The Reef Angel, a new programmable controller, is coming to market and looks to be a great way to get a fully customizable controller at a lower cost relying more on DIY programming and some assembly rather than the turnkey products on the market today. While this may not be the best product suited for the typical reefer, those of us looking to sacrifice some time and energy for overall costs may appreciate this controller kit.
According to the company’s website, “Reef Angel is the first controller kit to offer the reefing hobbyist full control of hardware and software to accommodate all their reefing needs. At your fingertips is the ability to create the most sophisticated controller you will ever need. With a very simple to use interface and easy to learn programming language, Reef Angel will give you endless possibilities.”
The introductory price is $180 for the complete kit, which will give you the main controller, a relay box and communication cable along with a pH probe, three fully assembled waterproof temperature sensors, two float valves, power cord and serial converter cable. Additional options include a pulse width modulation (PWM) booster for Meanwell LED drivers, 1000 mA LED drivers, plus additional float switches, pH and temperature probes.
Based on the open source Arduino code, the Reef Angel will require some programming language skills that should be relatively easy to learn. The site does include some pre-formatted codes and with a robust open source community around Arduino, picking up the nuances shouldn’t be too hard. If the company can get some vocal early adopters on board, I’m sure new codes will begin to pop up on the company’s forum boards.
Below are some some more details on the components:
Main Board
- ATMega328P – microcontroller
- 2x 24LC256 – Serial I2C EEprom memory, one with jumper to block write access.
- pH circuit
- 128×128 color LCD screen
- DS3231 – Real time clock with battery backup
- Power LED
- Status LED, mainly used for alert and diagnostics.
- Thumb analog joystick
- 1x 8 Port I2C expander with inverter gate
- 1x 8 Port I2C expander with inverter gate circuit only (option to solder direct to circuit board)
- Routed enclosure, mounting screws and assembly instructions
Relay Box
- Assembled PCB board
- 8x miniature relays
- Relay driver circuit
- Override and status LEDs circuit (the circuit is built in the board, but no switches or LEDs are going to be provided)
- PWM booster circuit for Meanwell drivers (Additional $15)
- 1000mA capable LED driver (Additional $25)
- 2x Plugable terminal connectors for LED cable if any of the 2 above choices are opted in.
- 8x Outlet sockets
- Inlet socket with built-in fuse compartment
- Connection wires
- Routed enclosure, mounting screws and assembly instructions
