will change the state of that port. When the controller starts up it'll remember if a specific port was in manual mode and return to that. This is good for maintenance or whatever so something doesn't suddenly start up. If you click on the red dot it'll disappear and return to automatic mode. When things didn't work as expect this may have been the reason. The "resume" button on the dock would put everything back in automatic mode but isn't active yet.

Glad you installed on a 2nd SD card so it's easy to switch. I'm feeling confident with the reliability of the app but definitely do verify things do what they should a few times, you can view the log but there was an issue in the latest version that you may have multiple entries of the same action.

I don't have a manual for the app, I'm hoping I won't need one but maybe that's wishful thinking. At some point I want to put something like a ? image on various screens that a person could hover and get info.

[Enigma79]

Yes, I always keep an extra micro SD so that if something goes wrong then I can easily revert back to the previous version. 

I think you should create a new post with the latest updates and have a status snippet for each of the functionality and a separate sub form for the functions. Since we are using the main thread, I had to go through almost all 20 of the pages and all the posts to see if I missed any thing. I am happy that there are so many users of the Robo Tank controller and software.

I am still confused with the Initial start up sequence, checking the rules and schedules is ok but, I think you should have the option of delayed start like the reef-pi and a check box for - check rules/schedules before turning on this equipment. I tried all the options for manual turn ON with just green and green with red dot, but the equipment did not turn on after reboot. For example, I want my return to turn on first after a reboot, and then check the water level, because in my case I have a nano AIO and my sump water level is always over the level sensor and only after the returns turns ON the level will go down and if it is below the ATO level, only then I want the ATO to turn ON. This will help start things like skimmers after the water levels are settled and avoid overflow. The manual over-ride and red dot is a little confusing.

With scheduling I noticed that I setup my refugium lights to turn on at 10:00 pm on one schedule and setup a second schedule to turn off at 6:00 am. After every reboot the system turned on the light even at 10:00 am. I think the system is not going through all the schedules for a device. I like the old approach to schedule some thing to tun On/Off a device and set the time to keep the device in that state.

 While I was waiting for the response for my first questions, I thought there was something that I did wrong so I reflashed the software and after the second refresh I was not able to change the controller version. I will try again and let you know.

I like the approach of having explanations on the screens so the user can understand the setup as they are on the screen. I think you should also setup a suggestion option on the screen that users can click to send feedback to you, if you set one on the footer of pages then it will replicate to all the screens.

How do we calibrate the temperature sensors? Is there a way to re-initialize the software without having to refresh the card? How to backup the settings and restore them for the app?

[Rob F]

Sorry for the long delay, I was away. Thanks for your feedback, much appreciated.

Going forward I will be creating a new thread for each version I release, I agree this is getting to long and hard to follow.

Yeah the startup does need more work, a few people have mentioned adding a delay on startup for things like skimmers. Based on your thoughts and others I think I'll add some startup options such as delays and what to check, I can see it won't be possible to have a one startup fit all so will make it customizable. I think I'll try and work on this sooner than later as I can see it's importance.

I will test out the scheduling as you described to see how it reacts, the few tests I've done it seemed to be ok but could definitely be an issue I missed, thanks for letting me know.

One thing to note about setting the controller version, you can only do that directly from the system settings screen, the option during the initial setup wizard isn't working.

I have thought about adding a method for users to send feedback directly from the app and reporting errors and bugs, this may take a bit of time but will definitely get there. One thing I have added is the ability to send an update to a single user, maybe you find a bug and I attempt to fix it, I can then send only you the update to make sure it's fixed on your system before releasing to everyone. I've done this a few times with people so it's quite handy.

Sorry, currently you can't calibrate temp sensors, again something that will be coming.

If you run the install script it should re-initialize the software. Running it a 2nd time should be much quicker as everything is installed.

Currently you can't do an easy backup, you have to log into phpMyAdmin and do it from there. Will probably add this for the next version.

[Enigma79]

Hi Rob,

Have you made any progress on the new version.

Ramana

[Rob F]

Hi Ramana, I have made a little more progress but need a little more time, things have been busy lately so sadly less time available for this.

[albinochicken89]

Hi Rob,
In my journey across the net I came across this:

https://oshwlab.com/EFS-GH/esp32-rs232

I don’t know how the extra sensor/DC/Ac powebar modules and such work, but could be cool to make some of your current hardware “wireless”. I assume all the DB9 pins are communication pins that tell the energized relays to turn on or off. Anyway, just an idea.

[ÉricB]

Wireless is fun, but I'll never thrust it with critical stuff like ATO or heater. In fact, I had everything wireless (Home Assistant with a bunch of zigbee plug). One of the reason i decided to go with Robo-reef is to get rid of wireless. Even if zigbee is 1000% more reliable than wi-fi. 

Éric

[Rob F]

Hi albinochicken89, thanks for the suggestion, I have given the ESP32 some thought but I'm like Eric and don't trust wireless so I think I'm going to stay away. It's almost certain that someone somewhere will have a connectivity issue, you hear it all the time with wifi. Down the road I would love to add a CAN bus so the controller can grow.

[DWKDiver]

Hi Rob

Just joined to see how it's going with your controller software and Rpi availability these days.
Still using your Rpi controller and doing great although I am not in love with the ReefPi software, it works OK most of the time as long as the wifi is working, which is NOT often enough.

Hope you are well and keep up the good work.

David

[rott]

isn't CAN also used in cars? along with LIN, FlexRay

[Rob F]

Hi David, things are well thanks and good to hear you're still using the controller. I'm very close to pushing out an update for the app that fixes some bugs and a few extra features, I would like to say this weekend but me and timelines for this doesn't seem to work out but it will be soon.

Sounds like the Pi's situation is improving, they expect in about 6 months we will never know this happened. A couple weeks ago I was lucky to get some Pi Zero 2 w's from them that I've agreed to only sell with the controllers so that was nice.

If you have wifi issues it might be best to plug in an Ethernet cable to your router if your Pi has one, if it doesn't it might be worth getting a Pi 3 when you can. No matter what app you use without wifi you won't have access to it, the controller will continue to run but you won't be able to change or view anything.

[Rob F]

isn't CAN also used in cars? along with LIN, FlexRay

Yeah CAN is in a lot of cars and aircraft, it sounds like a very nice system and not to difficult to work with, one of these days I'll get there. Haven't heard of LIN or FlexRay, I'll have to look them up.

[rott]

I live 20 min from Detroit

[Rob F]

Just found this on LIN, sounds interesting but this line scares me a little.

Low cost option (if speed/fault tolerance are not critical)

https://www.csselectronics.com/pages/lin...tro-basics

[rott]

I think LIN is a add on for Can

[Rob F]

Yeah it seems to be, just found this interesting article, based on this I think CAN is the right one although FlexRay sounds like the best.

https://prodigytechno.com/difference-bet...protocols/

[rott]

I have not done anything with cars and/or there on board SOC's