Help needed

[jpwcollins]

Hi Ulrich

Thank you so much from Canada for creating this amazing device and code! I am using it, but agree it is a bit unstable.

I would like to update to your latest version (the branch on the diyscip project) but I am not at all familiar with coding. I have downloaded VS Code and PlatformIO but am struggling to configure it for upload to my Arduino.

Would you be prepared to help, and if so could I contact you by email?

Thanks so much,

Jonathan

[UlrichMai]

I am happy to help. You will be the 3rd person I know that is using it, in fact I am meeting a friend tonight to upgrade his pool from MaiPureSpaController to diyscip version.
I think we should keep our discussion in this issue. I might be helpful to other. At least I learn a lot from reading the issues from others. Can you describe what your environment is? Pool version? Windows/Linux? you did build my "pcb less version", meaning putting a D1 mini on the back of the display? You are looking for controlling it via homekit or mqtt or both?

[jpwcollins]

That’s great, thank you! Yes, I built your ‘PCB-less version’ using a D1 mini compatible board. I uploaded MaiSpaController to the board using the Arduino IDE application on a Mac. I’d like to keep using HomeKit, but I can’t figure out how to compile and upload the diyscip code from Github. I’ve opened it with VisualStudio code (with the PlatformIO extension), but when I try to build it I get an error which I think relates to a missing password.ini file. I have chosen the correct (default) options in config.h Sorry if this is a simple situation. I have no coding experience so I’m learning one step at a time! Thank you for your help!

…

On Aug 25, 2020, at 7:43 AM, Ulrich Mai ***@***.***> wrote:  I am happy to help. You will be the 3rd person I know that is using it, in fact I am meeting a friend tonight to upgrade his pool from MaiPureSpaController to diyscip version. I think we should keep our discussion in this issue. I might be helpful to other. At least I learn a lot from reading the issues from others. Can you describe what your environment is? Pool version? Windows/Linux? you did build my "pcb less version", meaning putting a D1 mini on the back of the display? You are looking for controlling it via homekit or mqtt or both? — You are receiving this because you authored the thread. Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub, or unsubscribe.

[UlrichMai]

The password.ini is missing by intention, because it contains passwords, that should never to into git. It contains the password used for over the air updates. I apologize, that I did not provide some sample. I now added a password.ini.template file to the repository.
Next problem, that you will run into is, that the homekit library needs some teaks to work in platformio. I also applied some bugfixs and enhancement, that I did not contribute to the original project yet.

I just changed my platform.ini file to point my modified homekit lib version. This should make it easier for you. May be you should delete the .pio/libdeps folder to be sure it draws my version.

If you don't have mqtt environment and want to use homekit only, then please comment out the #define MQTT in config.h

Please use my latest commit and try again.

[jpwcollins]

Thanks so much for the advice. Following your instructions, I've been able to build and upload your latest commit, and the board connects to my wifi network. Unfortunately I'm having trouble adding the controls to Homekit: the Home app sees the spa, and I can enter the 111-11-111 code, but it fails to add it. I'll keep trying, but would appreciate any further tips!

[UlrichMai]

This is strange. I had these problem with the old implementation. The pairing with the new version worked for every time. I flashed the new version yesterday evening to a friends pool, and we needed dozens of tries until the pairing worked. I have no clue what causes this trouble.

[jpwcollins]

Well I'm glad it's not just me! I'll keep trying tomorrow, and let you know how I get on.

[UlrichMai]

hi @jpwcollins, did you get it paired finally?

[jpwcollins]

Hi @UlrichMai , thanks for asking. I did get it paired, but it took a while because I had to get a new spa control board and build a new PCB because of a short circuit. I'm having problems with the stability of the most recent build though - it reports the spa temperature but does not seem able to reliably control the heater unfortunately. There are no longer separate power, filter and heater controls - just heater and pump.