05-18-2023, 07:52 AM (This post was last modified: 05-18-2023, 10:22 AM by loksik.lubos.)
Hi Rob.
1: It would be possible to create an optional safe start function for the DC ports and sockets, either for a password or a pop-up window if I really want to start this port. This function could act as a safety against accidental trigger of the button on the corresponding port.
3: In the dosing pumps on the V6.6, add manual writing of the value for the capacity of the upper chemistry, because I have to wait a very long time until I reach the volume of the chemistry of about 5000 ml and the table pops up quite often
4: Furthermore, it is possible to create an import/export of reefpi settings directly from the system settings
5: On the main menu, I can't sort the AC sockets according to sockets 1-16, they remain scattered
Hi Loksik, thanks for your suggestions, much appreciated.
Quote:1: It would be possible to create an optional safe start function for the DC ports and sockets, either for a password or a pop-up window if I really want to start this port. This function could act as a safety against accidental trigger of the button on the corresponding port.
Are you referring to a custom startup procedure so things can startup at different times? If so I am planning to add an option to custom rules which will run the rule when the controller starts, using those you can add delays when equipment turns on etc.
There are icons for an ozonizer and external filter and a couple different lights but yeah a few extras could be used. There are icons of floats, no contact and optical sensors however those are only on the dashboard for sensors. When you configure a sensor port on "configure ports" screen if you select one of these sensor types as the "function" you'll get the correct icon on the dashboard showing the sensor state.
Quote:3: In the dosing pumps on the V6.6, add manual writing of the value for the capacity of the upper chemistry, because I have to wait a very long time until I reach the volume of the chemistry of about 5000 ml and the table pops up quite often
Thanks for letting me know, yes it would take a while to get to 5000ml. When you release the button the table does popup asking if you want to reset the reservoir, I do need to come up with a better method for that, I knew it would be a nuisance but better than refilling reservoir.
Quote:4: Furthermore, it is possible to create an import/export of reefpi settings directly from the system settings
Sorry that won't be possible as both can't be installed on the same SD card and would be a lot of work.
Quote:5: On the main menu, I can't sort the AC sockets according to sockets 1-16, they remain scattered
Yeah I need to add the sort back in, I think I have it setup and working just need a UI setting to change it. Currently it sorts by name and I agree not ideal.
Quote:6: How to set the ports to shut down when feeding
Sorry that's not possible today, something I do need to add soon. I'm adding an option to run a custom rule manually so that'll be available next release and then I will have a nice custom feeding mode to cover all possibilities.
06-09-2023, 02:58 PM (This post was last modified: 06-09-2023, 03:06 PM by loksik.lubos.)
Hi Rob, I'd like to clarify a few things when setting up floats, what these things are for and when it's good to use them, I can't find an explanation anywhere about their principle.
1: What does the rule apply to the type of sensor mean?
2: What does AND or OR mean?
3: How does the port work when marked in two colors?
He should also have a proposal:
4: create schedules for turning off various ports, for example: turning off pumps and filters during feeding
5: on the lights tab, create more lighting modes and choose the color of the channel
6: create an optical water detector
7: Rob, would you ever consider working on various accessories like my apex? In my opinion, if your driver offered various add-ons, you would certainly advance to a higher level and that would increase your sales. When I saw firsthand what Apex could do, I was surprised at how many facilities it has.
Hi Loksik, the first sensor you select for the custom rule is what's used to trigger it. Remember in most cases you need to create 2 custom rules, one to turn things on and another to turn things off. The sensor being used doesn't need to be the same for both rules but if you turn something on you'll likely need something to turn it off.
The AND OR option is incase you want to use 2 sensors. For example if you have 2 float switches you can use them both on the same rule, if you do AND then both sensors need to meet the condition set, if you do OR then one or the other sensor needs to meet the conditions to trigger the rule.
The 2 color option is to turn someone on and off (green/red) or off and on (red/green). When you set it to one of the these conditions the next step will show the same outlet twice, one as on and one as off. There you can set a delay so it triggers when you need.
Thanks for the suggestions, some of those are planned and much more, eventually I'll get there just going to take some time.
06-11-2023, 12:39 PM (This post was last modified: 06-11-2023, 01:55 PM by loksik.lubos.)
Thank you for the explanation, I also wanted to see if it would be possible to adjust the arrangement of the icons on the main screen according to my own discretion. And also expand the metering pumps so that they can be displayed 4 next to each other.
2: When I have 2 ph probes connected, only one PH probe is displayed on the main screen.
3: When I enter the names of the dosing pumps in the configuration ports, these names are not displayed on the dosing pumps card. I have to enter the names again , and it often happens that the names of the different ports are not saved. I have to enter them several times.
I apologize for often writing about bugs and improvements, but I'm trying to make the robo-tank work 100% down to the last detail
I appreciate all feedback, unfortunately it's going to take some time as I have a lot going on right now but I'm still fully committed and definitely haven't given up.
At this time you can't sort the outlet icons, I think they currently sort by name which isn't so good, by default I should have by outlet number and then people can do what they like.
There's a bug when extra pH circuits are found and added, for this you can fix in the database. If you log in and click on the "robotank" database on the left side you'll get a list of all the tables in the database. Click on the "probes" table and you'll see 2 records. On those records you'll see a field "enabled", one of them is probably 0 and the other 1, you need to change the record with 0 to 1, then reboot the controller and both should appear.
I do need to sort out the naming for the dosing pumps currently they are stored in the dosing pumps table so you change the name on the dosing pump settings screen. Beside the name is a pencil you click to edit it. The names shown on the "configure ports" screen comes from another source. So for now this is a gotcha, you think changing it on configure screen should work but it doesn't. You can also click on the reservoirs to change the color, that's a hidden feature. I thought I had enough room for 4 dosing pump columns, that'll be something I need to tweak.
How to connect the expander to which I connect the 6sensor+2DC expansion so that it can control the floats? Or the expansion only works on power bar 1 and 2. I need a better description to make it work correctly, since there is no manual for the connection anywhere
You can only connect the 6 / 2 expansion to a DB9 on the controller. Then you configure the ports to be inputs (sensors) or outputs (DC ports). Here's the GPIO numbers being used for each port, the pin numbers are using power bar 2 DB9, those are the ones you need to reconfigure.
DC 6 = pin 5
DC 5 = pin 11
DC 4 = pin 9
DC 3 = pin 10
DC 2 = pin 24
DC 1 = pin 25
Sensor 1 = pin 8
Sensor 2 = pin 7
When I try to add an expander with address 50 and frequency 150 in reefpi, I get an error and the driver is not saved. Is it necessary to enter other parameters? Will the dc/sensor expansion work through the expander sometime in the future or not so he knows how to adapt the project
The 0x50 address is a hexadecimal, reef-pi requires a decimal value which is 80. For your reference here's a converter, any numbers you see in the i2cdetect you need to convert.
The expander only has outputs, you can connect the expansion to it however the 2 sensor ports won't work. If you need those it has to be connected to the main controller as those GPIO's are inputs or outputs depending how they are configured.
06-15-2023, 11:49 AM (This post was last modified: 06-15-2023, 11:50 AM by loksik.lubos.)
I still have a question, since I need to connect an expander to a long cable of 30 m, it is possible to use an I2C/RS 485 converter, it will work in terms of transmission, since i2c is at a maximum of 50 cm and rs485 can work with longer lengths
It sounds like it might work if you have a converter on both ends but it would be better to run 30m on the output of the expander, keep the expander next to controller with 6 inch jumpers and then run a long serial cable. I've tested about 20m with no issues so thinking 30m should be fine.
Hi Rob, I installed the V6 version and found that when I start any DC/AC port through the macro it sometimes takes 1-10 seconds to turn on.
And one more error, when I create a macro and specify to start another macro, nothing happens after the macro is started, it bypasses it and skips to the next step
Hi Loksik, sorry not sure why that's happening. Make sure there's no delays in the macro and nothing else is trying to control it.
I think not being able to trigger a macro from a macro is a bug. You might get around this by creating extra macros so one does everything. Overall it's more macros but should get it working.
Rob, why do the floats freeze and don't respond at all to the dc/ac ports, I'm worried because it's happened to me 5 times already. I currently have one float connected and created 2 macros to turn it on and off and the float stopped responding completely and restarting the driver doesn't help either, it also did it on version 6.6. I used the float to start dc port3, which worked without problems, and when I went back to sleep after an hour, the float did not turn off dc3 at all. Is it possible that there is a software error somewhere?
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