Reef Angel Forum

Hey im in the market for a controller and for some reason im drawn toward the RA. How about i tell you what i need and my skill set and you point me in the right direction. Heres my wants at this moment for a controller
-heater control (2)
-dosing pump controls (will be buying either stand alond or brs depending on how easy this is)
-possibly control my wp25 ... and maybe even my reef breeder photon32 but thats not high or barely even on the list
-would like float switches in the bottom of my ato tub in case i forget to top it off every few days and maybe one in the dt in case a drain were to be clogged to prevent flood and shut down return.
-be able to monitor and maybe control even from phone or computer while away

The only problem is the ra seems to be code heavy and although i have a bs in eet i hate programming and really dont want to deal with it if i really dont have to, maybe modifying existing code but i have zero skills in the code writing department. Im sure this has been asked a hundred times too but its so hard searching for exactly what i want

The wizard will do everything you want and write the code for you.

But you will want to do more and the language is pretty simple once you get used to it. I suggest instead of copying and pasting code. Type it. Pretty soon you can see what the code does without looking it up.

so to do what i want right now do i just need the basic RA controller, do i not need something to access online with? i see the wifi module but i would be able to run ethernet to the controller is that not the need for the wifi module? do i need the 12v module to run the RA branded dosing pumps or can i do everything i want with just the basic package

Ra+ and the WiFi attachment is what I would suggest. The ra+ does not have an Ethernet port

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The RA+ has a larger memory in it and with the newer libraries that have come out the RA gets filled up pretty quickly.
I believe Roberto was thinking of discontinuing the RA due to this reason.

Neither the RA or RA+ has an ethernet connection so it you want to have control of the unit remotely (via an phone or web interface) I would get the wireless module.

The RA Dosing pump can be controlled by a regular 120v relay(port), but you can also remove the transformer and plug it directly into the Power Control expansion module. If it is the only 12v device you have and you are not going to fill up the 8 ports on the original relay box I would just use the 120v relay until you feel a need to expand further.

The 1 thing I love more than anything (but I don't thing Roberto has actually released it yet) is the Blue Tooth module. It allows you to update your code wirelessly with out having to connect your computer to the head unit via the USB- TTL cable.

To fully control the WP-25 you will need the Jebao/Tunze cable, unless you just want to control the on/off of it with on of the relays.

The wizard will do a lot of the coding for you and what it doesn't you can find on the forum or someone will help you out.

I'm not good at coding at all (it's making some sense to me) and with the help of some really special people here I have gotten my system running and ironed out the way I want it.

From what I'm reading that you want to do you can start with the following...

RA+
Wireless module
Jebao/Tunze cable (if you want full control of the pump)

thanks guys! ok, i'm still on the fence a little but am leaning towards RA over apex, i don't know exactly what controller i would want for my needs, i would probably get the plus as has been recommended but how do i choose analog over pwm.

I am also concerned with reliability, obviously you guys may be biased but can anyone comment on that part of the deal

The RA + is the best choice, I think I read a thread where Roberto was talking about discontinuing the RA because the libraries are getting so large that they don't fit on the RA and allow you any coding room.

As far as PWM or Analog the Jebao WP pumps will work with either.

I don't know what your reef breeder photon32 would need though.

If the reef breeder photon32 are not a priority I would just get the RA+ and use that 2 dimming port that are on there and get the expansion module later.

The PWM models are less expensive and you can mix and match a PWM head unit with an analog expansion module.

As far as reliability, I have nothing to compare it to because I've only owned a Reef Angel.
In the 6 months or less that I've had it the only problem I've had was a temp probe went bad about a month ago.

Ok cool thanks. Now I've tried searching but the amount of info is overwhelming so ill just ask, how difficult will it be to use having only Mac and Apple products, if I get the wifi module does that solve that issue? You can't use the ragen with it right? Will I be able to modify code etc or will I need to run windows virtually

The wizard works fine on a mac. Arduino IDE as well. You should have no issues being a mac user

I did have an issue with the WiFi wizard, but that may have just been me. I ended up configuring it through coolterm.

The Arduino App is available on Mac as well as PC so you can still do coding from a MAC.

There is an I-Phone App that is a bit out dated and I know some of the guys are working on trying to update it.

You will be able to control it from the Portal (web-based so platform does not matter) or the I-Phone app.

The only thing I'm not sure will work on a MAC is the RA Wizard. Maybe someone else can chime in on that.

Sacohen wrote: The only thing I'm not sure will work on a MAC is the RA Wizard. Maybe someone else can chime in on that.

no, im pretty sure the wizard works on all platforms: windows, linux and mac

Sent from my iPad

Yeah there was a post by lnevo like at the same time I posted mine that says the wizard works on MAC.

Alright you guys convinced me. I ordered a (slightly used) ra+ with wifi and some jebao cables!!!!

I have another question, is there any issue with me extending the jebao harness, i need it to go to my tank upstairs about 20' away, would that cause any kind of problem....i also am getting 3 temp probes and would like to do the same with one and have it in the DT, seeing as my sump is in the basement, it would be nice to know what all the temps are

Also will i be able to run a second jebao without another module?

Same for adding the moonlight module?

I know you can extend the Jebao cables and the temp probe cables, but I'm not sure about that much.
I think it would be OK, Roberto could answer that better.

You can run 2 Jebaos off the main unit, one on the Daylight Dimming port and one on the Actinic Dimming port.

To run the Moonlights (I assuming dimming them) you would need the dimming module. If you just want the moonlights to turn on and off then they can be controlled by the relays.
Roberto says that the moonlights work better with the Lunar Hub for dimming.

I don't know if I explained myself well above.

In order to use the moonlights as dimmable or on a moon cycle you would need an available boosted PWM port.
If you use booth of the ones on the head unit for 2 Jebao pumps then you would need the PWM dimming expansion module along with the Dimmable Lunar Hub and however many Lunar Moonlights you want.

If you only want 1 Lunar Moonlight you would not need the Lunar hub, but as I said Roberto said it works better with it.

actually you explained it perfectly!

ok i have it all set up and i got wifi configured and portal and it seems i'm almost ready to integrate into my system, but i want to feel a little more confident on using this before i attach it to my, currently seamless, tank setup. As i said before, coding is alien to me, but i feel like i should understand it to some degree or at least know how to modify it.

For example, the wizard lets me set up the jebao pumps for a mode and percentage. Say i want to run different modes during the day, a night mode etc. Now i know i can just search and find the info i need. But is there somewhere that can show me or explain to me what is going on or am i going to have to learn how to program to do that. Now the pumps were an example but what if i want to set float switches to do certain things etc

of course i can search all this, but my brain is on overload from all of this right now. Its quite overwhelming for someone not used to it. So i upload the code generated from the wizard, is that THE code used in the controller, or one of. There is so many example codes and other things, do they get added to that one code set or are they also uploaded....dosing pump in the wizard seems to be one port only ahhhhhh i'm gonna go to the how do i code section and get burned out

As long as you open then click the wizard without anything else that's all that gets loaded. The examples are there to help you learn to code. Arduino is setup so if you open a new sketch it opens a new window so it doesn't compile on top of the existing code.

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Yes the Example are there to help you learn and also to test equipment that you think might not be working correctly.
For Example if you just got a Power Expansion Relay then you can load the Expansion Relay code and it will cycle thru turning on and off all the ports on the new relay to make sure they work.

Create the base code you want in the Wizard and then start to modify that with snippets you find here or in the examples.

The RA will only hold 1 code in it at a time and you can't download the code from the unit back to your computer, so if you are experimenting with something new, make a copy of your working code so you can always go back to it easily and re-upload it if your experiment goes drastically wrong.

With the Jebao pumps if you use the wizard to set it up then it will be set up to use the DCPump class and you can always changes modes, speeds and durations from the portal if you set the DCPump class to use the internal memory by setting it to true.

Take a look at my code (in my signature) or paulturner711 for some code that will randomly change the mode of the pump after every reboot or at midnight.

My code has a setting for slowing the pump at night and at feeding.