iAquaLink still down for anyone?

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Still down hard here. Although I did manage to get through on the support chat with the Jandy IT folks and they assured me that, other than the FC and CYA being slightly on the low side, they had everything under control and we'd be up in no time. Something about waiting till they passed an OCLT until they gave us back access to our pools.

They sent this pic to assure me that I didn't have any reason to worry.

jandy.jpg
 
great pic -- iaqualink is still working here - yay

When it comes to connectivity issues, I had said that I never really had any before this incident, but I just remembered a time when iaqualink was cutting in and out a lot for me (but nobody else), and what it turned out to be was that one of the 4 wires that connect to the terminal block of the RS system was a little loose. When it lost contact, the unit went off line (I think it was the red wire - which was providing power to the unit). I re-seated the wires and tightened the terminal block locking screws, and it was fine after that. Seemed like an unlikely problem, but might be worth checking out if you're still having issues after everything is back up.
 
Mine is bouncing up and down this morning. That's progress though.

I did find out that they just announced a new system that they claim has Alexa/Google capability and local processing, specifically stating that the Internet connection can be down and the system still works. iAquaLink Infinity

The pics they're showing include a panel so I have my doubts they'll retrofit into the existing RS8. I'm going to hold off buying any overpriced serial adapters or keypads until I get some clarity on this. Way overdue imo....the RS stuff is 100% craapware.
 
Swampwoman said:
In my own and somewhat unrelated experiments with hack code to control a pool controller I will say that while I appreciate the desire to have dual control scenarios that its not viable with the way most home automation hubs currently work. Once my hub was controlling scheduling, the handheld by attrition had to be secondary.

Aqualink is not alone in this phenom at all. Overall, home automation is just not mature enough to be stable. There was a guy on smartthings who was locked out of his gated house for hours during the last hub outage ;) Which goes to show...always have a hard wired backup scheme ;)
Click to expand...

There is a new open source project called Aqualinkd: GitHub - sfeakes/aqualinkd: Control Jandy Aqualink RS (and other) pool equipment from any home automations hubs

Using this package (along with some other related hardware and software) I was able to get my AquaLink system fully integrated with Apple HomeKit (see attached screenshot).

IMG_A6B2B088D95D-1.jpg

It's definitely requires some tinkering and basic Linux know-how, but I was able to get it set up in a couple of days, and it's working well now. In fact, it's the only way I can control my pool with this iAquaLink outage going on :)

Happy to help answer any questions you have about getting this set up.
 

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dckiwi said:
There is a new open source project called Aqualinkd: ....
It's definitely requires some tinkering and basic Linux know-how, but I was able to get it set up in a couple of days, and it's working well now. In fact, it's the only way I can control my pool with this iAquaLink outage going on :)

Happy to help answer any questions you have about getting this set up.
Click to expand...
That looks awesome - I downloaded it.


edit: my 7620 arrived today, so I guess I'll just use that ($430) part to connect my raspberry pi to the RS board instead of the ($7) part that you would use with Aqualinkd - haha.

I actually did it already - I ran some 4 wire alarm cable through an existing conduit and connected that to one of the terminal blocks in the RS and then to the 7620 on the other side (inside), and then used a USB<->serial adapter to connect to a raspberry pi.

I shelled into the raspberry pi and used the 'screen' command to connect to the USB port, and boom - it was working. I could type in commands from the 7620 command reference and get the expected responses. I was prepared to go through a lot more to get it working, so that was a really nice surprise.

The 7620 *looks* like it's request/reply only - that it doesn't spit out status by itself. The only way I could really test that would be to change something with iaqualink and see if anything comes up on the serial port - but I can't because iaqualink is *still down*. Anyway, request/reply only is fine if it's true - I'll just check status in a while loop that sleeps some and also checks for user commands to send to the port. I would have to do something like this with any device (including aqualinkd) to get it working with my home grown system, so that's no big deal. And I won't go into much detail about that part here because it wouldn't be helpful/applicable outside my house.

But anyway - reporting back, the 7620 was easy to setup and appears to work great.


I'll leave the iaqualink in place to run schedules while I'm in dev / test mode with the 7620, and then probably shut it off and pull it out after that.



EDIT: the 7620 is request/reply only by default, but you can invoke a setting that will make it report changes as they happen - pretty sweet.
 
making good progress with the 7620.

I can't figure out how to get the RPM and Watts of the pump - that was something that shows in iaqualink, the web version, on the status screen. Other than that, I think it's all there (and maybe I just haven't found those yet), including the settings and status of the Aquapure saltwater chlorine generator.
 
Anti chef, re
The 7620 *looks* like it's request/reply only - that it doesn't spit out status by itself. The only way I could really test that would be to change something with iaqualink and see if anything comes up on the serial port - but I can't because iaqualink is *still down*. Anyway, request/reply only is fine if it's true - I'll just check status in a while loop that sleeps some and also checks for user commands to send to the port.
Click to expand...

You're likely better equipped for this than I was, but with my hack code on smartthings, I had to create "pistons" in web core using a loop to poll/check status.

I suspect this is where my own bug arose that would occasionally shut my pump off at random times since that hadn't happened before I added those loops. I killed off "baby Hal" until summer, when I will try to debug (my pool is open and running in an air dome thru winter and pump randomly shutting down is a big problem I couldn't afford to have happen).

I just wanted to let you know to keep an eye on status polling to see if it somehow interferes with scheduled commands.
 
We're Sorry.
Please accept our apologies. We know you count on our service and expect better from us. We are working non-stop to return iAquaLink to normal operation and earn back your confidence.
A frequent question we have received is “How do I control my pool automation system without the app?” Below you will find instructions for basic on/off functionality of some pool features, (manually turning on or off the filter pump, lights, etc.) from your AquaLink power center.
We know that this doesn’t give you everything you’re looking for… but we’re on it.
AquaLink RS or AquaLink PDA (metal power center)
1. Go to your AquaLink Power Center and open the door (if a plastic power center use the LCD Screen).
2. Put the system into TIME OUT mode by pushing the button on the left two times (from AUTO mode).
3. This will allow you to manually turn on (and turn off) most equipment you have on your pool pad such as the pump, heater, lights, spa, etc.
NOTE: When in service mode, your schedules will not run. Time out mode will go back to Auto mode after three hours, ensuring that normally scheduled features operate according to schedule. The iAquaLink outage does not impact scheduled operations, as all schedules are stored locally, not in the cloud or iAquaLink servers.

AquaLink Z4 (plastic power center)
For AquaLink Z4 systems, all features and settings can be adjusted through the digital control panel typically found on the front door of the power center.
Note: The iAquaLink outage does not impact scheduled operations, as all schedules are stored locally, not in the cloud or iAquaLink servers.
AquaLink ZA Control
If you have any questions please contact us at:
https://www.iaqualink.com/support
[email protected]
(800) 822-7933

- - - Updated - - -

To Site Mod: I suggest a sticky for iAqualink owners explaining the outage. Someone needs to get fired over at Zodiac!
 
I had both app and web interface not responding. Rebooted all equipment, iAquaLink + routers, still no joy from app (android or iOS) but now web interface works (though pretty slow). I have the handheld remote which has still been working, we don’t use it much since the family has been used to using the app!

Great to hear some of ya got the stand alone project to work, I have been eying that for awhile now as well!
 
Swampwoman said:
I just wanted to let you know to keep an eye on status polling to see if it somehow interferes with scheduled commands.
Click to expand...
Wow - thanks, that's great to know. I'm watching closely to be sure, but I had been (rightly) more concerned about bugs in my own code and will be for a while. What you're saying could save me a lot of headaches trying to diagnose a shutdown!

One interesting thing I noticed - back in the good old days when iAqualink was working, each morning the scheduler would turn on my pump, but iAqualink would not know that it happened - that is, I could see everything working in the real world, but the app/website would say that the pump was off. If I used the app/website to "turn on" the pump, it would beep for a second and keep going, but then the app/website would have the correct status. This was a very consistent bug, but so inconsequential I didn't really even think about it, much less report it.

Today was the first morning running the 7620 and my polling status code, so I was curious to see if things were different. The scheduler started the pump as usual (my iAqualink unit is still connected, btw, I'm just ignoring it now - I don't know if it's necessary for the iAqualink to be connected to the RS for the schedules to run) and ... the 7620 was unaware that it was running. My polling code showed the status as off and I even made a manual serial console connection to the 7620 to run the status check by hand, and it showed the pump as off.

I wonder where the schedules live - I guess I'll find out when I pull out the iAqualink - if they keep going, then they're in the RS unit somewhere, but if they stop, then I suppose they're in the iAqualink. And of course, like usual, there's probably a third possibility that I have not even considered.
 
antichef said:
Wow - thanks, that's great to know. I'm watching closely to be sure, but I had been (rightly) more concerned about bugs in my own code and will be for a while. What you're saying could save me a lot of headaches trying to diagnose a shutdown!

One interesting thing I noticed - back in the good old days when iAqualink was working, each morning the scheduler would turn on my pump, but iAqualink would not know that it happened - that is, I could see everything working in the real world, but the app/website would say that the pump was off. If I used the app/website to "turn on" the pump, it would beep for a second and keep going, but then the app/website would have the correct status. This was a very consistent bug, but so inconsequential I didn't really even think about it, much less report it.

Today was the first morning running the 7620 and my polling status code, so I was curious to see if things were different. The scheduler started the pump as usual (my iAqualink unit is still connected, btw, I'm just ignoring it now - I don't know if it's necessary for the iAqualink to be connected to the RS for the schedules to run) and ... the 7620 was unaware that it was running. My polling code showed the status as off and I even made a manual serial console connection to the 7620 to run the status check by hand, and it showed the pump as off.

I wonder where the schedules live - I guess I'll find out when I pull out the iAqualink - if they keep going, then they're in the RS unit somewhere, but if they stop, then I suppose they're in the iAqualink. And of course, like usual, there's probably a third possibility that I have not even considered.
Click to expand...

From Zodiac:

The iAquaLink outage does not impact scheduled operations, as all schedules are stored locally, not in the cloud or iAquaLink servers.
Click to expand...
 
I'm sorry I can't help you more on the polling - my system was Intermatic 653 with smartthings hub using groovy to liberate the end point commands.

Maybe on the weekend I could dig up my poll loop code (I know there was a refresh command in there) but since I was suspicious of my loop I wouldn't want to make things worse ;)

Once you have the end points freed up to use as individual switches (eg pump vs chlorinators vs heater) you can write a loop asking for the status of each. That was how I actually got my interface on the phone to be accurate. But I think in my case since I was polling every 5 min and polling both the Intermatic program itself AND the individual endpoint virtual switches, the traffic may have confused my controller a bit. Could be dead wrong on this and it could have even something else entirely, but the shutdowns were at odd times that had never been scheduled, so that at least ruled out any "ghost" commands that lived somewhere I couldn't access.

I had it working so beautifully i was reluctant to pull it all down, but hubby, whose a real programmer, insisted I'd never be able to tell if it was truly the code without first going back to the handheld for the scheduling and taking my hub integration offline. I had ruined an air warmer for the dome by freezing up the little water-to-air exchanger (a $1000 item though I figured out how to instead just replace the exchanger and how to sweat solder as this was the SECOND one I ruined this winter -- so I wasn't going to argue with hubby about killing baby Hal ;)

Its been a few weeks now and there's been no random shut down whatsoever so I suspect he's correct that the trouble was in my code somewhere :)
 
This stuff will always be an issue when you rely upon "cloud" technology to store your info and perform some functions. We all want this world of technology but we are shown from time to time that it's not perfect and never will be. The current Facebook issues is a prime example of this.
 

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