We’ve just released a new OpenSprinkler Firmware Update program, with a video tutorial to walk you through the steps of how to upgrade your firmware. Hopefully this will make it easy for users to transition to the upcoming Firmware 2.1.0, which has a number of significant new features and improvements.
The new update program is written in Qt, and does not rely on Java any more. It’s cross-platform just like before. It also supports downloading the latest firmwares from the OpenSprinkler Github repository, and auto-detect of your OpenSprinkler hardware version. If you are a Windows user (especially Windows 8 and 8.1), you will still have to go through the hassle of installing driver. The video tutorial shows you a step-by-step guide of how to install driver.
For those who are interested in modifying the OpenSprinkler firmware code, I am experimenting with CodeBender.cc, which is a cloud-based Arduino platform. It’s really convenient in that it’s essentially a web-based Arduino IDE that runs in a browser; it also make it easy for people to share their code and modifications. I think its convenience will likely lower the barrier of programming, and motivate more users to modify OpenSprinkler firmware code to add custom functionality. I’ve made requests to add OpenSprinkler to their list of supported boards. Hopefully I will hear back from them soon!
I was eager to use this updated since I found the previous approach daunting. However, now when I connect with my iOS app, I get System Disabled, and can’t control anything. So not sure what happened here.
Also, I see that Manual Control is missing from the web interface. I hope that comes back. And even more so, I hope it stays on the iOS app when that works again for me because I use that more than anything.
As the forum post describes: the iOS app requires a few weeks to approve (well, gotta love Apple). In the mean time you can use the built-in web interface (just type in the device’s IP address in a browser), and that is the same with the app interface.
Regarding manual mode: please see the forum post. It’s removed in favor of run-once program and the test station feature.