Vertex Cerebra - hands on

[FarmerTy]

Hello MAAST,

I was willing to be a guinea pig for the new Vertex Cerebra controller that is coming out to market in beta form. It is android-based and packs a nice touch screen LCD.

While I won't get into the technical details as you can look them up online, I will try to document my interaction with it for setup and programming.

I unboxed it this late afternoon and started to set it up.

Boxed
http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160722/dab31bb4566b2ab09fe6cefb709378de.jpg

Unboxed
http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160722/0099375d6237b0625df465dd1e73b8de.jpg

Screen and main head unit
http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160722/1c6f1d216638b967d27402d0aaee4408.jpg

Connections on back of head unit (notice the wifi dongle included)
http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160722/a266e5d4f494a30ad94f29916bde88f2.jpg

Front of multibar (powerstrip with most of the connections for probes and sensors)
http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160722/0fbaaa9c0b069f2a6657f690816f3e4f.jpg

Back of multibar where all the goodies get plugged into to.
http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160722/1c150b8500df7c2f9f8f4df3b75b86f1.jpg

Regular powerstrip
http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160722/afab91c11ad3b8b4f6d872ed50503d43.jpg
http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160722/8235f6006a3ff16bdf61f097f8fff28a.jpg

Temp probe with LED indicator lights
http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160722/922a058298f44758e36d668b6d726c93.jpg

[FarmerTy]

My favorite interactions so far with the controller is the ease of adding probes and calibrating them, the ability to use a wireless USB mouse and keyboard with the system, and the fancy touchscreen. Alright, using the built-in browser was pretty cool too. I know some have installed angry birds just to say that they played it on their controller but I see no point. Though having the option to is cool though. http://www.austinreefclub.com//public/style_emoticons/default/grin.png

My least favorite interactions so far is that the firmware was super outdated out of the box and needed to be updated ASAP. Unfortunately, the wi-fi is still giving me issues and causes my controller to lock up within a few minutes of being on. Once I turn it off, it is smooth sailing but it took a couple hours of tech support and trying to download firmware updates before it freezes before I could figure out what was wrong. At one point, the whole system crashed but fortunately the firmware update took care of the issue besides the lingering wi-fi issue. For now, I am connected via ethernet.

I wanted to try the VNC connection out but sadly, I can only view it and not control the controller via my laptop. Basically, the VNC connection allows me to mirror the controller on my laptop or other device and control it remotely. While I can see my controller on my laptop, for some reason I can't control it like others can. I'm sure its user error on this one for me, unlike the wi-fi issue which I believe is a software issue.

Anyways, I'm going to call it a night and if I have time sometime this weekend, start plugging in devices for it to control and program it. I was just happy to be able to get all my sensors (pH, ORP, and temp) hooked up and running on the system. Oh, I don't think I even mentioned but I'm running it on my frag tank for a long test period before it ever even sees my display tank. I like to experiment but I'm not crazy!

[FarmerTy]

So high-tech, it even knew my name! :p http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160722/ffeb2905fc3c135d12ceda0ae0cd4b06.jpg

[alton]

Thanks for the review, my only complaint has been the way it was promoted and released. And not really a complaint but for me it is the size of both the controller and power bar, if I had a fish room it would be nice, but making it work on my tanks it takes up too much room. I hope it works out for you long term

[FarmerTy]

It was annoying that it was delayed almost a month and had little details about the product. Blame the "beta" phase or not, it still was a bit aggravating for sure.

Honestly, all I hear online is the complaints of the size of the controller and power bars and once I got it in my hands, I can say the powerbar complaints are warranted as they are HUGE but the control box is surprisingly not obtrusive for its size. Not sure if I'm explaining myself well but I know its big, but when you hold it, it doesn't feel or really look that crazy big. Either case, it's going on a 215-gallon tank so respective to its environment, it'll look like it fits. I think I'd laugh a bit if it was hooked up to my old nanocube.

So far it's been very promising but I'm only skin deep right now. We'll see... otherwise, I still have my two Apex units to fallback on. Just wanted to give this thing an honest shake and it has been good so far minus a few hiccups in the beginning.

[FarmerTy]

While I don't think it'll dethrone the king at its current beta stage, I do like the added competition. We'll just all win out when the companies all try to win our favor.

I definitely see potential with this thing. Updates are as simple as one touch of a button, open programming structure for those app nerds (imagine an app for water changes) and for the wannabe nerds life myself that only excel in stealing code, and a development team that is constantly on the Cerebra forum literally taking our "want lists" back to developers and programming the code into the next firmware revision after thorough testing. The collaborative effort between beta tester and developer is inspiring and I'm glad I have the opportunity to be in the frontline of it. Perfect example is someone wanting to hook up a Kessil. Since Vertex is just about to release the developer package to 3rd party peripheral companies, the hope is a lot of this will be taken care of via manufacturer. Some companies might just sit back and wait for the manufacturer to sort it out but the techs were on the forum asking about the Kessil, what type of hook up he was currently using, researched the connection, and provided a wiring solution to the poster. Then proceeded to say that he will push this to development and asked to give a 1-month timeframe to get the proprietary connector cable made for it. Wow! Instead of just waiting for Kessil to jump aboard the Cerebra train, they troubleshot it, developed their own cable, and is promising to have it ready and shipped in a month's time!

I don't mean this statement to bash Apex as I still love my two units I'm running but I can't remember a time when I even had direct customer tech support from Neptune over the last 6 years other than here is your RMA and send the unit in. Both times, it cost me $150 for a full board replacement and a vague description on why they needed to replace the whole board. Neptune tech support consisted of jumping on the Neptune forum, not calling someone. I picked up the phone and called Vertex and one ring later, the same US tech support guy I see all over the Cerebra forum picked up the phone and walked me through the process. That easy. It was refreshing.

[alton]

Checking back to see if you still luv this thing?

[FarmerTy]

Checking back to see if you still luv this thing?
Hey Alton, I'm a terrible reviewer as life has been a little busy for me to mess with it much. It did its job keeping my frag tank alive but I haven't messed much with it since initial setup. I hope to be able to give it more time in the next couple of weeks.

[FarmerTy]

So, we finally have beta cloud access. It's still in its infancy but looks promising so far.

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160909/8df5f791b4e965d23264e28837b693ea.jpg

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160909/c778c71103e049ce6f767ec77d772156.jpg

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160909/15f1f59b62026166a2423deb93aa80f1.jpg

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160909/c8c52c0241805d4102a8a7a2fd239811.jpg

The first three pictures are just straight beta as you can see there are no bells and whistles regarding format and aesthetics. The last picture was an example one Vertex posted with some more refinements. I'm looking forward to the electrical cost calculator since it can monitor usage on every plug. It would be nice to know how much its costing me per month to run this monster. [emoji4] Hopefully mine isn't as expensive as their example tank. [emoji12]

[alton]

Since you can monitor your amperage, can you set it to turn off if it gets too high? Example 100 watt heater draws 1 amp, so you set it to turn off at 1.5 amp and send alarm when it shuts down? It would definitely help with exploding heaters!

[FarmerTy]

I know they have automatic alarms built in the the programming so that you can be alerted if your heater goes above a certain amperage. I'm sure its as simple as programming it to turn off if the condition is above your amperage ceiling limit.

[Awais98]

Anymore updates?


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[FarmerTy]

Anymore updates?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Oh man. I really wanted to give it a chance and play around with it but life kind of got in the way with me having a baby soon and work.

I got to program simple commands when I first got it and have it run my fish tub and QT but otherwise, never touched it since.

I actually packed it up last week and decided to sell it since it was just collecting dust at my house. I don't really have the time to play around with it and then down the road go through all the trouble of replacing my current Apex and reprogramming everything. My system is just too stable and happy to warrant doing all that and screwing something up!

That and my wife would prefer me to finish that baby room instead. :)

[Awais98]

Oh man. I really wanted to give it a chance and play around with it but life kind of got in the way with me having a baby soon and work.

I got to program simple commands when I first got it and have it run my fish tub and QT but otherwise, never touched it since.

I actually packed it up last week and decided to sell it since it was just collecting dust at my house. I don't really have the time to play around with it and then down the road go through all the trouble of replacing my current Apex and reprogramming everything. My system is just too stable and happy to warrant doing all that and screwing something up!

That and my wife would prefer me to finish that baby room instead. :)

Agree about the baby comes first!!



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk