Reef Angel Star Controller

[cosmith71]

Ah, good stuff!

[ReefingHavoc]

Sweet.

What would be the price after the promo ends?

+1

[ReefingHavoc]

I was considering purchasing a relay expansion box as I'm out of outlets. If I went with the new controller, would I be able to pair up my existing expansion with what comes with the Reef Angel Star to give me 16 outlets?

[rimai]

Are you talking about the main relay box of the RA+?
If so, it does not.
RA* only accepts expansion modules.
In order to use your main relay box as expansion, you need one of the old relay expansion modules, which we are in the process of getting them built to sell in the web store.
They cost $50.
We only have one of them in stock before we get the next batch.

[ReefingHavoc]

Are you talking about the main relay box of the RA+?
If so, it does not.
RA* only accepts expansion modules.
In order to use your main relay box as expansion, you need one of the old relay expansion modules, which we are in the process of getting them built to sell in the web store.
They cost $50.
We only have one of them in stock before we get the next batch.

Yes, I was referring to the original relay box with RA+. Good to know I have an option for reusing it.

[Pny]

We are very excited to introduce the new controller we have been working on for so long.

The new Reefangel unit looks really nice!

[ewaldsreef]

From what I understand the RF module has been discontinued . I have one that I am tinkering with on my RA. Could I use it on the new Star controller?
Also if I connect the Star via ethernet will I have all the features that I would have from the cloud wifi attachment?
I love the new look and I am excited to get one and try it out.

[rimai]

Yes for both

[lnevo]

Damn, what was the issue with the RF? I was hoping we could get some Vectra support soon

[rimai]

There was no support or any documentation from them.

[topjimmy]

Can you purchase only the main board?

[rimai]

I do not have spare parts yet.

[topjimmy]

I'm not opposed to buying the whole thing, If I can sell my old plus. I have the water level expansion and hub, will those just plug and play?

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[rimai]

Yes. All expansion modules will work on both controllers.

[topjimmy]

Yes. All expansion modules will work on both controllers.

Hmm now you have me thinking... The only thing is that my ra is running so well.... I probably don't even need to upgrade...
What is the delivery time for the whole new setup?


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[rimai]

Have it in stock. So, it ships in 1 business day. Sometimes same day.

[topjimmy]

Hmm looks like I need to find a buyer for my ra plus...

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[cgonser]

It does not have wifi.
We found that many users prefer to have hardwire and there is no such thing as wifi to ethernet, but there are many ethernet to wifi adapters. We have used with great results TP Link TL-WR710N, which serves dual purpose. The single device can provide power and wifi to your RA Star.
http://www.tp-link.com/us/products/deta ... R710N.html

So with this product, I can plug it in to the Ethernet port on the RA Star and it will connect to my existing wireless router? Due to the location of my router and tank, running a hard wire between them will not be possible. Im preparing to order the RA Star but I want to have all my ducks in a row before I pull the trigger.

[Seedlessone]

It does not have wifi.
We found that many users prefer to have hardwire and there is no such thing as wifi to ethernet, but there are many ethernet to wifi adapters. We have used with great results TP Link TL-WR710N, which serves dual purpose. The single device can provide power and wifi to your RA Star.
http://www.tp-link.com/us/products/deta ... R710N.html

So with this product, I can plug it in to the Ethernet port on the RA Star and it will connect to my existing wireless router? Due to the location of my router and tank, running a hard wire between them will not be possible. Im preparing to order the RA Star but I want to have all my ducks in a row before I pull the trigger.

You got it dude. Power line over ethernet is also an option and I may have a set of those you can have. Either route, if you need help, just give me a buzz.

[Seedlessone]

Roberto,

Nice work on the star. Looks good. I want to pull the trigger but keep hesitating because the upgrade is cool, but doesn't seem to offer me personally more features over my plus. Do you have some more pics of the new screen? How is the layout? With the SD card, what all can be saved here? Also, is there a chance the RA+ will become obsolete in way similar to the regular RA; in reference to the library size or new features?

Thanks for all the hard work over the years.

[lnevo]

The RA standard was obsolete because of memory. The star and plus have the same amount so shouldnt be an issue.

[Seedlessone]

The RA standard was obsolete because of memory. The star and plus have the same amount so shouldnt be an issue.

Thats what I figured.

You've been around a while, are you upgrading? If so, what was your main selling point? Choices, choices....

[lnevo]

I have a developer version (prototype). Look for the thread Lee's Next Project. When I get back from vacation, I will be swapping out.

[rimai]

You can put anything in there.
The images for the feeding, water change and boot are currently store there. So it is very easy to change them.
The remote firmware is also stored there.
Other thing that can be stored that I can think of is data logging.

[binder]

The RA standard was obsolete because of memory. The star and plus have the same amount so shouldnt be an issue.

Thats what I figured.

You've been around a while, are you upgrading? If so, what was your main selling point? Choices, choices....

I've got a new Star (probably one of the first to get an official one besides Lee). i like the extra dimming ports and some other built in stuff. the developing/uploading works over a standard usb instead of special cable. it's got the built in buzzer too. i like the touchscreen but i just spent several hours customizing my old Plus to get the screen to look like i wanted. the built in ethernet is nice and seems to work pretty reliable (a little better than wifi but i never had any issues with wifi to begin with). the cloud support built in is nice....it's essentially an instant update to any device configured to communicate with it. my android app doesn't currently support that aspect but will in the future.
you are right, lots of choices...lots of choices.


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[Seedlessone]

The RA standard was obsolete because of memory. The star and plus have the same amount so shouldnt be an issue.

Thats what I figured.

You've been around a while, are you upgrading? If so, what was your main selling point? Choices, choices....

I've got a new Star (probably one of the first to get an official one besides Lee). i like the extra dimming ports and some other built in stuff. the developing/uploading works over a standard usb instead of special cable. it's got the built in buzzer too. i like the touchscreen but i just spent several hours customizing my old Plus to get the screen to look like i wanted. the built in ethernet is nice and seems to work pretty reliable (a little better than wifi but i never had any issues with wifi to begin with). the cloud support built in is nice....it's essentially an instant update to any device configured to communicate with it. my android app doesn't currently support that aspect but will in the future.
you are right, lots of choices...lots of choices.


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Your home screen was always nice looking. Do you have any pics of the new LCD and layout?

And, can code be uploaded directly via the LAN now, or do you still need to plug a USB cable in to adjust coding?

[binder]

Your home screen was always nice looking. Do you have any pics of the new LCD and layout?

here's my latest Plus screen (it's still currently running my tank because I haven't had a chance to fully switch to the Star).
http://forum.reefangel.com/viewtopic.ph ... 230#p55230

I have been tweaking some code on the Star and fixed a couple software bugs that hadn't been found yet (and wouldn't be until we started using it).
The Star has a touchscreen interface and looks "similar" to the 2014 Screen, WITH the exception that you can actually control things from the screen. Meaning you can change the Dimming values from it and I believe you can toggle relays on/off (but I have to confirm this). I don't believe you will be able to change this layout at all because it is hard coded.
I will post some screenshots of the screens hopefully tonight for you.

And, can code be uploaded directly via the LAN now, or do you still need to plug a USB cable in to adjust coding?

You can still use the USB cable if you want. I spent some time getting the Arduino software working on Debian 9 (linux distro) so I can use things from my main computer. I wanted to still use the direct programming since I can make changes to the libraries and upload to test. You cannot change the libraries and test out the changes if you use the webwizard.

You can upload code via the webwizard. You simply login to the webwizard, edit/modify/create your code and then you can upload from there. The uploading only works from the webwizard if you have Windows or Mac...which could work for me since I own a Mac laptop, but I prefer to plug a cable in to upload directly AND because I want to change the libraries to work on new stuff (at times). I also prefer to do things locally and not always rely on the internet if I can....I know I'm "old school" in that regards but that's just how I operate.

The nice thing about the webwizard is that it always has the latest version of the software. So that's a plus AND it saves your INO files for you so no worrying about your computer crashing and losing your code that runs your controller. It also is not tied to a single computer.....so you can freely switch between laptop, desktop, office computer, whatever to update your code and the code is saved on the cloud server and backed up for you. (This is a GREAT feature in my opinion!)

I'm not sure if there are other ways to upload via the LAN other than the webwizard option. I haven't had a chance to look around at it fully...I just can't seem to find or make the time to dive into things fully. I just look at pieces of it and am trying to get a feel for where things are handled in the code. I'm actually trying to get the push notifications/live updates working and follow how that works.

[rimai]

Yes, you can upload remotely using LAN only without the USB.
Use the web wizard and choose remote upload port instead of USB COM port.
Next time the controller connects to the portal, it will download the firmware and auto-update itself.
It saves the firmware to the SD card temporarily while it does that.

[Seedlessone]

Yes, you can upload remotely using LAN only without the USB.
Use the web wizard and choose remote upload port instead of USB COM port.
Next time the controller connects to the portal, it will download the firmware and auto-update itself.
It saves the firmware to the SD card temporarily while it does that.

Do you have a picture comparing the two LCDs? Or is the Star LCD very similar to the RA+ in terms of pixel density, etc.

[binder]

Yes, you can upload remotely using LAN only without the USB.
Use the web wizard and choose remote upload port instead of USB COM port.
Next time the controller connects to the portal, it will download the firmware and auto-update itself.
It saves the firmware to the SD card temporarily while it does that.

Do you have a picture comparing the two LCDs? Or is the Star LCD very similar to the RA+ in terms of pixel density, etc.

Star screen is much bigger.

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