t247 bluefish mini mod

mlivvy · Nov 13, 2016

Keep us updated!

spartanman22 · Nov 13, 2016

Will do should have the parts in this week.

howard24 · Nov 25, 2016

I want to do this so bad. Any updates, and pics

spartanman22 · Nov 28, 2016

howard24 said:
I want to do this so bad. Any updates, and pics

Not yet, the holidays prevented me from getting any work done on it. Finally got the last component in. So, I'm hoping I can get at this this weekend.

spartanman22 · Dec 4, 2016

I've spent all day today trying to setup this bluefish mini for my three OR-T247's and it's been unsuccessful. The mod works great for one fixture but when I tried extending it to three fixtures they wouldn't dim properly.

They dim fairly well for higher percentages. But the white channel won't dim low on the two fixtures that don't have the bluefish mini. And they LEDs are flickering a bit at lower percentages. I've tried every arrangement of connections I can think of and no matter what the other two fixtures just don't dim properly like the main fixture.

spartanman22 · Dec 4, 2016

The white channel on the two slave units are at 100% all the time. When I adjust the channel 1 percentage in the app it doesn't change the intensity of the whites at all just the blues. So the bluefish minis working for the blues but the whites are "dimming" by adjusting the blue intensity.

howard24 · Dec 8, 2016

spartanman22 said:
The white channel on the two slave units are at 100% all the time. When I adjust the channel 1 percentage in the app it doesn't change the intensity of the whites at all just the blues. So the bluefish minis working for the blues but the whites are "dimming" by adjusting the blue intensity.

Could it be a bluefish mini issue. The only other person I read do this said it worked but to only 10% then off. What's the next step. I can see if I can find the post for you. If you haven't read it already.

spartanman22 · Dec 8, 2016

howard24 said:
Could it be a bluefish mini issue. The only other person I read do this said it worked but to only 10% then off. What's the next step. I can see if I can find the post for you. If you haven't read it already.

It worked great for one unit but didn't dim the slave units correctly when all three were hooked up. I can't find any walk-throughs on wiring up more than one unit.

howard24 · Dec 8, 2016

spartanman22 said:
It worked great for one unit but didn't dim the slave units correctly when all three were hooked up. I can't find any walk-throughs on wiring up more than one unit.

The one I found was only one. But the other channels shouldn't be any different that's why I was thinking faulty controller. Does bluefish have tech support

Zwogle · Jan 5, 2017

I really appreciate your information and diagram, hooked a bluefish up and it's working just fine
1

mlivvy · Jan 11, 2017

@howard24 Hey I just noticed your posts. Did you figure anything out?

howard24 · Jan 11, 2017

No, I'm still waiting to pick up a bluefish myself.

howard24 · Jan 11, 2017

Zwogle said:
I really appreciate your information and diagram, hooked a bluefish up and it's working just fine
1

Did you follow these steps exactly? Any pointers?

mlivvy · Jan 11, 2017

Ah I read this late and confused @howard24 for @spartanman22. I'd like to hear from him.

Zwogle · Jan 12, 2017

howard24 said:
Did you follow these steps exactly? Any pointers?

So I fallowed the diagram and it was pretty strait forward, although a little stressful, not knowing how exactly it all worked (not having much experience with the inner workings of electronics). I used Adafruit Accessories Female/Female Jumper Wires - 40 x 12" from Amazon, they worked pretty good, although the side that connects to the Bluefish secured nicely, they felt very loose on the internal board of the t247. After fitting everything together and splicing the PWM black wires, I did a test run and to my amazement it all worked. I soldered the wires to the PWM black wires, and added some hot glue to the cables coming into the t247 to get them more secure.
The only thing I did different was where I placed the bluefish, Mlivvy placed it on the outside wall and had to cut the heat sink (this may be the better way to go, If you need to re-sync the wifi card), I placed it under the center of one of the heat sinks, there is a large enough gap where it fits comfortably, you just have to temporarily remove one of the supports to slide it in.
On a side note, I misunderstood what was meant by the 10% min level, I had thought it meant the light would go from 10%-0%, rather than 10%-09%-08%... In reality, it can only take it down to 10%, and then stay at 10%. So you have to sync the app timer and the T247 internal timer to turn on and off at the same time (this was probably made clear, but I just didn't fully understand it).

Velcro · Jan 12, 2017

I'm looking at getting a pair of these lights for my 40 breeder frag tank. I'd love to do this mod but sounds like there are issues with multiple lights

Luis Figueroa · Mar 9, 2017

Can a mod like this be used on a blue and white led box with a factory built in timer?

mlivvy · Mar 10, 2017

Luis Figueroa said:
Can a mod like this be used on a blue and white led box with a factory built in timer?

It needs to be electronically dimmable (no knobs, a controller which usually has a digital screen). A timer just shuts it off and on. And if it is dimmable, then it needs to be 3.3v PWM.