Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
I assume you have OSPi 1.4. Have you checked the OSPi 1.4 user manual:
http://rayshobby.net/docs/ospi14_manual.pdf
it has all the information you need, from hardware setup to software setup.I personally prefer the metric system, although here in the US most places still use the imperial system. Perhaps an option that allows the user to select would be the best.
After a week of being off, I connected to internet LAN and time showed all zeros
This is typically due to a soldering problem on the battery holder, causing the battery to be disconnected from the RTC. Without battery the RTC will reset to 00:00 on start up. Check the solder joints of the battery holder and see if a pin may be lifted. Re-soldering it should solve the problem.
The firmware does not support this yet. It’s definitely possible to modify the firmware to support this feature, the main difficulty is that this will involve data structure change, as the current data structure is not sufficient to represent such rules.
Is your rain gauge wired or wireless? A while back I analyzed a wireless (433Mhz) rain gauge and was able to use an Arduino or Rpi to listen to the sensor and decode the signal:
http://rayshobby.net/?p=9056
The raspberry pi code is provided at the end of the blog post.As the main point of the posts, I described the procedure I used to reverse engineer these sensors. I am all tempted to follow the same procedure to analyze a more comprehensive weather station, but I haven’t got time to do so.
Does the program show up on the Program list page? Note that the program preview by default shows today’s schedule. If the program you added is not scheduled to run today, it will not show up in the preview.
The simplest way to check if SD card is installed and detected is to check the LCD screen and see if there is a SD card icon. The shape of the icon looks like this:
http://iconizer.net/files/Ecqlipse_2/orig/SD%20CARD.pngEarlier you said
the little rain cloud icon appears, disappears, and then reappears every few seconds
This is quite strange and the only thing I can think of is if there is a loose wire somewhere. In any case, you can send an email to [email protected] to arrange for a replacement.
I just mentioned a few things about B+ in my reply to another thread:
viewtopic.php?f=28&t=547&start=20#p5118The short answer is that the current OSPi v1.4 will not work with B+, unless if you are ok with using ribbon cables to connect B+ to OSPi. Specifically, the extra 2 USB ports are in the way so B+ cannot plug all the way down to OSPi. Also the pin headers are slightly shifted in position so the enclosure can’t close properly. The only way to make this work is to keep B+ out of the enclosure and use a 8pin ribbon cable + 5 pin ribbon cable to make the connection, much like OSPi 1.3.
So a new revision for B+ is due 🙂
If you mean where to set DHCP vs static IP on the controller, please check the user manual, specifically the Setup Options section:
http://rayshobby.net/?page_id=3775#setupIf you mean how to set up port forwarding, that’s a feature on your router and you have to refer to the router’s administration page or user manual.
Hi Brad,
I just got my hands on a B+ model and indeed I will have to redesign OSPi to fit B+. I assume the current B model will be discontinued. Since B+ is considerably different from B, it’s unlikely I can design an OSPi that fits both versions. So for a while we will have to offer both versions, until the current B model phases out.
As you’ve probably noticed, OSPi doesn’t have its own dedicated enclosure — instead it shares the OpenSprinkler injection-molded enclosure. So the enclosure is not fully tailored to RPi. When I met Eben Upton at the Maker Faire last year, he told me specifically not to finalize the enclosure design, as they were in the process of redesigning RPi. I guess B+ is what he was referring to 🙂
As to the compute module, I haven’t had time to try out it yet. With it, it’s totally possible to fit everything inside the OS injection-molded enclosure, so OSPi will look just like the Arduino-based OS, expect it runs RPi inside. The compute module is not widely available yet, and it’s unclear to me what would be the final pricing.
Speaking of that, there are alternative choices: I’ve also just got my hands on the SparkCore and the Electric Imp. I like them quite a lot: they are low-cost ($30 to $40), have built-in WiFi, very small in size, and have excellent web and cloud support. I am very tempted to design an OS-Spark, or OS-Imp, or I think it’s even possible to have one circuit that can fit either of them. The only downside is that they have relatively fewer pins, so an IO expander may be necessary.
-Ray
just confirmed that my rain sensor is in fact the Hunter Mini-Clik
Just checked the spec of this and it should work with OS. I suppose it’s normally closed.
No rain (self-test button not depressed): closed circuit — almost 0Ω reading between the wires
Rain (self-test button depressed): reading between 4 to 5 MΩ between the wiresThis sounds good.
I re-checked several times, tested by connecting to the screws on the plug, as well as on the raw wires (green plug removed), and I was always getting 4-5MΩ reading.
I didn’t quite understand this: do you mean that when it’s connected to OS, it always appears as open circuit (i.e. 4-5Mohm reading), even when you don’t press the self-test button? Because it’s normally closed, it should be almost 0ohm when self-test button is released. I can’t imagine how connecting it to OS would affect this.
Is yours a DIY kit? If so, you can replace station 5 triac: the part number is MAC97, which you can easily find on digikey or mouser. You can also send an email to [email protected] and we can send you a couple.
To replace the triac, my suggestion is: so long as you can access the legs of the existing triac, you should use a diagonal cutter to carefully clip off the existing one, then desolder the residue legs, and solder the new one. If this is not possible, use a desolder pump.
BUT means:
– The OpenSprinkler shall react to requests from the HAS:
– – status-feedback (what is the current status, what are the current times?
– – action upon request (HAS sends “open valve X” and OpenSprinkler will act on that request)These are already supported by the firmware, and is in fact how the mobile app communicates with the controller. Specially, statuses can be obtained using JSON (check this post for JSON commands: http://rayshobby.net/?p=8422), and actions are implemented using HTTP GET (http://rayshobby.net/?page_id=730#httpget).
Whenever the OpenSprinkler will switch a valve, there should be an IP package sent to The HA server (preferrably by UDP or http get/post to a website on the HA server)
– The OpenSprinkler shall react to requests from the HAS::
This is not supported currently. Obviously it requires knowing specifics of your HA server, what specific HTTP GET/POST command it should send, IP address or host name of the HA server. Since this is similar to how logging is implemented, it shouldn’t be too difficult to modify the software to do so.Do you mean sprinkler valve or sprinkler head? Sprinkler valve is a electro-mechanical part that controls water flow — like a switch on your water pipe / hose; sprinkler heads are mechanical parts connected at the end of the water pipe / hose for spraying water.
What you described sounded like ‘impossible situations’ to me… Let’s look at the details you described about the first device:
Without being connected to a router, it kept good time both with w/NTP “ON” and “OFF”. When connected to a non-internet connected router (with NTP “OFF”), it started sporadic time-keeping..
This is very puzzling. Technically the firmware performs time-keeping in the following way: every time the controller restarts, and every 24 hours since that it perform an NTP syncing, unless if NTP sync option is turned off. Once synced, the time is written to the RTC. Every minute the microcontroller reads the RTC and refreshes its time. So the time stored in the RTC determines the accuracy of the device timing. Given this, whether the router is connected to the Internet or not should have no effect on the clock running faster, slower, or stalling.
One thing I thought about is: you should check if the CR1220 battery is installed reliably. If the battery is not installed or does not have correct voltage (needs to be around 3V), that can cause strange behaviors on the RTC.
Also, please specify your firmware version so we can check if the issue is reproducible.
If you turned off ‘reconnect’ and you are using DHCP, it’s likely that when the router resets, the controller will lose connection to the router and not be able to recover. My recommendation is to either turn ‘reconnect’ back on, or set a static IP. If you are worried that leaving ‘reconnect’ on may freeze the controller, please upgrade to firmware 2.0.7, which has added watchdog timer to solve the freeze issue.
Of course resetting the power can also allow the controller to re-establish connection to the router.
The relay is mainly used for more general-purpose switching, such as garage doors. The firmware does not support the relay yet, and there is no documentation about it in the user manual. If you need it, you can modify the source code to add support for it (the digital pin that controls the relay is 14).
Although the relay’s contact point is rated 120VAC, you should stick to low-voltage (<40V) devices, because the PCB traces and enclosure are not rated for power line voltage. Garage door openers typically run on low voltage so they are fine. The only reason for 120VAC relay is that it's literally impossible to find relays where the contact rating is less than 120VAC.
I have plan to replace the current self-test with a more useful feature that allows you to use buttons on the controller to run a program (including run-once program). This should be fairly easy to implement.
I want to re-state what I said earlier: when working with DC solenoid, be sure to check if the solenoid is latching or non-latching. Some DC valves use latching solenoids, the coil resistence is typically very low (a few ohms). These valves must be ‘pulsed’ open or close, you should never apply constant voltage more than 50 to 200 milliseconds, as that will smoke the coil. Other DC valves that are non-latching, the coil resistance is typically higher (30 to 60 ohms), and you can apply constant voltage on it to open the valve, and release voltage to close the valve.
Is there a new 2.04 FW Doc? The information on the site seems to only address 2.03 and references options such as DHCP and Static IP that do not exist in 2.04??
DHCP and Static IP have always been available in all firmwares. Note that Static IP will not show up unless if you turn DHCP option off. This is explained in the online user manual.
Im pretty frustrated as out of the box the main unit had a bad channel, no output on channel #2,
All units have been tested before shipping. If you believe there is a defective station on the unit, please send an email to [email protected] to arrange for an exchange.
Which type of Hunter rain sensor do you have? Can you post the model number? I think it has to do with either the way this particular sensor works, or there may be a loose connection somewhere.
If it’s a simple normally closed sensor, when it detects rain the two wires on the rain sensor should remain open-circuit. You can use a multimeter to verify this. Normally open sensors are the reverse way. If the multimeter shows that it connects and disconnects and repeats like that, then the sensor will not work with OpenSprinkler.
Given you are running firmware 2.0.7, I think it’s probably the watchdog timer resetting the self-test. I am pretty sure the watchdog timer is enabled before self-test. This should be fairly easy to fix. Will post an update soon. In the meantime, I suggest that you use the Run-Once program or manual mode for testing purpose. As mentioned in another thread, the self-test is very rudimentary and is mainly used internally by us for testing zone functions.
rederikus gave a pretty clear explanation.
The short answer is that 1000mA and 1500mA transformers should work fine, as long as the voltage is rated 24V AC (or anywhere between 22V to 29V AC).
It’s a common misconception that higher current rating will damage the circuit — the current rating only indicates the maximum output current (i.e. how much current the transformer is capable of delivering while maintaining the rated voltage). The actual current depends on how much the circuit needs.
As a quick summary: the OSPi kit provides the 5V power circuitry, shift register and solenoid drivers, RTC, ADC, relay, enclosure and terminal blocks. For software development, an RPi is all you need. But the extra hardware is necessary to control actual sprinkler valves.
For comparisons among the different OS versions, please check this summary by Doug:
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=703
