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FADU F-stop Enlarger Timer App for Android
Bob
20th August 2018
FADU F-STOP ENLARGER TIMER



The project files for the FADU F-stop Enlarger Timer have now been moved to GitHub as that is a more appropriate place to maintain the project - but read on for an overview and release...
  #40  
By Bob on 9th August 2020, 11:07 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Britman View Post
Excellent, what would be an acceptable response time, are we looking at just a few milliseconds?

Sent from my ONEPLUS A6013 using Tapatalk
Ideally within a couple of tens of ms but more important is repeatability. If the time to switch on or off varies widely then it becomes impossible to get an accurate time.

This is why using an internet connected socket becomes useless - a two second delay is fine as long as it is always two seconds, but of course, it will vary from a half a second to several seconds which is hopeless. Even connecting to your local WiFi router will introduce varying delays, albeit smaller ones. That is why I designed the app to connect the Android device directly to the power switch rather than go through the home router. It's an extra hassle to connect to it, but it removes all those varying delays (it also means the power switch is not connected to the Internet, which is a good thing given the amount of IOT hacking going on!)

My Basic R3 will be delivered tomorrow and I can have a play
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  #41  
By Britman on 9th August 2020, 11:11 AM
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Awesome, I'll hold off buying one myself until you've tested it. 👍

Sent from my SM-T810 using Tapatalk
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  #42  
By mesires on 17th August 2020, 01:20 PM
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Originally Posted by Bob View Post
Hi Daniel.

1) I considered it - also thought about using the web server contained in the re-flashed switch firmware for the same purpose but decided it was too much hassle for a small advantage. The start-delay with count-in ticks can help if you need time to get ready before it starts counting.

2) Sorry, too much hassle again. The blocks-style coding used by App Inventor makes even moderately complex programming logic very difficult. It's fine for simple stuff, but as soon as you need to add control logic beyond a few lines, it becomes unwieldy. If I ever get around to learning to code Android in native code then I will revisit it.

3) An OLED screen uses active LEDs in the display which physically light up whereas LCD displays use a backlight shining through coloured LCD pixels that are switched from opaque (almost no back-light gets through) to clear. The "almost" bit is why you can get fogging with an LCD screen as some green and blue light gets through an OFF pixel). This results in much purer colours in an OLED display, reducing the chances of fogging as the App only uses different intensities of red.

But, if your LCD phone is not causing issues then I would just stick with that - I don't have any OLED devices myself.
Hi Bob,
thank you for your feedback and detailed answer!

Re 1) You are right. I use the test strips mode in AUTO mode and it is really good. No problem with that.

One additional question: Is there a way how to turn off the green led inside the Sonoff Basic???
I think I have read all the posts in this thread but have missed any such information.

Daniel
Last edited by mesires; 17th August 2020 at 01:26 PM..
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  #43  
By Bob on 18th August 2020, 01:48 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mesires View Post
Hi Bob,
thank you for your feedback and detailed answer!

Re 1) You are right. I use the test strips mode in AUTO mode and it is really good. No problem with that.

One additional question: Is there a way how to turn off the green led inside the Sonoff Basic???
I think I have read all the posts in this thread but have missed any such information.

Daniel
Hi Daniel. The LED is controlled separately by the Sonoff board so the firmware I added cannot affect it. Two options I have done: cover it with some tape (I used a bit of black paper under the tape for extra effect) or, I have also used a pair of pliers to grab and twist it off the board! But you may not want to do this if this is your only Sonoff device as there is a small chance of damage to the board.

Cheers, Bob.
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  #44  
By mesires on 18th August 2020, 05:54 PM
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Originally Posted by Bob View Post
Hi Daniel. The LED is controlled separately by the Sonoff board so the firmware I added cannot affect it. Two options I have done: cover it with some tape (I used a bit of black paper under the tape for extra effect) or, I have also used a pair of pliers to grab and twist it off the board! But you may not want to do this if this is your only Sonoff device as there is a small chance of damage to the board.

Cheers, Bob.
Hi Bob,
thank you for the answer. I hoped it would be possible to turn off within the FADU code. But I guess if it was possible, you would have already done it ...
I will go the MacGyver way then

Daniel
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  #45  
By Britman on 18th August 2020, 06:25 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bob View Post
Ideally within a couple of tens of ms but more important is repeatability. If the time to switch on or off varies widely then it becomes impossible to get an accurate time.



This is why using an internet connected socket becomes useless - a two second delay is fine as long as it is always two seconds, but of course, it will vary from a half a second to several seconds which is hopeless. Even connecting to your local WiFi router will introduce varying delays, albeit smaller ones. That is why I designed the app to connect the Android device directly to the power switch rather than go through the home router. It's an extra hassle to connect to it, but it removes all those varying delays (it also means the power switch is not connected to the Internet, which is a good thing given the amount of IOT hacking going on!)



My Basic R3 will be delivered tomorrow and I can have a play
Hi Bod,
Did you have a tinker with the basic R3?

Sent from my SM-T810 using Tapatalk
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  #46  
By Bob on 22nd August 2020, 06:49 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Britman View Post
Hi Bod,
Did you have a tinker with the basic R3?

Sent from my SM-T810 using Tapatalk
I did - and had some issues talking to it... Also, in API mode, it still uses your local wifi router so some delays will be introduced there. I was hoping to be able to command the API directly via its built-in Access Point but that appears to only be used for setting up its connection to your local wifi.

That being the case I have decided to drop that idea and investigate reprogramming it with the timer firmware via OTA in a similar way people do with Tasmota (which has the advantage that other people have already done that!). I have a few other things on the go atm so it may be a week or so before I can have a serious look.

Cheers, Bob.
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  #47  
By tillari on 25th January 2021, 02:35 PM
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Hello Bob,
I'll try to use the sonoff device. I can by a sonoff r2 or r3. Does the code work on the R3? Can I reprogram it via OTA?
Thanks a lot,
Ariel
Last edited by tillari; 25th January 2021 at 03:00 PM..
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  #48  
By Bob on 25th January 2021, 05:42 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tillari View Post
Hello Bob,
I'll try to use the sonoff device. I can by a sonoff r2 or r3. Does the code work on the R3? Can I reprogram it via OTA?
Thanks a lot,
Ariel
Hi Ariel. Sorry, I have not tried it properly on the new R3 (OTA or otherwise). I had intended to try but did not get around to it and used my R3 for something else...

I expect it will still work OK - as long as they have not changed the i/o ports etc. - and even if they have, the sonoff code is on github and is trivial to change.

Good luck!
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  #49  
By tillari on 25th January 2021, 11:02 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bob View Post
Hi Ariel. Sorry, I have not tried it properly on the new R3 (OTA or otherwise). I had intended to try but did not get around to it and used my R3 for something else...

I expect it will still work OK - as long as they have not changed the i/o ports etc. - and even if they have, the sonoff code is on github and is trivial to change.

Good luck!
Thanks Bob,
Another question. I have a router that I’m not using. I can configure a special wifi network with only the router, the phone and the sonoff, without internet connection. If I configure the sonoff r3 in that network (without flashing the firmware), does the timer app work? Or it needs your firmware on the device to talk with the app?
I’m sorry for the questions, buy I’m trying to avoid the solder part of the process.
Thanks again.
Ariel
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