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

[LionHeart2017]

Does anyone have an opinion on a solution to skim 5v power for the pi off of 110AC. MOSFET, buck,etc? Looking to house the pi along with power outlets.

was thinking the exact same thing, I want to keep it compact and tidy and adding in a socket and normal plug in psu inside the housing is going to be messy and bulky, I found this https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/122206050565
looks it should do the job for me in uk?
ps im planning to use to power a pi zero w, as this psu is 5vdc and 3w which is only 0.60amps

 

[Ranjib]

Wo

i was wondering about this as a method to distance the power strips from the main controller. Instead of having a second pi operate by itself can it receive gpio commands wirelessly from a main controller?

Thats is what I intend to do when I support clustering. One reef-pi will control others using the API. But the other reef-pi(s) can be controlled independently as well, it should all be configurable.

 

[Ranjib]

you will need something like this...
https://www.amazon.com/DROK-Switching-Transformer-Converter-Wide-range/dp/B01LENMPUO

careful with 8A outputs, it will fry most jumper wire/breadboard. Most things I recommend in the build guides are only 3A to 4A rated

 

[CL Ingus]

was thinking the exact same thing, I want to keep it compact and tidy and adding in a socket and normal plug in psu inside the housing is going to be messy and bulky, I found this https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/122206050565
looks it should do the job for me in uk?
ps im planning to use to power a pi zero w, as this psu is 5vdc and 3w which is only 0.60amps

That's what I'm apt sure about. Which is the best way that little mosfet looks simple but idk about the extra heat or reliability. The little device Erica mentioned looks promising..but yeah the amps look high.

 

[Ranjib]

That's what I'm apt sure about. Which is the best way that little mosfet looks simple but idk about the extra heat or reliability. The little device Erica mentioned looks promising..but yeah the amps look high.

A mosfet allows you to switch high current/voltage with low current/voltage .its a transistor . For example if you want to switch on /off a high power led bulb with pi , a logic level power mosfet will do the job. For ac to dc conversion , you are looking at transformer (to do ac to dc) along with a regulator that will give the desired voltage. The whole assembly of such a thing may involve a mosfet , but it’s lot more than that, it’s certainly not the main thing in that assembly , from what I understand

 

[Ryan115]

Does anyone have an opinion on a solution to skim 5v power for the pi off of 110AC. MOSFET, buck,etc? Looking to house the pi along with power outlets.

was thinking the exact same thing, I want to keep it compact and tidy and adding in a socket and normal plug in psu inside the housing is going to be messy and bulky, I found this https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/122206050565
looks it should do the job for me in uk?
ps im planning to use to power a pi zero w, as this psu is 5vdc and 3w which is only 0.60amps

I am using an old APC UPS and used the old battery compartment to house most of the electronics. I wasnt powering a pi, but to get 5v to the relay board I pulled the circuit out of an old 5v phone charger.

 

[Ryan115]

 

[Erica-Renee]

careful with 8A outputs, it will fry most jumper wire/breadboard. Most things I recommend in the build guides are only 3A to 4A rated

I did not notice that.. I was just looking for a example ...

Can you make it not rain today. Please?

 

[Trickman2]

Has anyone looked into utilizing components designed for the Apex and looked at the coding on a Apex? The firmware files might give you a idea of what it is using. If you can open it up to other companies modules the world will really open up.

 

[Ranjib]

Has anyone looked into utilizing components designed for the Apex and looked at the coding on a Apex? The firmware files might give you a idea of what it is using. If you can open it up to other companies modules the world will really open up.

Do you have anything specific in mind?
I worry about legal implications. And as of now I have been able to do the things I wanted without hacking into any commercial thing. I'll also prefer reef-pi to be original and authentic work, from an ethical perspective, even if its sub-par,

 

[Trickman2]

Do you have anything specific in mind?
I worry about legal implications. And as of now I have been able to do the things I wanted without hacking into any commercial thing. I'll also prefer reef-pi to be original and authentic work, from an ethical perspective, even if its sub-par,

I don't see how you can have any legal complications as long as you are not selling it for money or using their code. The main idea would be able to communicate with other controller brands module/parts. You just need to be able to speak the language of the other controller brands. It is possible you could flash the firmware and use your own code. Also wouldn't hurt the other companies as people would buy some of their accessories. You will also always have the people who just want a finished, easy and polished product that will buy everything from the company. Basically, why re-invent the wheel every time on all the parts.

 

[Ranjib]

I don't see how you can have any legal complications as long as you are not selling it for money or using their code. The main idea would be able to communicate with other controller brands module/parts. You just need to be able to speak the language of the other controller brands. It is possible you could flash the firmware and use your own code. Also wouldn't hurt the other companies as people would buy some of their accessories. You will also always have the people who just want a finished, easy and polished product that will buy everything from the company. Basically, why re-invent the wheel every time on all the parts.

I might not be selling reef-pi, but the Apache 2 license thats reef-pi is under, is a permissive one, and allows anyone to modify and sell things based on reef-pi, with or without my consent.

reef-pi is not an embedded system software (stuff that runs on arduino or any microcontroller based installation) , its a full blown client/server thing that requires a full blown computer (like raspberry pi, beaglebone or macbook or thinkpads etc). There is no firmware involved whatsoever, we ride on the shoulder of giants (Linux, raspbian , go, react etc). Its a fundamentally different thing :-)

You are right, there are folks who would prefer to have a pre-built controller that will save the time, and not every one has the skill (and time) to build this. Also, unless the tools are available, the cost of building a DIY controller will be likely higher than a commercial one (due to the tools cost). My current thought process is to iteratively attack the biggest bottlenecks, like a PCB will solve a lot of circuit building hassle and save time, next a 3d printed or cnc fabricated enclosure will reduce another big chunk of time and effort. There are few companies who have expressed interest in reef-pi, and if we are lucky, I think we'll have pre-made reef-pi controller available from one of the commercial vendors.

Regarding re-inventing wheel: We have to. Consider this:

Unless we re-invent, we dont get to take benefit of all the technical advancement made in due time. It is also about knowing the process of building & making. I will not go into details (unless you all are interested :-) ), but reef-pi is very different ground up, and thats not only coming from software, it's about the hardware and above all the thriving opensource software /open hardware community that it belongs to. I aim to achieve several distinct things with reef-pi that simply not possible by retrofitting commercial controller. Philosophical differences are one part of it, but ther are other major technical hurdles.

 

[Ranjib]

I don't see how you can have any legal complications as long as you are not selling it for money or using their code. The main idea would be able to communicate with other controller brands module/parts. You just need to be able to speak the language of the other controller brands. It is possible you could flash the firmware and use your own code. Also wouldn't hurt the other companies as people would buy some of their accessories. You will also always have the people who just want a finished, easy and polished product that will buy everything from the company. Basically, why re-invent the wheel every time on all the parts.

Almost all the embedded systems (most commercial controllers) are either written in C or assembly. Making a common way to communicate them is futile, since they do not share any common grounds whatsover, its like the early days of Unix, where every Unix vendor had their proprietory versions of unix and you can not run software made for one to another. Linux changed that

 

[Trickman2]

Makes sense but some examples would be Apex has a flow sensor, You could use the flow sensor without using their code or even modules. It is just using a audio connector and probably putting out some sort of voltage. Now if you could talk to one of the modules even better like the WXM to communicate with a Vortech pump that would be nice. At that point you haven't even touched or hacked their code. You are just listening and talking with it. At least in the case of Apex devices they are firmware based and get updates. and yes I am sure you could hack those and insert your own code but that is a different rabbit hole. I am curious to know what coding language they used. Lastly, what people do with opensource software is up to them. You can't control that and those consequences are on them. I plan on coming along for the ride and down the line may setup a Reef-Pi just for the fun of it. I already own a apex controller but wouldn't mind meddling with Reef-pi for some additional fun. Everyone is welcome to check out the thread on my new tank. https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/trickman2s-280-gallon-upgrade.369124/
Keep up the good work :-)

 

[Ranjib]

Makes sense but some examples would be Apex has a flow sensor, You could use the flow sensor without using their code or even modules. It is just using a audio connector and probably putting out some sort of voltage. Now if you could talk to one of the modules even better like the WXM to communicate with a Vortech pump that would be nice. At that point you haven't even touched or hacked their code. You are just listening and talking with it. At least in the case of Apex devices they are firmware based and get updates. and yes I am sure you could hack those and insert your own code but that is a different rabbit hole. I am curious to know what coding language they used. Lastly, what people do with opensource software is up to them. You can't control that and those consequences are on them. I plan on coming along for the ride and down the line may setup a Reef-Pi just for the fun of it. I already own a apex controller but wouldn't mind meddling with Reef-pi for some additional fun. Everyone is welcome to check out the thread on my new tank. https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/trickman2s-280-gallon-upgrade.369124/
Keep up the good work :)

Flow sensor (similar to ph , temperature or water level sensors ) are not made by apex, these are very common and available from direct manufacturer , so we can use them off the shelf. They just rebrand those (I think) and may also impose some qc reqstrictions. As I mentioned above , I would assume the controller software itself is written C & assembly. There’s not really that many choices for embedded systems

 

[Erica-Renee]

Closed firmware and the hardware Ewwwww.... Please No..

 

[LionHeart2017]

I'm guessing apex controllers are much like this project hardware wise, it's just figuring out how to do the programming and using what you want to do what you want, modular is a good way to go and looking forward to having multiple pi zero running and taking control by a pi3 all by wireless if it's at all possible
Could do with finding a small enclosure to build each module into that's readily available everywhere so everyone can follow along and work out things together.

 

[Erica-Renee]

Here is my Finally Finished first module.. This has been tested and working ..
It contains 4 Float switch circuits and 3 temp probe circuits. Connects to pi gpio thru serial cable .

 

[Ranjib]

Here is my Finally Finished first module.. This has been tested and working ..
It contains 4 Float switch circuits and 3 temp probe circuits. Connects to pi gpio thru serial cable .

Nice all float switches are wired via audio connectors ?

 

[Erica-Renee]

Nice all float switches are wired via audio connectors ?

Yes.