Must-haves for EASY DIY controller?

Do you guys plan to have 8 or 16 switched power sockets? (lights, heaters, pumps, etc)?

After some time investigating I have found that there is an European version of Chauvet SR-8 with IEC C14 (computer one) plugs for 230V. The problem is that it is sold only together with SF-9005 timer and costs 96 Euros (wholesale price, 150 Eur retail price). But the minimum amount is 4 pieces, because local distributor is not interested to store other pieces from box. Other option is to buy it from UK via E-bay for 75 GBP (British Pounds) plus 35 GBP shipping.

Or I can buy US version if SR-8 Relay packe which is sold separately for $45 plus $55 shipping. Then I need to use US NEMA 5-15P plugs which are not certified for 230V but practically it should be not a big problem.

Other option from you is to use Futurlec relay board together with American DJ Power strip, but that is again not sold with EU plugs. Can I use Chauvet PC-08 power panel instead? It is much cheaper, only 25 GPB plus shipping.
 
marcer, you can just get a set of cheap US to EU passive converters and use any power strip you can get cheapest. It shouldn't cost you more than 10 euros for 8 + 1.
 
Guys, thank you for answers, I will most probably use US version of SR-8 relay pack and US plugs NEMA 5-15P (I will recable devices). 8 US to EU converters do not fit together, US plugs are wider. Anyway I was not able to find cheap grounded EU to US adaptors, I have found US plugs from HongKong for $3.55 for one. Also not very cheap.

Can I connect two relay board to Hydra?
 
Yes, you can. the relay boards are controlled with the a port expander on the I2C bus, so you can put quite a few boards on it.
 
Looking for the PCB layout or does anyone have one I can get.

Looking for the PCB layout or does anyone have one I can get.

I tried to get the files off of wiki and it asked me to register. I did but it said an admin will review and grant access.

So, I am looking for a board or the files so I can order the boards.



Thanks in advance

James.
 
Anyone else having issues with the I2C LCD ???

For me, it runs fine for anywhere from 3 minutes to 3 hours, then the LCD display goes "bonkers". Random scrolling, bizarre characters, flashing, etc.

I added a button, and code to support calling lcd.init() when I see the the display is crazy. This will "reset" the LCD, and it works fine again (for a while).

I've even built a tiny sketch that just updates the display with the time, and it also has the same issue.

Ideas ??
 
bd98072 said:
Anyone else having issues with the I2C LCD ???

For me, it runs fine for anywhere from 3 minutes to 3 hours, then the LCD display goes "bonkers". Random scrolling, bizarre characters, flashing, etc.

I added a button, and code to support calling lcd.init() when I see the the display is crazy. This will "reset" the LCD, and it works fine again (for a while).

I've even built a tiny sketch that just updates the display with the time, and it also has the same issue.

Ideas ??
Click to expand...

Not sure how to fix that error in your code...as i'm having trouble with the powerheads coming back on when the sunrise comes into play.....both come on and off at the same time instead of one n the other...
 
bd98072,
which firmware are you using. It sounds like it could be a bad solder somewhere along the path to the LCD and maybe with heat it disconnects for a fraction of a second. You shouldn't need to fix this in software.

Double check your solder points on the MCP and the I2C bus, also how are you connecting the LCD to the board?

Close up pics might give us a clue

liquidarts,
If you tell us how you have your powerheads and lights connected we might be able to figure out what the problem is.
 
terahz-
Using the I2C 4bit lcd code and mcp library from the Hydra code sight. I've checked the soldering, but will check again. I'm using two 6-pin pre-made cables to connect the LCD, but have the same issue if I plug the lcd directly into the Hydra board. Also have two LCDs from different manufacturers, and same issue with both.

Also ... I have a breadboard version of the MCP LCD configuration for testing with another "little" project I'm developing. Same issue when used with either a UNO or a freeduino BBB board.

Also tried disabling all the code supporting I2C to anything other than the LCD.

feels like a software issue to me, and I'm only using lcd.cursorTo() and lcd.print() when it trashes the display.

I'll keep researching.
 
terahz said:
liquidarts,
If you tell us how you have your powerheads and lights connected we might be able to figure out what the problem is.
Click to expand...

Terahz,

Am actually using Katchupoys basic sketch with some tweeking but here are some of the parts.

Code: 
/*|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||  S I M P L E   O N   A N D   O F F   F E A T U R E |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||*/



int ph_1 =  32;          // pin number for relay 1 was digital pin 2
int ph_2 =  33;          // pin number for relay 2 was digital pin 8

int ledState1 = LOW;             
int ledState2 = HIGH; 
long previousMillis1 = 0;        
long previousMillis2 = 0;
long interval1 = 1000;          // interval at which to blink (milliseconds) for RELAY1
long interval2 = 1000;         // interval at which to blink (milliseconds) for RELAY2
Code: 
/*|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||  D E F I N E  :  R E L A Y 1 O N |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||*/
void relay1On()  //FUNCTION TO TURN ON AND OFF RELAY 1.
{ 
  unsigned long currentMillis = millis();

  if(currentMillis - previousMillis1 > interval1) 
  { 
    previousMillis1 = currentMillis;   
    if (ledState1 == LOW)
      ledState1 = HIGH;
    else
      ledState1 = LOW;
    digitalWrite(ph_1, ledState1);
  }
}
/*|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||  D E F I N E  :  R E L A Y 2 O N |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||*/
void relay2On()
{
  unsigned long currentMillis2 = millis();

  if(currentMillis2 - previousMillis2 > interval2) 
  {
    previousMillis2 = currentMillis2;   
    if (ledState2 == LOW)
      ledState2 = HIGH;
    else
      ledState2 = LOW;
    digitalWrite(ph_2, ledState2);
  }
}
/*|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||  D E F I N E  :  R E L A Y 1 O F F |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||*/
void relay1Off()  //FUNCTION TO TURN ON AND OFF RELAY 1.
{ 
  unsigned long currentMillis = millis();

  if(currentMillis - previousMillis1 > interval1) 
  { 
    previousMillis1 = currentMillis;   
    if (ledState1 == LOW)
      ledState1 = LOW;
    else
      ledState1 = LOW;
    digitalWrite(ph_1, ledState1);
  }
}
/*|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||  D E F I N E  :  R E L A Y 2 O F F |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||*/
void relay2Off()
{
  unsigned long currentMillis2 = millis();

  if(currentMillis2 - previousMillis2 > interval2) 
  {
    previousMillis2 = currentMillis2;   
    if (ledState2 == LOW)
      ledState2 = LOW;
    else
      ledState2 = LOW;
    digitalWrite(ph_2, ledState2);
  }
}

During the ramp-up and ramp-down parts I have the relayon command and during the lights out period the relayoff command.
 
Are you using a Hydra for this code?

PHP: 
int ph_1 =  32;          // pin number for relay 1 was digital pin 2
int ph_2 =  33;          // pin number for relay 2 was digital pin 8

There are no pins 32 and 33
 
Ah, so you have an arduino. Must be coming from the other arduino controller thread. We usually talk about the Hydra controller here, that's why I got confused for a moment.

I have not looked at their setup much. You might have more luck posting there. Or point me to the entire source code and I might spend some time looking at it.

Did you try asking Katchupoy?
 
I am done assembling the Hydra and tried to connect it to thingsspeak.
Something isn't right for sure. The pH reads ~7 when I connect the power, and drops to ~5 in a couple of seconds. It is not stationary, and jumps up and down +- 0,10 unit every second. It doesn't matter if the probe is connected or not. The readings are the same.

I can read -5V at U11, but it was initially mounted the wrong way and applied power to. Stupid mistake, I know.
Could this affect pH readings even though I read -5V? Could components between this, and the probe have been damaged by this?

There is also no backlight. I know it works as I tested it with the test scetch. Unfortunately I am new to programming, and can't figure out how to turn this on. I have tried to edit some lines in the the LCD files with no luck. I find the display hard to read, and would like to be able to read it from distance.

Any help with this would be appreciated.
 
Did you do the PH calibration steps from the wiki? Two of the small pots are used for that. The third one is used for lcd contrast.

Which firmware are you using? It is likely that you are passing the wrong pin for the backlight of the lcd.
 
I tried to calibrate, but nothing happens when I turn the pots for the pH probe. The readings doesn't change. I tried to komment out the LED part of the scetch, and the pH readings went up to ~7.

If I turn the pot for the display, the text will go from barely visible to not visible... The backlight pin is pin 8 in my scetch. I have used your (teraHz) last versions from the hydra home page.
 
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