[Ray]

Not yet. I think someone has suggested this in the forum, and I’ve put it to the list of possible features for the future firmware update.

[Ray]

@rhc: if I understand correctly, you can activate sprinklers in manual mode, but in program mode it does not run, is this correct?

There are several potential reasons that could cause this:
– First, check the controller’s homepage and make sure it is not disabled because ‘Operation’ is set to off, or because ‘Rain delay’ is on.
– Next, check your programs and make sure they are not disabled (each program can be individually set to enabled or disabled).
– Keep in mind that due to the way program matches are detected, if you restarted the controller during a program run, or switched it from run-once or manual mode back to program mode during a program run, that program will not run again. This is because a program is only scheduled when the current time passes through the program’s start time.
– Also, check the LCD status when a program is supposed to be running, do you see any .oO animation on the station that’s supposed to be on? If not, then the program has not been scheduled, possibly due to the reason above.

[Ray]

Your 9V valves are most likely based on latching solenoids, which means 1) they work only with DC power; 2) the circuit needs to be able to reverse the polarity of voltage applied to the valve in order to both open and close it. You can take a look at similar valves that I blogged about before:
http://rayshobby.net/blog/?p=18
http://rayshobby.net/blog/?p=12
OpenSprinkler Pi cannot be easily modified to control these valves. Instead, I have an upcoming product OpenSprinkler Bee that’s designed to work with these valves:
http://rayshobby.net/
(scroll down to check the picture of OpenSprinkler Bee, and you can also sign up to receive notification when it’s available).

[Ray]

Hi All,

I just re-updated the Jun 24 version of Dan’s interval_program. I thought I updated it correctly, but there may have been a glitch due to an earlier conflict. Anyways, hopefully the version currently on Rayshobby Github:
https://github.com/rayshobby/opensprinkler/tree/master/OpenSprinkler%20Pi/software/demos/interval_program
is the same as the version on Dan’s Github:
https://github.com/Dan-in-CA/opensprinkler/tree/master/OpenSprinkler%20Pi/software/demos/interval_program

-Ray

[Ray]

I agree that a preconfigured SD card is necessary, however, I frankly don’t have any spare time to work on this right now. If someone is willing to prepare an image file, and set it up so it’s easily upgradable, I am more than happy to host the file. I think the bigger issue is the update: since a lot of the software features are under development and testing, and frequently updated, there is no guarantee that a precofigured SD card, after software update, is bug-free.

[Ray]

You need to set time zone manually (i.e. the controller does not detect time zone automatically. You can follow the online user manual to see how to set time zone.

Regarding the time drift: when you reboot the controller (assuming it can connect to the Internet), it should grab the current time (based on your time zone setting). If the time doesn’t get updated, you should check if your controller has a valid IP. Without a valid Internet connection, it cannot perform NTP time sync.

[Ray]

1) if your transformer is only 7.2VA, you won’t be able to run activate two zones at the same time — if you do so, the transformer voltage will drop very rapidly and the valves will reset.
2) I don’t recommend wiring two transformers in parallel, especially since different transformers have slightly different output voltages, and I don’t know what would be the consequence if you connect them in parallel.

[Ray]

Hi Andrew,

Thanks for your excellent work. As the page grows longer, do you think it might be useful to split the content into subpages?

[Ray]

Automatic detection of DST will be implemented in the next firmware upgrade. For now you need to manually change the time zone (i.e. change your time zone to -7:00).

[Ray]

Concurrent running shouldn’t be a problem. Each zone has its own individual triac, which supports 800mA continuous and several amps inrush current. As long as your sprinkler transformer has a sufficient current rating, I see no problem turning on 6 zones at the same time.

180 zones is beyond the software limit of the microcontroller-based OpenSprinkler (honestly I am quite impressed that you have 180 zones…) However, OpenSprinkler Pi does not have any software limit on the number of zones.

Regarding concurrent vs sequential running modes, currently the only option is to globally switch between the two (i.e. either all stations run sequentially, or all stations are allowed to run concurrently). There is currently no support for subsets of sequential groups.

[Ray]

That’s right. Since quite a few users asked about this, I have added more details to the user manual. Please see this section for the explanation:
http://rayshobby.net/?page_id=3775#setup

[Ray]

Nice. Thanks for sharing!

[Ray]

@COsgood: the issue you encountered is probably a hardware problem. Here are two things to check: 1) is your sprinkler transformer rated at least 500mA output current? If the current rating is too low, you will have trouble turning 2 valves on at the same time; 2) does your controller have a yellow, disc-shaped PTC fuse? If so, consider soldering a wire across it to bypass the fuse. I’ve received reports that when the ambient temperature is high, the PTC fuse is likely to be triggered, causing the controller to freeze. Having 2 valves open at the same time will increase the chance of this happening. Shorting out the fuse will solve this problem.

[Ray]

Any reason why you are using a DC power supply? Since the controller uses triac to control valves, if you use a DC power supply, you will only be able to turn on a sprinkler valve and once on it cannot be turned off (because DC does not have zero crossings).

In any case, if you are using a DC power supply, you have to observe the polarity: on the 24VAC terminal, the pin closer to the USB port is tied to ground, so you should connect that to the negative wire of your DC power supply.

[Ray]

@talsprinkler wrote:

For the heck of it, i connected it up to the sprinkers and tried. I didn’t work. When i did a manual override on any of the 3 zones, the animation for each zone worked but they were not powered. I tested each zone with the volt meter and they did nothing.

I am running out of ideas.

Check your resistor arrays RN2 and RN3: make sure you’ve soldered the 220 ohm x 4 ones to them. If you accidentally soldered the 10K x 4 resistor arrays to RN2 and RN3, your valves will not be activated because the triac will not be able to turn on with such a large gate resistor.

[Ray]

Are you measuring AC or DC voltage? On the anode side of D1, it’s AC power; after D1 (rectification), there is basically only DC. So if you are still using your multimeter’s AC measurement you will get a reading of 0.

[Ray]

What do you mean by ’24V stops after it enters D1′? Do you mean that on the anode of D1 there is a voltage and on the cathode of D1 there is no voltage?

[Ray]

The masters currently cannot communicate with each other, and the web interface can only treat them as separate master controllers. There are some potential solutions you may consider. If it’s possible for you to extend the wires going to the valves, you can use the OpenSprinkler zone expansion board, so that one master controller and several zone expansion boards will sit together, and the wires going to valves all start here. The other possible solution is to have multiple controllers listen to a server (for example, use a Raspberry Pi), and the server will send out http commands to every controller in order to have a centralized control.

[Ray]

Cool, thanks for sharing and the detailed descriptions. I have never used Control4, but just did a quick search after seeing your post. Seems interesting. You may want to upload a couple of pictures (either here or on your blog) so that anyone who is interested can have a quick preview. Thanks.

[Ray]

@ntutak: can you find out which version of OSPi you have? Version 1.0 and 1.1 use different switching regulators. It is possible that when the ambient temperature is very high the switching regulator’s internal circuitry might shut it down. To test whether the issue is caused by switching regulator, you can simply unplug the 3-pin wire, and power RPi separately using a USB cable. See if the problem continues.

[Ray]

Hmm, that’s rather strange. I’ve never seen such a symptom before. 3.8V Vcc is definitely strange. It’s still within the mcu’s spec, so the mcu should be up running. But it’s certainly not normal (should be between 3.2V to 3.4V). I can’t think of any reason for the abnormal Vcc voltage. Assuming the MCP1702-33 is working (the chance of it being defective is very small), the only thing I could think of would be the capacitors C2 and C3. If these capacitors are not soldered reliably, or if you accidentally soldered the 10uF capacitor onto the position of 220uF, it may cause the voltage to be abnormal.

[Ray]

If the circuit works with USB power, it means at least everything other than the power supply section is working. Now, did you follow the build instructions to test VIN to GND voltage, as well as VCC to GND voltage? Are they roughly 5V and 3.3V respectively (assuming the controller is powered by 24VAC only)?

[Ray]

Ah, that’s a good suggestion and should be easy to address. The reason it does not allow 0 interval time is that the algorithm checks time match by computing:
if ((current_time – program_start_time) % interval_time == 0)
and a 0 interval_time would be invalid. But this can be easily addressed by adding a if statement before the checking to see if interval_time = 0.

I am actually surprised that you can set interval_time to 0: the Javascripts should check the validity of each parameter. Maybe I forgot to check this parameter…

[Ray]

I applied Samer’s patch to Dan’s interval program (per forum post viewtopic.php?f=2&t=154&start=40#p781) and checked it in to GitHub.
https://github.com/rayshobby/opensprinkler/tree/master/OpenSprinkler%20Pi/software/demos/interval_program
So it’s less confusion to anyone who is new to this thread. Sorry about the delay.

[Ray]

Not sure about the Swedish market. Do you have trouble finding a distributor? Have you tried your local home improvement stores? Here in the US you can buy valves in local stores, or online at amazon.com.

[Author]

Posts