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It's not just cyber rain alone. It's a Et based or "smart" controller problem overall. I used to have one, and for the life of me, I could not figure out how to tell it to water more, so I took it down. I talked to a city employee who oversees water conservation and he says the city no longer endorses smart controller because none proves to be reliable. He says the Et formula was formulated by some professor based on ideal lab condition, but fails to work in real life situation. I talk to a prof...
I think if you seal it inside a weatherproof case, it might be OK. My assumption is based on what I've seen from the phones and tablets after a couple of years. Only time will tell, I guess. I don't think rainmachine uses Et, because the weather data for Et is not free. That's why you have to pay subscription fee for those Et based controller. Et controllers basically come in 2 flavors, either with weather station or internet. The ones that come with weather station are more expensive up front, ...
Quoted from "BigAlT" According to the Bluespray FAQ it is not ET enabled though they state they plan to add this feature in the future ( like the cyber rain it will be calculated on Bluesprays servers with the problems inherent therein ). There is also no programming possible from the unit itself, only thru their browser GUI. Take a look at the RainMachine. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. Rain machine is not Et enabled either. What it does is look at the forecast and makes its own calcu...
Quoted from "Amateur" Thank you. So that means, I assume, that it takes separate time-keeping circuitry (chips, etc.) powered by either line voltage or battery, to maintain clock and date settings during power failures. Why is this absent in so many controllers when it’s so essential to proper automatic program operation? Is it merely a cost-saving factor? Yes, an RTC or Real Time Clock is needed to keep the time. An RTC circuit consists of a crystal to generate cycles which is then converts in...
Quoted from "Amateur" Another item: On the box for the SST it says, "No need to reprogram after a power outage. All timer settings are stored in memory indefinitely. No backup battery needed." But I find that if there is a power outage for more than a very few minutes the clock setting is lost. And that effectively stops everything else no matter what. If I'm out of town and the power goes out for even a very brief time, my lawn will not be watered because of this. Am I missing something? Do yo...
Quoted from "RWestman" Background: I draw water from a lake for my sprinkler system. The system works great except Zone 9 is always on when the system is running. What ever time is set for Zone 1-8 is the same amount of time Zone 9 is on. When Zone 9 runs BY ITSELF it runs for the amount of time programmed into the controller. I can provide a digital picture, controller brand and model number this afternoon, or any other information you may need to help me solve this problem. Of course I would ...
Finally, looks like BlueSpray will be available soon - July 22.
Quoted from "rainmachine" QPF is a daily forecast, but is quantitative, not probabilistic. What does it means: if pop (probability of precipitation) says 100% chance of rain in your area, that means you get at least 0.01 inches of rain. That is not enough for your plants. QPF predicts how much water you will get. As all forecasts, it is not 100% accurate, but, as we approach the event (rain) it gets better. QPF is a NOAA forecast parameter, it is not our computation. As for the graphs, RainMach...
Quoted from "rainmachine" We are in 2013. A and B programs? How about unlimited number of programs, controlled from your smartphone? Check out the rainmachine.com Impressive hardware. Looks like a system running android. Is there any documentation on how it works?
My understanding is that QPF is basically an expected precipitation over a period of time, which is another way of saying that it's an estimate amount of rain over a month or more over an area. Forecasters use these QPF models to predict and come up with the forecast for the day or week. Sounds like a forecast of a forecast to me. How is that better than the daily forecast? Are you saying that you can predict rain better than the NOAA and the weather man? I checked out the link you provided. I c...
Quoted from "rainmachine" You do not need a rain sensor if you use rainmachine.com This controller is forecast based and it knows is going to rain tomorrow. Actually, nobody knows 100% that it's going to rain tomorrow. Your controller pulls data from NOAA, which is a forecast, and no forecast is 100% accurate. Besides, the percentage means the chance of coverage of your area. In your area, it might say 10% but it might rain, and 90% and it might not rain at you house. Even though not very relia...
Give BlueSpray a look. I'd recommend it.
Check out BlueSpray (bluespray.net). It has unlimited programs and start times that will satisfy your programming need.
Quoted from "Wet_Boots" Everyone doesn't own a smart phone. I can live a long and happy life without ever paying a monthly fee for a data plan. Neither does my mom. Not because she doesn't want a data plan, but because she refuses to learn how to use the finger to navigate. Seeing her struggling with the tablet while my 2 year-old niece was flying through it makes you think what a difference a generation gap is. I don't need or want a data plan. I still own a smart phone. My teenage kids have s...
Quoted from "mrfixit" I've installed thousands of Rainbird and Toro items. Also Hunter, Irritrol and a few others. I've installed 0 Blue Sprays. I've seen 0 Blue Sprays. I know of nobody personally who's ever seen a Blue Spray. Why don't you have your guys send me some finished product and I'll test it in the field. Then I can give an unbiased opinion. I don't see that ever happening. Especially in 2013. Then again I'd just install it in my yard. I'll never install a controller that's run via a...
2016 is a bit reach, don't you think? It's 2013 and they say it's coming out in 2013. Is that too far out? But that's their problem. I'm just pointing out what I've been using that might help the author of this thread. Prototype or not, it works pretty well for me. If you read my posts, you'd see that I've been looking for a controller that is not of the dial and button type. I've mentioned irrigationcaddy, BlueSpray. I just happened to like BlueSpray better and tried one. Maybe you should try a...
Quoted from "mrfixit" Quoted from "scercpio" Check out BlueSpray. Their flexible scheduling might fit your need. Hey Serpico, what is your experience with the Blue Spray controller? When I go to the site is says the product isn't available yet? Is this what you're talking about? Blue Spray They say it will be available soon. I'm on the beta/early adopter program so I have one in my garage. I can't divulge much information because I'm under NDA, but I can tell you that it is much better than IC....
Check out BlueSpray. Their flexible scheduling might fit your need.
BlueSpray, Irrigationcaddy, hydroflash?
Quoted from "Wet_Boots" Only sensor control allows you to "set and forget" - everything else is approximation, no matter what the controller programming is, and as you noted, sensors are not perfect. By the way, it is curious you would mention seasonal adjustment of all watering times, because your 'perfect' controller would have already taken everything into account, and no need would then exist for a Seasonal Adjust When dealing with weather, nothing is exact. Close enough approximation is go...
