New AFS not working

[rdnyva]

I just received a new AFS to replace one that no longer works. I plugged it in and it does not work. I plugged in the old one and it works. Same usb connector, same ports, changed nothing except moving usb connector from one to the other.

When I plug both in I get a flashing yellow light, then it turns to solid green.

Do I haveto tell it somehow that there’s a new component?

Any thoughts?

[slief]

Your new AFS will have a new address meaning there will be a second AFS listed in your dashboard or in the hidden tiles pane as well as under modules. The new one is the one you will need to program. My suggestion would be to unplug the AFS. Then go to the modules page and delete any AFS’s listed there. There will likely be 2. Then plug the new AFS into the Aquabus. A new AFS should be added and that would be the one to program.

[rdnyva]

Thanks Slief. I think I understand what you are saying but if I use the same usb cable from the old one without unplugging it from the Aquabus and just plug it into the new AFS - shouldn’t it work?

[dentnshell]

You will have to set it up as a new one. It will show up with a new address. Your apex does not send commands to a usb port... It sends them to a device ID. It is kind of like a cell phone number... The location of your cell phone is not important, the number associated with it is.

[slief]

Originally Posted by dentnshell

You will have to set it up as a new one. It will show up with a new address. Your apex does not send commands to a usb port... It sends them to a device ID. It is kind of like a cell phone number... The location of your cell phone is not important, the number associated with it is.

+1.


By deleting the two AFS modules in the module page, you will eliminate any confusion you may have with the AFS since you are likely trying to control the old AFS as the new one would be at a new address. The address has nothing to do with the aquabus cables. It’s a number that is assigned to each module much the same way a com port is assigned to a serial computer device. That module will forever maintain that address in your Apex and the old AFS module will remain in the module list in your Apex until you physically delete it from the module page. Remove the AFS from the Aquabus by disconnecting the cable from it. Then go to the modules page and delete both AFS modules from the module list. Then plug the new AFS in, update the firmware on it from the module page and then program it. It should work fine. Updating the firmware is likely not needed but as long as you have the modules page up, you might as well do it.

[rdnyva]

Thanks Slief, I am on the right track. I tried deleting the two AFS modules using the classic dashboard, not very user friendly. I was able to delete them from the display.

I then plugged in the new AFS, but it did not show up as a tile in either the classic dashboard or in Fusion.

If I go into the dashboard >config>module setup - under disp2 it shows up as AFS_18

Somehow Disp1 disappeared. Is it important? If so how do I get it back?

[slief]

The classic dashboard is very user friendly. You log into it. Go to Confiruation/Module Setup near the top you will see a little pull down menu. You click that and scroll to find the module you want. You select it and then put a check in the delete module or update firmware. You then click Submit Module Change.

Go back to your classic dashboard and go to the module page. Scrolll down to the complete module list. Tank a screen shot of it and post it here. It should look like this screen shot of my module list.

[rdnyva]

Well then its me, I'm not good at this. Thanks for sticking with me.

In Classic I can see the module, also on the display. I cannot get a tile on the classic or Fusion so I can set a program. Cant figure out how to do this.

Here is a screen shot of what I have. (I don't know if I attached it correctly)
Apex.jpg

[slief]

Originally Posted by rdnyva

Well then its me, I'm not good at this. Thanks for sticking with me.

In Classic I can see the module, also on the display. I cannot get a tile on the classic or Fusion so I can set a program. Cant figure out how to do this.

Here is a screen shot of what I have. (I don't know if I attached it correctly)
Attachment 381771

In the classic dashboard, on the left, click “Dashboard” and select the last “dashboard” at the bottom of the Dashboard list. Not Dashboard 1 or dashboard 2 but the very last one that says “dashboard”. That should list all of your devices. If it’s not there, then go to the module settings page under the configuration tab. In the drop down, select the AFS. Then select “Update Module Firmware” and then click “Submit Module Change”. Then see if the AFS shows up in the Dashboard. You can also check Fusion by hitting the gear icon in the upper part of the screen and then clicking the power outlet looking icon. That should show you all the devices including the AFS. It may be listed as Feeder. If that doesn’t solve it, you may need to update the firmware on your Apex. If you updated your firmware recently, did you do the second step and update the www files? If all else fails and none of the above helped, open a support ticket with Neptune and I would suggest including all the steps you have gone through to trouble shoot.

Another thought. If this is an Apex Jr, it could be that you hit the module limit. I notice that you have a whole bunch of display modules listed in your module listing. I would disconnect you display and go in and delete very one of those display modules from the modules list via the classic dashboard. I have provided you instructions on how to do that. Once you have deleted them all, then plug the display back in. If after that, you don’t see the AFS, unplug the AFS, delete it again and plug it back in and see if it comes back up.

[rdnyva]

I did what you said. Deleted all disp modules. Reconnected AFS. It is now feeder_4_1

In the classic there is an unused tile for Feeder_4_1 in dash board 1. I can drag it to the dashboard but when I navigate away it doesn’t stay there.

So I can see the module but I can’t put a tile on the dashboard or Fusion. There is a tile however in the last dashboard.

Im sorry I keep bothering you with questions. This should have been easy. If you’re out of suggestions, how do I start a ticket?

[slief]

In the classic dashboard, you hit the edit button to drag the outlet into the dashboard. You then need to hit the save to dashboard button to save the change. In fusion, you hit the unlock button to open the hidden tiles. You can then drag the outlet to the dashboard but you need to click the same lock button that you unlocked the hidden pane with to lock the save the changes to the dashboard.

[rdnyva]

WOWEE, success! I cant believe it works. Thank you so much. I never could have done this myself.

Thank you!

[slief]

Originally Posted by rdnyva

WOWEE, success! I cant believe it works. Thank you so much. I never could have done this myself.

Thank you!

Glad to help!

[rdnyva]

�� wish I could buy you a beer! Thanks again.

[rdnyva]

Good morning, Slief. My worst nightmare has come true
While the AFS is working fine I must have done something wrong. Some of my power outlets are missing. I've looked in the unused tile section and they are not there or are named something else. How can I get them back?

Since my info is stored infusion can I download it?

Also how can I tell the physical location of a tile by what it has been renamed? For instance by trial and error I was able to determine pump 2_3_4 was actually my calcium doser and was able to find the outlet on the EB8 since it was already plugged in. But I can’t find anything else.

[slief]

Originally Posted by rdnyva

Good morning, Slief. My worst nightmare has come true
While the AFS is working fine I must have done something wrong. Some of my power outlets are missing. I've looked in the unused tile section and they are not there or are named something else. How can I get them back?

Since my info is stored infusion can I download it?

Also how can I tell the physical location of a tile by what it has been renamed? For instance by trial and error I was able to determine pump 2_3_4 was actually my calcium doser and was able to find the outlet on the EB8 since it was already plugged in. But I can’t find anything else.

The outlets are numbered on the EB8.. The address of your EB8 is 3 and the outlet your Caclium doser is plugged into is outlet 4. My guess is that you mistakenly selected the EB8 and deleted it by mistake. It would have automatically reinstalled itself with the default programming and default outlet names which is evidenced by the outlet name "pump 2_3_4". That name is a default name for that outlet along with sample programming.

You can go into Fusion and click the gear icon in the upper left area and then click the power outlet looking icon. Under the device column. those outlets will be listed as 3_1, 3_2, 3_3, 3_4 (calcium doser). 3_5, 3_6, 3_7, 3_8. You can click on each one of those outlets in that screen and change the names to what they were and change the programming for each outlet. Be sure to hit the Cloud icon in the upper right after you make a change to an outlet to send that change to the Apex.

[rdnyva]

Took me a while but got it done. Not perfect but it now does what it should. Thank you so much Shlief!

[slief]

Originally Posted by rdnyva

Took me a while but got it done. Not perfect but it now does what it should. Thank you so much Shlief!

Glad to help. The issues may be a blessing in disguise as you probably know much more about some of the Apex basics now and will feel more comfortable with setting it up as a result and or making changes.

[rdnyva]

Ok, so I’m back with a new problem. Once Slief drilled the programming into my head and I understood it, the AFS has worked fine the better part of a month.

Yesterday at feeding time the orange “piston” pushed the food container out but as it rotated the little prongs on either side of the piston did not go into the slots and the container was not fully retracted. I manually corrected this and fed a few times to make sure it was working.

Today at the first feeding it did not retract again, this time the container did not rotate back to an upright position. At the next feeding the piston pushed out and the container went into the tank. All the food was soaked, luckily I was there and none of it got dumped in the tank.

Any thoughts, recommendations, or solutions? Anybody have this happen to them?

[slief]

I’ve sent that happen on a friends AFS. One thing I thought it could be was pellets lodged in the part of the cup that lid snaps into in the center of the food holder. That said, even when his cup didn’t fully retract, the feeder still worked fine and usually went back in on the next feed cycle. I’ve never had this issue with mine but I am always careful when I fill it and make sure the pellets never get into the center hole in the feeder container.

[rdnyva]

Thanks for the tip, I’ll keep my eye on that. I usually keep my thumb on the hole when I fill the container, but you never know.

I cleaned it good and then ran it manually 5 times with no problems. I’ll have to keep an eye on it. Right now I don’t have confidence in it to not drop a whole container of pellets in my tank.

[rdnyva]

I cleaned it out. Dry it well. No pelllets anywhere. Refilled. It worked for two days then got stuck upside down this morning.

The thing is this is the second one that Ive had the same problem with. The first at least took three years before I decided to replace it. This thing is too iffy to depend on. Not only am I not sure if my fish are getting fed, but there’s a very real possibility of a whole container of pellets being dumped in my tank.