![]() ![]() But, what if two companies could come together to give you even more control Thats what happens when you purchase the Apex Controller System along with any Apex Ready certified product. Stay tuned for the power bar, and some protocol analysis. THE APEX READY PROGRAM The Apex AquaController System is the best way to have complete control over your aquarium. The pH sensor is a simple TS27L4 op-amp, which is then sampled by an ATTiny 25 in a little galvanic isolated section (with a modular DC/DC converter) with the signalling happening through a single photoisolator. The AquaBus is physically a CAN bus (MAX3059 transceiver), but appears to use a limited form of MODBUS/RTU as the actual protocol layer (at least the checksumming is in place), running at 19.2kbaud. The bottom of the board is also bad, where some of the guide pins of the connectors are clearly melted by a soldering iron: The main processor is an LPC2368. Complete Aquatics are pleased to offer this fantastic range of Apex Controllers, which are available to buy with free UK delivery on all orders over £50.00. It appears to have been assembled by muppets and never cleaned. The Apex System has been touted by industry professionals as the best-value aquarium controller on the market today. While it appears to have been stenciled, it also has a number of components which were clearly hand touched or soldered since solder doesn't normally end up globbed half way up IC leads. ![]() This is the main brain and sensor hub, not pictured are a display assembly and the controllable power strip (that will follow) The top side of the main PCB. First off, a small teardown of what the brains of a $549 setup look like (serial number in the 8000 range!). The Ape圎L has built-in WiFi, Temperature, pH, monitoring and much more Set reminders, log testing and dosing information, and access your tank from anywhere with Apex Fusion Just as powerful as the flagship Neptune Systems Apex Controller but at a much more affordable price. The end goal is to reverse engineer the bus and see if I can whip up an emulated module which mimics an existing one in terms of controller functionality. It physically uses A to A USB cables (!), but otherwise isn't USB. Of particular interest to me is the expansion bus on the unit which lets you daisy chain a number of modules, such as 0-10V output pods, sensors, and more, all of which are substantially overpriced. Its now an older design, but still sold as the "APEX Classic". As my other money pit, I keep reef aquariums, and currently use an off-the-shelf controller solution designed for this application made by Neptune Systems. ![]()
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