Reef-Pi with Apex Neptune Energy Bar

[neddy170]

Hi All,

Does anyone know if it's possible for Reef-Pi to control an Apex Neptune Energy Bar (like this)? I really like the look of Reef-Pi, and my Apex controller is getting a bit old, but still works fine for now. I would like to use Reef-Pi, but I don't want to wire up the outlets...

Thanks,
Ned

 

[Michael Lane]

I had wanted to get my DA reefkeeper power bar working with reef-pi, but ended up just using a relay boards and ADJ SRP8 power strip. I still have some stuff running on the reefkeeper, so I havent pulled it down to reverse engineer the protocol.

Supporting the Apex Energy bar would also be nice. The next version of reef-pi adds a more flexible driver architecture, so adding support for these power bars could be feasible. In my opinion, the challenge is going to be figuring out the protocol they use.

 

[neddy170]

Amazingly last night whilst browsing on my iPad in bed, I found this: https://github.com/Stonyx/AquaBusLib/graphs/contributors

Seems like it should be pretty doable given that the people that made the repo above have done a lot of the really hard work, I actually can't believe I found it... Is there a thread or somewhere that the next version of Reef-Pi is being discussed? It'd be nice to take a look and see if I think it will work out...

Cheers

 

[bequreus1]

I don't see why not. The protocol is described here: https://stonyx.github.io/AquaBusLib/DataTransfer.html
You will need to trick EB8 into thinking that it's talking to an Apex by doing the probe request dance as described. Then just keep sending it AB_EB8_REQUEST_PACKET to control outlets and get the raw current reading.

 

[aqua_code]

Thanks for posting this. I went into a deep dive on it last night and ended up purchasing a bunch of the recommended parts. Now get to wait 3-4 weeks for shipping.

It seems possible to integrate into a raspberry pi, but I think the arduino solution posted by the repository owner is a much smaller footprint. Can even get the PCB board fabricated.

AquaBus Arduino Adapter

stonyx.github.io

• Qty 1 MBR0530CT-ND (optional, use if plan to power arduino via AquaBus)
• Qty 1 MAX3059ASA+-ND
• Qty 1 102-4001-ND
• Qty 1 PCE3898CT-ND (optional, use if plan to power arduino via AquaBus)
• 0.1uF 0603 capacitor, headers

It looks possible to integrate some of these parts with a RPi tutorial like this one:

How to Connect Raspberry Pi to CAN Bus

This tutorial shows you how to connect Raspberry Pi to CAN Bus (e.g. your car), explaining the role of each part and some recurrent errors. By Youness.

www.hackster.io

Though I think running the ardiuno as a slave to the RPi might be the better approach.

 

[BZOFIQ]

I remember there was a thread going on RC talking about the Can Bus protocol used in Apex but that was quickly squashed I guess due to inconvenience. We all know what happened to RC and its Mussolini like approach to crowd control. Anywho, if this is still up here in few days I'll post links to previously found resources on the topic.

 

[Tihsho]

Going CANBUS makes a lot of sense as a lot of control systems have gone that route over the years (industrial, even modern cars!)

There are computers that can map a CANBUS so I wonder if you can use one of the automotive CANBUS scanners to identify parts within an Apex?

 

[bequreus1]

Remember, Apex doesn't use CANBUS protocol or controllers. It uses CAN _transceiver_ only for the physical layer. Then it's translated into UART on a ModBus protocol. Standard CAN protocols, analyzers, etc. do not apply here.

So, for the raspi implementation, you'd still need a CAN transceiver (NOT a controller), MAX3059 will work just fine. RasPI already has available UART pins to connect the transceiver. Lastly, you'd want to find a RasPI compatible modbus implementation, I'm sure there is something on github, see if freemodbus has the raspi support now.

Arduino does make sense as a DIY Apex compatible module. The discussion above also included the idea of attaching Apex modules, such as EB8 to a DIY RasPI controller, such as Reef-pi. In this case, you'd already have a raspi and it's a matter of adding some basic components to it as described above.

Join apexaquabusprotocol on slack if concerned about censorship on r2r. Invite is in github repo.

 

[BZOFIQ]

There is a group discussion on https://hackforums.net as well

 

[Tihsho]

Someone needs to figure out how to get stuff working over TCP/IP rather than Modbus. It would make it so much easier for most people to control through their home network rather than having to capture packets with an Arduino and then translate. But that said, control systems will never shy away from the simplest form of control comms with Modbus.

 

[BZOFIQ]

Someone needs to figure out how to get stuff working over TCP/IP rather than Modbus. It would make it so much easier for most people to control through their home network rather than having to capture packets with an Arduino and then translate. But that said, control systems will never shy away from the simplest form of control comms with Modbus.

That would be great! I'd dedicate a subnet to it

 

[Tihsho]

I need to figure out how we migrated some of our control systems at work over to TCP/IP. I know the serial interfaces for fact have been migrated with serial to ethernet adapters. The kicker is that I have an inkling that the micro controllers we have in a few places may still be using Modbus due to how 'standard' it is for low cost applications.

 

[bequreus1]

As long as one side of the comm is going to be an Apex anything, translation to modbus will have to happen eventually, regardless of the transport. However, I do see how someone could put together a complete adapter library that does the translation for a plug in solution.