Hardware 2.0?

[DonaldRussell]

I’ve seen references to a new hardware version of open sprinkler… Is there a time-frame for when the new one will be available, in either kit or assembled/tested form?

Something I’m thinking about is adding a thermometer to it and having it turn on a small heat source if the temp drops too low.

I plan to put an opensprinkler in an outdoor location (in an enclosure) but I’m concerned that the temp will drop below freezing (not much below, I’m in the Bay Area California) but thought it could be as simple as turning on a small lightbulb, or perhaps something like an aquarium heater… not sure of the power requirements.

Anyway, maybe that’s outside the capability of OS, but I’m waiting for a RasPi, I already have the opensprinkler Raspi…

I’m thinking of using the OS to control outdoor lighting, fountains etc. Irrigation is just one application…

I really need wifi though… Is there a suitable RJ45–>WiFi 802.11x where the antenna can be outside the overall enclosure box?

Thanks

[Oleengr]

I know nothing about hardware versions of OpenSprinkler, but I have a couple thoughts about the rest of your post.

In my experience, hardware like OS isn’t going to be bothered by a few hours in a below freezing environment. Here, outside of Phoenix, AZ, below-freezing temps are common during the Winter. This year, we had a couple nights of 23 deg F. I have two small Orbit controllers that live in a metal box fastened to the North side of my house. The controllers have been through several winters and have never missed a beat. With the power dissipation of the transformer and the electronics itself, and the very few hours that is spent at the lowest temp, the controllers are probably not even remotely close to being stressed.

Summer, on the other hand, can bring conditions that can be troublesome. If there is direct sun on the enclosure for many hours, little wind and very low dew point, the temperature inside the box may become uncomfortable for the electronics. In my situation, I put some 1/2 foam inside the box to minimize the temperature rise for the short time that the sun hits the controller enclosure. During the really hot part of the summer, and especially if we are traveling, I put another object in front of the enclosure to shield it from any direct sunlight. I’ve never had a problem.

An alternate to Wi-Fi that works very well is to install a powerline carrier Ethernet adapter along with the controller inside the enclosure. If you don’t want to leave the adapter running, you can use an remote control power switch (radio control type) or an X-10 appliance module, to turn the network adapter on when you want to use it.

[DonaldRussell]

Thanks, that was very helpful. Yes, I was thinking about the heat too… I think I’ll be OK there, the controller should be in the shade for the hot part of the day.

The power line Ethernet adapter sounds like an interesting idea… I’ll check that out.

Cheers

[Ray]

@Donald: 2.0 development is under way. I have the circuit design ready, and as you may have noticed from this blog post:
http://rayshobby.net/?p=4914
the plan is to release it with the new custom molded enclosure designed by SeeedStudios. The mold design is close to be finalized, but there are still tweaks they need to make. Apparently designing an enclosure that meets industry standard is not an easy thing: there are many engineering and mechanical considerations. I don’t have a reliable estimate of when this will be ready. I would say in a month time?

But during the time to transition to the new enclosure, I will start offering the development version of 2.0 that goes with the current enclosure. It will be similar to the picture you see on the blog post.

[yaydogan]

Hi Ray,

I am thinking about building slightly modified version of the openSprinkler h/w 1.42 myself – may be 20×4 LCD and 16 station controls on single board. Now I saw you have V2.0 design. Do you have any timelines in mind for making the software available for the openSprinkler V2.0? I might go for the latest hardware.

Thanks in advance.

[Author]

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