[Ray]

When you changed the status of the rain sensor, did you refresh the webpage? Note that the homepage is static and does not refresh automatically. The LCD does update in real-time though.

[Ray]

@iDoug: found the bug (for some reason the program worked fine on my Macbook Air but not on an older Macbook). Anyways, it’s fixed and the firmware updater has been streamlined, mainly consolidating all versions and pulling the executables out to make them more obvious. Please download the new package from here:
http://rayshobby.net/?page_id=732#upload
Let me know if this works. Thanks.

[Ray]

Hi Mike,

Thanks for your suggestions. Sorry that it took me a while to get back to you since I needed some time to respond to each item on the list. See the relies below:

1) Give each program a “Name” as created

Yup, this can be added. It will take up more EEPROM space, but can be managed if we limit the length of the name. Sorting in the preview can be supported either (just a matter of changing Javascripts).

2) Change “Every” to “Run Every” (Add a New Program page)

Agreed.6) With the current method (All stations run the same duration) “Duration” should be changed to “Program Run Time”

3) Implement the “Run Every” option as either on or off (If turned off, #4 below is enabled)
4) To complement the “Run Every” option, allow the user to set Multiple Start Times for each program
5) Change label of “Time” field to “Program Start Time”
6) With the current method (All stations run the same duration) “Duration” should be changed to “Program Run Time”
7) And as previously noted in other threads, each station should be allowed an independent duration or “Run Time”. PLEASE!
9) Display Station Numbers in “Select Stations” section of Add a New Program page

Yes, these are all being considered as a major revamp of how programs should be specified. See the related discussions here:
viewtopic.php?f=33&t=693&hilit=repeat+count

10) Preview per station

This may be a bit tricky to implement, but something easy to implement is to add the support (in the preview page) such that when you click on a station it highlights all time blocks that this station is scheduled to run. Not exactly a per-station view, but is perhaps sufficient.

11) Run-Once Program, include a “Start In __ minutes” option

Sure, this can be done.

12) Program Preview, add “Previous Day” and “Next Day” buttons

This is already available in the mobile app’s preview feature.

13) Set Stations, add checkbox to disable a station

This can be easily implemented when the station attributes feature is introduced. See the relevant discussion here:
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=401&p=2659&hilit=attribute#p2659

14) Navigation

You are absolutely right! This should be done right now, and I will definitely get to it tonight or tomorrow.

[Ray]

I guess when you say ‘if the 5V was still available’ you mean to provide 5V from an external source like microUSB cable, and not use the internal 5V provided by OSPi? There isn’t a very easy way to achieve this, probably the simplest is to remove the PTC fuse (the green component on close to the bottom of the circuit board. Once the fuse is removed, the internal 5V is cut off from the rest of the circuit.

On a related note: OSPi v1.4 has a built-in relay and all three relay pins (CO, NO, NC) are mapped out on the board. If you just need one relay, it’s pretty convenient to use the built-in relay (controlled by GPIO pin 15).

[Ray]

Thanks Doug, that’s a great summary.

[Ray]

Any news on this message: “avrdude: no programmer has been specified on the command line or the config file Specify a programmer using the -c option and try again”?

Just tried it on my Macbook Air OSX 10.9.3 and everything went ok. I am curious: are you seeing other messages in the output other than the one you typed above? Or is that the only message you see?

[Ray]

Actually I just realized something: the updater programs in the Github repository does not come with avrdude tool embedded. So unless if you’ve already installed avrdude, you will probably see a ‘avrdude: no such file or directory’ error. I will update the pre-packaged updater prorams later tonight so you can download them from the firmware update instructions page:
http://rayshobby.net/?page_id=732#upload
and will post an update once that’s done.

[Ray]

As I said previously in this thread:

The two wires from 24V AC are connected as follows: one is connected to the COM port, and the other is tied to GND (circuit ground). So I think the ‘other wire’ you are referring to is the GND wire.

[Ray]

No, it’s not your fault. Github does not support downloading a subfolder. You have to download the entire package (see the ‘Download Zip File’ button on the lower right corner of this page: https://github.com/rayshobby/opensprinkler) and unzip it, then go into the subfolders and find the updater program there (in Mac, just find the osFirmwareUpdater.app which you saw, and then run it).

[Ray]

Could you follow this post:
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=692
to update?

[Ray]

OK, make sure you select (in Arduino IDE) Tools -> Boards -> OpenSprinkler. It’s rather strange that the output reports (of a 32256 maximum), it should be 32768 maximum. This has to do with boards.txt in the Arduinohardware folder.

[Ray]

I don’t have access to a newer board, but I think they don’t give you access to the 5v pin anymore.

That’s incorrect — on OSPi v1.4, all RPi pins are mapped out in the pinout area. Please see the user manual page 9:
http://rayshobby.net/docs/ospi14_manual.pdf

[Ray]

The only thing I can think of is perhaps you’ve turned on manual operation mode. If on the homepage you see a list of buttons corresponding to the stations, then you are in manual operation mode. Just switch back to program mode (Manual Off) and you should see the Run-Once button again.

[Ray]

@jgrylls: which firmware version are you using? I am curious if anyone is using firmware 2.0.6 and still seeing the lockup issue? If so, my assumption about the lockup may be wrong and I have to think about other causes.

[Ray]

Sorry, that’s not possible currently as it will require changing the bootloader. I am not sure if it’s possible to implement a SD card bootloader within 4KB limit.

[Ray]

There is an 2A fuse on the 24V AC line which may trigger if the solenoid wires are shorted. In practice because most transformers are not even rated 2A, what happens typically is that a short will cause the transformer voltage to drop instantly and hence the system will restart and reset all the valves.

[Ray]

To clarify: OpenSprinkler generation 1 (1.x) is compatible with NanodeRF, because 1.x uses ATmega328 microcontroller and has PCB slot for RFM12B. All the pin assignments are also compatible with NanodeRF. Generation 2 (2.x) has switched to use ATmega644, so that’s not compatible with NanodeRF any more.

If you are using the Virtualbox Image, you should be able to compile 1.x source code within the size limit. Do you have a screenshot so I can perhaps see what may be wrong?

[Ray]

Note that firmware 2.0.6 for OpenSprinkler (not OSPi) has added support for logging onto microSD card. Please check the relevant post here:
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=692

[Ray]

Yup, this looks fine. I assume the power line standard in your country is 220V AC(or 230V AC), right? Here in the US the power line standard is 110V AC.

[Ray]

Thanks for the update. Indeed WiFi on OSBo hasn’t been very reliable. Using the TP-Link adapter is definitely a good work-around. I heard that the WiFi issue is likely caused by the driver. We will be making a updated OSBo SD card image soon and hopefully the latest Unbutu OS will solve the driver issue.

[Ray]

OK, I will check the 64-bit version. The programs are written in Processing and exported using Processing as well. I am pretty sure we checked all platforms and made sure the updater program works on all. But you are right that the 32-bit version can work just fine on 64-bit Windows.

the ‘java not recognized as … command’ message means you need to install Java. You can go to java.com to download tne install Java. But before you do that, try the 32-bit version to see if that works.

[Ray]

I believe the system on the OSBo image is set to register a host name with the router. You can check your router’s configuration page to see the host name. You should be able to access the system using the host name instead of the IP address.

[Ray]

@mb42: sorry for my late response. Per-station water time within a program should be implemented soon (a couple of weeks?) Other than the firmware, there are a bunch of other things needed to be updated (website, docs, mobile app) so it’s taking longer than I thought.

[Ray]

One thing I suggest you do is to measure the voltage from each pin on the Ethernet controller, and write down the values so I can compare with reference. Start with the first pin (upper left corner), go down, and switch to the right side (lower right corner), and go up. There should be 28 pins in total.

[Ray]

Stays 00:00, which I would not expect since you have that timer chip and battery running the clock right?

Because your RTC hasn’t been set — it’s set upon the first successful NTP sync, but since your Ethernet connection is not working yet, it hasn’t synced with NTP. The RTC clock will not run if it hasn’t been set.

[Author]

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