Hi All, we have just released OpenSprinkler Unified Firmware 2.2.1(0). This is a major revision from the previous 2.2.0(3). Most of the changes are focused on supporting OTC (OpenThings token) and new integration features. The release notes are on github:
https://github.com/OpenSprinkler/OpenSprinkler-Firmware/releases/tag/221(0)
Associated firmware user manual, API document, and support articles that explain how to use these features are all available at our support website:
https://support.opensprinkler.com
A big thank-you to Andrew F. and Nate P. who implemented most of the features, as well as a number of other github contributors. A bit of background about this firmware: it started with the goal of supporting OTF on OpenSprinkler Pi / Linux. The implementation was inspired by the work of Stefan, our German distributor, and we modified the WebSocket library to support fragmentation, which resulted in significantly reduced memory footprint and the ability to transfer larger data over multiple fragments. Subsequently we found with the reduced memory footprint, it became feasible for ESP8266 to make SSL connection to remote servers. This opened the door to a number of features: HTTPs station, Remote OTC station, and Email notification, all of which require secure connections.
Among them, the remote OTC station feature is quite handy if you need to have a master controller manage one or more remote controllers that may or may not be on the same network. Previously the remote station only supported defining a remote controller using its IP address. This is quite limited as this is largely only suitable for cases where all controllers are on the same network. With the remote OTC station, the master controller can communicate with remote controllers that exist on different WiFi / Lan networks, and the connection is through the secure OpenThings cloud server.
The Email notification feature provides an alternative method to IFTTT for receiving notification messages. The IFTTT notification uses Webhooks, a feature that now requires a paid IFTTT subscription plan. To work around this, we implemented Email notifications: it allows the firmware to directly send email messages using an SMTP server and authentication data. IFTTT still has the advantage that it supports all of email, SMS, and phone push notifications. But if you prefer a free method that doesn’t require monthly payment, the Email notification is a perfect alternative.
In addition to the above, the MQTT subscription feature has long been requested and has remained on the todo list for a long time. We now finally have the first implementation of it. It’s not perfect and it only supports a limited set of actions, but hopefully this will make it easy to expand the feature in the future.
If you are interested in trying out the new firmware, please follow the firmware update instructions available at the support website (link given above). Most of the new features require UI / app version 2.4.1. The web version of this UI has already been released (at ui.opensprinkler.com), as well as all of iOS / Android / macOS apps. Please remember to make a backup copy of your current configurations as updating firmware across major revisions will trigger a factory reset. Speaking of that, the main reason this firmware has a major revision change is that the string option’s character limit has been increased, to accommodate for longer configuration strings, such as the email configuration and MQTT configuration. We had one user who requested this because they are using TheThingNetwork which generated an MQTT password that’s about 100 characters long. We are hoping this is the last firmware that still triggers a factory reset upon major firmware update — the future firmwares will store option values in JSON format so that they can be preserved across firmware updates.
If you have any comments / suggestions / bug reports, feel free to post them here, or submit a support ticket at the support website above. Thanks.