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

[Sral]

[Edit:] I was suggesting the same I2C error, but @robsworld78 was faster ^^

 

[Sral]

That's different, almost sounds like something is shorting out, if that happens the controller shuts down, does the power go out on it or just no wifi? Have you tried different combinations of those 3 items being plugged in to see if it's one of them? Do you have the non-contact sensor plugged in the correct port, it would be the one just above the green universal connector.

Also sounds similar to the issue I had with my Ethernet connector, which turned out to draw too much power for the PI to operate/boot correctly.

@JachPot What kind of power supply do you have and what equipment is powered by it ?

 

[Dan-]

That's likely due to an interface bug when it validates the data entered. Before you setup the stepper motor change the motor type option to "DC" and fill out the form as if you were going to use it. Then switch to "stepper" motor and after filling out it should save correctly and use the stepper settings.

Thank you @robsworld78

 

[robsworld78]

Also sounds similar to the issue I had with my Ethernet connector, which turned out to draw too much power for the PI to operate/boot correctly.

@JachPot What kind of power supply do you have and what equipment is powered by it ?

Yeah good point, I should have thought of the power supply being the problem, I've seen a few issues similar due to weak power supply. @JachPot did you get the power supply from me? I have sent out a couple faulty ones so if I did send one it's certainly possible it's the problem.

 

[nejohnson]

There was a change made in reef-pi in v5.3, that's why you're getting this data. As @elysics mentioned it's from corrupt data over the I2C bus when reef-pi tries to read the pH circuit. My circuit requires I2C clock stretching but the Pi doesn't directly support that so the fix is to slow down the I2C bus a little so clock stretching isn't required, I'm guessing that's the problem.

To fix run the following command to edit the config.txt file.

sudo nano /boot/config.txt

That should have opened up a file. Using the arrow key on your keyboard go down until you see the following line.

dtparam=i2c_arm=on

Under that line type the following line.

dtparam=i2c_arm_baudrate=10000

Then press CTRL + S on the keyboard to save.

Then press CTRL + Z to exit.

Now type in the following command to reboot the Pi, after that it should be fixed going forward.

sudo reboot

For anyone else running up against this problem, Rob's suggestion resolved the issue.

 

[Dan-]

Thank you @robsworld78

Still having problems
I did as you recommended and created a DC pump and then changed it to a stepper and there were no errors.
However I am unable to get the motor to run. I tried calibrating it and selecting run but the motor just sits there idle.
I've looked for instructions on how to make this work but have come up empty. I know I have it electrically connected correctly as I am able to run the motor with a python script on same pi with standard pi image.
What am I missing? :)

 

[JachPot]

Yeah good point, I should have thought of the power supply being the problem, I've seen a few issues similar due to weak power supply. @JachPot did you get the power supply from me? I have sent out a couple faulty ones so if I did send one it's certainly possible it's the problem.

Yeah PSU was from you, It's been good so far. I was thinking maybe I was drawing too much current with the 12v pump? I wasn't sure how much can actually go out through the pi ports. I had a wedding to rush to this weekend, so I wasn't able to investigate yet.

 

[robsworld78]

Still having problems
I did as you recommended and created a DC pump and then changed it to a stepper and there were no errors.
However I am unable to get the motor to run. I tried calibrating it and selecting run but the motor just sits there idle.
I've looked for instructions on how to make this work but have come up empty. I know I have it electrically connected correctly as I am able to run the motor with a python script on same pi with standard pi image.
What am I missing? :)

Sorry I'm not really sure, I haven't used this feature yet. Looking at the picture you posted things look ok however the "delay" field looks to have a large value, not sure what that does though. Maybe @Ranjib can take a look at the settings.

 

[robsworld78]

Yeah PSU was from you, It's been good so far. I was thinking maybe I was drawing too much current with the 12v pump? I wasn't sure how much can actually go out through the pi ports. I had a wedding to rush to this weekend, so I wasn't able to investigate yet.

The actual Pi GPIO's can't handle much current but the DC ports are setup for a max of 5 amps on each port or across them all, you should be well under that. I would bet on it being the power supply, the Pi is very sensitive to under voltage and with an extra load on that cheap power supply (sorry) or as it ages that can be the issue, I've seen it from a few of them. If you don't have one here's a link, if you send me an email or PM so I know who you are I'll send some money to cover it.

Amazon product ASIN B08C594VNP

 

[JachPot]

The actual Pi GPIO's can't handle much current but the DC ports are setup for a max of 5 amps on each port or across them all, you should be well under that. I would bet on it being the power supply, the Pi is very sensitive to under voltage and with an extra load on that cheap power supply (sorry) or as it ages that can be the issue, I've seen it from a few of them. If you don't have one here's a link, if you send me an email or PM so I know who you are I'll send some money to cover it.

Amazon product ASIN B08C594VNP

That's what I figured, the GPIO pins are usually in the mA in these kinds of devices. I have the little cheap baby wallwort that doesn't do any real amount of current. I'll go ahead and order this one, no worries!


This one would plug directly into the lighting/dc sensors box right? There's a power supply going to your sensors boxbreakout and the actual PI's breakout if I'm not mistaken.

 

[bishoptf]

So I need to figure out a automatic feeder for when I need to leave things unattended, I know @robsworld78 has a diagram for wiring up the Ehiem but was wondering if anyone else had done something differently. Havent made up my mind yet but would be nice to be able to time shutting the pumps off etc when feeding, just thought I would ask. :)

 

[robsworld78]

That's what I figured, the GPIO pins are usually in the mA in these kinds of devices. I have the little cheap baby wallwort that doesn't do any real amount of current. I'll go ahead and order this one, no worries!


This one would plug directly into the lighting/dc sensors box right? There's a power supply going to your sensors boxbreakout and the actual PI's breakout if I'm not mistaken.

Sounds good, let me know how it goes. The main controller and lighting/DC module does required a power supply however you should have gotten a Y cable for the power supply. With that you can plug the power supply into the Y and then you'll have a plug for both pieces. The sensor extension doesn't require a lot of power so that's sent through the Ethernet patch cable from the controller but as the DC equipment module can use lots of current it's not possible to use the Ethernet cable that's why it has it's own DC input plug.

 

[robsworld78]

So I need to figure out a automatic feeder for when I need to leave things unattended, I know @robsworld78 has a diagram for wiring up the Ehiem but was wondering if anyone else had done something differently. Havent made up my mind yet but would be nice to be able to time shutting the pumps off etc when feeding, just thought I would ask. :)

One thing to note on that diagram, it's a straight connection from Robo-Tank to the feeder however if you DIY it you need a NPN mosfet for the GPIO coming from the Pi. Here's a picture of the circuit. The Pi GPIO goes into the Gate (G) of the mosfet with a 10k pulldown resistor attached, a common ground goes to Source (S) of the mosfet and the Drain (D) of the mosfet goes to the feeder as shown in the diagram on my website.

When the manual feed button is press on the Eheim feeder it simply completes a ground path which fires up the circuit in the feeder, that's what this circuit does, when the mosfet is switched from the Pi GPIO a ground is passed to the feeder just like the manual feed button was pressed.

 

[Sral]

One thing to note on that diagram, it's a straight connection from Robo-Tank to the feeder however if you DIY it you need a NPN mosfet for the GPIO coming from the Pi. Here's a picture of the circuit. The Pi GPIO goes into the Gate (G) of the mosfet with a 10k pulldown resistor attached, a common ground goes to Source (S) of the mosfet and the Drain (D) of the mosfet goes to the feeder as shown in the diagram on my website.

When the manual feed button is press on the Eheim feeder it simply completes a ground path which fires up the circuit in the feeder, that's what this circuit does, when the mosfet is switched from the Pi GPIO a ground is passed to the feeder just like the manual feed button was pressed.

Personally, I would also recommend an additional gate resistor of something like 1k, charging the gate might otherwise result in current spikes that the GPIO or the PI don't like.

 

[robsworld78]

Personally, I would also recommend an additional gate resistor of something like 1k, charging the gate might otherwise result in current spikes that the GPIO or the PI don't like.

I forgot to mention that, thanks. I do have those resistors except 220 ohm, I use them on all outputs. PWM0 is going to that feeder circuit above. The BSS138 I'm using also has diodes built in for 2k ESD protection.

 

[bishoptf]

Since I will not be using @robsworld78 nice robotank I think I will need to do something like this for my @Michael Lane hat so I think I would need to do what you have laid out in this post - https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/r...ler-based-on-raspberry-pi.289256/post-7235896

Looks like you have 1k ohm resistor to protect the rpi, I assume that design would be good enough, I do not need to fry an rpi since they are so hard to come by. Let me know what you think...

 

[bishoptf]

@robsworld78 or anyone else, I have 2 NPN's in my circuit junk box, I think either would work but let me know, I have PN2222a or 2n7000 that I could use, let me know if it matters or one would work better than the other, thanks. :)

https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/onsemi/PN2222A?qs=xZq1yRCsb1dx5fzwMfcUgA==
https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/onsemi-Fairchild/2N7000?qs=FOlmdCx%2BAA2o/KZOTk/3hg==
I think either would work the other issue I need to figure out is how I am going to feed 3.3v, all I have is 5v, here is his board layout - https://www.tindie.com/products/ranthalion/ml-reef-pi-hat-goby/#specs

 

[Sral]

@robsworld78 or anyone else, I have 2 NPN's in my circuit junk box, I think either would work but let me know, I have PN2222a or 2n7000 that I could use, let me know if it matters or one would work better than the other, thanks. :)

https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/onsemi/PN2222A?qs=xZq1yRCsb1dx5fzwMfcUgA==
https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/onsemi-Fairchild/2N7000?qs=FOlmdCx%2BAA2o/KZOTk/3hg==
I think either would work the other issue I need to figure out is how I am going to feed 3.3v, all I have is 5v, here is his board layout - https://www.tindie.com/products/ranthalion/ml-reef-pi-hat-goby/#specs

Either should work according to @robsworld78 , in the post you linked here shows the npn bipolar transistor method (PN2222) and he mentioned to me that a n-channel MOSFET would work as well (2N7000). You simply need to put the right resistor between the I/O and the transistor.

for the 3.3v: if you do not have a 3.3V regulator lying around, you could try something with the npn bipolar transistor. Simply give him the 5V stepped down to 4.2V through a diode and a resistor to ground and feed that 4.2V into the transistor base. This will allow a maximum voltage of something like 3.1-3.4V at the transistor emitter. I’ll give you a schematic tomorrow if you like. Buying a 3.3V regulator would be safer though ^^

 

[bishoptf]

Either should work according to @robsworld78 , in the post you linked here shows the npn bipolar transistor method (PN2222) and he mentioned to me that a n-channel MOSFET would work as well (2N7000). You simply need to put the right resistor between the I/O and the transistor.

for the 3.3v: if you do not have a 3.3V regulator lying around, you could try something with the npn bipolar transistor. Simply give him the 5V stepped down to 4.2V through a diode and a resistor to ground and feed that 4.2V into the transistor base. This will allow a maximum voltage of something like 3.1-3.4V at the transistor emitter. I’ll give you a schematic tomorrow if you like. Buying a 3.3V regulator would be safer though ^^

Yeah the board I have only has 3.3v on the temp probes and I am using all of those, everything else is 5v. I am also wondering if it really matters, could I get away with just feeding 5v, by the time it makes it to the board it will be less than that, would 1v be to much, hard to say. I think I read @Des Westcott feeding 5v to his feeder - https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/diy-auto-feeder-with-reef-pi.701874/ doing a 3.3v regulator just something else to purchase and wire up..maybe i just forgo the reef-pi integration altogether and just use the timer, but woul dbe nice to cut power when its not supposed to be in use and log feedings etc...where is that dang easy button :)

 

[JachPot]

Sounds good, let me know how it goes. The main controller and lighting/DC module does required a power supply however you should have gotten a Y cable for the power supply. With that you can plug the power supply into the Y and then you'll have a plug for both pieces. The sensor extension doesn't require a lot of power so that's sent through the Ethernet patch cable from the controller but as the DC equipment module can use lots of current it's not possible to use the Ethernet cable that's why it has it's own DC input plug.

Totally forgot there was a Y until when I looked last night. PSU came in today. So I'll check it out tonight.