DIY reef-pi build log

MikeO5422

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Love the power strip with builtin relays. I had a heck of a time finding something like that. Would you (or anyone) happen to know of similar products that have more than 4 outlets?
 

Ranjib

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Love the power strip with builtin relays. I had a heck of a time finding something like that. Would you (or anyone) happen to know of similar products that have more than 4 outlets?
Not exactly same, but adafruit has something similar for 1, 2 and 4 outlets. Their quality is even better, they provide optical isolation, and can sustain higher current. But the control signal wiring is bare (i.e. no db9 jacks for control signal). The four outlet version has two controllable and two manual outlets.
https://www.adafruit.com/product/2935
https://www.adafruit.com/product/268
 
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Michael Lane

Michael Lane

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I finally got around to getting my doser set up. I was just using a cheap peristaltic pump bolted to a little mounting bracket. It worked fine, but I picked up a Jebao 3 port slave doser for a good price. It was cheaper than buying 3 individual pumps, so I figured why not.

It's pretty simple inside - just 3 dc motors and a board to basically to route the signal power to the pump and light an LED. The unit was designed to receive a 12v PWM signal to drive the motors. I prefer for my reef-pi to only be responsible for generating signals, and leave actual power and power management to the individual devices. I sanded off some of the solder mask, scratched a division to have a 12v copper pour, and tie into the existing ground pour. I added a barrel connector to power the doser and soldered it to the makeshift pads.

ukycIfal.jpg


I left the motors wired up the way they were, but I replaced the existing signal wires with a ULN2803 so I could drive it from the 3.3v PWM signal from reef-pi. The hacky perf board just holds the ULN2803, JST-XH connector, and wires to inject the signal into the existing traces on the board where I removed the old port.
kEs1x4Tl.jpg


Here's a quick shot of the back before I added the signal connector. I still hate trying to cut square holes, but this one for the barrel connector doesn't look too bad. I just covered up that other hole with a sticker later...
xd11xNll.jpg


I added a mini-xlr connector (my favorite connector so far!) to interface with reef-pi.
ilWUBg5l.jpg


Now that's one more thing moved off the ReefKeeper and over to reef-pi!
 
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Michael Lane

Michael Lane

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I wouldn't call it high quality, but I think it is a little better than the cheap pump I found on Amazon. The front panel is just black PCB, but it holds the pumps and LEDs just fine. It runs quieter than the other one I have, as well. It did come with an extra head, so I'm not sure if that means they expect one of them to fail, or what.
 

Ranjib

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I finally got around to getting my doser set up. I was just using a cheap peristaltic pump bolted to a little mounting bracket. It worked fine, but I picked up a Jebao 3 port slave doser for a good price. It was cheaper than buying 3 individual pumps, so I figured why not.

It's pretty simple inside - just 3 dc motors and a board to basically to route the signal power to the pump and light an LED. The unit was designed to receive a 12v PWM signal to drive the motors. I prefer for my reef-pi to only be responsible for generating signals, and leave actual power and power management to the individual devices. I sanded off some of the solder mask, scratched a division to have a 12v copper pour, and tie into the existing ground pour. I added a barrel connector to power the doser and soldered it to the makeshift pads.

ukycIfal.jpg


I left the motors wired up the way they were, but I replaced the existing signal wires with a ULN2803 so I could drive it from the 3.3v PWM signal from reef-pi. The hacky perf board just holds the ULN2803, JST-XH connector, and wires to inject the signal into the existing traces on the board where I removed the old port.
kEs1x4Tl.jpg


Here's a quick shot of the back before I added the signal connector. I still hate trying to cut square holes, but this one for the barrel connector doesn't look too bad. I just covered up that other hole with a sticker later...
xd11xNll.jpg


I added a mini-xlr connector (my favorite connector so far!) to interface with reef-pi.
ilWUBg5l.jpg


Now that's one more thing moved off the ReefKeeper and over to reef-pi!
Nice :)
 

Bigtrout

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Found your I found your reef pi pcb on Tindie, and its perfect for my planned freshwater planted tank build, is it complete, and ready to go no soldering needed?

Also the 12v in only connects to the power 2 connectors and the uln2803? If i would want to use a 5v relay board there and power the 12v input with 5 volts, it doesnt go anywhere else on the board? I looked at the github files and think 12v in is only for the ULN2803 but want to be sure.
 
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Michael Lane

Michael Lane

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Found your I found your reef pi pcb on Tindie, and its perfect for my planned freshwater planted tank build, is it complete, and ready to go no soldering needed?

Also the 12v in only connects to the power 2 connectors and the uln2803? If i would want to use a 5v relay board there and power the 12v input with 5 volts, it doesnt go anywhere else on the board? I looked at the github files and think 12v in is only for the ULN2803 but want to be sure.
You are correct on both points. It does not require any soldering and the 12v line is only used for the ULN2803. 5v on that line would work just fine if you have 5v relay board.
 

Bigtrout

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You are correct on both points. It does not require any soldering and the 12v line is only used for the ULN2803. 5v on that line would work just fine if you have 5v relay board.
Thats perfect, so is the tindie site the best way to buy the hat?
 
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Michael Lane

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Bigtrout

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Michael Lane

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New boards arrived today! This will be my first attempt using a stencil. Wish me luck!

20190218_173919.jpg


These aren't much different from the last round, but I added 3 more PWM outputs so I can control another auxiliary light. These also have output protection on the PWM pins and the 8 GPIO on the side. They also should have input protection to make them 5v tolerant. Hopefully assembly and test will be quick!
 

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