SPR
Well-Known Member
For those of you who have never used Apex, it’s a very advanced piece of kit and it’s incredible what it will do with a bit of programming.
This is excellent write up on how the ATK program works. My ATK is named different if your wondering why they are slightly different (ATKNRM etc)
‘Fallback OFF
Set OFF
If ATK_LO OPEN Then ON
If ATK_HI CLOSED Then OFF
When On > 005:00 Then OFF
Defer 000:10 Then ON
Defer 000:04 Then OFF
Min Time 060:00 Then OFF
Let’s walk through each line:
This is excellent write up on how the ATK program works. My ATK is named different if your wondering why they are slightly different (ATKNRM etc)
‘Fallback OFF
Set OFF
If ATK_LO OPEN Then ON
If ATK_HI CLOSED Then OFF
When On > 005:00 Then OFF
Defer 000:10 Then ON
Defer 000:04 Then OFF
Min Time 060:00 Then OFF
Let’s walk through each line:
- Fallback OFF — instructs the Apex to turn off this output if the Apex ever gets disconnected from the FMM. This could also apply if the Apex locks up and becomes unresponsive (which rarely happens). This just basically means don’t run the program if the Apex unit isn’t in control of the situation.
- Set OFF — This sets up the output’s register to default to OFF if no other conditions are met.
- If ATK_LO OPEN Then ON — ATK_LO is the lower optical sensor plugged into port 1 of the FMM. This is the primary sensor that should do all the work under normal circumstances. If the water is lower than this sensor, it will report OPEN so the pump should be turned On. If the water level is even with the center of the sensor, or if the sensor is completely submerged, it will report CLOSED so this line of code would evaluate as False.
- If ATK_HI CLOSED Then OFF — ATK_HI is the upper optical sensor plugged into port 2 of the FMM. Like the ATK_LO sensor, if will report OPEN if it’s above the water level, and CLOSED if it’s level or submerged in water. This would turn off the pump if the lower sensor failed to do its job.
- When On > 005:00 Then OFF — As described in the previous tutorial, the When command is a failsafe that will move the ATK PMUP output sider from AUTO to OFF on the dashboard. This will prevent the ATK from running again until you manually move the slider back to AUTO. This typically represents an error condition you should investigate to determine why the pump ran for too long. This will be discussed in the next section.
- Defer 000:10 Then ON — Also described in yesterday’s tutorial, the Defer command causes a delay before turning on the pump until the water level has been detected as continuously low for at least 10 seconds before turning on the pump. This avoids rapid on/off fluctuations caused by water ripples triggering the optical sensors.
- Defer 000:04 Then OFF — Same as above, but wait for 4 seconds once the water level has filled sufficiently before turning off the pump.
- Min Time 060:00 Then OFF — Also described in the previous tutorial, the Min Time command forces the ATK to wait at least 60 minutes before allowing the pump to turn on again.’
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