reef-pi :: An opensource reef tank controller based on Raspberry Pi.

[cheeseclock]

Well that was fun...

 

[Ranjib]

This is pretty massive

 

[jcmental]

Well that was fun...

LOL Dude now all you got to do is wire it up, good luck with that.

 

[James Golden]

Holy cow! That is going to be some close quarters soldering! Be careful and check for shorts before first power on! That’s a lot of leds!!!

 

[Ranjib]

I am using this new adj power strip based power controller for a week now, very happy with it . I think I’ll put it for display in maker faire
Here are some pics of the whole thing, some of it might be shared before but this is the whole thing in action

The one on the left is the new build
Power strip mounted in the wall

Controller itself is attached with Velcro

It’s bare minimal power controller. Circuit has only a single uln2803 and a 5v converter(one of the lm2596)

With pi

Circuit close up

Very easy
I would recommend perma proto board and uln2003 for next builds.
Now that 2.0 software is almost 60% done I am planning to focus on testing the new features extensively while prepping up for makerfaire

On that course of action, next milestone is my 3 probe temperature monitor ..I just finished the circuit yesterday, build should be up anytime this week

 

[MaccaPopEye]

I am using this new adj power strip based power controller for a week now, very happy with it . I think I’ll put it for display in maker faire
Here are some pics of the whole thing, some of it might be shared before but this is the whole thing in action
The one on the left is the new build
Power strip mounted in the wall
Controller itself is attached with Velcro
It’s bare minimal power controller. Circuit has only a single uln2803 and a 5v converter(one of the lm2596)
With pi
Circuit close up
Very easy
I would recommend perma proto board and uln2003 for next builds.
Now that 2.0 software is almost 60% done I am planning to focus on testing the new features extensively while prepping up for makerfaire
On that course of action, next milestone is my 3 probe temperature monitor ..I just finished the circuit yesterday, build should be up anytime this week

Looks awesome Ranjib!

For those who have access to the ADJ power strips it loosk like a really clean option

Would you be able to share some photos of the back of the proto board as well?

 

[tastyfish]

Well that was fun...

Wow, that's a lot of LED! Were you not temped to go full lani and fill the space on the heatsink? lol

I am using this new adj power strip based power controller for a week now, very happy with it . I think I’ll put it for display in maker faire
Here are some pics of the whole thing, some of it might be shared before but this is the whole thing in action

The one on the left is the new build
Power strip mounted in the wall

Controller itself is attached with Velcro

It’s bare minimal power controller. Circuit has only a single uln2803 and a 5v converter(one of the lm2596)

With pi

Circuit close up

Very easy
I would recommend perma proto board and uln2003 for next builds.
Now that 2.0 software is almost 60% done I am planning to focus on testing the new features extensively while prepping up for makerfaire

On that course of action, next milestone is my 3 probe temperature monitor ..I just finished the circuit yesterday, build should be up anytime this week

That's awesome! Do you (or anyone else) know if there is anything similar to the ADJ SR8 that has UK plug sockets at 240v?

 

[cheeseclock]

Holy cow! That is going to be some close quarters soldering! Be careful and check for shorts before first power on! That’s a lot of leds!!!

Still easier than hand soldering SSOP28 packages.

 

[cheeseclock]

Wow, that's a lot of LED! Were you not temped to go full lani and fill the space on the heatsink? lol

This will be hanging about 2 feet above the water. With the 60 degree optics, coverage should be about right. I have roughly 2.5 times the necessary heatsink, so if I decide to add more in the future, it's doable.

 

[Ranjib]

Looks awesome Ranjib!

For those who have access to the ADJ power strips it loosk like a really clean option

Would you be able to share some photos of the back of the proto board as well?

Sure. I'll share some pics of the back of the proto board. Theres nothing much there, its only one sided, with mostly soldering spot visible on the other side.

 

[MaccaPopEye]

Sure. I'll share some pics of the back of the proto board. Theres nothing much there, its only one sided, with mostly soldering spot visible on the other side.

It's mostly just because I've never used one before and am still learning all about them. I've ordered a few but have no idea where to start with moving things from a breadboard to a proto board. On the breadboard everything is connected for you automatically once you plug it in, but on a proto board you need to connect it all via solder on the back side correct?

I'm a visual learner so it might just help me understand how it all works if I can see both sides

 

[Ranjib]

It's mostly just because I've never used one before and am still learning all about them. I've ordered a few but have no idea where to start with moving things from a breadboard to a proto board. On the breadboard everything is connected for you automatically once you plug it in, but on a proto board you need to connect it all via solder on the back side correct?

I'm a visual learner so it might just help me understand how it all works if I can see both sides

Thats normal proto board or perf board. Adafruit perma proto board are like bread board. They have the pins labeled , spread out, and 5v, 3,3v , GND all have dedicated rails. I'll post the pics of multi-sensor temperature monitor shortly, you'll get an idea of what I am saying.

I myself is learning in the process, you can see that from my build progressions. My current builds are way way cleaner than my 1 or 2 year old builds .

 

[MaccaPopEye]

Thats normal proto board or perf board. Adafruit perma proto board are like bread board. They have the pins labeled , spread out, and 5v, 3,3v , GND all have dedicated rails. I'll post the pics of multi-sensor temperature monitor shortly, you'll get an idea of what I am saying.

I myself is learning in the process, you can see that from my build progressions. My current builds are way way cleaner than my 1 or 2 year old builds .

Ahh ok cool.

I tried to find some like that but on both adafruit and ebay but they were all $20-30+ postage to Aus for a $5-10 item and I couldn't find them anywhere else.

 

[Ranjib]

Ahh ok cool.

I tried to find some like that but on both adafruit and ebay but they were all $20-30+ postage to Aus for a $5-10 item and I couldn't find them anywhere else.

https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B077X445W5/

 

[Ranjib]

Multiple temperature sensor build is up and running.

I re-used an earlier power controller housing, pi connectors etc (pretty much everything except the proto-board). I needed this to start testing 2.0 series as well as for display in makerfaire. I am keeping these builds simple so that visitors can understand whats going on easily. Theres ample place to add extra bells and whistle (led display, buzzers etc).

I continue to improve upon the stacked design, where Pi is directly mounted against a perma-proto board, the perma proto board holds the ancillary build specific circuit and mounted on the housing using nylon screw and standoffs. Jumper wires (that connect the connectors like audio jacks in this case) and the male header pins are now color coded. The colors are consistent across build and will be used as standards in the documentation. All connections in perma proto board are using solid core wire, color coded.
The main circuit

Because of the way I mount this stacked assemblies, I have realized it would make more sense if I solder the permaproto and Pi header pins (40 connectors) in reverse order than the common arrangement (i.e. the hader pins are soldered in opposite sides). Yellow color stands for temperature sensor (aka one wire or w1), red for power, and black for GND. This is the simplest circuit one can possibly have

Otherside of the perma proto board (this one is for you @MaccaPopEye )

Notice the pi headers are also soldered in opposite side

Other side of raspberry pi

I wantd the circuits of Pi to be visible from outside (housing is cover is transparent ), this eases deciphering the pinout, and I just like this side (so many components )
Connectors mounted on the housing. Three audio jacks for three temperature sensors, one barrel jack for power, an unused hdmi connector mount panel (was useful in the older build). Nylon standoffs are for mounting the perma proto board

Perma proto board mounted

Pi attached, housing fixed on wall

It was late night, hence no other pics of thigs powered up and charts. They will come soon ...

 

[MaccaPopEye]

https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B077X445W5/

Thank you! Items on amazon so rarely ship to Australia so I didn't even think to check there

The one you linked would be a bit too small for my needs, but I found the same one you posted pics of above. After the conversion rate and shipping it was still pretty expensive but not extreme like the ones I found on adafruit or ebay.

 

[Ranjib]

Thank you! Items on amazon so rarely ship to Australia so I didn't even think to check there

The one you linked would be a bit too small for my needs, but I found the same one you posted pics of above. After the conversion rate and shipping it was still pretty expensive but not extreme like the ones I found on adafruit or ebay.

Its strange that tech things are so costly in australia. Is it because of lack of maufacturing facility? or some weird taxing system ?

 

[Erica-Renee]

In the above board.. you have one gpio pin for 3 temp sensors. Or am i missing something.. Also i see a ic chip at the bottom of the board... Am i missing something ?

I am about ready to start assembling mine Renovating the Basement sump/fish room all new electrical plumbing and so on . Want to add this to process ...

 

[MaccaPopEye]

Its strange that tech things are so costly in australia. Is it because of lack of maufacturing facility? or some weird taxing system ?

I can only really guess but I would say it's a combination of a lot of things. We call it the "Australia tax", but I don't believe it is a government issue.

Goods and services are taxed at a standard 10% nationwide, so not extreme. That tax is also included in the advertised price (a difference that took me by surprise when I visited the states haha). We also generally rely on imports for tech products, not much is manufactured in Australia (as far as I know).

I think the main thing is Aus has pretty strict standards for tech products and everything sold in Aus has to be certified. So Aus shops can really only sell brand name products with high quality control that have gone through the effort to prove they meet the standards. These brand name products are more expensive to get than no-name ones, then throw in the exchange rate and reliable / fast shipping and the shops profit margin and the price goes up fast.

Brick and mortar stores are also expensive to run in Aus (or so I have been told) so they have to put a large mark up on things in order to keep their doors open, then the cost of living is also fairly high so they need to be able to make a decent living themselves.

The downside to that is it turns a lot of people (like me) online to buy uncertified no-name brand components from china and it becomes a matter of get it now and pay massive mark-up or get it from china and wait 1-2 months. There is also no import tax for purchases under $1000.

One example of the price difference is the RJ-45 keystone sockets I recently ordered. The cheapest I could find them for locally was $3 PER socket (some place they were $7 each). Or I could get a packet of 25 from china for $25. It sucks waiting and one or two of the sockets might not work, but to me that’s better than paying 3-7x the price (and usually the QC of products I get from china is pretty dang good).

However that mostly only applies to no-name tech components if you can find them.

Importing brand name tech items from the US or Europe is very expensive and usually I will be able to find them cheaper in Aus (if I can find them). The main cause of that seems to be the exchange rate and (reliable) international shipping. A good example is the Raspberry Pi 3, I looked all over online and once you factor in international shipping and exchange rates it was the same price/cheaper to buy one from an Aus shop (for $50 AUD). But then the range in Aus shops is very limited, I couldn't find any of those perma proto boards locally (only the normal boards).

I ended up getting 2x half size perma proto boards (one with a space for a raspberry pi and one normal) and a 40-pin female GPIO header to solder onto the raspberry board from Amazon US. After international shipping + exchange rate it cost me $40 AUD. In comparison Amazon Aus (or any other Aus shops I could find) didn't even have the same products, but the adafruit perma proto boards they did have were $50 for a pack of 3 small ones..... ebay does have them for a reasonable price (around $5 AUD each) but international shipping is $30-40 AUD.

At the end of the day things are quite expensive here, but our wages are also quite high to match. Both my wife and I have good full time jobs and we are able to live comfortably enough, and I still usually have enough on the side to spend irresponsibly on my hobbies

 

[Ranjib]

In the above board.. you have one gpio pin for 3 temp sensors. Or am i missing something.. Also i see a ic chip at the bottom of the board... Am i missing something ?

I am about ready to start assembling mine Renovating the Basement sump/fish room all new electrical plumbing and so on . Want to add this to process ...

You are right about both. DS18b20 sensor is a 1-wire protocol based sensor, which is like i2c, and multiple devices can be connected. I am not aware of any theoretical limits in the protocol, but the way linux kernel is implemented it is known to work with as many as 20, and the limitations arise from physical setups (wire length), its is known to work easily with as many as 7 sensors all tied to the same one wire bus. So, yes all sensors connected to GPIO4 or the one wire bus (configurable by devicetree/dtoverlay)

The IC on the bottom of the perma proto board is an eeprom. It is not used here at all. Adafruit perma proto board are compliant to raspberry pi hat specification which involves using an eeprom to autodetect things. If we load custom device code, we can use the eeprom to design a setup that Pi will automatically load on boot.