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So I changed my weather location to Washington where it was currently raining. The rain delay kicked in, the watering percentage remained at 100% and while my lights remained on. So it appears to have fixed the 0 watering percentage and my sprinklers did not turn on because of the rain delay.
William,
Yes it does. I have been testing since last week. However we have not had any rain. It has remained at 100%. I may change the location on one of my controllers to a location that is raining to see if it works. But looking over the code, it should work. That portion of the code is what ray was commenting on. Basically i added the check to see if auto rain delay was selected and california restrictions was selected then do not adjust the watering percentage.
The other change I made was to check the weather every 15 minutes regardless if a program was running or not.
Ed
Ray,
You are correct. The visual basic and basic context is <>, but the c context is !=. I compiled and uploaded the firmware last week with the != context. It seems to be working but I am waiting for a rain fall to see if it works. It is spritzing right now but not measurable enough to show measurable precipitation. The 15 minute weather calls seem to be running smooth as well.
Ray,
Here is what I am going to change the weather call setting to. While I am not well versed in C and I don’t know of a way to compile this and debug it without just uploading hopefully it will work. The 130 represent the valua of uwt when California Settings are selected and I I set it for auto rain delay. I know the represent bits and I am sure this can be implemented for both manual and auto. However this will fulfill my needs for now. Hopefully when you get back from China we can look to implement this in to the main code to fix the bug.
As for the weather calls, I am now receiving them every 15 minutes even if a program is running. I may change this in the future, just figured I would try it out. We are expecting rain wed night so hopefully this will test out.
if (v>=0 && v<=250 && v != os.options[OPTION_WATER_PERCENTAGE] && os.options[OPTION_USE_WEATHER]<>130) {
// only save if the value has changed
os.options[OPTION_WATER_PERCENTAGE] = v;
os.options_save();
}
}Ray,
So I have made a few more modifications to the 2.16 FW. I changed it to check the weather every 15 minutes whether there is a program running or not. I also located the portion of the code that is settings the watering level. I know you said earlier that the problem may be in the script, however, I think it would be best to control that from the code and not the script. So once I retrain myself a little more on the code I will add to the if condition below to detect the uwt settings. If manual or California Restrictions are selected then it should not change the water percentage at all. Similiar != os.options[OPTION_WATER_ . This of course is found in the weather call procedure. However, I have not found the proper option for the uwt values yet.
if (v>=0 && v<=250 && v != os.options[OPTION_WATER_PERCENTAGE]) {
// only save if the value has changed
os.options[OPTION_WATER_PERCENTAGE] = v;
os.options_save();
}
}Ray,
I was able to update the firmware through the Arduino IDE. The command line would not work for me. I kept getting the following error:
avrdude -c arduino -p m1284p -P 4 -b 115200 -U flash:w:FW23-216C.hex
avrdude: can’t open config file “”: Invalid argument
avrdude: error reading system wide configuration file “”I would like to get this working but it appears the upload worked. The change appears to have fixed the not updating the weather when a program is running. I will update another controller and test. The 0% water level is still a problem which hopefully can be corrected soon.
Thanks,
Ed
Ray,
I have removed the code that you suggested “|| os.status.program_busy” and compiled the FW. Can you send me info as to the best method to update the FW on the controller. I will be looking to install it on one of my 2.2 hardware devices. So I compiled it for this hardware.
Please let me know, I hope to do this tomorrow sometime.
Thanks,
Ed
So I found additional information on the website with regards to compiling. https://opensprinkler.freshdesk.com/support/solutions/articles/5000165132-how-to-compile-opensprinkler-firmware . I had already download the sdfat.h but I followed the older information located here and was able to get to compile. So I will create a firmware removing the don’t check the weather if a program is running as you pointed out in one of your earlier posts. If you could check the script and fix the bug with the 0% watering problem then we will be golden for now.
We are expecting rain this week so I will will be able to trouble shoot if your able to get the script fixed if that is indeed where the problem is.
Thanks,
Ed
I began replying and for seem reason i lost it. Very frustrating.
William is right, water you typical lawn is not an issue. When you multiply that in a very public area (69 Acres) it does not bode well have lawns being watered while it is raining especially when we have the tools to do so. As for how CA is enforcing this, well every resident and neighbor along with the city are the ones to police it. The residents here have access to an app for their phones that make it simple to report it with pictures included. The city then follows up with a letter, and then you can in turn get more information. Now we have not seen fines, nor have we had excessive warnings but it is possible. I have a good crew and we monitor the area pretty well. The City is also reasonable as they know leaks happen and they are happy to know that you are on top of it.
It is our due diligence to make every effort to not abuse, so if I can prevent my smart controllers from coming on when its raining I would like to do that. However, when its not raining I need them to function. So I have been monitoring them heavily because we have had enough rain lately to test it.
So to answer your question about the rain delay, I am using the Auto Rain Delay with the rain restrictions. I have set it up for 48 hours. I don’t know what the water percentage drops to 0% because or water restrictions in CA is time based. 5 Minutes for shrubb heads and no limit for Rotor Heads and I am only allowed to water on Monday and Fridays. In any event upon rain, the water delay does kick in as expected, the water percentage drops to 0%. (Not sure why it changes at all) bt after the rain delay expires it remains at 0%.
Now currently I have 4 controllers deployed and I purchased 4 more a couple of weeks ago. Then I came across the weather not pulling a couple of weeks ago when a program was running and also the 0% watering bug. I have download the source code from github and also the Arduino 1.06 software so I could try and make some of my own modifications however, it will not verify and compile with the info and instructions available on github. I am receiving quite a few errors. So maybe you could give me some guidance. I am a little concerned that its been 2 weeks and you have not been able to look at the script and fix it yet. I know that we are right on top of the holidays, but our lawns are suffering as it is. Maybe you could correct this issue soon.
I am very interested in at least removing the weather not checking every hour when a program is running as well. But like I said, I cannot get the code to verify and compile. I do think though the main code should have this corrected. I believe the 2 rare possible problems with the TZ issue is much smaller than the potential of it raining an hour before my sprinklers turn on and my lights are already on. I have no real interested in creating 6 programs to turn my lights off to allow this. Then multiply that by a potential of 45 controllers in the future. Just does not make any real sense.
Anyhow I look forward to your feedback and help.
Thanks,
Ed
Ray,
Thanks for the additional information. First, this device is your baby and I think you already realize that it is not like other controllers on the market. It has potential to be greater. It is already better, but greater is what I see.
Now I will be putting some more thought to this, but off the cuff, at minimal in my opinion it should be doing a weather call just before the start of each program regardless if a program is already running. California restrictions would say yes, if it starts raining while watering then the program should be aborted immediately and the water delay should be applied. As for the water percentage with other methods, then I believe that this adjustment would apply to a program before it starts, or applied at the next startup.
As for the TZ change possibility, in any of your tests have you seen this actually happen? If so, maybe there can be a check and balance (error trap) to determine a bad return.
I am not beyond compiling a custom firmware, but I would prefer working with you and Samer directly to make OS an even better or more finished product. I don’t have a problem helping run tests, running test fw etc.
I would also like to see the weather diagnostic button fixed to force a weather call if possible regardless if a program is running or not.
Your suggestion of breaking the lights in to 6 sessions, I suspect that this would mean a possible interruption in lights each time which is not really realistic solution. Maybe you can convince me otherwise.
One last thing, has there been any headway with fixing the 0% watering after a rain delay has expired in CA mode only? I have been having to reset my controllers manually.
Thanks,
Ed
Samer,
Thanks for responding quickly. The information you have supplied confirms what I was seeing. I am sure we can figure something out.
Dave,
I manage a very large HOA community is about 69 acres. I have over 40 controllers with an average of 24-40 irrigation stations on each one. Along with this I have common area lights that are controlled on Intermatic Timers/Dusk to dawn sensors which control these.
So when I first came across Rays Hobby project when it was just at FW 2.1 it had a very primitive web interface. I had communicated with Ray during this early process. So for me the control center would allow me to monitor all of these controllers all in one central point. I was also going to add the dusk to done features for the lighting as well and possibly some electro-magnetic dead bolts as well.
The design of my control software would be 2 options, to let the timers run in auto mode, or in manual mode and let the control center actually be the controller, the os units take direct command from a central control point.
Then Samer came aboard and the web interface had a complete overhaul and dusk to dawn features were implemented. So I stopped working on my control center. But the other night I busted it open and updated the api calls to the 2.14 and above and at minimal will get it going to be a diagnostic tool. Also, since I have monitors (security) with smart phones that monitor gps detex, parking monitoring, and area cameras, I will be able to give them access to the common area lighting controls and any other controls I choose to without giving them full access.
So I am using Ubiquity AP’s in conjunction with Open Sprinkler devices, 24vac Relays and Hikvision cameras which are all tied in together to give an affordable option for Weather based irrigation control, lighting controls and in one swoop create a wireless wifi mesh for our security cameras.
In any event probably more info than you wanted to here, but overall the systems work well. The OS devices have been reliable, and with Samer and Ray on the job of ironing out the little quirks of the FW, the web gui interface will work.
What would be nice in the webgui is to have more pertinent status information on the main page always.
Here are a couple pictures to see this in action.
Nate,
You may want to look up the api call in the sdk and do a manual call to check the last weather call to see if its just a problem with the webgui. I doubt its a controller issue, its more likely a software problem.
Dave,
Interesting enough my background is hardware and software engineer. When I first bought my first opensource controller it had just hit the 2.1 hardware version. The webgui was very primitive and there was no android app. My hopes for the controller was to roll it out in a large HOA as an affordable weather base controlled device that I could control centrally from my computer. So I started writing control software to do just that. The API was very effective. It was almost complete and then Samer came aboard with Ray, and the controller now had a more robust web gui and android app.
So I busted out my code last night and began to update it to the new api which changed quite a bit since 2.04 but it is almost done. I will be keeping it updated to diagnose my controllers. Samer, contacted me yesterday so I know he is working on the current problem, and hopefully adding the ability to check the alert history from the web gui and android app as well. Both Ray and Samer have something really good here and it really has come a long way in a short period.
Ed
Alright, so here is a picture of my CA Water Restrictions settings. The water percentage was at 100% but then we got rain. Which set the controller on to a water delay of 48 Hours and set the water percentage to 0% for some reason. The water delay expired on December 15 at 22:27. Yet the water percentage remained at 0%. I am not sure why the water percentage would have changed with my settings, as the CA Water Restriction is not based on watering percentage.
Also, note on the bottom of the screen the alert which shows the last run station which in this case are Area Lights that run from dusk to dawn. So I can only get one alert, so the rain delay alert was not accessible on this device. There needs to be a way to view multiple alerts, whether it is a button or we click on the status alert below to display more. Maybe there is a way an I am just not seeing it.
Nate,
Reading your last post, my problem, was that I could not even pull data. However, it appeared that I was pulling data from wunderground or it appeared I was looking at the wunderground site. Interesting that it is not recording the last pull date.
I have submitted another ticket to Ray, the California Water Restrictions definitely is not working correctly. It appears to be applying the water delay, but it sets the water percentage to 0%, so after the delay has gone and past, the water percentage stays at 0%. Personally the percentage should only be controlled by the zimmerman or other programs. The current California restriction should be a rain delay.
William I look forward to seeing what you have to report from OC.
My location is San Diego, CA in the 92126 zip code. So our last day of Rain was late Sunday…
So, I am anxiously waiting to see if the water percentage goes back to 100%. My water delay is set to expire today at 22:00 hours. How are you doing with your devices William?
Ray, since I am running lights on my devices from dusk to dawn, I am not able to see what the rain delay has been auto set to on 2 of my devices. Is there away to make this information available from the web interface? Of for that matter any way to get it at all, there is a different alert on the bottom? This option would be very usefull. Maybe there is already an option and I am just not seeing it. Any info would be appreciated.
Nate,
I was having this problem as well with 3 different units. One hw 2.1, two with 2.2, running different firmwares, 2.14 and 2.16. After pulling my hair out and scanning the json settings in each, I decided to reconfigure one completely and then the weather started pulling again. So I saved the settings and imported the file in to the other two controllers and they started working. So I reverted back to the previous settings and it stopped. Long story made short, here is what was the problem, it was the gps point pulled using the location finder for the weather. I know you said you setup the weather properly and I am sure you did. But try to relocate the location on the map and pull an updated GPS location and save and test it.
The new 2.16 in the change write up which I read after resolving my weather update problem, there is now a way to set a specific location up. I have not done this yet, after updating my gps location and saving my settings I have not had this problem. So see if this resolves it for you.
Please follow up in your thread to confirm if it resolved you issue or not. Hopefully Ray or Samers can add a note when testing the weather diagnostics, if it fails that they can add it the notes to re-aquire the gps for your location or refer to setting the location.
Giving this more thought, I am only using the california restrictions with Auto Rain Delay, so this should not adjust the watering percentage at all. Only delay it.
I will continue monitoring my systems for frequently to make sure they are functioning as intended.
My other problem with pulling weather data from all three, seems to have been solved my re-updating my location. GPS coordinates. I am not sure why but I will continue to monitor this as well.
So I made a little headway, maybe you guys can help me diagnose this. I Reset the controller options and Station Names on the 2.16. After which I was able to start to pull weather information. I then re-imported my settings and it would fail. So I reset it again. Interesting when you do the reset it keeps your wunderground key but not location. It also keeps your programs. So I re-entered my station names and setup the controller and it is not pulling weather diagnostics.
So I tried this on my 2.1 HW version with FW 2.14 and it fixed it as well. I did the same tests importing the json file and then the weather would fail. So I reset it and reprogrammed it again and it seems to working as well.
I saved my json files, I will attempt to export my current setup and then re-import to see if it works or maybe this could be the source of the problem.
Ray,
So the controller running 2.16 is at 0% watering. It rained here on Thursday last week. The other 2 controllers are at 100%. I really need to get to the bottom of this.
Ray,
I am not seeing this in my firmwares. Can you let me know where to find this?
‘Last Successful Weather Call’ (there is also an item called ‘Last Weather Call’,
Ray,
Here are some pics of the 3 controllers from today. I am not able to pull data. I also included a snap shot of the wunderground stats showing I am pulling data.
The controller pics show that my wunderground key is verified, and also the forecast is up to date. But when I press the weather dignostic button on any of the three it sais it failed.
Install Notes:
I have 2 units deployed one 2.2 and one 2.1 hw versions with the 2.14 fw. They are about a 1/2 mile away but connected to my wireless mesh and assigned an ip from my buffalo router running which is running dd-wrt. I have the third unit with 2.16 FW hw 2.2 running as a test unit on my desk with direct lan to my network.
