Mastertronic users thread

[MikeTheNewbie]

Hello, I know it is very hard to find a Mastertronic unit at this point but for the lucky ones that were able to get one I'm hoping we can use this thread to share experiences and tips.
Has anyone compared their results against manual tests like Hanna checkers or against ICP? Please share your experiences

 

[dank reefer]

Not sure if you are on FB, but there is a group for Focustronic users.

Log into Facebook

Log into Facebook to start sharing and connecting with your friends, family, and people you know.

www.facebook.com

 

[MikeTheNewbie]

Oh man, I have avoided using Facebook, too many distractions, ads and unrelated content. Maybe I'm old and cranky but i don't see how Facebook could be better than R2R for aquarium topics.

 

[sbreefco]

Awful, so awful in fact I have a Mastertronic and Alkatronic for sale in the Tampa Bay area if anyone is interested.

 

[waytoheart]

Awful, so awful in fact I have a Mastertronic and Alkatronic for sale in the Tampa Bay area if anyone is interested.

how much for this ?

 

[Obdoc63]

Do you still have the Alkatronic?

 

[sbreefco]

Sold

 

[lynn.reef.nerd]

I have the Mastertronic and Alkatronic. I absolutely love the alkatronic.

They are definitely not intuitive and can be quite frustrating when you first start. The good news is that the community is great at helping fix the issue.

Once you are used to it, I think it is a great tool to maintain consistent parameters for your tank. Out of all the options out there right now, the Mastertronic will still be my top choice for what I need.

Full disclosure, I have not checked the reading with ICP but plan to do so soon.

The only big one that I worry about is the Alk which is alkatronic is very good at measuring correctly (+- .5 to the Hanna), but again it comes down to consistency.

Do I regret buying them? No. I'm actually looking to get two more for my other system.

 

[BZOFIQ]

Still looking for Alkatronic.

 

[lynn.reef.nerd]

Still looking for Alkatronic.

The easiest way is to go onto coralvue site and click on the notify when in stock. Once you get the email, buy it quick. It was in stock about a month ago and I missed it by 2 days and they were all sold out.

 

[BZOFIQ]

The easiest way is to go onto coralvue site and click on the notify when in stock. Once you get the email, buy it quick. It was in stock about a month ago and I missed it by 2 days and they were all sold out.

I did that, got the email clicked on it and they were out of stock.

Did they get 3 units?

 

[lynn.reef.nerd]

I did that, got the email clicked on it and they were out of stock.

Did they get 3 units?

I do not know how many units they had in. I know someone who clicked it within the day and was able to get a unit.

 

[BZOFIQ]

THe price went up. It was 899 now 989

wow!

 

[BZOFIQ]

I'll open another account with a work address, maybe this way i'll see the email quicker.

 

[MikeTheNewbie]

I recently posted my water chemistry charts that include results from Mastertronic, ICP, Hanna and Red Sea. You can check them out here.
I just sent ICP tests to ICP-Analysis dot com and ATI Labs to compare them against each other and Mastertronic. If this is interesting for you I could also post my results in that thread.

 

[BZOFIQ]

If this is interesting for you I could also post my results in that thread.

@MikeTheNewbie

Interested. Please post when you get it. Thank you.

 

[erichuyn]

Got one from a store here in the Netherlands. They we're going to switch to the bigger professional reefbot.
It's a couple of months old but got it for a great price.

Sadly my experience with the Mastertronic is not positive for now.

Good:
-machine looks and feels sturdy
-app looks tidy and informative

Bad:
-Manual is spotty at best. Example, it says to download the app before powering on the device. Make an account etc etc
For connecting the device with an Android it says to disable mobile data, go to the device it's own wifi, open the app, login the app?!?!? How am I supposed to log in when I'm on the device wifi with no data.

Ugly:
-you cannot under any circumstance leave the app when doing anything! It will forget where you were and you can start over.
-I have yet to find a way to hard reset the device. Contacted Focustronic and I get info, but no way to really clear this device.
-Support can be had via email but is 'laggy' at best. I don't have Facebook and I'd like it to stay that way....
-Pump A calibrated fine. Moved to the second(stepper) and now the device does it's thing and then the leak detector goes off. According to the manual clean the sensor(there is and was no water there) and then clean under the sample chamber. For that the needle has to go into maintenance mode. Sadly NOT A SINGLE command from maintenance menu does anything at all and the LCD just keeps telling me there is a leak.
WHICH THERE ISN'T! Looked under the sample cup despite the risk of needle stabbage but I don't think there's a leak detector there and there is also NO LEAKAGE THERE!
The manual then has the audacity to say raise the sample cup and let airdry for a couple of days...also I see NO leak detector in that area?!
When I turn it off and then on, the leak detection is magically gone away. Until I want to calibrate the stepper again.
-I cannot find anywhere how to hard reset this device. When I tried to connect it to my wifi it did connect but you couldn't see it as it needs a seperate 2.4g wifi. But you then cannot reset the device...had to change my wifi SSID so it got confused and started broadcasting it's own SSID again so I could try again.

I really want this thing to work since it answers my prayers when it comes to saving me from manual testing.
Just this and then a quarterly ICP for verification. Seems like an expensive and distant dream for now...

 

[erichuyn]

So it seems the issue was a leak sensor. Worked it through with Eric from their support.
He was very helpfull, but it took quite some foto's until he believed me when I said there was NO leakage. It's now disconnected. They asked me to clean it with some alcohol and then test again, but that's a job for next weekend.
Still don't know why the app won't resolve anything but at least it's testing now.

The app experience is still a bit sluggish and wonky. Don't for example try to do something else and switch away from the app. You'll have to start over again.
I calibrated by waterweight for example but that needs a calculation and then you need a second phone/tablet/laptop to do it because you cannot switch apps or let the screen lock come on.

I still also don't know how to hard reset the device. For some reason they don't wanna tell or the request keeps getting lost.

But boy when this device works, it it nice! You just plonk yourself on the couch, enjoy your thank and let your results come in.
Next step will be loading in al my parameters, testing it and sending in an ICP from the same time.

 

[Mem_phis]

I had similar problems with connection to wifi, problem with hard reset, and wonky app. But after I've get past that, it's looking promising. Now it's working for few days and we getting to know each other

 

[FishyFishFish]

Can anyone help with simple questions that don’t appear to be answered in the manual?

How much sample water is used per test? How much water is used for flushing?

I assume that you don’t have to run all of the tests (e.g. I assume you don’t have to test for nitrite if you don’t want to)?

I’m trying to decide whether to give of these a try. It would possibly be more likely if they allowed more than 1x Alk test per day and if they fix some of the earlier requests (such as a reset button).