GHL Vs Apex Episode Series

[lmm1967]

After tonight's video..... And actually winning the ghl I'm still sticking with apex. The programming is absurd. When I saw how you program 0-10v port you have to set it as illumination to have it ramp different times a day....... A pump as illumination.? Been in reef business since 2005 and in the USA since 2015 yet does not come in English. You have to use Google translate to set it up. Feed mode is a filter? Or feed off to feed?.... Just looks like it's well built but poorly thought out. Programming is pretty bad.

I'm no fan of GHL - but I do own and still use 2 of them - you never have to do anything in German - you can switch the language immediately using GCC as soon as you initially connect.

 

[Aaronhome27]

I'm no fan of GHL - but I do own and still use 2 of them - you never have to do anything in German - you can switch the language immediately using GCC as soon as you initially connect.

And that's a fair point. I guess what I am getting at is that I see claims of being in the business for 20 years. Having a USA location for USA customers but yet something as simple as having initial language setup is still not in the firmware. It would be an easy program to write. I've read past threads in this and one thing you always see is the "fixes" are coming in future firmware updates. Even in the video he kept mentioning its coming in a firmware update. But they've been in the business per the video since 2005. And if you watched the video some of that programming makes no sense, they admit it, and that was just scratching the surface. You'd think they'd roll out firmware to address the known issues after so many years in the controller business yet they still have not done so. That speaks to the mindset of the business in my eyes. If you recall the 2016 wifi apex too had some issues on release. Although they were minor, they sent out a firmware fix pretty quick. That's kind of what you like to see. Not a rolling promises of future fixes always in the works. Just my. 02. The future firmware updates you'd expect at this point would be added features to an already working system.

 

[Sisterlimonpot]

If you recall the 2016 wifi apex too had some issues on release. Although they were minor, they sent out a firmware fix pretty quick. That's kind of what you like to see. Not a rolling promises of future fixes always in the works. Just my. 02. The future firmware updates you'd expect at this point would be added features to an already working system.

That sort of reminds me of me trying to set up the new 2016 Apex (in 2018 2 years after release) and spending a good 8 hours on a task that could've been streamlined in seconds, if only neptune cared enough to put in the effort. All the time getting frustrated, I thought to myself how easy it would be for them to fix this, but no one seems to have a problem with it after drudging through setup, so why bother? I agree GHL should have a pleasant setup experience, but to point the finger at one and citing a swift wifi fix, claiming that's proof that they're on top of it doesn't sit well with me.

Apples to apples, the promise of 2016 apex in Europe has become a pipe dream. I wonder, if it ever happens, would those in Germany be complaining that they're having a hard time switching the language to their native tongue? Will they complain that neptune doesn't care about the international market?

Point to all this is, there's plenty of blame to go around, you can't fault one and overlook the others.

 

[robbyg]

Yes he is being absolutely absurd again. The controller is made in Germany and designed mostly for use in the EU. One would expect the first language to appear to be German. So long as it's easy to switch to English it's no big deal. On the other hand people in the EU got roped into buying the Apex with promises that they would get everything over time, Just like Apex Gold users were told it will always be backward compatible. The EU guys get the controller but cannot get 220V EB832 Powerbar for their Apex's. The Apex Gold guys get informed oh sorry but the Trident won't work with your controller. How many years have the EU customers been waiting? How many Languages does the Apex Handle?

 

[reefandreptileautomation]

So I’m gonna chime in a little here. My episode series is more catered towards people here in the US. While I see all the complaints and they are completely justified, just note I do plan to mention this but again it’s hard for me to compare it for EU users. Also it is German out of the box which was annoying but not a big deal once I got the software going.

Furthermore, the company is named GHL USA here and I would think they would have had some sort of firmware that allows it to ship in English.

I will find out how many languages the apex can do. I might do an episode alone on international support.

 

[Trivan]

Furthermore, the company is named GHL USA here and I would think they would have had some sort of firmware that allows it to ship in English.

I will find out how many languages the apex can do. I might do an episode alone on international support.

I’ve switched from Apex Classic to GHL this month, it took about 15 secs after pluging in the Profilux to change to English. Why do us Americans always think it has to be our way, its not even that English is the top spoken language in the world. The programming is different, not better, not worse, just different. Both apex and ghl will get you to the same place, and the route they take is different.

 

[reefandreptileautomation]

I am not saying it has to be OUR way. I am saying the item is from GHL USA. So I would presume it would be shipped in english. Yes I mentioned it was not a big deal. I am just stating the facts. Yes the programming is extremely different. I am getting there on the upcoming episodes.

 

[User1]

I am not saying it has to be OUR way. I am saying the item is from GHL USA. So I would presume it would be shipped in english. Yes I mentioned it was not a big deal. I am just stating the facts. Yes the programming is extremely different. I am getting there on the upcoming episodes.

It is an actual interesting question and a pet peeve of mine with regards to products bought in the US and going through setup questions. One would think that if the product is bought and setup in region A then the the default language or character set should follow suit. It should not start alphabetically.

Maybe somewhat related so if you said something about it I think it is a good thing. Always bugged me and it is just the developers being lazy

 

[vangvace]

It is an actual interesting question and a pet peeve of mine with regards to products bought in the US and going through setup questions. One would think that if the product is bought and setup in region A then the the default language or character set should follow suit. It should not start alphabetically.

Maybe somewhat related so if you said something about it I think it is a good thing. Always bugged me and it is just the developers being lazy

There would be additional costs and software versions for that. It also means smaller production runs for region/country default language to be ran on the line. For boutique products that manufacture in-house like GHL it is more plausible. I don't know enough about Neptune's manufacturing process to speculate.





As for GHL USA, it is my understanding that they are more distribution than anything else, so much like PC tech manufacturers on the West Coast.

 

[reefandreptileautomation]

Yes, that is accurate. However they have been here in the US since 2015 so I would think it would be an easy update. In any event is is not a big deal but when I first got it I was struggling with it and needed to factory default it. I needed google translate.

 

[robbyg]

It is an actual interesting question and a pet peeve of mine with regards to products bought in the US and going through setup questions. One would think that if the product is bought and setup in region A then the the default language or character set should follow suit. It should not start alphabetically.

Maybe somewhat related so if you said something about it I think it is a good thing. Always bugged me and it is just the developers being lazy

The simple solution to that problem is what most companies do with international products is to just have the first screen you see on plugging it in or resetting the unit is a select Language screen.
I think every TV, Blueray player etc that I have owned had that as it's first screen

 

[robbyg]

Yes, that is accurate. However they have been here in the US since 2015 so I would think it would be an easy update. In any event is is not a big deal but when I first got it I was struggling with it and needed to factory default it. I needed google translate.

What was the first thing that came up when you plugged it in?

 

[RobB'z Reef]

That sort of reminds me of me trying to set up the new 2016 Apex (in 2018 2 years after release) and spending a good 8 hours on a task that could've been streamlined in seconds, if only neptune cared enough to put in the effort. All the time getting frustrated, I thought to myself how easy it would be for them to fix this, but no one seems to have a problem with it after drudging through setup, so why bother? I agree GHL should have a pleasant setup experience, but to point the finger at one and citing a swift wifi fix, claiming that's proof that they're on top of it doesn't sit well with me.

Apples to apples, the promise of 2016 apex in Europe has become a pipe dream. I wonder, if it ever happens, would those in Germany be complaining that they're having a hard time switching the language to their native tongue? Will they complain that neptune doesn't care about the international market?

Point to all this is, there's plenty of blame to go around, you can't fault one and overlook the others.

Lol touche'. That probably points to both manufactures sucking hard and deep on dev-ops. They likely focus on hardware and think they'll catch up on software but because they aren't investing in iterative development it shows up in the user experience. Just a theory...

 

[reefandreptileautomation]

What was the first thing that came up when you plugged it in?

German. I could not understand it lol. But once I got the software up I was able to change it to English.

 

[reefandreptileautomation]

Episode 3

 

[TheHarold]

Episode 3

Good episode- the Apex setup was absolutely more refined than the GHL. Neptune's integrated videos, scanning the barcode, etc. make it just dead simple to set up. Its like an apple versus inexpensive android experience.

It would be nice if you had a cheap android phone to show what GHL setup is supposed to be like, if the IOS portion wasn't glitching.

 

[reefandreptileautomation]

Good episode- the Apex setup was absolutely more refined than the GHL. Their videos, scanning the barcode, etc. make it just dead simple to set up.

It would be nice if you had a cheap android phone to show what GHL setup is supposed to be like, if the IOS portion wasn't glitching.

I agree. But not going to go out and get an android just for this.

I will be doing the programming episodes on a computer so fair game their.

 

[RobB'z Reef]

I agree. But not going to go out and get an android just for this.

I will be doing the programming episodes on a computer so fair game their.

Not trying to be difficult but you went out and got a GHL just for this lol. Maybe you hit your budget, I get it! I'm half butt tempted to shoot you the cost of an Android phone if you'd do a comprehensive review of that path in both systems. All you need is a crappy walmart straight talk phone for $50 on WiFi that you don't have to even activate...

 

[reefandreptileautomation]

I did not think about that. I don’t know much about android though.

 

[RobB'z Reef]

Hey we're all learning here! You don't need to learn Android really, you can muddle through connecting to a WiFi after that you're either in an app (which isn't Android at that point) or you're using SaaS (i.e. Fusion).