Reef Angel Forum

Greetings!
New here, pretty sure this will be my next controller as it seems to fit the bill for my needs. On top of that, I'm pretty excited of being able to edit functionality. (my last controller was pretty dumbed down and charged more for less functionality, but we won't name names )

A little about myself, I'm an avid software programmer and computer science kind of guy. I did it as a hobby for years as computers are my passion, then decided I might try it out as a job, it paid off.

I do have a few questions about the RA setup. Has anyone tried to add any touchscreens as the main interface to the whole unit? Perhaps it would be a "remote display"..

I guess now that I'm thinking about it as well, what's up with ReefAI? I see they have not shipped yet, there's some blurb about they're going to ship to testers soon, but no release date info. Oh, and that's besides the fact they're no longer reefai but reefpom? And they're trying to push Reef Angel interaction?
I like their stats of dual/quad cores, but I'm no newb so I know that's a bit overkill for sensor work and scheduled outlet on/off events.. hehe

I'm pretty familiar with C, C++, C#, and numerous other programming languages that probably don't apply.(lots of .net experience as that's what I prefer) Has anyone got a good place to start for an overview of the system from a code perspective? I saw the GitHub site with the source there, but was wondering if there's any generic high level documents.

Also, since we're dealing with the Arduino here and I've yet to venture into the hardware section of that, is there any good places that might bring me up to speed on hardware assembly other than the main Arduino site?

Thanks very much! I'm sure I'm asking some redundant questions, but better to ask than assume!

You will love the RA!

I believe there have been some experiments with touchscreens, but I just have a cheap android tablet by my tank running the Reef Angel Status app 24/7 (it's dedicated to that). It's hard to justify the price of a proprietary touch screen when you can get a tablet for $60.

Welcome!

--Colin

Ahh good point! I do believe there's some real nice and cheap tablets now.

Requirements are minimal. You just need something with a decent, readable screen (cheap tablet screens vary widely, some are truly horrible) and a more recent version of Android. The 7" I'm using now was a Best Buy special for $50.

--Colin

im new as well to the reef angel world......im working on a 300g project. i was debating wiping a laptop but if i can use a tablet that would be a cheaper alternative. if i use an android tablet will there be any issues with using a webcam/security camera to see the tank when im not there? and last question would be what brands would you guys suggest to stay away from? thanks again

The camera would work independently. Make sure you get an internet (ip) camera and not just a webcam.

As far as tablets, just go to the store and pick the size and price you like. Turn it on to make sure you can live with the display (bright enough, good enough viewing angle) and you're done.

--Colin

Is programming the camera device into it's own mode not work?
I was using teamviewer with an old laptop setup next to the tank.. hehe

There is no module for the camera. You'd use a standard webcam and associated tools. The portal does have a box you can put your cameras url in so you can have it all on one view.

You want something you can view from the internet. How you accomplish that is up to you.

--Colin

perfect.....the wife already has a kendal fire that she isnt using. thatll work fine. thx