Pin out feeder

[Rob F]

Yeah the feeder should be on when you connect it to controller but the manual feed button should work as using the controller to power up is the same as the batteries. The main 3.3v and ground from controller should go where the batteries would connect. If you just hook those up and ignore the data wire it should operate just like it was using batteries. The data wire puts out 3.3v when the controller tells the feeder to run but its only stays active for about 1 second then the data wire goes back to 0v and the feeder electronics take over.

Can you see a Rev version on both the controller boards? I can't remember what you have, that'll tell us if you need to run that jumper.

[fietsenrex]

1st gen rev-A powerboard and rev 3 display board

[Rob F]

You will need to add that jumper. Right now pin 3 on the feeder USB is for ground but there is no ground on that pin, that jumper will put a ground on it. Once you do that it should work.

[fietsenrex]

But if there is no ground, why does it power up without the battery's in the feeder?

[Rob F]

Not sure, I did think about that but if you are using pin 3 and 4 on the USB for power there is no ground there. I checked the schematics for all the connector boards and pin 3 goes to that "feeder" header on the connector board so if nothing's connected to that header that pin is empty. If you're using pin 1 on USB for ground you might have, that one is switched so it could be on or off but for sure there is nothing on pin 3.

[fietsenrex]

What is the use of the feeder spare pin?
Its not connected to ground..
Is it for a second feeder?

[Rob F]

I put a header on that pin for more flexibility so any feeder would work one way or another. If you use a jumper or solder a wire from a ground to that header you should be ok.

[fietsenrex]

already fitted it to the USB port as shown by the images you uploaded

edit: it works now, thanks for the explanation.

[Rob F]

Great, glad you got it working.

[fietsenrex]

Is there a way to adjust the pulse given to the feeder?
Mine doesn’t move far enough from the start position anymore to detect it has moved and should finish its rotation..

Adding grease to the wheels didn’t help :(

[Rob F]

Hi Fietsenrex, yeah you can increase the time so it rotates further, in the first gen I just used a delay so you only need to increase the value, in v2.3 I had it set to delay(1500) which is 1.5 seconds so increase to maybe 2000.

In v2.3 find line 3446 and 3453 in power bar sketch, those both need to be changed. These delays are in the two function below if you're using a different version.

void AlarmFeed1()
void AlarmFeed2()

[fietsenrex]

Guessing it is in the display sketch?
Going to fix it tomorrow if i have some spare time

[Rob F]

Changes need to be made in the controller sketch.

[fietsenrex]

Thanks

[midwestE]

Rob,

I just finished wiring and hooking up the same eheim feeder to my reef tank and I'm having an issue on the Gen 3.

- Works with batteries and by using the feed button.
- Once hooked to the controller, power is on for the unit after hooking up according to your attached picture: Brown to ground, White to Port 14 "Feeder", and Orange to +3.3v

I went to feed and pushed the "Auto-feed" button. Pumps and powerheads turned off as normal but drum never rotated. Noticed on the feeder page, was "Feeder Disabled" so I enabled it, stopped the current feed, and initiated it again. Still didnt rotate the drum.

Thought maybe I had switched the White and Orange and changed them on the controller side. When I plugged it in, the drum kept turning. Any ideas?

[Rob F]

Sounds like you had the feeder working at one point on Gen2? If so the wiring is slightly different. On Gen3 I added the transistor so if you added this to the feeder at some point you have to remove it. If you don't have that transistor on your feeder still check to make sure the wires are connected according to the first image in this thread.

https://www.robo-tank.ca/forum/Thread-Al...ght=feeder

I just hooked up feeder and it works as expected.

[midwestE]

Thanks Rob! All working now. Had to solder the data wire to the point closest to the +3.3v as shown in the image from the post you linked. The diagram I used from this post had it mid way between GND and 3.3v and that didn't work with Gen 3.

[Rob F]

Ah wonderful. The original pics I posted like the way you had it wired was actually wrong all along.    I just removed those images and replaced with a link to the proper image something I should have done long ago. The wire you moved is now on the GND side of the open switch which you press on feeder to manually start it up so now it works like you pressed the button on the feeder except the controller completes the path for ground. You probably noticed the initial startup has more power.

[Mike F]

What model or type of feeder are people using to control with robotank controller?

I read Eheim.. is this model one I can modify to be triggered from Robotank?

EHEIM Everyday Fish Feeder Programmable Automatic Food Dispenser 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001F2117I/ref...VCbNECN8X6

[Rob F]

Yeah that's the one people typically use. You have to open it and solder 3 wires to the circuit board and then it connects directly to the controller, I believe you have Gen3 so the transistor in the diagram isn't required. I was going to post a link with some images but it's not very clear so if you give me 30 minutes I'll open mine and get better pictures.