Digital Aquatics Archon Owners Thread

[kurt_n]

Originally Posted by FlyingFishSKYw

...
Can anyone tell my why my email alerts aren't working?

I'm using the same settings that worked on my RKL-NET (where xxx is my personal information):
Mail hub & port: mail.gmx.com 587...

Not a DA user, but I know the gmx mail service stopped playing nice with the Apex a couple years ago due to authentication issues. It might be the same issue with the Archon... just a guess. Try a different email provider as it might be an issue with the email gateway and not necessarily the device.

[FlyingFishSKYw]

I ended up using Gmail on the default port. Works good.

My Archon is now running the show. I don't have anything fancy, like dosing pumps or complex timers, though. My Ecoxotic Marine LED lights have their own controller and I'm using autotopoff.com's relay for my ATO. I'm thinking about hooking the float switch to the Archon and save the other relay for a future auto water change system.

The only "mission critical" thing is the float switch in my display tank. I've had an overflow due to a bubble in my siphon U-tube. Never again! Now if the water level gets high the switch triggers an alarm and the controller turns the return pump off.

Time will tell! I've jailbroken an old iPhone to use as a control/display. There is a jailbreak app called SleepDepriver that will keep the screen on. I'll mount it where my old ReefKeeper head unit used to be.

I'm really happy with the Archon's speed. It's much faster than the NET module was.

[SoloGarth]

Originally Posted by delmo

SoloGarth, DA's lack of customer service is incessant, and perpetual. I was a loyal customer for 5 years and their "out of the garage" like business aproach is madening. I have went with a full out Apex setup and couldn't be happier! And Neptune's customer service is Stellar! There isn't anything an Archon can do that an Apex can't, And I do Automatic water changes with my Dos, which let's me know how water transfers went down to the ml. I really enjoy MP40 wireless control (with their wave patterns or your own fully custom patterns). The Fusion Web interface is a no brainer without any port forwarding nightmares. The Auto feeder is just what this traveling guy needs to.

Delmo this is an Archon owners thread and this it isn't the right place to be pushing Neptune's system IMO.

It is frustrating that no one answers the phone at DA, however, I have had no problem at all in getting support from them via email and after leaving a voice message they have quickly returned my calls. There is also a great deal of quick support to be had from the users on DAs forum. The Archon can do (or will do) things that the Neptune system cannot because it is open source and can be programmed to do whatever the user would like.

My system did not work as it should and was not ready to control my tank due to the complexity of how I run things. Digital Aquatics made things right by agreeing to refund my purchase. Perhaps once the system has had a longer period over which to iron out the kinks I will try again. For now I trust the RKE to handle things.

[DaveMorris]

Originally Posted by delmo

There isn't anything an Archon can do that an Apex can't, And I do Automatic water changes with my Dos, which let's me know how water transfers went down to the ml.

Well, lets see...how about built in WiFi? How about user changeable interface via Linux open source?

Automatic water changes down to the ml can be done using the Archon and a DP1 module which is about 1/4 the cost of the DOS unit. However as Solo mentioned, this is an Archon users thread so poor taste in DA bashing and Apex praising. That all belongs in different threads.

[shellsea]

Right on Dave. Let us that are happy with DA enjoy sharing our knowledge and benefits among ourselves and those that choose other paths have their own forum to share their positive experiences and drop the trash talk from either forum.

[DaveMorris]

Originally Posted by shellsea

Right on Dave. Let us that are happy with DA enjoy sharing our knowledge and benefits among ourselves and those that choose other paths have their own forum to share their positive experiences and drop the trash talk from either forum.

Well, even as a DA beta tester I will freely admit that the customer support for a great many people has sucked. No other way to put it. However, I feel it is at least somewhat better and I hope getting better all the time. I just don't feel we need to pollute a valid thread that deals with a specific product by making it yet another re-hash of the other DA support bashing threads.

By the way, Eric just gave us a new update that seems to have corrected the timer issues.

[janes_mw]

Anyone know why the last HW update went from 1.08.7 back to 1.08.5?

[Pickupman66]

1.08.5 has auto - restarts built in thst 7 didnt. 6 was faulty so they had to push people to 7 to remove it.

[janes_mw]

Originally Posted by Pickupman66

1.08.5 has auto - restarts built in thst 7 didnt. 6 was faulty so they had to push people to 7 to remove it.

Ok, thanks! I just wanted to make sure it was "calculated"

Things looking pretty stable now. Pretty happy that things are moving forward now.

[Pickupman66]

Crickets in here. Since the Archon is Open source and allows you to customize the interface, what does yours look like???

Here is my home page. not much but the background changed, but I have more in the works.

[janes_mw]

[QUOTE=Pickupman66;23753715]Crickets in here. Since the Archon is Open source and allows you to customize the interface, what does yours look like??? Here is my home page. not much but the background changed, but I have more in the works.]


I just figured out how to do. This could be "dangerous"!

[shellsea]

will either of you share a step by step here or on DA site for us who are not as high tech savy?

[Pickupman66]

OK. to change the background image,

1. Just choose one of your liking. (id keep it under 1mb for speed of loading)
2. and then rename it "background_water.jpg" .
3. Then rename the file with the same name inside the www folder on your jump drive "background_water_bak.jpg" (so you save it).
4. and then place the file from step 2 here.
5. pop the drive in and boot your system back up.

OR::::


1. Place the file of your choice on the jump drive in the WWW folder
2. edit the style.css file. in line 41, just change where it says background_water.jpg to whatever your new image name is.
3. save and boot your system.

for this step, i use notepad++ to edit the file.

[shellsea]

Thanks Pick up. I will give it a try soon. Appreciate your sharing.

[Pickupman66]

new updates should hit you guys here soon if not already. Big fix I see is ability to edit standby names. also i believe the timer trigger is now working. I am testing that part today. Plus some other under the hood stuff.

[cardinalfish78]

I have been laying low in the forum reading as much as I could about the Archon, and hoping that indeed the unit would turn out to be a very useful device for my setup. BUT, now that I have had it for close to 2 weeks, I am feeling the frustration that so many have expressed. I remember last Thanksgiving waiting for the Archon to go on sale, and then nothing happening for weeks. I then decided to wait for a while and let the bugs get worked out, but as I am now witnessing, the thing wont even keep correct time for my time zone. Is there any way to set this thing back to zero without sending it back? I did an immediate backup of the USB stick, so I have the original files, but every time I have tried to set things back to the image I had when I received it, I can never get it quite like it was.

My opinion is, unless someone at DA gets on this forum, or the support forum from their website, and starts opening up about whats going on, and give some insights and time frames on future releases, I am going to have to write this thing off as junk!

[Pickupman66]

Cardinalfish. One thing about its design. If you have updates the software it will need to have the corresponding files on the usb to work properly. There are enhancements in the software and hardware that pull from the usb.

Da has been active on the support forum.


Now all thst said, the latest set has been rocking for me with just a small exception that will be addressed soon with triggering timers

[shellsea]

Cardinal fish, Sorry to hear you're having trouble. My time stays solid. I am in Central zone. Not sure if that plays a part in it. I have done updates. Software 1.09.9 and hardware 1.08.5. Good luck. Don't give up. It keeps getting better and DA support does seem to be listening and fixing any glitches in a timely fashion. I am by no means a guru with this stuff but running my alk/ca/kalk dosing w/ no issues as well as all other functions.

[n2585722]

I am also in the central time zone and it is still right on time. It has an uptime of 182 hours at the moment. Did you do a reset on the unit after the update to the latest firmware and files. You will have to go back to the Archon wifi server like when you first got the unit after the reset. It will ask for your UTC code which is -6 I believe for the central time zone. It also has a check box if it is currently daylight savings time. You will have to fill out the information for your wifi and you password and name if you changed them. I did this after the update. Make sure DST is checked on the system page and set the correct time if it is not correct. I have not setup the time since the updates. Hope this helps.

[shellsea]

This may be insignificant to most but since it is a forum and for sharing info I will point out that I discovered the clock does not change time during the time you are in the System screen. So if you set it and then monitor there it does not move. I am not sure if it is ticking away behind the screen while still there but I set time about 20 seconds ahead of real time, hit save and exit back to Home screen to get it as accurate as I can.

[cardinalfish78]

This morning I set everything back to original, and then applied the latest update (5/26/15) and restarted. The clock is currently set to the correct time. (I did this before and after about 36 hours it lost an hour) I will leave it alone for a day or 2 before I attempt any changes just to see what the time does.
One thing I noticed that I really don't like is, even though the alarms are sending emails to me, why doesn't the alarm page show the correct information in the 4 boxes? The only way I know for sure that it is working is to send a test.
Now, for the things I can not get working. I added an additional name and credentials to the "accesslist" file in the "db" folder, but It does nothing. Has anyone gotten this to work?
My server has a name, but I can not access it through a browser with anything other than its IP address. Is this working or not?
Can someone give me an example of how to access the Archon from outside of my home network? I have the port forwarded on the router for the Archon.

I know that many on this forum are way smarter with Linux and computers in general, but I think that there should be clear instructions on exactly how to run this thing. I have noticed remarks in this thread about certain actions require you to hit the "save" button twice in order for the changes to take place. I find that a little ridiculous. I have also noticed some users stating that they had problems and received answers via emails from DA. The problem with that is, they never pass on the information to the group that helped them fix their problem. We need to share those little tidbits so that we don't have to read 15 pages of information to find an answer. That is why I think it is so important for DA to be proactive with their "Support" pages.

by the way, Pickupman66 is a great example of sharing his knowledge with the group. He spells things out exactly how they need to be done. I do however have one question for you, could you define "soon" from your post about getting triggering timers resolved?

[Pickupman66]

I tried to address below.

Originally Posted by cardinalfish78

One thing I noticed that I really don't like is, even though the alarms are sending emails to me, why doesn't the alarm page show the correct information in the 4 boxes? The only way I know for sure that it is working is to send a test.

----- It does this as a security measure. IIRC the Net module didnt show your password. this just removes everything.

Now, for the things I can not get working. I added an additional name and credentials to the "accesslist" file in the "db" folder, but It does nothing. Has anyone gotten this to work?

---I haven't done this for a few updates but Ill see what I can do to test it.


My server has a name, but I can not access it through a browser with anything other than its IP address. Is this working or not?
Can someone give me an example of how to access the Archon from outside of my home network? I have the port forwarded on the router for the Archon.

---I use Dyndns to make mine work. you need to have a dynamic dns service to access it from the outside world. This works in conjunciton with your router or a client installed on a local PC that reports your current IP address to the DYN service. from there they translate it for you so that when you enter "youraddress.dyndns.org" it redirects it per their DNS service to your router. that said, once the cloud service is up and running, this will be a mute point. Fwiw, they are working on amazon backbone I believe.



I know that many on this forum are way smarter with Linux and computers in general,

---i dont know hardly anyting about computers, just an analytical mind

but I think that there should be clear instructions on exactly how to run this thing. I have noticed remarks in this thread about certain actions require you to hit the "save" button twice in order for the changes to take place. I find that a little ridiculous.
---I dont remember having to save twice...?....

I have also noticed some users stating that they had problems and received answers via emails from DA. The problem with that is, they never pass on the information to the group that helped them fix their problem. We need to share those little tidbits so that we don't have to read 15 pages of information to find an answer. That is why I think it is so important for DA to be proactive with their "Support" pages.

by the way, Pickupman66 is a great example of sharing his knowledge with the group. He spells things out exactly how they need to be done. I do however have one question for you, could you define "soon" from your post about getting triggering timers resolved?

--- Soon as in US BETA testers have an update coming this week that is supposed to resolve it. I wont get to play with it until next week as i am going to Bonnaroo.

[gablett]

So I just ordered my Archon system. Used a reef keeper elite and net module for many years. How seamless will the transition be? Im sure I will have to program everything again but is it as simple as plug it in in place of the head unit and go to town? I can get rid of the head unit, the net module, and the sl1 right? Any help with this will be greatly appreciated!!

[shellsea]

I am sure others who are more tech savvy will chime in but at a bare minimum go to DA support forum check Archon hints and tips. One for sure is about your older power bars needing to be refreshed first.

[DaveMorris]

Originally Posted by gablett

So I just ordered my Archon system. Used a reef keeper elite and net module for many years. How seamless will the transition be? Im sure I will have to program everything again but is it as simple as plug it in in place of the head unit and go to town? I can get rid of the head unit, the net module, and the sl1 right? Any help with this will be greatly appreciated!!

Prior to disconnecting your RKE head unit, do a factory reset on everything. I would also do a fresh firmware update on the PC4s. There is some information that is stored in the PC4 and it needs to be cleared out. Also, go to the Digital Aquatics website and download the user manual. There are a few features on the Archon that haven't been updated in the manual, but it will help a lot in initial programming. You can find the manual under the Archon tab under downloads.