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

[bishoptf]

Zero 2?

I can't speak for gary but I have a plain old original zero running since yesterday loaded with the -3.deb and it started up without a squeak and has been running fine...why I asked the question, something has changed and the -3.deb seems to run just fine on a old zero now. :)

 

[bishoptf]

Yes, I want to have something like this (initial setup wizard) along side WiFi hotspot configuration in reef-pi. That will allow users to setup without any ssh login.

Agree I think that would be pretty slick and allow more users to use them, more plug and play. I understand the linux side of things but not the go side, if there is something that I could help with etc, I'm willing to help out. I will look into some other wizard type things and see what they may have in common. I made my son a stratux adsb receiver last summer and it did a wifi hotspot for it's configuration, I will poke around there and see how they did it, runs on a pi3 - http://stratux.me/

 

[GaryE]

Zero 2?

no sir.. I do not yet have a Zero 2. It should be here soon though.

 

[GaryE]

They are exceedingly easy to kill... seems that my light setup was feeding power back to the box.. I suppose it just finally had enough.

So I pulled out the "hat" and put a diode in place to stop that nonsense and forgot to cut off the leads after soldering it in, caused a lot of drama there.. (with my virgin RPi 3 plugged in) and now it has random issues..

I believe I figured out my issue with this pi having random issues..


Power wire to the pi was a touch loose.. replaced it and the ground and it seems stable for now.. We'll see.. ;)

 

[GaryE]

Found something new and interesting on 5.1-83-g3c22d04b... (edit.. problem is present in 5.0 also)

What's the minimum acceptable threshold ?

because 50 would be too much.. ;)

 

[theatrus]

Yes, I want to have something like this (initial setup wizard) along side WiFi hotspot configuration in reef-pi. That will allow users to setup without any ssh login.

Second this - while its a ton of duplicate functionality to the OS, and flys against my "but I do Linux anyway", automating as much of the basic setup and maintenance the better.

 

[bishoptf]

Second this - while its a ton of duplicate functionality to the OS, and flys against my "but I do Linux anyway", automating as much of the basic setup and maintenance the better.

Yeah I agree I am a *nix guy also and live on the cli for a lot of my time and it's really the easiest thing for me to deal with but there are a lot of users that just want to plug something in and configure like a normal appliance. Some of the rpi configuration stuff you can enable within an image, but the timezone, networking etc need some other way to get to them besides the CLI. I think with several of the board options the hardware options are available its how do we get the software to that next step. I was just working on some configuration scripts and just was thinking about it.

 

[Ranjib]

i just merged stepper driver for dosing system in reef-pi. This is an initial implementation of stepper based dosing system in reef-pi that should not break any existing dosing setup.
Users will be able to choose either dc motor or stepper as their dosing system driver. The stepper implementation is pretty low level and requires users to specify pins, delay , steps per rotation etc. it is intended to be used with dev8225 chips. I have tested it with a 42 step, dosing pump (30$ on Amazon). So far ita working ok .
My plan is to stabilize the stepper driver and fix all the outstanding ui and macro bugs in reef/pi as first priority. If things work out, it will provide a robust foundation for automated titration .

 

[Ranjib]

 

[theatrus]

Looks good, though without a PWM pin it’s going to be some slow stepping :)

 

[Ranjib]

Looks good, though without a PWM pin it’s going to be some slow stepping :)

It will ? I am trying with 0.0208s delay, without much cpu cost. I can try reducing it by half and see how that goes

 

[theatrus]

It will ? I am trying with 0.0208s delay, without much cpu cost. I can try reducing it by half and see how that goes

Not terribly slow, no. 20ms wakeup is reasonable for just a sleep task, but without microstepping that is about 0.24 RPS or about 14 RPM (assuming a 200 steps per revolution motor). You can get motors as low as 40 steps per revolution, so its possible this is running faster. Wakeups below 1ms start introducing larger and larger jitter (which you'll actually be able to hear). Add microstepping and you're crawling. The little brushed DC motors with their shaft reduction are probably 10x the speed (though, not consistent).

As long as you're not trying to go fast, its plenty. The problem with using a PWM as built in ReefPi is duty cycle doesn't matter, so frequency needs to be adjusted. All tradeoffs. Nothing wrong with some basic bit-banging to get going.

 

[gordan101]

Found something new and interesting on 5.1-83-g3c22d04b... (edit.. problem is present in 5.0 also)

What's the minimum acceptable threshold ?

because 50 would be too much.. ;)

I had the same thing off you add a chiller controlling a dud outlet it will work

 

[Sacrifice]

Afternoon all. I just found this thread and I'm looking to possibly give this a shot. Where would you guys recommend that I start? Are the links on the first post still valid?

 

[GaryE]

Do a lot of reading in the thread.. Do a lot of asking questions..

I believe the links to be good..

 

[robsworld78]

Looks good! Would a person be able to use a single GPIO for step and ignore the others?

 

[theatrus]

Looks good! Would a person be able to use a single GPIO for step and ignore the others?

IMO, you probably want to control STEP and the enable pin at minimum. No sense in keeping the motor energized and holding when its not in use. Rest could be hard-strapped to your choice of setup.

 

[robsworld78]

IMO, you probably want to control STEP and the enable pin at minimum. No sense in keeping the motor energized and holding when its not in use. Rest could be hard-strapped to your choice of setup.

I don't see one for Rest but I know of the enable pin. Would that be the same as a 3D printer when you disable driver? Once disabled you can move the motor freely. I can see that being a good thing.

 

[theatrus]

I don't see one for Rest but I know of the enable pin. Would that be the same as a 3D printer when you disable driver? Once disabled you can move the motor freely. I can see that being a good thing.

Right, same idea.

The TI chips usually have a trio of slightly overlapping inputs, for example the often used DRV8825:

Setting ENBL, or putting the device in reset or sleep, would drop power consumption and allow the motor to just free wheel. If nothing else, do it for the power consumption unless of course you're doing something like a very slow continuous water change.

Using a disable function will reset the indexer (e.g., lose the microstepping position), but you can't hold a microstep position without active power, and this isn't like a precision zeroed CNC setup so the point is moot.

 

[robsworld78]

Right, same idea.

The TI chips usually have a trio of slightly overlapping inputs, for example the often used DRV8825:

Setting ENBL, or putting the device in reset or sleep, would drop power consumption and allow the motor to just free wheel. If nothing else, do it for the power consumption unless of course you're doing something like a very slow continuous water change.

Thanks good to know. I'll have to hook up a motor and see what kind of power it draws, if it's high then I'll go the 2 pin route. If it's low maybe I'll use a switch to save a GPIO this way for maintenance or whatever a person can switch off.