Muttley000 Posted April 23, 2017 Share Posted April 23, 2017 I was going to put this in my Apex thread but decided to have it stand alone so it will be easier for someone to look up. I am cheap and poor reguardless of what @cheap reefer has told you! I have determined that if I had to go out and buy all this stuff I would save less than 10 bucks. Since I scrounged all of it but the cable (that I bought long enough to get 2 bobs out of) from the box of crap I should have pitched long ago at work, I'm saving a little! First I got an 8 pin mini din cable as shown here. If you hunt around long enough, I believe you may find computer equipment that has a cord that could be recycled for this ! i cut it open and stripped the wires Used a meter and some trial and error to find out that the colors for the pins are as follows: Bare wire is a shield and not used, I am cutting it out Black is pin 1 and is input 1 Brown is pin 2 and is input 2 Red is pin 3 and is input 3 Orange is pin 4 and is input 4 Yellow is pin 5 and is input 5 Green is pin 6 and is input 6 Blue is pin 7 and is not used Purplr is pin 8 and is the common wire for all the inputs I verified everything with fusion, but be patient here if you do this project. Even though the Apex reads inputs immediately, fusion only updates around every 30 seconds, so it doesn't pop onto the page right away I should finish this today and get more pictures up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheap reefer Posted April 23, 2017 Share Posted April 23, 2017 Nice..this kind of diy is right up my alley..i believe an 8 pin is a serial monitor cable...i probably have a few laying around but unfortunately, im not as wealthy as you @Muttley000 to afford an apex...lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muttley000 Posted April 24, 2017 Author Share Posted April 24, 2017 Here is the box I used and some terminals I had around,,although I feel some spring release terminals would be better And, because I am anal this way, I used strain relief fittings so nothing gets pulled out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muttley000 Posted April 24, 2017 Author Share Posted April 24, 2017 Wiring done land the finished project! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesse Posted April 24, 2017 Share Posted April 24, 2017 This looks fantastic. Great job @Muttley000! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crimsonvice Posted April 24, 2017 Share Posted April 24, 2017 So I am kinda dumb when it comes to electrical components, but can you explain how this will work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muttley000 Posted April 24, 2017 Author Share Posted April 24, 2017 2 hours ago, crimsonvice said: So I am kinda dumb when it comes to electrical components, but can you explain how this will work. Sure. The Apex can detect contact closures as inputs. So if a float switch was connected to common, and the input wire is connected to the other side of the switch, when the switch closes power will flow through and the Apex will detect it. You could also use a pressure switch, push button, or similar device. Does that make sense? Then in the programming you can evaluate the inputs to make decisions like turning an ATO pump on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crimsonvice Posted April 24, 2017 Share Posted April 24, 2017 So in this picture would each of the six wires be connections that you could use to control floats, switches, what have yous? Or would you only be able to control 3, because of positive and negative wires? Sorry if this is a dumb question. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muttley000 Posted April 24, 2017 Author Share Posted April 24, 2017 It will accept 6 inputs. There is a spare terminal by the purple wire so I can install a jumper and not have 7 wires under 1 screw. In other words the switch connecting purple to any of the other 6 wires turns the input on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cptnspanky Posted April 24, 2017 Share Posted April 24, 2017 very handy diy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheap reefer Posted April 24, 2017 Share Posted April 24, 2017 Nice job on the wiring...make you u use dielectric grease on all the connections...salt creep plays hell on copper connections. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muttley000 Posted April 24, 2017 Author Share Posted April 24, 2017 39 minutes ago, cheap reefer said: Nice job on the wiring...make you u use dielectric grease on all the connections...salt creep plays hell on copper connections. Good idea, Tx. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muttley000 Posted January 14, 2018 Author Share Posted January 14, 2018 Made another one of these today, not because I was out of inputs, but because of physical location. I used input 6 as a verification the cable is plugged in, and put my skimmer locker full switch and ATO container low switch on the new block. Also added a RODI high switch to the original, as well as a selector witch to manually turn my mixing pump on and off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sevitz5 Posted March 23, 2019 Share Posted March 23, 2019 Very cool. I’m trying to figure out different ways to use a BOB..... my current one just does floats for ATO and lights on cabinet door switches. When I move everything over to the bigger tank this summer, I want to add more techy/ geek things lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muttley000 Posted March 23, 2019 Author Share Posted March 23, 2019 36 minutes ago, Sevitz5 said: Very cool. I’m trying to figure out different ways to use a BOB..... my current one just does floats for ATO and lights on cabinet door switches. When I move everything over to the bigger tank this summer, I want to add more techy/ geek things lol My guess is 90 percent of BOB inputs are hooked to floats out there. I added a selector switch to turn on my mixing station pump. Always keeping an ear out for other ideas how to use the inputs! Sevitz5 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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