Robo-Tank 2.0 for reef-pi

[MoKan Reefer]

Yeah sadly I do need to charge more but I am keeping things as low possible. Fully assembled this will be $109 possibly $119, it's impossible to DIY for this, let alone time. With an AC power bar assembled it won't go over $200.

I'm thinking I might skip the Kickstarter idea for now as that'll take time, I have nothing for it haha. I'm actually just revising the board to add RTC and get the faceplate etc made. I did just need to get a batch of v1.0 so I'll probably wait 2-3 weeks to order and should have in around a month. Whatever is left of 1.0 I'll be blowing out the DIY version at $60, there's a lot less to solder as I have some parts pre mounted now so if you want a deal it might be worth waiting for that.

As the price is over the $100 I'm going to put together a basic version, I hope to order a beta when I order 2.0 and then shortly after I'll get them. I'm hoping assembled these will be $50 - $70 depending what I add, that's the hard part. I know for pennies more I can add this or that so I never stop, those pennies do start to add up though.

Yeah, I can only imagine lol.
I reread in case I was missing it but is this unit going to be expandable for more power bars like the V1 was with the addition of the PCA9685 connection?
Definitely let me know if/when you blow out the v1s and I'll probably pick one up for when I can finally swap out the current 180 to the 270 gallon that's been sitting in the living room almost 2 years lol. The v1 will go on it being that I'm going to have it specifically for the wife and I'll still want a v2 for myself and the 280. Figure at this price point one can't afford to do half of what these are capable of whether someone went diy or mainstream tech even at 2-3× the pricing so I can't lose either way.
You and I spoke awhile back (probably nearly if not more than a year ago) so I'll email you in the next few days as I had a few more questions but don't want to sidebar this announcement thread.

 

[robsworld78]

Sounds like a good plan. You can still add the PCA9685 expansion and the other extensions I have will also still work.

 

[robsworld78]

Here's a bench test video.

 

[ColoredRock]

Can we pre order v 2

I just setup a brand new cube with nothing but dry rock and a rock from a pre established tank. would love to set this up from scratch. was about to pull the plug and get the first version. Nothing is going to change on the cube for a couple months as it matures.

 

[robsworld78]

Can we pre order v 2

I just setup a brand new cube with nothing but dry rock and a rock from a pre established tank. would love to set this up from scratch. was about to pull the plug and get the first version. Nothing is going to change on the cube for a couple months as it matures.

Sure why not. Like that you can have it for the cost of current controller. If you do, place an order for what I have and put a comment on the order that it's a pre-order. Anyone else feel free to do so as well.

 

[AbjectMaelstroM]

Have 2 of the OG units + power strips running strong. Definitely in for a v2.

An absolutely solid product and a great value.

 

[robsworld78]

Have 2 of the OG units + power strips running strong. Definitely in for a v2.

An absolutely solid product and a great value.

Thanks @AbjectMaelstroM, I appreciate it! Glad things are going well.

 

[nbooks]

whats current expected availability on the v2 boards?

patiently waiting to order one

 

[robsworld78]

whats current expected availability on the v2 boards?

patiently waiting to order one

Thanks for your patience, I'm a little slow. I did order them Oct 1 but there was a big holiday in China that slowed it down, it looks like they are ready to ship to me now though so I expect to have them next week

 

[ColoredRock]

Thanks for your patience, I'm a little slow. I did order them Oct 1 but there was a big holiday in China that slowed it down, it looks like they are ready to ship to me now though so I expect to have them next week

dam you... you are going to make me sign up for a paypal account...ugh

 

[robsworld78]

dam you... you are going to make me sign up for a paypal account...ugh

Lol, you can also open a Bitcoin account.

 

[nbooks]

Thanks for your patience, I'm a little slow. I did order them Oct 1 but there was a big holiday in China that slowed it down, it looks like they are ready to ship to me now though so I expect to have them next week

I figured it would likely be supply chain stuff slowing you down, no surprise there.

i need a good wintee project anyway. Thanks!

 

[robsworld78]

I figured it would likely be supply chain stuff slowing you down, no surprise there.

i need a good wintee project anyway. Thanks!

I can't really blame the delay on that but I have definitely felt the effects, been very lucky to get a couple parts when I need them and it looks like still at least 6 months until Mouser etc gets any real stock. The pca9685 is one of them and there's no alternatives.

 

[robsworld78]

It's finally ready but sadly there's one small issue with the small sensor extension module. As it is today only the optical sensor sockets work, to use the non-contact sensor socket on a specific port two resistors needs to be removed. An optical and non-contact socket share a port so one or the other can be used, I left this till the last minute rushing it and failed to put a jumper to select which socket is being used so there's a pullup and pulldown resistor on the same data line, like this the pullup can't do it's job for the non-contact sensor. When the pulldown resistor is removed it's fine, technically there should be a jumper to do this and will be when I get more.

 

[HuduVudu]

dam you... you are going to make me sign up for a paypal account...ugh

The nice thing about bitcoin is there are no fees for converting currency. I bought mine this way. Waayyyyyy easier.

 

[robsworld78]

I'll take anything I can get lol, even those crap coins out there.

 

[level16gazebo]

How much current can I switch with the DC ports? Want to plug in a big ol' 24v PSU and use it to power my pumps.

Any plans for a pump controller ala 'Wave Engine'?

 

[robsworld78]

How much current can I switch with the DC ports? Want to plug in a big ol' 24v PSU and use it to power my pumps.

Any plans for a pump controller ala 'Wave Engine'?

Hi, I'm guessing it's probably not enough. The max continuous is 3 amps on one DC port or between them all. You can however connect external mosfet modules to the PWM channels if you want to be able to adjust the output voltage (speed) or DB9 ports for on/off. Here's the type I'm referring to.

Sorry not sure about a pump controller, that would require changes to reef-pi which I'm unable to do at this time. You would need to use the lighting controls to come up with some kind of pattern. I'm not sure if anyone has done it but I think some basic control is possible as is.

EDIT: Removed link as it wasn't helpful....

 

[level16gazebo]

Hi, I'm guessing it's probably not enough. The max continuous is 3 amps on one DC port or between them all. You can however connect external mosfet modules to the PWM channels if you want to be able to adjust the output voltage (speed) or DB9 ports for on/off. Here's the type I'm referring to.

Amazon.com : mosfet module

www.amazon.com

Sorry not sure about a pump controller, that would require changes to reef-pi which I'm unable to do at this time. You would need to use the lighting controls to come up with some kind of pattern. I'm not sure if anyone has done it but I think some basic control is possible as is.

dang. It's not *quite* enough. As I understand it, it should be trivial to create a simple on/off relay box, the same as the power strip, but with DC in and DC out, yeah? 5.5mm jacks are pretty much ubiqutious. I bet that's something a lot of people are looking for but don't know they're looking for - you'd get all the benefits of a power bar but without all the extra bricks.

 

[robsworld78]

dang. It's not *quite* enough. As I understand it, it should be trivial to create a simple on/off relay box, the same as the power strip, but with DC in and DC out, yeah? 5.5mm jacks are pretty much ubiqutious. I bet that's something a lot of people are looking for but don't know they're looking for - you'd get all the benefits of a power bar but without all the extra bricks.

Yeah you can use relays and switch them the same way however the relay still needs a mosfet to switch it. Relays are a little bit on the high current side to connect directly to a signal so you need to watch for that. Those mosfets are basically the electronic version of the relay, both will do the same in this case. If you're ok with relays the mosfet will do good. For a while I've been thinking of making a high current DC power bar maybe in a few months I'll have one. It'll be mosfets with common plugs as you mentioned.