RAYSHOBBY.NET

The initial version of the interval schedule program is now available for download in my GitHub page:
https://github.com/rayshobby/opensprinkler

Note that all demo programs are moved to the Libraries->OpenSprinkler->examples directory. This makes it easy to load a demo program in Arduino. For example, once you put the OpenSprinkler library in your Arduino’s Libraries path, you can access a demo program by following the screenshot below:

And here is a screenshot of the interval schedule program:

Basically, it allows you to set an interval and duration for each station. In the above example, stations 1 and 2 are scheduled to be on for 20 seconds every 4 hours, stations 3 and 4 are scheduled to be on for 20 seconds every 6 hours, and the remaining four stations are scheduled to be on for 5 minutes every 50 minutes. So it’s pretty simple.

An added feature is that if more than 1 stations are scheduled to be on at the same time, they will be serialized: in other words, the controller will turn on each station one after another instead of simultaneously. The serialization is activated by setting the Multi-Station value to 0.

The program is still in a primitive state, and I am working to strengthen it so that it can support a weekly schedule. Basically, the idea is to allow the user to add any number of schedule items, where each item contains a list of selected stations, days in a week, start time, end time, interval, and duration. For example, you can specify an item like ‘schedule stations 1, 2 and 5 for every Monday and Wednesday, start at 8am and end at 6pm, turn them on for 5 minutes every 4 hours’. You can add as many schedule items as you want, or modify them later. This will make the OpenSprinkler schedule algorithm significantly more flexible and powerful. So stay tuned!

Yup, you heard it right, version 1.2u of OpenSprinkler will debut at Maker Faire Bay Area on May 19 and 20. If you are going to Maker Faire, you are welcome to drop by and see our live demos. I started working on v1.2u shortly after releasing v1.1, and we were lucky to get the PCBs and components just in time for Maker Faire. The PCBs and components are shipped directly there, so it is not yet available for online purchase until May 23. But it is available for purchase at the Maker Faire and will be available online shortly after that.

So what’s new in this version? The main improvement is an on-board USB programmer. Specifically it’s a USBtiny ISP programmer built on a pre-programmed ATtiny45. USBtiny is one among many choices to directly program an AVR microcontroller without using a bootloader. The main advantages are that it is low cost (costs just a couple of dollars) and it enables the entire program space on ATmega328 (since no bootloader is needed). It is based on a post by Tequals0 and this version makes use of the internal clock and PLL on ATtiny45 to implement USBtiny with only three external resistors. Very elegant. With the on-board USB programmer, you don’t need any external programmer any more. Note that this version is named v1.2u, where u refers to the USB connectivity.

The second change is that some components have been replaced to adopt more common parts, including the switching regulator, the Ethernet jack, and the LCD. Also, there is now a rain sensor screw terminal, and a pinout for sensing power loss. The program will be updated to support these features soon. Another change is that the LCD pin assignment is slightly modified to free up analog pin 1, which is useful for talking to sensors. Finally, the extension board connector is also updated to use more common 2×3 pin header and cable. Note that this is still compatible with the previous version of extension board. If you have the previous version of extension board, it still works with v1.2u by switching a pin on the extension cable.

If you are interested, check the detailed release notes here and the release video below.

You heard it right: we are going to this year’s Maker Faire at San Mateo, California on May 19 & 20!

We will be giving live demonstrations of the OpenSprinkler, AASaver, and two exciting upcoming open-source projects: OpenSprinkler Bee (battery-operated sprinkler controller), and SquareWear (a compact wearable electronics platform). If you are planning to go to Maker Faire, please make sure to drop by our booth (Maker # 7870). If you haven not decided, Maker Faire is a really fun event. You won’t regret it. So make your travel plan today!

After several weeks of hard work, I am excited to announce that OpenSprinkler v1.1 is now available!

So what’s new in this version? The biggest improved feature is hardware support for arbitrary (>8) number of stations through extension boards. This was actually quite easy to implement: the main hardware change is added pinouts for the 74HC595 shift register, which allows cascading additional shift registers to expand the number of stations. The latest software has also been updated to generically support any number of stations. So this leads to a very economic way to expand the number of stations, which is often very expensive with commercial sprinkler timers.

Another change is that the station terminals now use a common wire + individual station wire design, compatible with commercial sprinkler timers.

Other minor changes include an added 750mA fuse for current protection, and added RTC pinouts to support external I2C RTC breakout board.

Check detailed Release Notes here. The kit is now available in my hobby shop. You can get it either as a DIY kit, or a fully assembled and tested product. Detailed assembly instructions can be found here.

V1.1 Update Video

Link to the previous (v1.0) release video.

The OpenSprinkler software (specifically svc_demo and vc_simple_web) have been quite outdated since October last year, and I am increasingly unhappy with the issues in them. I’ve also received several requests for added features and improved user interface. Over this weekend, I have finally pulled myself together and made some updates to these programs. Here is a list of major changes:

• Created the OpenSprinkler Arduino library, which makes it easy for code re-use.
• Added support for arbitrary number of stations. This is probably one of the most common features requested, and it’s now generically supported in software. This will go well with the upcoming hardware update v1.1. The main additions of v1.1 are on-board pinouts and connectors to link extension boards. Each extension board consists of just a shift register, triacs, resistor networks and terminal blocks. So this is a simple and inexpensive way to scale up to potentially a large number of stations.
• Added a self-test mode and removed the manual schedule mode. The self-test mode can be activated by holding button B1 during startup.
• External EEPROM now stores data in NOT format (i.e. ~value instead of value), eliminating the un-initialized EEPROM issue.
• The new svc_button_ctrl and svc_full_schedule programs. These make use of the new OpenSprinkler library and replace the previous svc_simple_web and svc_demo programs (which are now in the archived folder).

You can get a copy of the updated programs from my GitHub download page. They are backward compatible with the previous version of OpenSprinkler, so you can feel free to give them a try on your current hardware.

In order to use the OpenSprinkler library, just copy the library folder to your Arduino’s libraries directory, and then in your main code, add:


#include<OpenSprinkler.h>
OpenSprinkler svc;
void setup() {
  svc.begin();
  svc.options_setup();
}


This will create an OpenSprinkler object called svc. Check OpenSprinkler.h in the library folder for all class member functions, and the svc_button_ctrl and svc_full_schedule for examples of writing your own code. A few simpler examples will be added to the library later.

The hardware update v1.1 will be available in a week or so. I am still finishing up some documentations, but that shouldn’t take long.

For the curious ones, here are some screen shots of webpages from the new programs. These examples show 24 stations:

svc_button_ctrl

svc_full_schedule