I’d love to say that was on purpose. You should see how well it works on a tricorder.
Pentair IntelliCenter Pool Control Dashboard Instructional Guide
- Thread starter MyAZPool
- Start date
Ha! You have to make the scanning noise. Bonus points for using Scotty voice.
My initial USB serial adapter from Amazon was a dud. I just got the new one tonight and reinstalled all the nodejs-pc software.
My system is now detected as an Easytouch 8, which is correct. The web based dashboard takes several minutes to "initialize" before giving me a very limited interface. Lots of error codes when I hit mystery "pool" buttons but it does eventually turn on the spa.
I'm on a pretty old Pentair firmware. Could that be the problem?
My system is now detected as an Easytouch 8, which is correct. The web based dashboard takes several minutes to "initialize" before giving me a very limited interface. Lots of error codes when I hit mystery "pool" buttons but it does eventually turn on the spa.
I'm on a pretty old Pentair firmware. Could that be the problem?
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That looks more like you have something else accessing the USB adapter. Make sure nothing else has the adapter open. I am confident your firmware is fine.
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I tested that I am receiving the proper serial info using a windows laptop... the USB adapter appears to have died.
od -x < /dev/ttyUSB0 also shows nothing.
I've given up on this cheap USB adapter. Going to try another brand.
od -x < /dev/ttyUSB0 also shows nothing.
I've given up on this cheap USB adapter. Going to try another brand.
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Has anyone setup their system with HTTPS access to the Pool Control Dashboard? Any guidance?
After messing with the JBtek adapters for the last week, my screenlogic will no longer read or control any of the pool equipment. The protocol adapter is hard wired to the Easytouch panel, and hard wired to the network. It will connect through Pentair server but not read or control and pool equipment. I have tried to rewire it to several different com ports on the breakout board.
I was worried that the bad rs485 adapter blew out my com board, but the easytouch wireless handheld unit still functions fine and reads the SWG info. So COM board is good, right?
Somehow I blew my screenlogic protocol adapter i fear.
I was worried that the bad rs485 adapter blew out my com board, but the easytouch wireless handheld unit still functions fine and reads the SWG info. So COM board is good, right?
Somehow I blew my screenlogic protocol adapter i fear.
Yes the comm board is fine if the handheld unit is communicating through the transceiver. Double check the your wiring to the adapter and the setup. I can't think of any way that you could cook that comm port unless you hooked the power up backwards. Even then I am not sure that it draws power off the non-data lines like the handheld transceiver does. I don't have one of those.
I work with setting up https a couple of times a month at work. I wouldn't do it. It's not required on an internal network and if you've exposed your controller to the internet you're cruisin for a bruisin.
But If you really want to do this, check out LetsEncrypt. It's a cheap way to get a certificate on your rPi that will be recognized by a web browser. The alternative is a self-signed cert you generate with openSSL, which you can find various tutorials on the Internet for, but given the ease of access to LetsEncrypt tutorials on the internet and associated better usability that'd be the route I go.
A more secure way to implement this, one I would recommend if you're going to put this on the internet, is to frontend your njpc system with nginx or apache, but now we're getting into the realm of advanced level sysadmining.
Based on the latest information on the njspC WiKi, and following their lead, and due to the poor feedback here as well regarding the JBtec USB to RS485 Adapter, I have revised the original post in this thread and also removed the recommendation of this adapter. Based on my own personal experiences, I did not remove the recommendations of the GearMo Mini USB to RS485 / RS422 Adapter, or the Moyina USB to RS485 Adapter, both of which I have had very good luck with and continue to use without any issues.
I have also revised the base document to reflect the latest developments on the start up scripts - Automatically start at boot PM2 & Systemd
Thanks....
r.
I have also revised the base document to reflect the latest developments on the start up scripts - Automatically start at boot PM2 & Systemd
Thanks....
r.
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Just note that I had to switch the yellow and green wire at the adapter in order to get this adapter to work. Not sure if it was a “me” thing or should be adopted by everyone.
Letting folks know that opt to purchase the same adapter.
Abandoning the JBtek adapters, the new one arrived and immediately detected my easy touch 8 system. This interface far surpasses the Screenlogic app on Android. Just no comparison!
I need to work out why my older VS pump is read as a VF, but otherwise everything just works!
I need to work out why my older VS pump is read as a VF, but otherwise everything just works!
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Couldn't have asked for a better time to get this working. My screenlogic protocol adapter that I bought off Ebay stopped working. I'm done troubleshooting it. My Pi Zero W version of njs-pC is SO much smaller and has wifi built in, whereas the screenlogic had to have a separate access point adapter stuffed in the EZtouch low voltage box.
On Android, there is no comparison between the UI. Njs-pC-dash is better!
On Apple, screenlogic looks nicer but is still very cumbersome.
And seeing how I already had a few extra Pi sitting around, this was a $15 solution. Time to return the $200 protocol adapter.
On Android, there is no comparison between the UI. Njs-pC-dash is better!
On Apple, screenlogic looks nicer but is still very cumbersome.
And seeing how I already had a few extra Pi sitting around, this was a $15 solution. Time to return the $200 protocol adapter.
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Now I just need a safe way to password protect it before I port forward to the greater world wide web. 
Oddly enough, intellicenter.com was down this morning. Now, the pentair app on my watch is working. Go figure.
Now I just need a safe way to password protect it before I port forward to the greater world wide web.
You may want to check out ZeroTier. I have it installed on my rPi and anything I use to connect to it. It allows you to create a private VPN very simply. And the best part is it's free. Runs on Apple devices, raspberry pis, Windows, basically any system. If I need to get to my pool controller while I'm out I simply open the zerotier app on my phone, enable it, and go to the bookmarked page and I'm in and doing what I need to do. All with no security concerns about open ports on the internet. I do network security for a living, I could've easily setup an openvpn server or one of my old Cisco ASA firewalls with all the bells and whistles, but I don't necessarily want to work when I get off work. ZeroTier is a nice in-between where you're not opening your system to the internet but you can still fully access it from anywhere securely.
That's great I'll look into it!
I setup an Apache2 server that forwards to the internal port, but haven't setup the password security yet.
I setup an Apache2 server that forwards to the internal port, but haven't setup the password security yet.
Many thanks for the suggestion put up by @cmc0619 and his help.... 
It works great and ZeroTier is fairly straightforward and user-friendly to setup.
I can access nodejs.pC/dashPanel from my iPhone when it is connected via LTE only, which of course means I can access outside of my local area network now.
njspC/dP Raspberry Pi
As well as REM.
Relay Equipment Manager Raspberry Pi
I only had to setup the account and then authorize my Mac, iPhone and both my njspC/dP and REM Raspberry Pi's access to this virtual network. Please make sure you use an IP range that does not conflict with your internal IP range (yea, I made that mistake initially
).
Here is a video that I watched that explained ZeroTier on a level that I could understand and helped me out with initial setup, etc. Ignore all of the references to "nextcloud" that the author references. None of that should be applicable in most cases.
Here is the ZeroTier website (ZeroTier Central) where you can download the app and setup your account and your virtual network. You can download the ZeroTier mobile apps from the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store as applicable.
For your njspC/dashPanel and REM (if different), Raspberry Pi's, you'll need to open a new command-line interface window and use the following commands in order to set them up. I did not have to restart the Raspberry Pi's after installing ZeroTier on the Raspberry Pi's.
curl -s https://install.zerotier.com | sudo bash
sudo systemctl enable zerotier-one
sudo zerotier-cli join **your ZeroTier network id**
sudo touch /var/lib/zerotier-one/networks.d/[**your ZeroTier network id**].conf
It should go something like this....
On your mobile device, use the ip address of the Raspberry Pi that ZeroTier assigned to it, in the browser URL window and don't forget the applicable port numbers. For me, it went like this.
njspc/dashpanel: 192.168.191.222:5150
REM: 192.168.191.94:8080
In addition, once njspc/dashpanel came up on my iPhone, I had to tap the hamburger icon (settings) / Connections and and enter the new (ZeroTier assigned) ip address and click apply.
Really not sure why but otherwise, all you will get is the background theme and no data. Once you do that, it appears that it is saved for later use.
Then just bookmark the new ip address('s) in your mobile browser and you should be in business..
r.
EDIT: In addition, for those using InfluxDB in connection with Grafana, you should be able to access your Grafana Dashboards using this method as well. I just tried it out and it worked great.
It works great and ZeroTier is fairly straightforward and user-friendly to setup.
I can access nodejs.pC/dashPanel from my iPhone when it is connected via LTE only, which of course means I can access outside of my local area network now.
njspC/dP Raspberry Pi
As well as REM.
Relay Equipment Manager Raspberry Pi
I only had to setup the account and then authorize my Mac, iPhone and both my njspC/dP and REM Raspberry Pi's access to this virtual network. Please make sure you use an IP range that does not conflict with your internal IP range (yea, I made that mistake initially
).Here is a video that I watched that explained ZeroTier on a level that I could understand and helped me out with initial setup, etc. Ignore all of the references to "nextcloud" that the author references. None of that should be applicable in most cases.
Here is the ZeroTier website (ZeroTier Central) where you can download the app and setup your account and your virtual network. You can download the ZeroTier mobile apps from the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store as applicable.
For your njspC/dashPanel and REM (if different), Raspberry Pi's, you'll need to open a new command-line interface window and use the following commands in order to set them up. I did not have to restart the Raspberry Pi's after installing ZeroTier on the Raspberry Pi's.
curl -s https://install.zerotier.com | sudo bash
sudo systemctl enable zerotier-one
sudo zerotier-cli join **your ZeroTier network id**
sudo touch /var/lib/zerotier-one/networks.d/[**your ZeroTier network id**].conf
It should go something like this....
On your mobile device, use the ip address of the Raspberry Pi that ZeroTier assigned to it, in the browser URL window and don't forget the applicable port numbers. For me, it went like this.
njspc/dashpanel: 192.168.191.222:5150
REM: 192.168.191.94:8080
In addition, once njspc/dashpanel came up on my iPhone, I had to tap the hamburger icon (settings) / Connections and and enter the new (ZeroTier assigned) ip address and click apply.
Really not sure why but otherwise, all you will get is the background theme and no data. Once you do that, it appears that it is saved for later use.
Then just bookmark the new ip address('s) in your mobile browser and you should be in business..
r.
EDIT: In addition, for those using InfluxDB in connection with Grafana, you should be able to access your Grafana Dashboards using this method as well. I just tried it out and it worked great.
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This thread/topic has been great! It was
easy for me to get up and running on an RPi 3B+. Initially I had some problems with the nodejs-poolController task being stopped when backgrounded. I found that running it in the foreground allowed communication with the poolController-dashPanel. After I added the commands to my rc.local file to start the task on boot the task backgrounding issue went away (maybe running as a super user fixed it?).
Additionally, for anyone that is interested, there’s a great thread on the Home Assistant community on using a wireless RS485 to WiFi adaptor instead of a hard wired serial connection. My setup looks like:
EasyTouch > EW11a RS485 to WIFI > nodejs-poolController via netConnect socket > MQTT broker for home assistant control.
I have the Elfin EW11a adaptor antenna hanging out of the bottom of the control box low voltage compartment and haven’t had connection issues (probably 50’ from router & through a wall)
My Home assistant dashboard looks like:
I even set up some iOS actions to control the Spa from my Apple Watch. Nice to have since the watch is waterproof.
I figured I’d post this up in case anyone is looking to do something similar.
easy for me to get up and running on an RPi 3B+. Initially I had some problems with the nodejs-poolController task being stopped when backgrounded. I found that running it in the foreground allowed communication with the poolController-dashPanel. After I added the commands to my rc.local file to start the task on boot the task backgrounding issue went away (maybe running as a super user fixed it?).
Additionally, for anyone that is interested, there’s a great thread on the Home Assistant community on using a wireless RS485 to WiFi adaptor instead of a hard wired serial connection. My setup looks like:
EasyTouch > EW11a RS485 to WIFI > nodejs-poolController via netConnect socket > MQTT broker for home assistant control.
I have the Elfin EW11a adaptor antenna hanging out of the bottom of the control box low voltage compartment and haven’t had connection issues (probably 50’ from router & through a wall)
My Home assistant dashboard looks like:
I even set up some iOS actions to control the Spa from my Apple Watch. Nice to have since the watch is waterproof.
I figured I’d post this up in case anyone is looking to do something similar.