Just one thought and I apologize in advance since I didn't read the whole thread.... I would avoid the etape sensor and use a pressure sensor instead - something like the Freescale mpxv5400 series. accurate for liquid level sensing and their app note has a lot of good info on filtering noise. I played with the etape in the past and was not pleased with the accuracy. Ymmv.
DIY Reef Controller
- Thread starter nkd5024
- Start date
Just one thought and I apologize in advance since I didn't read the whole thread.... I would avoid the etape sensor and use a pressure sensor instead - something like the Freescale mpxv5400 series. accurate for liquid level sensing and their app note has a lot of good info on filtering noise. I played with the etape in the past and was not pleased with the accuracy. Ymmv.
I ran into same issues described here http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2151481. I ended up getting one just to play with and ran into the same pitfalls that others described. The only other thing not mentioned is it requires recalibration over time. use it currently to monitor my rodi water level.... The pressure sensor works like a charm -- the only pitfall there is if you keep snails or other animals in your sump they can mess with it... I have the sensor in a box velcroed to the bottom glass of the aquarium and the sensing tube is regular airline tubing that I stiffened with a plastic rod to keep it straight... It only requires a few filtering caps which you can solder directly to the pins if you are careful and attach it to the same analog input you already have for the etape. I use a normally closed float sensor about 1/2 inch above the max water line as a fail safe that is in series with the pump (so if the water level increases above the max it will cut power to the pump regardless of what is going on in the arduino circuitry/program.
I am out if town when I get back next week ill send you a picture.
I am ready to start my build. Where is the best place to order the parts from if I want to make sure I do not get a Chinese board?
Here is my shopping list
1) Arduino Mega 2560
2) 3.2" LCD Screen
3)Sd card reader
4)DS1307 RTC
5) TMP36 (3 of them)
6) Relay Board (not sure to go solid state or not?)
Do I need a breadboard or any other shields?
Thanks
Here is my shopping list
1) Arduino Mega 2560
2) 3.2" LCD Screen
3)Sd card reader
4)DS1307 RTC
5) TMP36 (3 of them)
6) Relay Board (not sure to go solid state or not?)
Do I need a breadboard or any other shields?
Thanks
dwolson2
New member
Although chinese, I think Itead studio is the recommended source night now.
moncapitane
New member
DIY Reef Controller
I got my Mega and RTC off of dfrobot.com. I have not had any issues with either one of them, even if they are chinese.
http://www.dfrobot.com/index.php?route=product/product&filter_name=arduino mega&product_id=50
http://www.dfrobot.com/index.php?ro...ilter_name=ds1307&product_id=511#.UMexfoPAd4s
Not sure on the others but I would trust if you found what you needed from dfrobot.com
I got my Mega and RTC off of dfrobot.com. I have not had any issues with either one of them, even if they are chinese.
http://www.dfrobot.com/index.php?route=product/product&filter_name=arduino mega&product_id=50
http://www.dfrobot.com/index.php?ro...ilter_name=ds1307&product_id=511#.UMexfoPAd4s
Not sure on the others but I would trust if you found what you needed from dfrobot.com
nkd5024
New member
woganaga,
That is very upsettings I was quite excited to try it out. I haven't actually hooked it up yet and am thinking of doing so right now to test it out. My hope in using it was to not have to rely on a float switch as they can fail as well. I am really looking forward to your pressure sensor photo. They all seemed to be around $15 on digikey so that'd be nice compared to $40 for the Etape. Thanks for the heads up!
Photobug,
I got my arduino board from amazon, although I have heard the non-arduino brand boards work just as well. I would get the touchscreen from ITead as the sd card slots work on them compared to sainsmarts. As for the TMP36's, SD card reader, and RTC I got mine from Adafruit. Although if you plan on using the board I made it includes space for the RTC. I am using sainsmart relayboards.
That is very upsettings I was quite excited to try it out. I haven't actually hooked it up yet and am thinking of doing so right now to test it out. My hope in using it was to not have to rely on a float switch as they can fail as well. I am really looking forward to your pressure sensor photo. They all seemed to be around $15 on digikey so that'd be nice compared to $40 for the Etape. Thanks for the heads up!
Photobug,
I got my arduino board from amazon, although I have heard the non-arduino brand boards work just as well. I would get the touchscreen from ITead as the sd card slots work on them compared to sainsmarts. As for the TMP36's, SD card reader, and RTC I got mine from Adafruit. Although if you plan on using the board I made it includes space for the RTC. I am using sainsmart relayboards.
nkd5024
New member
So I just tested out the Etape sensor. I was using a 560 ohm resistor as the constant resistance in the voltage divider and was reading a resistance of around 2200ohms when out of water and around 400 ohm when completely submerged. This seems to be common as someone on another forum had the same issue. The datasheet says the resistance only varies from 100-700ohms.
So while this readings are way off from where they should be, it was consistently giving the same readings at different water heights. So as I have only tested it for a short time I can't say it will work long term, but I will give it a chance in my tank before abandoning it altogether.
Once my boards and parts come in a week or two I will be all ready to test the controllers basic functions. ie. led dimming, moon dimming, ATO, relays, temp readings.
I'll just keep my ATO reservoir on the low side for a while to be on the safe side. :beachbum:
So while this readings are way off from where they should be, it was consistently giving the same readings at different water heights. So as I have only tested it for a short time I can't say it will work long term, but I will give it a chance in my tank before abandoning it altogether.
Once my boards and parts come in a week or two I will be all ready to test the controllers basic functions. ie. led dimming, moon dimming, ATO, relays, temp readings.
I'll just keep my ATO reservoir on the low side for a while to be on the safe side. :beachbum:
dwolson2
New member
I loaded up the All_in_one demo, still not working. I am getting the error message: Error MBR signature error. any idea what that means? I also did the wire crossing thing.
nkd5024
New member
The MBR signature error is the same error that my sainsmart screen produced as well. I would check for any jumper connections where you soldered and that everything is correct. If its all good than I would say that fix is a bust and would just buy a microsd card readers from adafruit for $15.
I finally got the moonlight circuit done and ordered the pcb boards! The order was submitted tonight so hopefully in about a week i'll be getting a package!
Here is a 3D render of the finished boards.
I have an Amazon Mega board and SSrelays on the way. I will order the Itead 3.2 TFT screen next. Based on some responses I got I have some questions of the layouts and needs. In particular the other PCB boards roll in the build.
Nick tell me more about the various PCB boards you have posted. The one you have earlier in the thread that you made, and the two I have in this post. Do I have to make the earlier one and are the other two available to buy commercially? Am I correct in believing you designed the latter two PCBs and then had them made as you designed them? What about the RTC, do one of these boards hold it so I only need to buy some components and add to one of these?
In terms of project box, I may be able to help. Its been a while but I used to work with acrylic and have a table saw and could produce what is needed. If you get some basic ideas of what will be needed for a project box I can start working on prototypes.
I would appreciate a link to a completed DIY project with all the components and layouts.
nkd5024
New member
Photobug,
The original pcb board I make at home was a prototype for the shift register. It is the same board as the smaller one in the photos except the one in the photos has headers for indicator leds that can be placed next to each outlet to inform you when they are on.
Yes I did design these boards and just sent them to be printed by ITead the other day. The shift register board will be used to control the relays. The hc595N shift register will be able to control all 8 relays while only requiring 3 I/O pins. The same three I/O pins can be used to control 8 or 16 relays, my program will support either.
The larger board has the circuits for a DS1307 RTC, 6 channels of LED dimming, 4 individually controlled 3w moonlight leds, a DS18B20 temperature probe, and an Etape liquid level controller. There is also a prototyping space on the board for anything else you may want to add.
As far as the project boxes, I was just going to order some from digikey. I was originally looking to do a nice acrylic box though and still like that idea personally. The outlet boxes would need to be roughly 11" wide by 4" tall by 2" deep. The main controller box would be roughly 8" wide by 5" tall by 3" deep.
There are also a bunch of hole that need to be cut into the boxes for power and cables to the sensors.
There is no link to a completed project yet. I am still working on finishing the first model. Once my boards come and I get the components for them I will post a BOM for the project.
If you are interested in getting some of the boards I will have spares.
The original pcb board I make at home was a prototype for the shift register. It is the same board as the smaller one in the photos except the one in the photos has headers for indicator leds that can be placed next to each outlet to inform you when they are on.
Yes I did design these boards and just sent them to be printed by ITead the other day. The shift register board will be used to control the relays. The hc595N shift register will be able to control all 8 relays while only requiring 3 I/O pins. The same three I/O pins can be used to control 8 or 16 relays, my program will support either.
The larger board has the circuits for a DS1307 RTC, 6 channels of LED dimming, 4 individually controlled 3w moonlight leds, a DS18B20 temperature probe, and an Etape liquid level controller. There is also a prototyping space on the board for anything else you may want to add.
As far as the project boxes, I was just going to order some from digikey. I was originally looking to do a nice acrylic box though and still like that idea personally. The outlet boxes would need to be roughly 11" wide by 4" tall by 2" deep. The main controller box would be roughly 8" wide by 5" tall by 3" deep.
There are also a bunch of hole that need to be cut into the boxes for power and cables to the sensors.
There is no link to a completed project yet. I am still working on finishing the first model. Once my boards come and I get the components for them I will post a BOM for the project.
If you are interested in getting some of the boards I will have spares.
That would be sweet. Any idea on when you might start the tutorials? I am very interested in your controler design. A friend has an Apex that I helped set up and occationaly maintaine it is a good system with plenty of features however, the one thing I hate about it is its user interface. It is a real pain the is a-- to navigate.
dwolson2
New member
Nick do you think if I just ordered a new mega shield(http://store.iteadstudio.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=18&products_id=231) like this it would fix the problem without having to add another SD card reader?
nkd5024
New member
Dwolson,
I am not sure if that would fix the problem as I can't be sure whether the problem with the sainsmart sd card reader is on the shield PCB or on the PCB with the screen. If you buy that and the problem is actually on the screen PCB than you would have wasted $10. If you just buy an sd card reader it takes no extra work to use and it only costs $15 and you'll known for sure that it will work.
ELGUAP0,
I agree the interface on the apex is quite annoying. I would like to get the basics of the controller running before I make any tutorials. I should receive all the components I need to get the temp, leds, moonlight, ATO, and outlet control within a week or two. Once I get these up and running and I am put it on my tank and am confident that it works well I will start making the tutorials and adding the other features.
I am not sure if that would fix the problem as I can't be sure whether the problem with the sainsmart sd card reader is on the shield PCB or on the PCB with the screen. If you buy that and the problem is actually on the screen PCB than you would have wasted $10. If you just buy an sd card reader it takes no extra work to use and it only costs $15 and you'll known for sure that it will work.
ELGUAP0,
I agree the interface on the apex is quite annoying. I would like to get the basics of the controller running before I make any tutorials. I should receive all the components I need to get the temp, leds, moonlight, ATO, and outlet control within a week or two. Once I get these up and running and I am put it on my tank and am confident that it works well I will start making the tutorials and adding the other features.
That sounds good. And I would like to thank you for taking the time to test this out and work out the bugs for those of us who are lacking in the programing field 
I know you are still in the testing fase. But, one question about the probes for mesuring ORP, PH, AK, and such. Will any prob work with this system? Say...if I wanted to spend the extra cash for lab grade probes? Or do they need to be specific to the program this system is using.
I know you are still in the testing fase. But, one question about the probes for mesuring ORP, PH, AK, and such. Will any prob work with this system? Say...if I wanted to spend the extra cash for lab grade probes? Or do they need to be specific to the program this system is using.Sign me up for one of each. Also if you could list the parts needed to be ordered to complete the PCBs, when you can so I can have on hand.
Does the Outlet box dimensions include room for relay switches or will they fit into the main controller box? Is it possible to put the TFT screen in a completely remote location? I have a wooden light hanging light fixture. It would be nice to have the control panel mounted on it, with the working parts out of sight.
