ACIII or ACIII Pro user- help and idiot (me)

[jmaneyapanda]

So, I would like the opportunity to monitor my tank from away from home, and The AC line seems to be it. So, what, exactly, is needed to do this? The specs for the units (ACII and ACII pro) say they both have an ethernet port, web server, and a telnet server. What the heck doies that mean? What will I need? Do I have connect a hard line ethernet line to the controller, or will my wireless router work. Why am I so dumb with computers?

 

[sailfish]

I want to know the same thing. Lets get a group buy started.

Joe

 

[grouper therapy]

I'm in! Don't feel bad .I'm lost as last years easter eggs about that stuff too.

 

[realfish]

Don't feel bad. I already bought one and I'm not sure how to do it. Figured I'd bribe one of the IT guys at work.

 

[oz]

You can run a direct ethernet line from your home router to the AC3 or do what I did and use a wireless access point if you already have a wireless network at your house (or shack in the middle of the woods)

You'll need to assign the controller an IP address and subnet gateway, easiest to use your network IP +10 on the end or so - I can walk you through that, easy. IP should look something like 192.168.0.99 - the gateway stays the same, something like 255.255.255.0.

Then from your pc, enter in that IP in your browser. If you can see it, cool. If not, the IP is not setup properly.

If you are setting up a wireless access point, it will need to be configured in a similar manner. You'll also need to setup some port forwarding on your main wireless router so when you try to access it from the outside world, you can get all the way to your controller.

Either way, once you get it all running you can access it from inside your house. Unless you have a static IP, you'll need to setup a free dynamic DNS service to so you can access the controller from the web outside your house. (most ISP's do not give static IPs unless you pay extra, this means the IPs the ISP's give you for internet change) Think of it like the phone company giving you phone service but randomly changing your number all the time.

A dynamic DNS service runs a little app on your home computer to update your IP address. So to see your controller you will type in pandamaniac.dnsalias.com or whatever you choose. just google dynamic dns.

This was my experience, there may be other ways to do it but it's pretty cool seeing my controller from my BB Bold and getting email alerts to the alarms I set.

Hope this helps.

 

[jmaneyapanda]

Oz;332007 wrote: You can run a direct ethernet line from your home router to the AC3 or do what I did and use a wireless access point if you already have a wireless network at your house (or shack in the middle of the woods)

You'll need to assign the controller an IP address and subnet gateway, easiest to use your network IP +10 on the end or so - I can walk you through that, easy. IP should look something like 192.168.0.99 - the gateway stays the same, something like 255.255.255.0.

Then from your pc, enter in that IP in your browser. If you can see it, cool. If not, the IP is not setup properly.

If you are setting up a wireless access point, it will need to be configured in a similar manner. You'll also need to setup some port forwarding on your main wireless router so when you try to access it from the outside world, you can get all the way to your controller.

Either way, once you get it all running you can access it from inside your house. Unless you have a static IP, you'll need to setup a free dynamic DNS service to so you can access the controller from the web outside your house. (most ISP's do not give static IPs unless you pay extra, this means the IPs the ISP's give you for internet change) Think of it like the phone company giving you phone service but randomly changing your number all the time.

A dynamic DNS service runs a little app on your home computer to update your IP address. So to see your controller you will type in pandamaniac.dnsalias.com or whatever you choose. just google dynamic dns.

This was my experience, there may be other ways to do it but it's pretty cool seeing my controller from my BB Bold and getting email alerts to the alarms I set.

Hope this helps.

Yeah, thats what I thought too. I was gonna check the specs on the gurters with the.....w-w-w-w-what? I have no idea what any of that meant.

 

[haninja]

Maybe instead of frag demo we need to do Networking 101.
Let's try to put this in easy terms:
Your controller has an Ethernet port which means he has to be physically connected to the router. What Chris was trying to explain is that there is a way to connect the controller to an existing wireless network using an access point. in order to keep it simple, lets say you are able to connect it to your router. Most likely, your router is already configured to assign an internal IP address to any device on your network. You will need to find out what this address is. Once you have found it you can access your controller web page using

 

[jmaneyapanda]

Better......

I do have an iphone, which has an app to specifically montior this unit. First, and formost, I need to buy a ACIII.

I guess my question is, according to the specs I stated, Does there need to be a physical connection from the controller to the wireless router? If so, I am dead ended, because I cant/wont do this.

 

[thewarbrd]

You can buy a wireless bridge which you can plug the controller into and the bridge will talk to your main wireless router, so no network cable across the house, but at least to the bridge which can sit right next to the tank.

Something like one of these:

 

[grouper therapy]

Are you guys speaking ancient hebbrew ,gaelic. what language is this. lol
i think i will hire one of you to set mine up

 

[realfish]

ares;332123 wrote: funny thing is, the instructions in the ACIII book are like... 4 short lines. and yet somehow I got it all setup from that by itself.

now if that doesnt work... uh oh.

What kind of favors do you need?

I'll be asking plenty of questions when it come time.

 

[jmaneyapanda]

So, I have a Belkin wireless router on my home PC. Is this what I need?

 

[kernelpanic]

Aw, come on, just pull the cable. All you'll need is a CAT 5e spool, crimp tool, RJ-45 jacks and/or CAT5e keystone jacks, line tester, punch down tool and a 598b wiring diagram. I mean I have all that in my basement.

But yeah that looks like it.

 

[jmaneyapanda]

I dont even have a basement. And have no idea what those words meant.

 

[grouper therapy]

Sadly i know what most of it is and have no clue what to do with it

 

[jmaneyapanda]

thansk bro. evrythings on order, so once its here, ill hit you up for some advice.

 

[jmaneyapanda]

OK, the AC3, DC8, and probes arrived. However, I am dumber than I thought. I dont understand the programming in the manual at all. Regarding naming timers, selecting values, etc etc etc.

Who wants to help me?

Essentially, I want to control my various lighting, pH control my topoff (through a kalk mixer), and some other incidental. Nothing major. I havent even got the ethernet bridge or start with the data logging acquisition. I suck.

 

[jmaneyapanda]

OK, fumbled my way through Programming the basic. Is there a reference to what the timer program prompts are? I have no idea what many of them are.

 

[steve]

Here's ya answer Jeremy...

 

[jmaneyapanda]

ares;336569 wrote: timer program prompts? not sure what that means.

my timers are just

If Time > 8:00 Then LT1 ON
If Time > 20:00 Then LT1 OFF

and so on, fill in the times that you want of course. and repeat for all applicable lights.

you can also use the SUN function. which changes the time with seasons, unfortunatly it can only be adjusted by 2 hours in either direction. which is done with the 000/000, first set is for turning on, 2nd for off, and you can go from -120min to +120min from the normal schedule.

am I answering what your asking? I have no idea...

I dont understhe languaging on the programming. for example, there is apparently 4 different feed modes (?)- A,B,C, and D. Beleive it or not, I can actually used 2. However, I have one channel named SMP for my sump pump. However, whhen I go to program the feed timer, it says "If feed, 0000, turn SMP off". In the place of the 0000, the numbers can be changed. WHat the heck does this mean? Its not the feed time, because that is set elsewhere. So, how do I find out what this means? Its not in the manual, or the website.