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

Ryan115 · Sep 17, 2017

Is the power supply that you are using old or new? A wall-wart?
I would be interested for you to test the circuit when it is not connected to the fixture, but when there is a load on it.
Some cheap power supplies (actually many power sources) will act completely different with a load on them than they will will just a multi-meter. Similar to load testing a car battery. I am thinking a 5mm LED and resistor would work for this, but I cant think enough right now to completely work it out. Ranjib, your thoughts?

Ranjib · Sep 18, 2017

Power source can be tested independently with multimeter. Most digital multimeter will also show current within certain range (1 amp). I have always use 5v 2.5 mm for pi and 12 v , 1 amp for everything that requires 0-10 v . Things like kessill require less power draw so just normal npn transistors does the job. For peristaltic pumps (doser) un2803a or l293d is used, they draw upto 1 amp. It is possible to use a logic level power mosfet to control even higher wattage.

Its hard for me to guess whats the exact problem there, but if I am facing something like this, i'll start measuring voltage/current at individual hops. I would start with testing pca9685 output, followed by the power adapter, then analyzing the transistor circuit. This will reveal whats going on with the reef-pi generated pwm/analog signal.
I'd also check the normal blackbox's pot generated signal with multimeter.

Ryan115 · Sep 18, 2017

Ranjib said:
Power source can be tested independently with multimeter. Most digital multimeter will also show current within certain range (1 amp). I have always use 5v 2.5 mm for pi and 12 v , 1 amp for everything that requires 0-10 v . Things like kessill require less power draw so just normal npn transistors does the job. For peristaltic pumps (doser) un2803a or l293d is used, they draw upto 1 amp. It is possible to use a logic level power mosfet to control even higher wattage.

Its hard for me to guess whats the exact problem there, but if I am facing something like this, i'll start measuring voltage/current at individual hops. I would start with testing pca9685 output, followed by the power adapter, then analyzing the transistor circuit. This will reveal whats going on with the reef-pi generated pwm/analog signal.
I'd also check the normal blackbox's pot generated signal with multimeter.

I was thinking more about the actual voltage output of either the power supply or the regulator, not circuit current. I believe he is using some of the buck modules.
Running a resistor across the outputs and measuring voltage. Either the voltage drop is too high on the regulator that is being uses, or it needs to be adjusted.
A measurement on the current draw on the dimming circuit would be great. I have looked on several drivers spec sheets, and cant find an actual number for current on that circuit.

marspeed · Sep 18, 2017

power supply's , transformers and such have a regulation rating relating to voltage and current it is not unusual to measure different voltages under load or no load

marspeed · Sep 18, 2017

here is an article explaining it
http://www.ecmweb.com/basics/basics-transformer-voltage-regulation

Cary · Sep 18, 2017

Still following guys. I have had not success with SSH or the USB/TTl cable in starting and setting up my PI. I think Ryan suggested using a USB or HDMI to vga cable and it looks like that is what I will need to do. Otherwise I found an old APC 8 outlet box cheap (like Aarons) and have my 8 channel relay.

Cary · Sep 18, 2017

Ranjib, I was wondering if you had considered adding a Feed Mode button? My understanding is that it would turn off the pump, power heads and skimmer (maybe other things) and turn on an auto feeder. Maybe you can add it to the list of things after V1 this December.

Ryan115 · Sep 18, 2017

Cary said:
Still following guys. I have had not success with SSH or the USB/TTl cable in starting and setting up my PI. I think Ryan suggested using a USB or HDMI to vga cable and it looks like that is what I will need to do. Otherwise I found an old APC 8 outlet box cheap (like Aarons) and have my 8 channel relay.

Cary,
When I was starting up mine I connected HDMI to my TV and used a USB mouse and keyboard. Once I updated, configured wireless and VNC, I could then run it headless with just VNC through the WLAN.

Cary · Sep 18, 2017

Thanks, I wish I had an HDMI monitor in my office. All I have is a vga monitor hooked to my laptop. Can't wait to get it going.

Ryan115 · Sep 18, 2017

Cary, what methods did you use to try to get SSH running in headless mode? Also, are you going to be connecting wired or wireless network to the Pi?

Cary · Sep 18, 2017

I added a file called SSH to the boot area of the Raspian sw, which was supposed to enable SSH during bootup. I think my problem with SSH was that I was not able to find the IP address for the PI. I believe that IP must be turned on using the PI screen. It is just a guess however. I will be using wireless most of the time. I think later I will want to have a real-time display of the temp and later salinity, ph, etc....when Reef-Pi gets there.

Cary · Sep 18, 2017

Here is a link. http://workshop.raspberrypiaustralia.com/ssh/network/2014/08/31/05-connecting-via-ssh/

Ryan115 · Sep 18, 2017

Depending on whether you are connecting wired or wireless currently, with an online search I have found a lot of different tools and methods for discovering the IP address of a headless RPi. Unfortunately, I have not used any of these methods, so I cant give you any guidance on them.

Cary · Sep 18, 2017

Thanks. This is my first boot of the RPI. I don't believe it can be assigned an IP address until it has been configured to accept one. At least that is what I am guessing. It doesn't help that I am using Linux Mint and learning it too.

Ranjib · Sep 18, 2017

Cary said:
Thanks. This is my first boot of the RPI. I don't believe it can be assigned an IP address until it has been configured to accept one. At least that is what I am guessing. It doesn't help that I am using Linux Mint and learning it too.

if you are using wifi, then you have to configure wific ssid/password to get ip. If you are using lan cables, nothing is required. You'll get IP straight.

Ranjib · Sep 19, 2017

Got couple of ui improvement done.
1) ato ui will show list of equipments to select the ato pump , instead of just pin. This will add extra layer of validation,but this also means ato pump needs to be declared in equipments section.
https://github.com/reef-pi/reef-pi/pull/207

2) all modules will now show recommended pin (ato sensor etc) as default. Ill add the recommended pin layout in docs as well
https://github.com/reef-pi/reef-pi/pull/206

I'll make couple of more ui improvements before 0.4 release

Ranjib · Sep 19, 2017

Cary said:
Ranjib, I was wondering if you had considered adding a Feed Mode button? My understanding is that it would turn off the pump, power heads and skimmer (maybe other things) and turn on an auto feeder. Maybe you can add it to the list of things after V1 this December.

I think this will be a useful feature. Currently we can do something similar using a set of timers, but that's a very complicated way of achieving what you described. I personally do manual and spot feeding , so I need your help with designing the user experience. Like how the ui should be, what are default values etc.

Cary · Sep 19, 2017

I plan to help more as soon as I get my PI running and Reef-Pi loaded.

Ryan115 · Sep 19, 2017

Cary said:
I plan to help more as soon as I get my PI running and Reef-Pi loaded.

So where are you on this?
Do you still need help getting a screen connected, or finding ip address?

Cary · Sep 19, 2017

Same place. Arp -a doesn't see another ip address. I plan to go buy a 7" touchscreen Saturday on my way to do some work for my mother. Maybe I can get things going Saturday night. Thanks for the offer