Matts 500 gallon funhouse

[dmatt88]

OK. So I swapped the cables. Now all three fixtures are on. However the night leds plus the whites are on. As I reverse lighting the lights stay white. Possibility exists that I have the programming reversed. I'm waiting til 10 to are If they go off. Mercy.

Matt leaves out punctuation.

 

[dmatt88]

OK. I recut the wires and melted the insulation again. This time let it burn. Plugged it in and just night leds. Judging from the response I think this fixed the problem. Fingers crossed.

Matt leaves out punctuation.

 

[sasquatch]

re: Matts 500 gallon funhouse

could the shut ins at home get a few pics of sumpin? this thread is wayyyy too wordy lately, needs a little visural stim

 

[dmatt88]

Shoulda taken a pic of burning my fingers on hot insulation. I hear ya. It's been on hold with too many other "something's" going on.

Matt leaves out punctuation.

 

[sasquatch]

re: Matts 500 gallon funhouse

fiber, does a body good lol

 

[BLADEYAMAHA]

re: Matts 500 gallon funhouse

Should have poured beer on the burn.

 

[nanoreefing4fun]

re: Matts 500 gallon funhouse

One thing for sure guys. Service from both these companies is stellar.

have been enjoying the :read:

 

[BigAl07]

re: Matts 500 gallon funhouse

Matt I gotta give you some HIGH remarks for tackling this and doing an outstanding job! You've conquered some hurdles that will most likely make it a LOT easier for others who are following in your footsteps. I know that doesn't do YOU any good but your work will be greatly appreciated by others.

 

[Willie McDaries]

re: Matts 500 gallon funhouse

Ok, Willie, i was trying to make Matt RTFM (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RTFM) and work it all out but you went and spoiled it and just told him the answer.
LOL. Just kidding.

:LOL: I like the RTFM advice Chris

I have really enjoyed adding confusion and chaos to this thread but Matt was at wits end with the whole light to controller issues,normally that is when I do my best to create more confusion but this is a very expensive project he is dealing with and I've kinda figured out that Matt is/was a little technological challenged (no offense Matt ) I'm just trying to offer advice in as simple terms as I possibly can...in all honestly,I'm clueless to these controllers too but what advice I give is just what I would try based on my limited knowledge of electronics

most of what I've learned about electronics is from installing car stereos since I was about 12 years old,back then,you had to figure out what wire did what,maybe this is a long way from what Matt has done but it does give you a basic understanding of wiring stuff up...now days,they make vehicle specific plugs and all the wires are color coded to make it simple enough for anybody to do and after Matt accomplishes this task,I'm sure either GHL or Apollo can create a simplified wiring system to accomplish what Matt is figuring out the hard way

one thing I will say about Matt,he has endured this challenge like a trooper and is about to succeed,just these few little hiccups in the path to overcome...when this is all said and done,Matt will be a leading expert on this portion of the Profilux controller and this will brooding his knowledge of technology and make other electronic projects seem much easier....I give him high marks for tackling this head on

I'm sorry I've missed so much of this thread,I've worked 3 of the last 4 days,off today and pull 3 more,these are all 12 hour shifts with an hour drive each way,I don't have much time to spend on-line on my work days but when I have more time I'll try to get caught back up on things...

Matt your pics all look great with the new lights

 

[ChrisY]

re: Matts 500 gallon funhouse

lol. No worries Willie. I was just jaggin (Pittsburgh term http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pittsburgh_English) Matt. Basically giving him a poke in the ribs. He did a great job! Especially since he is trailblazing new territory and there WASNT a manual.

Aside from some of our more off-color comments , there is a manual now... This thread. I think it should be Stickied.

 

[dmatt88]

All truth is I'm electrically challenged. Obviously. There is now a video walk thru which simplifies everything. I can accomplish about anything once I've seen it done. But until that point when you receive a bunch of wires and some crazy 18 hole wiring harness it's daunting. I'm still unsure why ghl chose to not just have a connector to the unit instead of bare wiring. That's got me baffled. They should also include a tiny screwdriver to open the plugs to insert the wiring. It's a small hole I tell ya. But in classic ferris beuhler style "I can fix anything my brother has an awesome set of tools" wait that may be fast times at ridgemont high. Oh well. Carry on!

Matt leaves out punctuation.

 

[ChrisY]

re: Matts 500 gallon funhouse

Yes it was Fast Times, Spicoli! man you dont want to mess with Jefferson's car!

 

[ChrisY]

re: Matts 500 gallon funhouse

All truth is I'm electrically challenged. Obviously. There is now a video walk thru which simplifies everything. I can accomplish about anything once I've seen it done. But until that point when you receive a bunch of wires and some crazy 18 hole wiring harness it's daunting. I'm still unsure why ghl chose to not just have a connector to the unit instead of bare wiring. That's got me baffled. They should also include a tiny screwdriver to open the plugs to insert the wiring. It's a small hole I tell ya. But in classic ferris beuhler style "I can fix anything my brother has an awesome set of tools" wait that may be fast times at ridgemont high. Oh well. Carry on!

Matt leaves out punctuation.

I agree Matt, a simple wiring diagram or better yet a made to order plug would be great! Add a small jewlers screwdriver for the kit would probably make many future lives easier since not that many people happen to have one laying around.

 

[BLADEYAMAHA]

re: Matts 500 gallon funhouse

Just give it to me, I'll figure it out.

 

[BigAl07]

re: Matts 500 gallon funhouse

I hope that in the near future Apollo will have a "ProfiLux" compatible option. It would only take a small amount of work and a few dollars to make it completely Plug n Play. It's up to the light manufacturer to complete the connection to the controller if possible. If the light company hasn't made that provision then there is some DIY work involved. Back there somewhere is a list of the other manufacturers that have already done this in one way or another.

I whole heartedly agree this could have been simpler but there is no way to for the first time to be much better because one side had never met the other and admittedly neither one wanted to take the "liability" for a mistake.

 

[dmatt88]

I agree Al. the evg doesn't have a phone jack on both ends? any plans for ghl to add those to the unit?

Matt leaves out punctuation.

 

[BigAl07]

re: Matts 500 gallon funhouse

No the EVG is designed to be "Wired" which is what makes it so versatile for the DIYers out there and the Factory LED Frontiers (insert the name Matt here). It's designed to be utilized in many different situations in many different configurations. Unfortunately this "Flexibility" makes specific directions very difficult.

The companies that are GHL plug n play handle the EVG (or some other similar blocking) wiring and then mount it/them inside of the fixture. In this way the unit becomes fully Plug-n-Play.

Of course with the use of the "Module" (mentioned earlier in this thread by aqua_digital) there wouldn't be any wiring to be done (it would indeed be plug n play) but you'd lose a lot of the more intricate control of the unit. It would literally "de-feature" the marriage of the GHL and a high end Apollo LED fixture. It would allow some degree of control but that would be a shame especially when this build is using the best of the best in every other respect. Matt I can assure you that you'd not be nearly as pleased with a the "Module" as you're going to be with the EVG route.

 

[Willie McDaries]

re: Matts 500 gallon funhouse

No the EVG is designed to be "Wired" which is what makes it so versatile for the DIYers out there and the Factory LED Frontiers (insert the name Matt here). It's designed to be utilized in many different situations in many different configurations. Unfortunately this "Flexibility" makes specific directions very difficult.

The companies that are GHL plug n play handle the EVG (or some other similar blocking) wiring and then mount it/them inside of the fixture. In this way the unit becomes fully Plug-n-Play.

Of course with the use of the "Module" (mentioned earlier in this thread by aqua_digital) there wouldn't be any wiring to be done (it would indeed be plug n play) but you'd lose a lot of the more intricate control of the unit. It would literally "de-feature" the marriage of the GHL and a high end Apollo LED fixture. It would allow some degree of control but that would be a shame especially when this build is using the best of the best in every other respect. Matt I can assure you that you'd not be nearly as pleased with a the "Module" as you're going to be with the EVG route.

another problem with Apollo,or any other LED manufacturer adding the EVG to their fixture would result in the fixture being incompatible with other controllers.....it is gonna be difficult to make everybody happy,I think it is just gonna have to be like it has been for Matt,just,hopefully,everyone will have a better understanding of how to do the wiring to make it all work beautifully together

 

[aqua_digital]

re: Matts 500 gallon funhouse

Hi Guys,

Just to give some very important information here about the EVG

The card is developed by GHL for the use with GHL controllers only, its unique, not one other controller manufacturer at this time offers such features, however lamp manufacturers for a long time now have favoured compatibility with GHL due to the amount of control and functionality it brings to their system.

The reason for the connection terminals is to provide 100% flexibility to ANY project, if it was ethernet plugs then all manufactures would have to follow the same wiring protocol.

Couple of companies to note are

ATI
Geismann
Sifiligio
Fauna Marin

The history of the EVG comes from GHL making lighting and lighting controllers way before aquarium controlllers hense the name ProfiLux (professional lighting solutions) they were the first to offer dimmable lighting to the auarium market.

As the brand grew globally the GHL owners started to get inventive with what this card could do, first it was all about making custom dimmable T5 fixtures, and then with the advent of DIY LED the EVG card and too the ProfiLux just stormed away in populatarity.

In honesty GHL are not going to cry too much about LED companies that are dedicated to GHL dimming through this card, why would they? They are a global company and LED companies that use this card all of a sudden too have a global dimmable lamp on the market, not just North America.

I have lost count of how many of these cards have now been sold to DIY'ers and third party LED companies, its a hot product and any company using it has really reaped the rewards.

The product is designed as Allen stated to be mounted inside the lamp rather than being hot wired in this case, and its for the lamp manufacturer to decide if this retrofit is worth it in their market. However we do provide plenty of support in how to fit these externally as in Matts case.

Hope that gives some insight into this little beast EVG-AP-2F

 

[aqua_digital]

re: Matts 500 gallon funhouse

If anyone missed it further in the thread here is the point to point wiring diagram

http://support.aquariumcomputer.com/english/download.php?did=80