Reef Angel Controller Review

[JimH]

Jim, yeah it's cool. I'm not a programmer and I have only had it for a few weeks. The only thing I want to really control on it is temp (failesafes), ph (dosing Kalk), and my ATO. Still trying to figure out the Wifi controllability piece of it as my issue is probably the 2000 port. But it's a work in progress.

Main not putting all my "eggs in one basket" to prevent a total system failure if my controller chokes. But I am very happy with it. Would I rather have done an Apex!? Maybe, it depends on all the expansions and additional times. Overall, I'm not complaining. Just a learning curve as is most of this hobby.

If I need help coding something can I hollar at you?

Yes, no problem.

[rrasco]

Hey Frogman,

Nice write up on the RA and its capabilities.

Did you get the base model or Plus?

The RA is based on the ATmega328P/ATmega5260, otherwise popularized by the Arduino microcontroller. The wizard that you ran to generate code is actually a clone of the Arduino IDE which has the RA wizard bundled with it.

My ReefAngel has been running just shy of 3 years and still going strong. My program is rather simple now, mainly relays and some sensors. I used to run DC pumps with a lot of custom code until I got some better powerhead controllers. My lights have their own controller too so I skip all that on the RA.

Are you still having issues getting outside access to your RA with the wireless module? I could assist you with that if you'd like. PM me if so.

[Frogman]

I have the plus. It's the PWM dimable version. I really like the controller but have been working to resolve a few coding issues I just haven't grasped yet. And yes that goofy wifi attachment is one of them. So I can see my controller on the website, when I am at home utilizing the test code, I can turn on/off ports. I have uploaded the Wifi parts to the code, but still not having luck accessing it through the web.

Many guess is that it has to do with the 2000 port being blocked, but I am not certain the best method to resolve it. I have accessed my firewall and tried to set it that way and that didn't work. In fact I had to reset defaults after doing what was "suggested". It was easy enough, but still no luck.

Im going to be trying it again tonight, I'm wondering if I need to plug in Ethernet to the router and set it from my computer. But the best method for that still eludes me.

if you can help me get that taken care of, there would be a frag in it for you!!!

id appreciate the help!

[rrasco]

Okay.

For clarification: You can see the controller through RA's portal? In order to do that you would have had to setup proper NAT on your router. This filters the external request to the internal device that will be responding (the RA).

Did you use the RA WiFi configuration tool to configure the wifi adapter?

By default, the RA wifi adapter listens on port 2000. This means you will be able to connect to the RA on your internal network using the local IP address of the RA and the designated port (2000 by default).

Do you know the IP of your RA? This will likely be in 192.168.1.x range depending on your local network. For example, I can connect to the RA from a device on the internal network (same as RA) by using something like this in a browser: 192.168.1.100:2000

That's all you need to connect internally. However, to talk to the RA from externally. That is, from the Internet, the portal, starbucks, wherever you are connected to the Internet that is NOT your local network.

You will need 2 things to accomplish this:

1) Your WAN IP. This is your address to the outside world, very similar to your home address but subject to change depending on your ISP. You can find your WAN IP by either checking your router if you know where to find it, or by simply visiting a site like: https://www.whatismyip.com/ Write this value down, it is your WAN IP.

2) An external port to NAT/forward to your local device. The default for the portal is 9150 and I have had trouble getting a non-default port to stick in the RA Portal, so I just use 9150.

So let's assume we are going to use 9150 as the external port. We will need to instruct the router to forward incoming requests from the WAN on port 9150 to the internal IP and port of the RA. This is port forwarding/translation in a nutshell. You typically don't have to define the WAN IP while configuring this, but you will need it to connect later.

[WAN_IP]:9150 --> [LAN_IP]:2000

Let's pretend our WAN IP is 1.1.1.1 and our LAN IP is 192.168.1.100. Your port forward would look something like this:

External Port: 9150
Internal IP: 192.168.1.100
Internal Port: 2000

Once this is configured, your router now knows to send incoming requests for port 9150 to the RA device on its listening port, 2000. 1.1.1.1:9150 is all you would need to establish a connection from externally.

This configuration can vary depending on your router. If you let me know which router you have I can give you more specifics on how to configure it.

Also, check out this document: http://reefangel.com/files/Reef%20An...ual%20v1.1.pdf

IIRC, I had to plug the wifi adapter into my computer via USB with the TTL cable that comes with it and run the initial config that way.

[JimH]

That's a great overview! I had to configure my wifi adaptor connected to my computer initially too. Also, I think sometimes a router provided by your ISP will not allow port forwarding by default. Getting that to work would be router-specific though.

[rrasco]

That's a great overview! I had to configure my wifi adaptor connected to my computer initially too. Also, I think sometimes a router provided by your ISP will not allow port forwarding by default. Getting that to work would be router-specific though.

That's correct. Most ISP provided routers would have port forwarding, virtual servers or NAT, but they are very low end and it usually doesn't work very well if at all. I'd never advocate someone using an ISP provided router for anything outside of casual browsing. This qualifies as outside of that.

[Frogman]

Okay.

For clarification: You can see the controller through RA's portal? In order to do that you would have had to setup proper NAT on your router. This filters the external request to the internal device that will be responding (the RA).

Did you use the RA WiFi configuration tool to configure the wifi adapter?

By default, the RA wifi adapter listens on port 2000. This means you will be able to connect to the RA on your internal network using the local IP address of the RA and the designated port (2000 by default).

Do you know the IP of your RA? This will likely be in 192.168.1.x range depending on your local network. For example, I can connect to the RA from a device on the internal network (same as RA) by using something like this in a browser: 192.168.1.100:2000

That's all you need to connect internally. However, to talk to the RA from externally. That is, from the Internet, the portal, starbucks, wherever you are connected to the Internet that is NOT your local network.

You will need 2 things to accomplish this:

1) Your WAN IP. This is your address to the outside world, very similar to your home address but subject to change depending on your ISP. You can find your WAN IP by either checking your router if you know where to find it, or by simply visiting a site like: https://www.whatismyip.com/ Write this value down, it is your WAN IP.

2) An external port to NAT/forward to your local device. The default for the portal is 9150 and I have had trouble getting a non-default port to stick in the RA Portal, so I just use 9150.

So let's assume we are going to use 9150 as the external port. We will need to instruct the router to forward incoming requests from the WAN on port 9150 to the internal IP and port of the RA. This is port forwarding/translation in a nutshell. You typically don't have to define the WAN IP while configuring this, but you will need it to connect later.

[WAN_IP]:9150 --> [LAN_IP]:2000

Let's pretend our WAN IP is 1.1.1.1 and our LAN IP is 192.168.1.100. Your port forward would look something like this:

External Port: 9150
Internal IP: 192.168.1.100
Internal Port: 2000

Once this is configured, your router now knows to send incoming requests for port 9150 to the RA device on its listening port, 2000. 1.1.1.1:9150 is all you would need to establish a connection from externally.

This configuration can vary depending on your router. If you let me know which router you have I can give you more specifics on how to configure it.

Also, check out this document: http://reefangel.com/files/Reef%20An...ual%20v1.1.pdf

IIRC, I had to plug the wifi adapter into my computer via USB with the TTL cable that comes with it and run the initial config that way.

Sweet! Send you a PM with a pic of my settings. Is that right?


It's in everyone's best interest to take care of those who take care of you. Support a local Veteran!

[Frogman]

Ok. I'm still not having any luck with this. Either one of you two care to help a brother out?


It's in everyone's best interest to take care of those who take care of you. Support a local Veteran!

[JimH]

I can try. When you are at home, can you see the reef angel in a web browser? For me, I type this URL into the browser (it is an IP address and a port number, so my reef angel is at 192.168.1.117 and talking on port 2000):

http://192.168.1.117:2000

And then I see this web page in my browser:
Reef Angel Controller Web Server

Are you able to do that much? If so, what is the address you use to see it in a browser at home (ip address and port number)?

[Frogman]

Yes Jim. I can do that much, the frustrating part is that through the app (iPhone) I get all zeros. And I can't seem to connect to the device away from the house. (Have that IP as well but won't post it here).

If I add Wifi at the end, I can see the web version of my RA App.

Like this:

Http://192.168.1.64:2000/wifi



It's in everyone's best interest to take care of those who take care of you. Support a local Veteran!