Dimming Expansion Stuck at 1%

[Bruz4023]

I have been searching and searching for any thing and have come up empty. I just got my RA today and am supper excited! I had a test so I had to wait to set it up. I am now programming it and I have gotten the Wifi to work in my house (although that is another issue will be looking into), and I bought the dimming expansion module to dim my PWM lights. I built my lights myself and have a small controller that dims them up and down in the morning and night. I checked the wires to get the channels and hooked it up so that channel 0 is RB channel 1 is white channel 2 is blue and channel 3 is pink. when i did that and found my grounds i wired it all up and went to the RA wizard and began making code. it all looks find but i dont really know. but when I plug everything in the lights are all stuck at 1% and i cant seem to change them. it is late so some should be dim and some should be fairly bright.

I bought the RA for the lights so this is incredible frustrating! any help is appreciated I am so excited to get everything working!

Also if i unplug the the lights they go to full brightness! when i check the voltage on the old controller it was 4.8v or so when it was 100% but now i am getting 0.6v so i know the lights are doing what they are told!

this is the code for the lights it looks ok?


// Ports that are always on
ReefAngel.Relay.On( Port5 );
ReefAngel.Relay.On( Port6 );
ReefAngel.Relay.On( Port8 );

////// Place additional initialization code below here


////// Place additional initialization code above here
}

void loop()
{
ReefAngel.StandardLights( Port3,7,0,22,0 );
ReefAngel.StandardLights( Port4,11,0,23,0 );
ReefAngel.StandardHeater( Port7,780,790 );
ReefAngel.PWM.SetChannel( 0, PWMSlope(7,0,22,0,1,100,90,1) );
ReefAngel.PWM.SetChannel( 1, PWMParabola(9,0,19,0,1,100,1) );
ReefAngel.PWM.SetChannel( 2, PWMParabola(8,30,20,0,1,100,1) );
ReefAngel.PWM.SetChannel( 3, PWMSlope(7,30,21,0,1,100,90,1) );
////// Place your custom code below here


////// Place your custom code above here

// This should always be the last line
ReefAngel.Portal( "bruz4023" );
ReefAngel.ShowInterface();
}

void DrawCustomMain()

[lnevo]

Change the 1s to 0.

There are two in each function call. Get both. That should dim to 0% instead of staying at 1%.

[Bruz4023]

Ok but that doesn't fix the problem that they don't follow the schedule. The dimming module keeps them at the lowest setting and won't ramp up or down.

[Bruz4023]

OK so they are working now! BUT I have another problem I didnt realize that they were 0-10V pwm and i needed 0-5V pwm. i know that someone could easily change them BEFORE sending them to me and i guess I should have asked but is it simple enough for me the change it? i am an engineer not an electrical but still kinda capable at soldering. i did build my lights and they work well!

Is there something in the code that I could change to make the voltage ramp only from 0-5V and the pwm signal goes full cycle at 5V. I changed the code to only turn the lights up to 50% but forgot the pwm cycle frequency would not create a 100% square wave! I can be really dumb!

[rimai]

The newest modules are coming out with jumper selectable option.
If you got lucky, you got one of the new models.
What is the pcb board revision you have? Open the module and check or send photos.
Basically the newer models will come with jumper selectable option to change each channel individually between 0-5VDC and 0-10VDC signals.
In addition to that, you can also select between Analog and PWM signals.
So, it will be a universal dimming module that the user can choose which signal they choose.
I have not made the announcement yet and can't guarantee which one you got.

[lnevo]

Awesome!

[Bruz4023]

That is awesome i just checked and i do have those jumper pins now just have to get some jumpers THANK YOU! yall are awesome! I cant wait to get it up and running and try the weather program!

[lnevo]

The weather program won't install on that dimming module and work is being done to port it to the head unit.

[Bruz4023]

that is so upsetting! dam these lights disappointment after disappointment!

I dont understand what you mean? obviously i know that it wont work but i didnt think anything installs on the dimming module right? it wont work with the module? is it that the new module wont work with that program or just any dimming module? I am not being a dick and correcting you i just dont know coding well enough to know how stuff works!

how hard would it be to fix this? maybe I could figure it out (not likely but maybe!)?

I know your busy helping everyone, but is updating that program on your list? maybe near the top? if it is could there be an option in the main menu to activate a storm cloud? so we could show off the tank!

[Bruz4023]

The weather program won't install on that dimming module and work is being done to port it to the head unit.

I kinda missed that line what does "port it to the head unit" mean? treat me like i am stupid with terminology! i understand the hardware but the software is my weak point!

[lnevo]

The current "weather" software that is posted in the forum is intended to install directly on the older style dimming modules which were themselves their own controller. The new modules are "dumb" but obviously have a lot more features (0-5v or 0-10v and pwm or analog in one box...) so unfortunately this won't work directly.

The head unit is the main RA controller. There is no reason if you have the RA+ that the software can't run there, but a lot of it needs to be changed. I'm not the one currently doing this work and don't really have the time or the hardware in which to do it.

That's not to say that you can't have some cloud effects. I think there's a simpler version that Roberto had posted somewhere that can be installed on the RA and provide what you've requested. Don't get too frustrated, there's been a lot of growth recently and a lot of changes and everyone is working quite hard to get things on the software end caught up. Roberto is just a bit too fast for everyone's hectic schedules

[Bruz4023]

Ok Great I understand now! And I am so excited I keep telling everybody about RA and how it allows you to do anything! And I love how quickly people can help and how much trouble shooting that is already out there! I also love all the expansion modules but i do have another question!

what does the expansion module have that a usb splinter doesn't have? i just dont know why one is $49 and one is a couple bucks? i assume there is something important within that module!

[lnevo]

It isn't a USB splitter and there is no such thing as a usb splitter... I know... cause I looked. It's a hub for I2C, it just uses a USB connector, but it is not a USB signal.

[Sacohen]

The newest modules are coming out with jumper selectable option.
If you got lucky, you got one of the new models.
What is the pcb board revision you have? Open the module and check or send photos.
Basically the newer models will come with jumper selectable option to change each channel individually between 0-5VDC and 0-10VDC signals.
In addition to that, you can also select between Analog and PWM signals.
So, it will be a universal dimming module that the user can choose which signal they choose.
I have not made the announcement yet and can't guarantee which one you got.

Lee said it, but this is awesome.
I was going to ask about that if and when I got my LED's up an running with the Meanwell LDD drivers.
If I read this correctly you can have a mixture of Analog and PWM coming out of the same Dimming Module.

[rimai]

Not only 2 types of signal, but 2 voltages too.
So, you can have all these configurations:
0-5V Analog
0-5V PWM
0-10V Analog
0-10V PWM
This allows you to have the most flexibility out of a single module
AH... And this is on a per channel basis, so you could configure 2 channels 0-5V PWM, 2 channels 0-10V PWM and 2 channels 0-10V analog or any other combination you prefer
If I'm not mistaken, that gives 1296 possibilities...

[Sacohen]

Inflippincredible. You never cease to amaze me with what you come up with.
Thanks Roberto.