[Dan in CA]

@ Tom,
Nice comparison of the various options.
And thanks for the tip on the Orbit outdoor timer box. That looks like it should work for a lot of different configurations. I’m going to pick one up on my next trip to Home Depot.

@ Nathan,
I have been running a Pi based system for ~2 years without any reliability problems.
The GitHub web page for the Python program (now SIP) has an overview of the program.
http://dan-in-ca.github.io/OSPi/

Note: as of today (June 11 2015) I am in the process of updating documentation and renaming things. If the instructions don’t work for SIP, Try the old name (OSPi) instead.

Dan

[Dan in CA]

Hi Sean,

You are correct that this signal does not presently exist. It would be useful so I plan to added it.

To make it work you would add something like:

from blinker import signal

rain_sensed = signal('rain')
def signal_rain():
    rain_sensed.send()

near the start of helpers.py (just before the function definitions section).
you could then add the signal_rain() function when setting gv.sg[‘rn’]= 1 as you said but when I tested this it sent the signal once per second.
Adding

if not gv.sd['rs']:
    signal_rain()

will only send one signal when rain is detected.

To use the signal you will also need to have something like:

def do_on_rain(name, **kw):
    print "Rain Sensed"
    #  rain is detected in helpers.py
    # Put your code here to do whatever you want. 
    
rain_sensed = signal('rain')
rain_sensed.connect(do_on_rain) 

Those last 2 lines will trigger your “do_on_rain()” function when the signal is received.

Dan

[Dan in CA]

The documentation for writing plugins still needs a lot of work.
Any questions you have will help me fill in the gaps.

the best place to post questions is on the GhtHub plugins repository:
https://github.com/Dan-in-CA/ospi_plugins/issues

Dan

[Dan in CA]

Tails86,

It sounds very doable. If you could implement it as a plugin, other users might find it useful also.
In any event, if you have specific questions, you can open an issue on Interval program’s GitHub repo and I will try to assist you as much as I can.
https://github.com/Dan-in-CA/OSPi

Dan

[Dan in CA]

I replied with some suggestions to the issue you posted on GitHub .

Are you still seeing the problem?

Dan

[Dan in CA]

The Python Interval program has a plugin specifically for using relay boards.

https://github.com/KanyonKris/sprinkler-weather/wiki/relay_board-Documentation

 

Dan

[Dan in CA]

The Raspberry Pi developers are preparing to release a touch screen that attaches to the ribbon connector on the board. It should be available fairly soon.

http://techcrunch.com/2014/10/21/pi-pads/

Dan

<iframe class=”igtranslator-iframe” style=”display: none; width: 0px; height: 0px;” src=”about:blank” frameborder=”0″ scrolling=”no”></iframe>
<div class=”igtranslator-activator-icon” style=”background-image: url(‘resource://jid1-dgnibwqga0sibw-at-jetpack/igtranslator/data/content_script/icon.png’); display: none;” title=”Click to Show Translation”></div>
<iframe class=”igtranslator-iframe” style=”display: none; width: 0px; height: 0px;” src=”about:blank” frameborder=”0″ scrolling=”no”></iframe>
<div class=”igtranslator-activator-icon” style=”background-image: url(‘resource://jid1-dgnibwqga0sibw-at-jetpack/igtranslator/data/content_script/icon.png’); display: none;” title=”Click to Show Translation”></div>

[Dan in CA]

A very interesting suggestion!

Python is used as a scripting language with many types of programs.

In fact, before Ray introduced the first OSPi board, I had written some Python code to control the Arduino based  OpenSprinkler from a Raspi. There is still a post on my (currently neglected) blog about it:

http://xperimentia.com/2012/12/14/setting-up-a-raspberry-pi-to-work-with-opensprinkler/

I will give this some thought and try some experiments to see what can be done. Probably many/most of the current plugins would need to be re-written. It would be nice to let Ray take care of the core functionality and I could spend more time working on plugins to add new capabilities. My original goal was to have a system that can be easily modified.

As we enter a fourth year of extreme drought here in California the State Water Resources board is starting to implement some strict water use restrictions. It is an interesting time to be tinkering with irrigation software.

Dan

[Dan in CA]

Randy,

I just tested the TODAY and  NEXT DAY  buttons and they are working here. I’m not sure what could be causing the problem you are seeing.

At this point there is not a separate discussion area for plugins. You can post questions, suggestions and comments about the plugins here.

Dan

[Dan in CA]

Alex,

The original problem has been resolved. I just did a quick test here with the version you are running and it seems to be working as expected.

Could you give me the exact settings that you are having a problem with?

Dan

[Dan in CA]

I pushed an update to GitHub that should take care of the problem.

Note that you need to refresh the page to get the rain sensor changes to appear. You can just click the home page icon to do that.

Let me know if you are still having any problem with it.

Dan

[Dan in CA]

It looks like a software issue alright.

I’ll work on it.

Dan

[Dan in CA]

The Python Interval Program has a plugin named relay_board that allows the program to work with relay boards. You can install it from the plugin manager. Click the HELP  button for configuration and wiring instructions or you can see the instructions at:

https://github.com/KanyonKris/sprinkler-weather/wiki/relay_board-Documentation

Dan

[Dan in CA]

The Python program is actually an independent project started back when things were more DIY oriented.

To avoid confusion I have been considering changing the name. Any suggestions for a new name would be welcome.

Dan

[Dan in CA]

The email_adj plugins was originally designed to work with gmail only as far as I know.

It is in need of some updating. I’ll take a look at it when I get a chance but that may not be very soon.

Most of the plugins are submitted by users and maintenance can be spotty.

Dan

[Dan in CA]

Someone issued a pull request on GitHub with a fix before I even saw this post so it should be correct now.

It’s really great to have input from the user community like that!

Dan

 

[Dan in CA]

Hi Toonces,

This will definitely help a lot of users. The documentation on the Rayshobby wiki is getting a bit out of date. I will update it with your input.

I am also starting to write some new documentation that can be accessed through the help button in the latest revs of the software or directly from:

https://github.com/Dan-in-CA/OSPi/wiki

Dan

[Dan in CA]

OK,

I posted an update to GitHub.

The problem had to do with the gpio_pins.py file not loading properly. The temperature reading is platform dependent and the gpio_pins file is where the platform (pi/beagle bone black) is determined. At first I thought is was a minor inconvenience but when the temp reading was zero, no zones could be turned on either.

There were also some changes to the system updater plugin and I would recommend doing a manual software update at this point to avoid some strange problems that result from the old updater.

Dan

[Dan in CA]

Looks like the restart after fetching the update needs some fine tuning.

I’ll work on it.

Did the CPU temp update after the restart?

Dan

[Dan in CA]

Thanks for reporting this.

The bug was actually in gv.py line 55  (u”lr”: u”100″), changed to (u”lr”: 100).

Update is now on GitHub.

Dan

[Dan in CA]

Thanks for the heads up Ingo.

I can confirm it works!

My new Pi 2 arrived just after I read your post. I installed ubuntu linaro (raspbuntu):

https://www.yahoo.com/tech/s/ubuntu-desktop-raspberry-pi-2-101901342.html

I was able to get a full developmant system setup on the new Pi within a couple of hours. In fact I am writing this post using the new Pi2 with Firefox installed. linaro comes with Chromium browser pre-installed I also have java-re installed to run my Python IDE and of course OSPi is working great on it.

Dan

[Dan in CA]

Thanks Keith,

I can replicate the problem based on your instructions. I’ll look for a fix.

Dan

EDIT:

This bug is related to the way the program logs run durations. It is something that needs changing but is not a simple tweak. I will need to put some time into it. I will work on it as soon as the next update is released which is almost ready to go. I don’t want to delay the update because it includes some very useful new features.

[Dan in CA]

Is that repeatable?

It sounds like you have everything set to work properly.

When I try it here It shows the correct time and date.

Dan

[Dan in CA]

Kieth,

The date 1970-01-01 indicates that the Pi has not set the time on boot. It should get the correct time from the internet when it starts up.

The Python Interval program depends on the time and time zone settings of the Pi for correct operation. Be sure the time zone is set using “sudo raspi-config”, under 4 Internationalisation Options.

You can check the time from the command line with “date”.

There is more information on the wiki at:

http://rayshobby.net/mediawiki/index.php/Real_Time_Clock_%28RTC%29_Set_up

It is not necessary to do a full RTC setup but this should give you some useful information.

Dan

[Dan in CA]

I have always found the integrated web interface to be fairly slow. Of course I’m always reloading pages during development and testing.

If you don’t access it very often or you are using the mobile app you probably wouldn’t notice.

For me at least a faster response will be welcome and since the V2 costs the same as the B+ I wouldn’t call it a waste.

Dan

[Author]

Posts