I want to run the thing (as stupid as this might be) ONLY from its own AP, I don’t want to set up a wifi connection for it, I don’t want to set up an ethernet connection for it I just want to be able to get near the thing, connect to it’s AP, go to 192.168.4.1 and be able to control it for there. Is there a way to do that?
Yes, OpenSprinkler supports that. To do so you need to either use the OpenSprinkler mobile app (which has all the UI files embedded), or download the UI files to your computer/phone and launch the UI directly. Then connect your phone or computer to the controller’s access point, and use 192.168.4.1 as the controller’s IP. Our video demo shows how it works: https://openthings.freshdesk.com/support/solutions/articles/5000860920-videos-introduction-to-opensprinkler-v3
second video, last part – Using it in AP mode.