Questions Re Apex Features

[Los]

I'm on a business trip in China and between jet lag and time wasted in a hotel, I made the mistake of reading up on the Apex. Sure enough, I'm getting hooked on the Apex in spite of being very pleased with my ACIII Pro. A few questions:

1) I currently have an ACIII Pro. Could I simply transfer my existing program over to the Apex and then rewrite bits of it at my leisure or would I have to rewrite my program from the beginning?
2) Can I have the Apex controlling 4 Tunzes in one room directly and an AquaSurf running simultaneously in another room?
3) How many powered outlets (ie DC8s and EB8s can I run at the same time)? Can I have 4 DC8s and 4 EB8s all running at the same time, for example?

Thank you!

 

[Lightsluvr]

I think you can do everything you suggest with the Apex. You can link those power bars and many more, apparently.

Here's a link to the Apex Owner's Manual:

http://www.neptunesys.com/ApexManual_rev4.0A.pdf

I see you live in Salisbury. I grew up in Ocean City - and worked several years at WBOC-TV back in the day...

Have a good trip in China.

LL

 

[Los]

Thanks, LL. I appreciate the link.

Yup, I moved to Salisbury after living in China for a few years. It's a nice city and a great place to raise a family. If you ever come back to Salisbury, shoot me a pm and I'll give you a tank tour.

 

[RussM]

Los,

1) Kenargo's AC3 Simulator program will import your AC3 program, and has a new feature that will display the equivalent Apex programming, which you can then just copy and paste into the advanced program fields on the Apex.

2) Not positive, but I believe you could run both.

3) For all practical purposes, you are unlimited in the number of EB8s that can be connected. For DC8s, you will be limited by the available legacy device address space (A-P/1-16).

 

[Los]

Right on! Thanks, RussM.

 

[thebradybunch]

I have a question concerning back up power for the APEX. I want to be able to send out email alerts if the power goes out. I know on the ACJr a lot of people used a 9v battery to keep the controller online for these emails. I notice the APEX has a 12v DC input. Do you see any reason why I can't build a 12v battery pack to do the same thing in place of buying the AC adapter and a UPS.

 

[thebradybunch]

I have a question concerning back up power for the APEX. I want to be able to send out email alerts if the power goes out. I know on the ACJr a lot of people used a 9v battery to keep the controller online for these emails. I notice the APEX has a 12v DC input. Do you see any reason why I can't build a 12v battery pack to do the same thing in place of buying the AC adapter and a UPS.

Could some confirn if this is going to work ok or is there something I am missing?

Thanks

 

[Deleted member 143833]

Checking...

 

[Deleted member 143833]

From the manual; it appears you are correct.

If an optional 120 to 12V DC adapter is used to power the Apex, then it is recommended for it to be plugged
into a surge protected power strip. This AC adapter is required if there are not any EnergyBars connected to the
system. Power strips with transient suppression circuitry are best and can prevent power surges from damaging
the AquaController Apex. Coil up all power cords to reduce the amount radiate electrical noise. This optional
AC adapter can be plugged into a UPS so that the Apex base module will remain powered during a power
outage. The absence of power on the EnergyBars can be sensed so that audible alarms and/or alarm emails can
be sent.
In the event of a power outage the internal rechargeable battery will maintain the internal state of the clock and
allow for the resumption of control of the aquarium as soon as power returns. After power is returned, all
controlled devices will be refreshed to the correct on/off state within the Repeat Interval. The default interval is
5 minutes. See section Repeat Interval page 7 for more details on modifying the Repeat Interval

 

[Deleted member 143833]

Curt mentions there is 1 caveat:

Power is going to come from which ever power input has the highest voltage. So if the battery is putting out 13V, and AquaBus is 12.5, then the battery will supply power until it is less than 12.5V.

 

[thebradybunch]

Thanks Ken and Curt for the help.