GIVEAWAY - Robo-Tank Hardware for reef-pi

[Mike Kearns]

I received it today and I have to say this this is well built! So much better than my diy reef pi. Testing the power bar and temperature sensor now.

 

[Mikeneedsahobby]

Looks nice!

 

[lmm1967]

Its a really nice and efficient setup.

I'm running Temp, ATO, PH and powering pumps for 2 tanks so far with mine. And I have plenty of expansion room.

So far I've run in to no more challenges than I have. in the past with either Apex or GHL

 

[robsworld78]

I received it today and I have to say this this is well built! So much better than my diy reef pi. Testing the power bar and temperature sensor now.

Right on, nice to see it in action. I was a little worried if it would be used by the winner, I think a lot of people enter contests just to win lol.

Its a really nice and efficient setup.

I'm running Temp, ATO, PH and powering pumps for 2 tanks so far with mine. And I have plenty of expansion room.

So far I've run in to no more challenges than I have. in the past with either Apex or GHL

Happy to hear things are going well.

 

[lilkiwi930]

Thanks for the opportunity.

 

[robbyg]

Welcome to the world's greatest giveaway. ;Woot

This is exclusive to R2R, it's open worldwide you can only win it here.

The prize is a fully assembled Robo-Tank aquarium controller that runs on the reef-pi software, it has a value of $170 USD, you get what's in the image below.

To be entered to win all you need to do is click the blue "Like" button on this post. Giveaway will run until 11:59 pm on Sunday August 16, 2020.

In reality you're actually winning a bill, you need to buy a Raspberry Pi, some cables and a 12v DC power supply, I don't have these as they are easy to get and keeps shipping costs down. This is what you'll need to make this functional.

• Raspberry Pi Zero WH, Pi 3 or Pi 4 with microSD card.
• 12v DC power supply rated between 3-10 amps. Connects via 2.1mm x 5.5mm barrel connector or screw terminal connector, it powers controller and Pi.
• Standard USB-A male to male cable, this connects the small optical sensor extension.
• Straight through 9 pin DB9 male to female serial cable, this connects the AC power bar to controller.
• AC power cord, this is the same power cord a desktop computer uses, has an IEC-320 plug, this powers the AC power bar.

The AC power bar is compatible with 120v-240v, if you're in another country you can use outlet adapters if you so desire, if it's not needed I would appreciate you letting me know as there's no point sending it.

Please note this is shipping from Canada, if you are international you will be responsible for any tax or custom fees that your country may charge you, I will clearly mark it as a gift but that doesn't mean much so be prepared to have to pay something. There are no charges when it enters the United States. In the event I'm unable to ship to you I will draw another name. Winner will be posted here and I will contact via PM.

You can search the web for Robo-Tank to get details about the controller and I'm happy to answer any questions you might have.

Controller comes in 3D printed case, multiple colors to choose from.

Thanks for participating and good luck!

I have a suggestion for you. I know this is all about open source DIY etc. but I think your missing an opportunity to get more people on the Platform. May I suggest to you that you offer a complete package model that has a Pi4 already installed along with the Reefpi software and maybe a temp and pH probe wired and ready to go. Something that can be plugged in straight out of the box and be operational.

There are many people who might want to buy one of these units but are intimidated about dealing with both the hardware and software aspects of it. Yes I know that there are downsides to this kind of spoon feeding but if you never try this aproach you will never know how many customers you are missing out on.

 

[robsworld78]

Thanks for your suggestion, that's something I've done in the past but comes with it's challenges, one day I may do it again.

The problem with me getting the cables and power supply is down to cost, I can only get them at good prices from China but that comes with high shipping fees when buying bulk so in the end they cost the same or more as (I hate saying it) Amazon or the like. The idea is when you buy a full kit it would be cheaper than sourcing the parts yourself and I would make a few dollars extra but that's not the case here, you pay more and I work more.

Selling Pi's is also a loss, I would offer Pi Zero W as that's all that's needed and cheap but they limit sales to 1 or 2 pieces per order.

Thankfully the cables, power supply and Pi are easy to get so setting up the controller isn't to difficult, all a person needs to do is plug in the Pi and connect things with the cables, only a screwdriver is required. For DIY it's basically as easy as it gets.

I do offer temp sensors and other water sensors but probes aren't possible, Canada has poor distributors for brand name probes so I'm limited to no name or same scenario as above. The temp sensors come with the wires exposed, stripped and tinned so only a screwdriver is needed to add the connector and the pH probe plugs right in.

I also added that small sensor extension box, as it comes you can plug in 3 optical sensors without needing to cut any wires and mount the module up to 50 feet using a USB extension cable so it's easy to setup an ATO or AWC. Non-contact sensors are also popular and have the same connector but the power and ground wires are reversed and have different resistor requirements so I added some solder jumpers on the extension board which will sort out this out so they can plug directly in as well.

Reef-pi in itself is easy to install but due to using a Pi it requires running an operating system like Windows which needs to be installed and should probably be updated from time to time. I thought about selling pre-loaded SD cards but I think that's a bad idea, at some point the terminal window will need to be used and would be very frustrating for users who has never used a Pi, like this the user gets a crash course or decide it's not for them. I did make up a simple script that automates the Pi setup so it's quite a bit easier than going through all the steps manually but still requires the terminal.

 

[theatrus]

Also note that you can't buy Pi Zeros in bulk - its an odd setup where a _different_ similarly named company is responsible for that design.

For system integration, they really want to push the Compute Module Pis, but at that junction you're better off buying a different Computer on Module or System on Module design, because the Pi's Broadcom hardware is not the best.

(e.g. https://www.arrow.com/en/products/sip-005ays001/samsung-electronics )

I can totally relate to the bundling cost - a lot of this stuff doesn't make sense to do unless you're already moving hundreds of units since its just going to add a ton of cost and overhead.

 

[KrisReef]

Randy posted about bumping old threads and I figured that I should enter this giveaway with a Super Secret Entry just incase another prize is coming?

I saw the latest post about the software update for this thing and I was amazed that folks are having fun doing this.

Very awesome community.

 

[robsworld78]

Randy posted about bumping old threads and I figured that I should enter this giveaway with a Super Secret Entry just incase another prize is coming?

I saw the latest post about the software update for this thing and I was amazed that folks are having fun doing this.

Very awesome community.

Stay tuned, you never know.

 

[kdx7214]

Just realized this is an old message that someone bumped. Sorry all