[Ray]

OK, looks like you have Raspberry Pi version 1:
https://learn.adafruit.com/using-the-bmp085-with-raspberry-pi/configuring-the-pi-for-i2c

[Ray]

Sure, sounds like a plan.

[Ray]

Very nice. Thanks for sharing!

[Ray]

These have to do with Linux commands, so you can Google about it. For example, sudo allows you to run a command as root; passwd is a command to change password. Many commands have a man page, so if you run ‘man passwd’ you will see the man page that explains the various parameters. You can also directly Google the command. I just checked and seems ‘-d root’ is used to delete the root password (i.e. make root passwordless).

[Ray]

Looks like a permission issue. You can try to switch to root:
sudo su
and run the command again, this time without sudo:
echo ds1307 0x68 > /sys/class/i2c-adapter/i2c-1/new_device

[Ray]

The easiest way to get started, without modifying the firmware, is probably to make use of the available HTTP GET command to send control commands to OpenSprinkler. Please check the PDF in this section of the user manual for a complete list of HTTP GET commands:
http://rayshobby.net/?page_id=730#httpget

[Ray]

@alessiomaggi: when they become unreachable, can you still ping them? I suggest that you unplug Raspberry Pi from OSPi and see if it’s still alive. It will help to first isolate the problem — whether it’s the Raspberry Pi that has become unresponsive, or it’s OSPi that’s not providing the required voltage to Raspberry Pi.

[Ray]

I second Samer. The JSON data is still retrieved with a HTTP GET command, but it’s in a nice form that many programming languages (Javascript, Python, PHP…) can directly parse.

[Ray]

When using OpenSprinkler for a non-sprinkler device, make sure the operating voltage and current of the device is compatible with OpenSprinkler (24V AC, 800mA max current per zone, if current exceeds 800mA you can combine multiple zones to increase the capacity). A drawing of how you plan to connect OpenSprinkler with the ERV controller would probably make it easier to check.

[Ray]

If the mobile app works and the normal OpenSprinkler html webpage doesn’t, it’s likely due to a connection issue to the Internet. The html webpage references Javascripts stored on rayshobby.net server, so whatever browser you are using to browse the page needs to be able to access the Internet. The mobile app has these Javascripts embedded and thus does not need to reference external links.

[Ray]

Do you have a specific landscape lighting in mind? It would help to know the basic electric specs of the lights, such as operating voltage, current, technology (LED or non-LED etc.)

[Ray]

A manual switch is doable. Basically each station port (1 through 8) is internally connected to a triac that functions like a programmable switch. When the triac is turned on, it connects that solenoid wire to the circuit ground. Since the other wire of the solenoid is connected to COM (common), it completes the circuit from 24V AC transformer to solenoid, and the solenoid is turned on.

You can put a switch (in parallel to triac) between the solenoid wire and circuit ground. This way, when you turn on the switch, it activates the solenoid. You can also connect an LED (with a current limiting resistor) in parallel with the solenoid, so that every time the solenoid is turned on the LED also light up.

[Ray]

Are you sure you flashed the firmware correctly? For example, OpenSprinkler 2.0 and 2.1 uses different microcontroller frequencies. If you flashed the firmware code under the wrong board profile, the microcontorller will not start. You can always use the firmware updater program to reflash the microcontroller to one of the pre-compiled firmwares.

If this doesn’t solve the problem, please email [email protected] to arrange for support. Thank you.

[Ray]

You can modify any of the existing .rules file, or create a new file, say, 60-rayshobby.rules. It doesn’t matter which file you choose to append the new VID/PID pair.

Look, when I published the instructions, I had every intention to make it complete and clear. As this is an open-source project, there are frequent changes and it’s difficult for me to keep everything organized and updated at all times. I have a day-time job and I work on this project out of good will. If you encounter a problem, I encourage you to Google it, or just post it in this forum and I will try to answer it as quickly as I can. Expressing your frustration and venting that the instructions are incomplete doesn’t help much, and adds more stress on my side. It’s never my intention to keep the instructions incomplete. It’s just the nature of these projects that there are always unexpected problems and issues, and sometime barriers that require you to learn. I hope this is understandable.

[Ray]

‘Rain delay on selected stations’ has now been added and included in the newly released firmware 2.0.5. Please check this forum post for details:
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=608
Thanks!

[Ray]

You need to ‘cd OSPi’ — you are doing ‘git pull’ in the home directory, not the OSPi directory, which is where the software is installed.

[Ray]

Does your expansion board come with a cable that has polarized connectors (i.e. connector that has a bump on it)? The early versions of expansion board did not come with polarized connectors, and the cable has different wirings. The expansion board and cable are designed to match each other. The key is that the DATA_OUT pin of the main controller should be linked to the DATA_IN pin of the expansion board. You can check the wiring on your version to see if this is the case. In general as long as you use the cable that comes with the expansion board it should be ok. If you can post a picture of your expansion board that would be great. Thanks.

[Ray]

“103113” is the date that the pre-configured SD card image was created. You can use it as a starting point, then go to the OSPi folder and run a ‘git pull’ to update to the latest version.

[Ray]

@danfinlay: you said

I’ve updated to the latest version (1.0.7) (following https://github.com/rszimm/sprinklers_pi/wiki/Upgrading)

, sounds like you were running Rich’s sprinklers_pi program? Note that the sprinklers_pi program has a built-in mobile interface, and it is not the same with Dan’s interval program (which is what OpenSprinkler mobile app supports).

[Ray]

Hi Eric,

I am really sorry to hear that. Right now I can’t think of any obvious reason why the firmware upgrade would cause it to freeze. The fact that it freezes probably indicates that it’s having trouble connecting to the network (and thus spending most of the time establishing connections instead of responding). So my first question is: is it able to get a valid IP address? and can you see from the LCD screen (the little WiFI-style icon) whether it’s connected or disconnected? One difference in firmware 2.0.4 is that the software-defined Mac address has changed. I am wondering if this may have caused some trouble.

I also suggest trying to turn the ‘Auto Reconnect’ option to No — if the controller doesn’t freeze any more, then the problem is due to issues connecting to the router; if the controller still freezes, the the problem is somewhere else.

A support email has been sent to you. Please see the instructions therein. Thanks.

[Ray]

Hi Brad,

This upcoming batch of OSPi 1.4 largely follows the prototype seen here:
http://rayshobby.net/?p=8592
Because Maker Faire is coming soon, I didn’t have time to introduce new features, so this batch has the same hardware features as 1.3, except 1) it uses the injection molded enclosure, and 2) a microSD to low-profile SD adapter will be included in the kit.

The hole is currently covered by a sticker. I’ve also ordered laser cut acrylic pieces which can be glued from the back of the hole. That works pretty well and there are different colors I can choose. Hopefully the acrylic covers will be ready by Maker Faire time.

[Ray]

If you have basic programming background, you can easily modify the software code to do this.

[Ray]

Can you install a cheap router there? It doesn’t need to have Internet connection at all, it’s just to create a local network that both opensprinkler and your phone can connect to.

[Ray]

can the OSPi do weather monitoring via a hardware temp/humidity and maybe rainfall sensor?

The current version of OSPi has a rain sensor terminal and you can connect an off-the-shelf rain sensor to it. These rain sensors are basically rain-activated switches but do not measure the amount of rainfall.

Temp/humidity sensor is possible. You need to wire the sensor to RPi and modify the code suitably.

There are also off-the-shelf rain gauge. I’ve recently looked at a wireless rain gauge and wrote an Arduino program to intercept the signal:
http://rayshobby.net/?p=9056
I haven’t adapted the code to RPi but it should be fairly simple.

Can I do datalogging and run it as both an irrigation controller and a weather monitor?

Dan’s interval program already supports logging and I assume it shouldn’t be difficult to modify it to log weather information as well.

7 core 0.5mm2 wire with them

I am not an expert on this. You can check this page about wire thickness vs. distance you can run:
http://www.hunterindustries.com/support/what-maximum-distance-i-can-run-wire-between-controller-and-valves

I am guessing OSPi also has full wifi?

Yup. Technically it’s Raspberry Pi that has WiFi — you can use a nano-size USB WiFi dongle. That’s a pretty standard addon to Raspberry Pi.

[Ray]

Cool. If possible, would you mind putting the instructions on the wiki page here:
http://rayshobby.net/mediawiki/index.php?title=Python_Interval_Program_for_OSPi
Thanks!

[Author]

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