reef-pi :: An opensource reef tank controller based on Raspberry Pi.

[BenB]

Hi Ranjib,

I have been playing with an RC Servo motor (with PCA9685) to see if I can use that to move a camera, rotate and tilt:

I have seen a project with a Pi and 16 RC servos attached to a PCA9685.

I used the lights section of Reef-pi to be able to rotate the Servo, using the fixed profile changing the PWM up and down it worked for "only" 45degrees rotation.
I am planning to make a cam that I can put into the water with a glass dome upside down, so you can look around inside the aquarium:

Is it possible to add some software to be able to control servos like the one on the picture?

In the future, I am thinking to make a feeder with servos to give dry food to my fish.

And maybe there are other possibilities like mechanical switching or opening valves.

Hi, all you have some other suggestions to use an RC servo??

 

[BenB]

Here an arduino with 16 RC servos attached to a PCA9685:

Complete guide to PCA9685 16 channel Servo controller for Arduino with code

And with a Raspberry Pi:

16 Channel Servo Controller (Raspberry Pi)

 

[Bzar]

Anyone have suggestion for a more "elegant" approach to doing cutouts for Db9 connectors? I kinda went Freddy Krueger on my enclosure.....

I use a small rotary tool with a mini saw blade. Or used to because it never looked pretty unless the connector had a flange to hide the edges.

I like these now though....easy cause it's a circle and has screw on to hide the cuts.

2.79US $ 7% OFF|Free shipping 5set GX16 GX16 4 4P 4Pin 16mm Male&Female Wire Panel Connector plug Circular Aviation Connector Socket Plug|Connectors| - AliExpress

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And then I just get wire with the amount of pins for the aviation connector...like...

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[bala murugan 00500]

I'm using these ... to avoid rusting problem

1.53US $ 12% OFF|Sp20 Ip68 Waterproof Connector 1 Pin 2 Pin 3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10/12/14pins Connectors Plug And Socket - Connectors - AliExpress

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[AbjectMaelstroM]

I'm using these ... to avoid rusting problem

1.53US $ 12% OFF|Sp20 Ip68 Waterproof Connector 1 Pin 2 Pin 3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10/12/14pins Connectors Plug And Socket - Connectors - AliExpress

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

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That is one heck of a connector... I like it.

 

[AbjectMaelstroM]

I use a small rotary tool with a mini saw blade. Or used to because it never looked pretty unless the connector had a flange to hide the edges.

I like these now though....easy cause it's a circle and has screw on to hide the cuts.

2.79US $ 7% OFF|Free shipping 5set GX16 GX16 4 4P 4Pin 16mm Male&Female Wire Panel Connector plug Circular Aviation Connector Socket Plug|Connectors| - AliExpress

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

www.aliexpress.com

And then I just get wire with the amount of pins for the aviation connector...like...

9.84US $ 13% OFF|10 Meter Sheath Wire 26awg Tin-plated Oxygen-free Copper Cable 2 Core 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Core Diy Data Wire Signal Charge Line - Electrical Wires - AliExpress

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

www.aliexpress.com

Yeah I came across the aviation connectors after I had already started cutting all the outlets. But they have a vast assortment of pins, so if/when I redo my box, lit will probably be mostly the aviation connectors.

Easy to drill for, wire, and not bad on the wallet.

 

[Ranjib]

Hi Ranjib,

I have been playing with an RC Servo motor (with PCA9685) to see if I can use that to move a camera, rotate and tilt:

I have seen a project with a Pi and 16 RC servos attached to a PCA9685.

I used the lights section of Reef-pi to be able to rotate the Servo, using the fixed profile changing the PWM up and down it worked for "only" 45degrees rotation.
I am planning to make a cam that I can put into the water with a glass dome upside down, so you can look around inside the aquarium:

Is it possible to add some software to be able to control servos like the one on the picture?

In the future, I am thinking to make a feeder with servos to give dry food to my fish.

And maybe there are other possibilities like mechanical switching or opening valves.

Hi, all you have some other suggestions to use an RC servo??

In 3.0 we are introducing an ability to define custom pwm profile . That in conjunction with a macro or timer should be enough assuming we can solve the Servo /gear specific thing in the hardware/circuit. If not we may have to do some servo specific in software as well. Let me read up on servo and stepper control and I’ll get back to this next week. No promise I’ll have something in 3.0, but I think it should mostly work

Is there anything specific you are looking for ? Or just want to resolve the 45 degree issue ?

 

[Ranjib]

Meanwhile,
Tank is chugging along. I have to prune the green slimer monthly.

Different corals are invading their neighbors at different spots in the tank. Past three years taught me kinda project their future growth and I can somewhat anticipate one of the possible fates of every small place in the tank .

Depending upon which coral overgrows whom the landscape will change

And the books and crannies provide tactical advantage to one or the other coral

I’m happy to see the red dragon growth spurt to continue . I’m there to assist and resist any green slimer or rainbow montipora encroachment . Any overnight sudden growth on that area will be dealt with bone cutter and chisel swiftly.

 

[BenB]

In 3.0 we are introducing an ability to define custom pwm profile . That in conjunction with a macro or timer should be enough assuming we can solve the Servo /gear specific thing in the hardware/circuit. If not we may have to do some servo specific in software as well. Let me read up on servo and stepper control and I’ll get back to this next week. No promise I’ll have something in 3.0, but I think it should mostly work

Is there anything specific you are looking for? Or just want to resolve the 45 degree issue ?

That sounds great!! I will upgrade to 3.0 and try out the possibilities with the custom PWM profile and show the results. Probably it will take me some time, family first

It will be nice if you can manually (with a moving bar, or left and right and up and down buttons) move the camera to look around (without the need to press save or confirm). And if it is possible using the macro to go to a specific camera position and take a daily picture.

 

[BenB]

Or maybe add the moving bar or left and right buttons in the camera tab.

 

[Schreiber]

Pin 18 not working? Thats pwm pin 0 right? check your dtoverlay configuration (/boot/config.txt) and then check the content of /sys/class/pwm/pwmchip0/pwm0/duty_cycle and /sys/class/pwm/pwmchip0/pwm0/period . Report back those details,

I actually started over with a fresh pi to eliminate all the variables. I got ~2.4V out of GPIO 18. So, I copied the exact configuration over to my installed pi & still 0V straight from the pin, so it wasn't the circuit.

I also double checked the config file & I definitely had the dtoverlay configuration set correctly. I didn't check the contents of the other 2 things you called out, since I hadn't seen this message until now. I simply re-formatted & started fresh. It seems to be in working order now!

 

[Mejia.j]

I recently got a Raspberry pi 3, i downloaded reefpi. It says is active but the browser doesn’t open. Or i can not find it anywhere to open it. Any ideas?

 

[Bigtrout]

I recently got a Raspberry pi 3, i downloaded reefpi. It says is active but the browser doesn’t open. Or i can not find it anywhere to open it. Any ideas?

It may be helpful to look at what IP address its getting on your local network. You may be able to find this on your router web ui, or perhaps an app to see what address it is getting.

 

[janos]

You could try Angry IP Scanner it will show you what is your IP for raspberry pi .

 

[Des Westcott]

You could try Angry IP Scanner it will show you what is your IP for raspberry pi .

I use Fing https://apps.apple.com/us/app/fing-network-scanner/id430921107 on my iPhone to see what my Reef-Pi ip address is

 

[Ranjib]

I use google wifi and it has a nice mobile app that lets me see which devices are connected, there IP etc. I also get to open port and access individual reef-pi dashboards directly if needed.

 

[Bigtrout]

I use google wife

Id use google wife but Alexa's voice is so much sexier

 

[Ranjib]

Id use google wife but Alexa's voice is so much sexier

oops , dang typo . I'm gonna edit that before its becomes more embarassing

 

[Ranjib]

Ability to trigger macros from timers just landed in 3.0...

 

[AbjectMaelstroM]

Ability to trigger macros from timers just landed in 3.0...

Awesome!