EcoTech Marine Introduces the Radion XR30w LED Light

[Want2BS8ed]

I can say this because I do it for a living, but "in this world there are liars, damn liars and statitichians - what do you want the numbers to say?"

Mac OS is gaining (roughly 9% market share in January 2012), however it still doesn't hold a candle to Microsoft's ~80% share of the "general population" in versions supported by EcoSmart.

That having been said, it's not particularly unreasonable to assume a higher proportion of EcoTech's customers are Mac owners either given price points and the presumed demographics of both companies target markets.

I could passionately argue both sides. In the end, EcoTech isn't made up of a bunch of dummies either. I'm guessing the hard part is done now that the hardware is complete and what's to come will be utterly awesome!

Would I like to program with my MacBook? Yes.
Would I like wireless access through my Apex/WXM? Well yeah (and even more so than using my Mac).
Would I like a lunar program? That too (but only after I can wirelessly access a Radion with my Mac LOL).

Bottom line, if I have to subsidize the features I want with my patience, then so be it. We didn't get to play with stuff like this 20 years ago!

 

[manix man]

All this mac talk makes me :lol2:

There was me digging out a old laptop that hasn't been turned on for a year with xp on worried that maybe the software only ran on windows 7 and had a vision of me carrying down my CAD worksation from my office just to program the lights. It loaded and ran fine on the old gal.

 

[rgauvin]

A 750.00 light is priced at the high end of the aquarium LED market. Apple products are also at the higher end of the spectrum. I would think that if they are trying to cater to people with a larger disposable income, or at least don't mind spending money on the higher end products, that they would actually have these people in mind. I think there are more people with macs that have Radions than you estimate rgauvin. Regardless, I guess I will have to wait. Will I wait next time to purchase an ecotech product until it is mac capable instead of purchasing it with the "we are working on it" promise? You betcha.

You may be right, there may be a higher portion of people using macs and radions, I'm simply using the world wide demographics (which also includes developing countries where I suspect there are VERY few, if any, Radions in use). Feel free to take a look if you think my numbers are out to lunch...

91.92% windows
6.92% mac
1.16% linux

Ecotech is as I said, a small company (I think they have around 15 -20 employees, at least they did in 2010). I have no doubt they'll get there, but you can't expect a small company to have similar resources as a much larger one.

All good things come to those who wait...

 

[BigKahuna]

I'm a huge Mac user, for many many years to boot, and I understand these things take time and don't mind waiting. That said the simple marketshare stats don't tell the the whole picture. Macs account for about 90% of the PC market over $1000. There is probably a significant overlap between people who spend lots of money on reef lighting and lots on computers too

 

[Want2BS8ed]

Listing sources kinda makes my point about liars, damn liars and statisticians and what you want the numbers to say...

http://www.w3schools.com/browsers/browsers_os.asp

Let's agree on a couple of things:
a) there are no reliable sources for OS statistics globally
b) looking at worldwide statistics isn't representative of EcoTech's customer base
c) radions rock, and
d) if you have been a Mac user for any amount of time in anything other than graphic arts, you should be used to being the red headed stepchild by now!

Can we do a poll? Correlate the number of Radions owned, Vortechs owned and the % of OS's per household... oops there comes the statistician coming out again! LOL

Then again, not all that bad an idea...

 

[drparker]

1 - Linux
1 - Mac
7 - Windows
3- iPhones
3-iPads

It's a simple ROI discussion. You have fixed resources, time and budget with an unlimited amount of projects and new ideas.

The return weighted for the investment required determines the resources assigned.

If Ecotech adds new features or releases a new product, they market these to get net new sales.

If the Ecotech adds in Coral magazine where changed to say "Now with Mac support" How many net new sales would that yield, enough to even pay for the new artwork and layout?

 

[milkman55]

Can we take the Mac vs. PC discussion to another thread and keep this focused on the Radion.

 

[Want2BS8ed]

Doc, you forgot to tell us how many Radions and Vortechs...

...if nothing else your WALLET is bigger than mine! LOL.

I don't think anyone is questioning the premis, just the inputs to the cost benefit analysis. Based on your input, 47% of your 15 devices rely on an Apple OS. That's substantially higher than the 6% to 9% we've been bandying around...

In my case, until buying a windows based netbook this weekend specifically to program Radions, I would have said I was 100% Apple OS.

Hey that's 68% Mac/iOS between the two of us! What's the statistical confidence in our sample size? LOL. Ahhh, fun with numbers...

 

[Want2BS8ed]

Can we take the Mac vs. PC discussion to another thread and keep this focused on the Radion.

Ahh, your right milkman. Even though the discussion centers around interfacing with the Radion, we've beaten the horse on this particular subject. I was madly typing when your post came through.

So, what are folks doing for simulating moonlight while in Natural Mode?

 

[drparker]

Doc, you forgot to tell us how many Radions and Vortechs...

...if nothing else your WALLET is bigger than mine! LOL.

I don't think anyone is questioning the premis, just the inputs to the cost benefit analysis. Based on your input, 47% of your 15 devices rely on an Apple OS. That's substantially higher than the 6% to 9% we've been bandying around...

In my case, until buying a windows based netbook this weekend specifically to program Radions, I would have said I was 100% Apple OS.

Hey that's 68% Mac/iOS between the two of us! What's the statistical confidence in our sample size? LOL. Ahhh, fun with numbers...

Two Radions, 3 vortechs, 5 people in the house and I work in high tech. IOS does not equal Mac programming so I'm only at 6%

Ahh, your right milkman. Even though the discussion centers around interfacing with the Radion, we've beaten the horse on this particular subject. I was madly typing when your post came through.

So, what are folks doing for simulating moonlight while in Natural Mode?

I run moon LEDs off my controller, they provide much lower intensities and map to to the moon phases.

 

[BigKahuna]

To be honest I don't think the Mac support is a big deal, many Mac users have PC's somewhere to fall back on or can use Bootcamp but the bigger issue, and more on topic with Radion usage, is wireless control IMHO. I have an Apex Neptune and an add-on WXM RF module to communicate with my Vortech pumps. The module uses a proprietary Ecotech wireless chip. The concept of the Radions being able to communicate wirelessly with each other is fantastic but using proprietary wireless is less fantastic. I see other lights coming out with iPhone/mobile apps to configure them. I would love to sit by the tank on an iPad or whatever configuring everything with realtime sliders etc or just to quickily check what the status of the lights are or what the LED color ratios are at a particular time of day. In the future I guess this might be possible with the WXM through the Apex but what is Ecotech's solution to people who maybe don't have a controller, or at least one that can work them? Right now you have to plug a USB cable into the fixture which strikes me as a design intended to be used only occasionally. It seems a waste to have wireless capabilities built in that aren't used for the purposes of control but rather only for set-up. The way it works now if you want that type of wireless access Ecotech would have to build an accessory box containing the wireless chip and attach that to your computer. This might actually be the only way to do this if the firmware can't be changed in such a way to open the device up to standard wifi. If they could sell one for a reasonable price I think it would be popular to cut the cord and even have it act as a repeater to allow wireless access from an iPad/tablet or mobile phone. Many people are already buying USB repeaters or other such hardware just to hook them up because they don't have a computer right by the tank where the lights are.

 

[milkman55]

There must be some way to access these wirelessly thru a WXM like module like i use for my Vortech. I want to control and program everything from my iPad, not a PC or a MAC.

This plugging a cable in everytime is getting old.

 

[drparker]

So I could see the WXM being able to execute any of the commands you can do with button pushes. Remember all the programs for a Vortech pump are in the pumps controller and WXM just tells it what to do.

The PC software creates a single program and loads it into the lights. So the Apex would have to be able to generate and then download a program to the lights.

 

[tecapparatus]

Hi

I'm about to buy a radion and saw your post with diy conduit hanging. Do you happen to have a link or info to make this? I have 9-10' ceilings and I think this might look better Thanks!!

 

[Want2BS8ed]

I was on the telephone with Neptune System support today about an issue with two WXM's controlling Vortechs on separate tanks.

Accessing Radions through an Apex/WXM didn't sound particularly encouraging. The official line is Neptune is not working on this...

 

[BigKahuna]

I was on the telephone with Neptune System support today about an issue with two WXM's controlling Vortechs on separate tanks.

Accessing Radions through an Apex/WXM didn't sound particularly encouraging. The official line is Neptune is not working on this...

This is the problem I see with 3rd party control with something like this. Controlling the pumps is one thing for the WXM but the way the Radion software uploads programming to the fixtures makes me think if we want remote control and wireless access it might have to come from Ecotech. They might have to make a little controller box containing a server that interfaces through USB or ethernet and wirelessly talks with the lights and even their pumps with their own rf chip, a Radion w/o the light essentially.

 

[wesleyforbes2]

I was speaking with a member of my local reef club, and he was telling me that the guys over at Vivid Aquariums, that have been running 12 Radions on one side of their 800 gallon display tank, and Metal Halide on the other, is now leaning towards going all MH.

They are not liking what the Radions are doing for them. Has anyone else heard this?

 

[david00061]

I was speaking with a member of my local reef club, and he was telling me that the guys over at Vivid Aquariums, that have been running 12 Radions on one side of their 800 gallon display tank, and Metal Halide on the other, is now leaning towards going all MH.

They are not liking what the Radions are doing for them. Has anyone else heard this?

I was there in January. They were quite happy with the Radions at that time. Vivid re-set thier 800 up about the same time I set up my 500.
I think that vivid Hung the Radions way to high off the water.
I don't see someone like Dave giving up on something like this. So soon.

 

[paulduong]

hi guys , i'm building a new tank 84 x 36 x 24 . i have 6 radions now , i wonder if it gonna be enough for the new tank . thanks

 

[KhanhQ83]

I was hoping if someone can help with the issues listed here? I have 3 radions over my 180.

1. Configurations are not being saved. I can program them just fine in both artificial and natural mode when as soon as I unplug and replug USB, the configurations are back to stock.

2. The "Traveling Sunrise/Sunset" checkbox is always greyed out in both artificial and natural mode. Why can't I enable it?

3. When in natural mode, during the night, the radions don't completely turn off. The left one has white/red leds on but very dim, the middle is completely off, the right one has white/rid on fairly bright. I had to press the "Cycle" button to turn them off.

I've also tried factory resetting these twice but didn't solve any issues. I had these problems before the firmware and software update and still have these problems after the updates. Please help... thanks!