Reef angel reviews?

[Sacohen]

Originally Posted by Colin

It ships UPS from California, and the 27th is a holiday. I'm not really fond of UPS. They're slow, and don't deliver to my house until 7pm at night.

--Colin

Everything I've gotten from RA is USPS.

Strange???

[OsiViper]

Yea mine came via usps also. I ordered it on Tuesday and it arrived Thursday.

[Colin]

Originally Posted by Sacohen

Everything I've gotten from RA is USPS.

Strange???

Now I remember...I ordered second day air. That's probably why it was UPS.

--Colin

[agv180]

I buy it two years ago, after 1 years burn the screen. not recommended. settings is very difficult.

with the same money can buy a apex is cheaper in long time and has more configuration options.

[Sacohen]

jdezek;
Did you get the RA?
What are your thoughts on it?

[Dapg8gt]

Originally Posted by agv180

I buy it two years ago, after 1 years burn the screen. not recommended. settings is very difficult.

with the same money can buy a apex is cheaper in long time and has more configuration options.

Bumping a 2 month old thread lol
Ah no.. Screen is a free replacement sent to you might I say free.. And I haven't seen anything an apex does that reef angel can't . not saying ones better but that's the truth. And if your not open to learn the coding you shouldn't even get one.. Basically the wizard does it all and if you tried and can't the top 5 guys on the forum will over help you out.. Sorry for the old bump but had to say my piece.. I love mine and am in it cheaper than a base apex with more features FWIW..

[Timber77]

Yea,,,im a computer caveman and i figured out the ra. even apex people post on the form and the ra people answer them how to work their apex's without buying so many modules.. once you get the hang of it the open source device is so much better its really not even a competition.. Its my favorite reef gadget in combo with the wp40s really makes $500 spent on apex look like burning money for no reason..

[James77]

Originally Posted by Dapg8gt

Bumping a 2 month old thread lol
Ah no.. Screen is a free replacement sent to you might I say free.. And I haven't seen anything an apex does that reef angel can't . not saying ones better but that's the truth. And if your not open to learn the coding you shouldn't even get one.. Basically the wizard does it all and if you tried and can't the top 5 guys on the forum will over help you out.. Sorry for the old bump but had to say my piece.. I love mine and am in it cheaper than a base apex with more features FWIW..

I consider them- Neptune and RA- to be the top 2 controllers on the market right now. I have yet to try a RA...but I like their prices, and them offering add on dosers really cheap. The open source is great, support is there. They also are just as aggressive, if not more than, Neptune.

Even though my needs are fairly limited...Were I to buy a new controller right now, it would be a Reef Angel.

[psyrob]

I have the RA+ for two years now, and it has exceeded my expectations... Customer support is excellent, to the OP, it is thru the forums you get answers from, not an 800 number... Which is much better, you get responses not only from Roberto but from a bunch of core, dedicated users...true believers who are invested in helping you...the ReefAngel is a libertarian controller, the people are running it, not a corporation...if you don't want to tinker, but you want Big Brother to run your controller, get an Apex...if you want to be part of "something", get a RA and enjoy the ride!!

[Dapg8gt]

Originally Posted by James77

I consider them- Neptune and RA- to be the top 2 controllers on the market right now. I have yet to try a RA...but I like their prices, and them offering add on dosers really cheap. The open source is great, support is there. They also are just as aggressive, if not more than, Neptune.

Even though my needs are fairly limited...Were I to buy a new controller right now, it would be a Reef Angel.

Totally agree the reef angel is just another level of customization.. Like I said I can't say one is better than the other because they both are just awesome at what they do.. But that's where the difference is its the what "you" want the RA to do not what it "can" do. It's a little intimidating at first just understanding the code but same goes for apex I read a lot of threads where people are asking others to write functions for them.

I just think it's a myth going around about the RA being super hard to use.. It's not hard it's just different..and if your like me and never had a controller it's just as complicated as the other lol..

[mkj]

I agree with Dapg8gt. The RA is no more difficult than the Apex to program, its just different. If you cant figure out RA you probably wont figure out Apex programing either. I know many people who get frustrated with Apex too. If you have/can figure out how to program Apex you can figure out how to program RA. There's a bloody Wizard that does 95% of everything for you. It really comes down to 3 things. Quality, cost and controllers programing ability.

Quality: RA is ok, Apex is better.
Cost: RA is cheaper
Controller ability: RA has more ability, it can do everything Apex can do and more.

Don't worry about the programing part. The wizard takes care of majority and most people will never need to do anything but use the wizard cut/paste. the few things it doesn't (rare unless your really starting to tweak the RA) the community will help or even do it for you.

[neuro]

One thing I must caution new owners, is to get the RA+.

The new libraries won't let you do any special customization, no matter how minor because it takes up too much memory.

[SeedlessOne]

Originally Posted by neuro

One thing I must caution new owners, is to get the RA+.

The new libraries won't let you do any special customization, no matter how minor because it takes up too much memory.

What he said. I see the RA+ being the only option soon.

[Jackg962]

Great discussion, I get wait to get my **** controller

[Sacohen]

Yes RA+ is the way to go.
I have seen a couple of people on the RA forums asking how they can trim down their code to fit it on the RA because the libraries are getting to big.

[neuro]

Originally Posted by Sacohen

Yes RA+ is the way to go.
I have seen a couple of people on the RA forums asking how they can trim down their code to fit it on the RA because the libraries are getting to big.

I think the libraries are getting bigger for a good reason too. They're fixing bugs and getting things to work easier for the user/client to do some really cool stuff.

Since I bought it earlier this year, I think they put out 3-4 new builds of the libraries.

[Sacohen]

Originally Posted by neuro

I think the libraries are getting bigger for a good reason too. They're fixing bugs and getting things to work easier for the user/client to do some really cool stuff.

Since I bought it earlier this year, I think they put out 3-4 new builds of the libraries.

That is true. They have added the waves to the libraries now so you just have to call the function that you want. NTM, ReefCrest or what ever it maybe.

[56cbr600rr]

I believe I am going to order one. Will it turn off heater if it malfunctions and pegs to max. Also, I can add an auto feeder can't I?

Thx!

[Dapg8gt]

Originally Posted by 56cbr600rr

I believe I am going to order one. Will it turn off heater if it malfunctions and pegs to max. Also, I can add an auto feeder can't I?

Thx!

Yes it will turn it off. And yes you literally can do anything you want. It will take a learning curve to code it but anything almost is possible.

You can hack one of the autofeeders on the market(I got one used but it came broken) and use it I can get you the name if you need it. . Not sure if the apex one will work though. Go t on the reef angel forum and check it out. Also download the wizard and see how easy it is to use. You don't need the controller to get the wizard FYI.

[Sacohen]

Originally Posted by 56cbr600rr

I believe I am going to order one. Will it turn off heater if it malfunctions and pegs to max. Also, I can add an auto feeder can't I?

Thx!

Yes in the wizard there is an area that asked in the max temp is reach what ports should be turned off.

You can tell it to turn off your, pumps, lights and heater port or any thing you want.

As far as the Autofeeder it has been done and coded into the RA to trigger the feeder and go into feed mode as if you pushed the feed button on the RA.

Here is a link to one of the threads here...

http://forum.reefangel.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=1415

[scarpenter]

i was curious...if you have the RA on a backup power source if the power goes out can you have it shut off all but one pump and a heater?

[Dapg8gt]

Originally Posted by scarpenter

i was curious...if you have the RA on a backup power source if the power goes out can you have it shut off all but one pump and a heater?

Yes but you need to code it in. You can have a relay hooked onto ac power and the RA senses when it loses power.

There's a thread on it on the RA forum. You should check out that place it's great There is a few ways to do it one with an extra relay box running just what you want I think.

[Sacohen]

There are several ways to set it up, but lnevo has set it up in his code and it's on the RA forums.

As Dapg8gt said if you have multiple relay boxes you can have it sense wen one of them loses power and then kick in the power saver code.

You can also use a 5v wallwart plugged into one of the ATO ports to trigger the power saver code.

[chercm]

trying to compare with profilux or Apex . does Reef angel have hanging problems ?

[Colin]

Originally Posted by chercm

trying to compare with profilux or Apex . does Reef angel have hanging problems ?

Not that I'm aware of.

--Colin