Digital Aquatics Archon Owners Thread

Oh, ok. My router supports dynamic dns support. So I have an account with them and I enter my username and password into the router and they keep track of my IP address on my modem so instead of having to keep track of my ip address, I just have to remember the link to my ip address. And in my modem I use port forwarding so that anything trying to access a specific port, in this case 80, goes to a specific internal IP address which is the IP of my Archon. So as long as I have that link and the port number Im good. So I enter the link xxxx.xxxxx.org:80 which directs me to port 80 which my modem sends to the IP of my Archon.

Hope that makes sense.
 
Most of the newer routers support dns or have their on dns service you can use. You will have to check for your specific router to see. I have an Asus router and they have thier own dns service at least for some of their modems. You will also have to setup port forwarding and setup a static ip address in your router setup for the Archon. Some modems have the router built into the modem.
 
a Few tips here.

1. If you incorrectly do your UTC or wireless and wish to change it, simply go to http://your-archon-ip/index.ap.html. From there, re-enter your settings and then hit save. your archon will reboot. then do the SynchronizeTime() in the system page to ensure web matches the Linux. No need for holding that reset button unless you want to clear all IP information from the unit. FWIW, I am in Central with DST. I set mine at -6 and checked the DSt box.

2. Version 29 of the software is the latest i believe. New versions may ship with it. I am on that version. I was having an issue with night mode interfering with timers and such which I believe has been fixed.

3. Wired and Wireless do have different MAC addresses. they are 1 digit apart. one tip is when you setup the wifi, change the host name on each. I called one Archonwired and the other archonwifi. Makes it easier to have that name in your router when doing port forwarding.

4. be sure to reserve the Archon a static IP address in your router. this way it is always the same and you can do the necessary port forwarding. Ill add to this, Once the Cloud is implemented, you wont need to do this. the Archon will report back to the cloud where you will access everything. this is Coming fairly soon.

5. I always put a small bit of off time in my timers. just helps me remember them. even if it is just 1 minute. If you are using a RAMP, your off time needs to be at least 1 minute greater than your ramp. (so it ramps down to an off period of 1 minute or so).
 
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Cardinalfish,

Here is my Fuge light setup. it is a Par 38 LED bulb on a PC4.

Fuge%20light.jpg

fuge%20light%20timer.jpg
 
Pickupman66 said:
a Few tips here.

1. If you incorrectly do your UTC or wireless and wish to change it, simply go to http://your-archon-ip/index.ap.html. From there, re-enter your settings and then hit save. your archon will reboot. then do the SynchronizeTime() in the system page to ensure web matches the Linux. No need for holding that reset button unless you want to clear all IP information from the unit. FWIW, I am in Central with DST. I set mine at -6 and checked the DSt box.

2. Version 29 of the software is the latest i believe. New versions may ship with it. I am on that version. I was having an issue with night mode interfering with timers and such which I believe has been fixed.

3. Wired and Wireless do have different MAC addresses. they are 1 digit apart. one tip is when you setup the wifi, change the host name on each. I called one Archonwired and the other archonwifi. Makes it easier to have that name in your router when doing port forwarding.

4. be sure to reserve the Archon a static IP address in your router. this way it is always the same and you can do the necessary port forwarding. Ill add to this, Once the Cloud is implemented, you wont need to do this. the Archon will report back to the cloud where you will access everything. this is Coming fairly soon.

5. I always put a small bit of off time in my timers. just helps me remember them. even if it is just 1 minute. If you are using a RAMP, your off time needs to be at least 1 minute greater than your ramp. (so it ramps down to an off period of 1 minute or so).
Click to expand...

Im going to PM you.

#1 That would have been awesome to know.
#2 I am on 29 but I have no timers currently to see. Is it confirmed fixed?
#3 No issues there.
#4 Yes thats the first thing I did. Cant wait till cloud. Soon as in days or weeks?
#5 Im struggling to understand. So the "on for" isnt good enough? You should also have an "off for"
 
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Just to keep everyone in the loop I just got this from Eric

We Just figured out what the culprit is. I will pack up a new unit and get it out to right away. Can you send your shipping info again so I can get this out faster?

Thank you,
Eric
 
I finally got the Light (Fuge) timer to work. Here is what happened. This morning I could not access the Archon from any computer, or browser. I decided to unplug the Archon and reboot it. I noticed it kept running with the 9 volt disconnected which I assume was coming through the buss, so I unplugged the buss cable as well. When it came back up, I was able to access it and the timer was working. That tells me that for some reason it needed a reboot to make things work correctly. I dont remember reading that in the instructions. I hope someone is taking notes on all this so the manual can be rewritten properly.
 
That was probably the fastest and smoothest setup/transition I have ever had. I took the old one down and in less than 30 minutes had all 4 PC4s programed and labeled and running perfectly. Couldnt ask for more than that. Now lets just hope it stays this way.
 
That is fantastic news! I'm glad you were able to get a replacement so quick. The Archon really is a good unit and still has a tremendous amount of potential that we have not even seen. Let me know if you need my help in setting anything else up.
 
Thanks. Yea I can see that this thing will have massive potential especially as people start messing with the open source part of it. Thats what really attracted me to it. And now that it works right Im 100% happy I did. Ive always liked DA stuff and this is no exception.
 
First, sorry I've been a bit cynical in the past few of my posts in this thread.

Second, major Kudos to those helping out the user base and forum members. You all have been a tremendous help and an invaluable resource.

Third, I'm moving on from DA equipment. It's been almost six months and I feel I've been patient enough. I've been contacted a few times saying I could get my archon shipped to me only to get no one or nothing. I've recently order another controller from a different company, what brand doesn't matter. It's funny because I just got yet another email from DA saying I can call them Monday and pay the rest of the balance as they have them in stock. I've been through this a few times already. Maybe this time it's for real and they actually do have one in stock and maybe this time I actually would get someone on the phone. But I won't know and happy to finally move away from the lack of trust, communication, and support of DA.

It really is to bad. Because the reef keeper line has been good at a good price. The archon looks to have a lot of potential. But there are other brands all fairly equal. If I wanted community driven support there's brands specifically developed that way and for that.
 
That's strange. I emailed them that I wanted to buy one got a response in about 10 minutes time asking what time I was available for a call. I told them and they were right on time. Paid and shipped the next day.
 
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