DIY Reef Controller

The only thing with doing this is that we still need to communicate with the board and i2c/spi still shouldn't be used for this. Mark found a great lead on getting the arduino due to work with loading sd card images so if that works and we switch the project to the due we can always use the CAN bus.

According to nationalinstruments.com at 50kbit/Sec you can have 1000m between node and 40 meters at 1Mbit/Sec. The due already has support for the can bus and would only need a small chip to allow the atmega328 to talk with it.
 
it's fairly obvious no matter witch way you turn the due is a better choice in every aspect put the ldd board on hold for the due
 
The downside to the Due is it's a 3v board in lieu of 5v this can have effects in some ways but most can be worked around its just something to remember so you don't cook any analog ins and that also means on 3v pwm instead of 5
 
Pull ups on the outputs can very easily turn them to 5 volt capable. 3v is already 5v compatible as most cmos devices only need 2.2v to read high. I think due is the way to go.
 
A agree that the due is the way to go, almost every chip used in the project is 3.3v compatible except the ds1307 which can easily be upgraded to a ds3231. The LDD drivers according to the datasheet will work fine via a 3.3v pwm signal so I don't think running the system at 3.3v will be an issue.

Another great thing about the due is that we can save around $5 on the ftdi chip for programming since we would just program it via its built in usb interface. Plus the sam3x8 is almost $5 cheaper than the mega so adding in on-board would actually save money.

After I finish up the code for the beta test I'll start looking into the libraries mark posted and as long as they work well we can move from there towards the due!
 
all this sounds very cool glad I am on board for the ride

NKD all the 2 point soldering I can do I think. I cant see them with out magnifying it. there is one chip with lots of little arms like 5 on each side that one I am scared I will just over solder it to death I am more like a bull in china shop. Not good with little parts
 
nkd5024 said:
After I finish up the code for the beta test I'll start looking into the libraries mark posted and as long as they work well we can move from there towards the due!
Click to expand...

I must of missed the post. I would be interested in trying the libraries out. My guess is you would have to jumper to the spi header to get it to work.

Can I get a link please or a post number?
 
Every day I check in and follow along with this project, and get a little more excited. I would like to hold off jumping in until you further the development of the due. And also get in line on the list of people interested in obtaining a board once you get to that point. In the mean time can you recommend an audrino board to start tinkering with and learning how to program? Should i get some sort of screen for learning the programming as well or is that not needed?

I have already started assembling my relay boards and LDD boards. I feel i have the hardware part done but haven't even started to play with the software side of this endeavor. Is the programming for the due the same as a mega, or uno?

Thanks again for all your work on this awesome DIY project!
 
wilkerschnepf,

Glad to hear you want to learn the programming side as well most people try and stick to one side.

I would recommend an arduino uno for starting out as it is no different from a mega or the due programming syntactically. The only difference between the chips as far as arduino is concerned is the number of I/O pins and some hardware peripherals. If you just want to learn programming I'd actually recommend just downloading eclipse c++ and start there as arduino programming requires you to set up hardware for each new thing you want to learn which can take longer.

I am getting pretty close to releasing the code for the beta test boards after which I can focus on any bugs found and getting the arduino due, the boards previously discussed, and the 5" screen working. I won't make any of the new boards before deciding which way to go for the wifi as I really don't want to have to change the boards anymore than required. I will also try giving vortech a call and see if they're cool with me using their wireless modules in the build to talk to the vortech pumps.

If I do get the arduino due working well I was thinking of making one large board that would have the sam3x8e (arduino due) chip, rtc, atlas stamps, temp probe connectors, etc all together. I have a nice enclosure from serpac that I think i'd make the board fit to which would be a lot easier than cramming an arduino due, plus a motherboard into. Although this will all have to wait until I have more funds for the project. I've spent a crap load so far developing this thing, haha.
 
Due

Due

Looks like the utf libraries don't run out of the box. Funny thing, once I tried to run the UTF_due library now even if I try to run the utf library I get a utf_due fault.
Guess I'll remove the files and reinstall them.
I thought about the 7 inch screeen but decided that really would be too big for my setup. I really like the idea of making n ldd driver board with an uno on board. A cable could be used so the wiring wasn't a big bundle.
 
sounds like a good reason to get a bigger set up.
I got my 2 ph chips and the EC chip dont even know what I am going to do with it but we will see
 
nick
I really don't know what is there to loose I plan on grounding the hell out of every thing.

but really it wouldn't take hardly no current at all to mess up the readings if it was feeding back on its self i don't know what kinda isolator to use but I have a similar device on my neptune to correct the ph reading
 
Yeah the apex does have isolation on their ph, orp circuits. Since we are multiplexing the 4 stamps we would only need a single DC/DC isolator and a two channel unidirectional opto-coupler with a two channel inverter. I actually thought of this a few days ago and just got the isolated DC/DC converter, opto-coupler, and CAN transceivers from digikey to mess with later on.

It was also suggested to power the whole project from the outlet board with a transformer.
 
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