MarsAqua Trouble Controlling with Reef Pi

Msujeffery · Jul 30, 2020

So I have a combination of Leviathan board and ML Lane Hat for MarsAqua and for some reason I cannot control dimming or On/off of the light via the reefpi lighting dash board.

If I make an analog connection in equipment section I can control on/off from PCA9685 driver but not as light jack. Also if I set up my J1 as reverse in the driver section it cuts power to the light

I'm getting a normal report out from i2c.

Setup: Leviathan Board JST to ML JST and both lights also plugged into ML via JST

Michael Lane · Jul 30, 2020

Msujeffery said:
So I have a combination of Leviathan board and ML Lane Hat for MarsAqua and for some reason I cannot control dimming or On/off of the light via the reefpi lighting dash board.

If I make an analog connection in equipment section I can control on/off from PCA9685 driver but not as light jack. Also if I set up my J1 as reverse in the driver section it cuts power to the light

I'm getting a normal report out from i2c.

Setup: Leviathan Board JST to ML JST and both lights also plugged into ML via JST

Does the Leviathan board output 3.3v or 5v PWM?

Msujeffery · Jul 30, 2020

Michael Lane said:
Does the Leviathan board output 3.3v or 5v PWM?

That could likely be my problem. It is outputting 10v per channel

pin 1: 10v, pin 2: ground, pin 3: 10v

Michael Lane · Jul 30, 2020

Are there any jumpers or hardware configuration options to get it to a 3.3v or 5v pwm?

Msujeffery · Jul 31, 2020

Michael Lane said:
Are there any jumpers or hardware configuration options to get it to a 3.3v or 5v pwm?

It sounds as simple as changing the buck converter thankfully

Michael Lane · Jul 31, 2020

Msujeffery said:
It sounds as simple as changing the buck converter thankfully

It shouldn't need a converter since 3.3v and 5v are available from the rpi. On the other hand, I can't find a schematic, so maybe replacing a voltage converter is the best choice. If you don't want to change the converter, but would be willing to add a small bit of electronics between, I could help with a trivial voltage divider to move the 10v signal to a 3v3 or 5v signal.

Good Luck! I really love my Mars Aqua lights after several years. It's a shame they didn't include support for an external signal.

Msujeffery · Aug 3, 2020

I did convert down from 10v to 5v but for some reason I'm still struggling to control. I'm getting 5v per channel input to the board but with both lights turned off from the reef pi dashboard the light outputs are as follows from the ML hat to the marsaqua

Ch1: GND, 9.8v, 5.08v, 11v
Ch2: same but opposite order

Michael Lane · Aug 4, 2020

What voltages do you have on CH1 and CH2 inputs?

Msujeffery · Aug 4, 2020

I have 5.04v on each coming in.

Michael Lane · Aug 4, 2020

That explains the output. If you have reef-pi set to have the lights off, you should be seeing very close to 0v on those pins. Do you see different behavior when you change the brightness in reef-pi?

Msujeffery · Aug 6, 2020

Michael Lane said:
That explains the output. If you have reef-pi set to have the lights off, you should be seeing very close to 0v on those pins. Do you see different behavior when you change the brightness in reef-pi?

Unfortunately I'm getting 5v no matter what. (Auto-off, Manual 38%/50%)

I'll see if Brandon has any suggestions also.

Tried PWM light jack 1 from board (pin 0,1) and jack 2 on board (pin 2,3)

Michael Lane · Aug 7, 2020

An easy fix might be to add a PCA9685 module if your board has a spot to add another i2c device.

Msujeffery · Aug 16, 2020

Michael Lane said:
An easy fix might be to add a PCA9685 module if your board has a spot to add another i2c device.

Michael as always thanks for your help and walking through.

I did a clean install and it is now working with my MA lights for dimming/on and off.

Schreiber · Aug 17, 2020

Just happened to see this thread on here while scrolling through the DIY forum for ideas on my own tank, lol.

Based on your initial Facebook post, I had assumed it was an i2c issue. Wish we knew what it was for sure, but glad everything was sorted with the fresh install & it's good to go now. If you want to tag me on here in the future so I see things more quickly, this is my account

Msujeffery · Aug 18, 2020

Schreiber said:
Just happened to see this thread on here while scrolling through the DIY forum for ideas on my own tank, lol.

Based on your initial Facebook post, I had assumed it was an i2c issue. Wish we knew what it was for sure, but glad everything was sorted with the fresh install & it's good to go now. If you want to tag me on here in the future so I see things more quickly, this is my account

Thanks Brandon! Your patience walking me through has been very helpful.

I may try to backtrack my steps to see if I can narrow down what option or setting was throwing it off originally if someone else encounters in future.