Hi Fred,
Thanks for posting the updates. I am glad that it’s in a more working state than before, although I gathered there are still some issues. Here are some misc. suggestions:
1. I’ve seen some users use the Ethernet over powerline adapters instead of WiFi adapters:
http://www.amazon.com/TP-LINK-TL-PA2010KIT-Powerline-Adapter-Starter/dp/B00AWRUIY4/
This basically uses the powerline in your house to create a wired network, and seems to work better when WiFi is not reliable (or over many barriers in the house)
2. You can set a static IP on the controller (or alternatively leave the controller to use DHCP, but bind a fixed IP to the controller’s MAC on your router). Either way, you can get a fixed IP address. Setting a static IP also makes it faster to re-establish connection when network is temporarily disconnected. The online user manual at http://www.opensprinkler.com explains how to set static IP on the controller.
3. The HTTP port is only settable through the web interface (it’s not settable on the controller because its value can go up to 32768 and it would be quite tedious to use buttons to set it).