Pool equipment

[JonW]

informative thread! I'm about to start hooking up my RS12 to homeseer.

There are two interfaces from jandy, the 7270-Pc automation, and the 7620-home automation. Which one do I need? The 7270 is about $100, while the 7620 is 5-6x. All I can tell is that the 7620 gives you greater control over the RS232 protocol to help interface with different automation systems, something i may not need on a pc?

Thanks for the help guys!

You'll need the 7620 version. It will give you a published serial protocol that can be used to query and control the Jandy system. The 7270 version is little more than an RS-485 to RS-232 adapter. (It does have some interfacing logic in it, but not like the 7620 version.) Most of the logic of the 7270 interface is in the software they provide, thus you wouldn't be able to easily use the interface with HomeSeer.

Bottom line is that if you want to roll your own interface, spend hours and hours reverse engineering their data stream and save a few bucks in the process, then take a chance and get the 7270. If instead you want something that you can plug in, write some quick script lines of serial strings and be up and running, then get the 7620.

I've had my 7620 for 5 or 6 years and I think I paid about $350 for it back then. Where did you find the 7270 for around $100?

 

[jlegault]

Good info. There is so little data on the pc unit, wanted to be sure. My pool builder can get it for 100.

 

[JonW]

Good info. There is so little data on the pc unit, wanted to be sure. My pool builder can get it for 100.

It seems like your pool guy is overcharging for the 7620 and undercharging for the 7270. At $100, I'd buy it just to see how difficult the protocol is to deal with knowing that you could always sell it and get what you paid for it back.

I personally have not used the 7270, so I can't comment on how easy or hard it might be to work with, but I do know that there is no published protocol for it (like there is for the 7620). I have used a straight RS-485 to RS-232 converter on my Jandy system and it is very difficult to interface to it this way, so the 7270 may likely be just as hard.

 

[SHRemote]

I'm also looking to connect my Jandy equipment to my HAI system. Currently I've got a Jandy AquaLink PDA system. I'm wondering whether I can directly connect the 7620 to the bezel (because I don't have a hard wired controller) or if I have to upgrade and get a hard wired controller.

 

[JonW]

I'm also looking to connect my Jandy equipment to my HAI system. Currently I've got a Jandy AquaLink PDA system. I'm wondering whether I can directly connect the 7620 to the bezel (because I don't have a hard wired controller) or if I have to upgrade and get a hard wired controller.

What do you mean by bezel? Do you mean the power center (where your breakers and manual pool/spa controls are)? If so, then yes, you can add it to the system there. There is a 4 wire RS-485 bus that your PDA base is wired into as well as where you wire in Jandy compatible items like the salt system and heater. The 7620 wires right into that 4 wire bus for communication.

 

[jlegault]

It seems like your pool guy is overcharging for the 7620 and undercharging for the 7270. At $100, I'd buy it just to see how difficult the protocol is to deal with knowing that you could always sell it and get what you paid for it back.

I personally have not used the 7270, so I can't comment on how easy or hard it might be to work with, but I do know that there is no published protocol for it (like there is for the 7620). I have used a straight RS-485 to RS-232 converter on my Jandy system and it is very difficult to interface to it this way, so the 7270 may likely be just as hard.

Exactly what i was looking for. The 7620 is true protocol interface, not just a serial adapter. It's the one to buy.

 

[SHRemote]

What do you mean by bezel? Do you mean the power center (where your breakers and manual pool/spa controls are)? If so, then yes, you can add it to the system there. There is a 4 wire RS-485 bus that your PDA base is wired into as well as where you wire in Jandy compatible items like the salt system and heater. The 7620 wires right into that 4 wire bus for communication.

The bezel is the control inside the power center (at least that's what Jandy calls it - the Power Center Bezel (PCB)). While the power center box for the Jandy PDA and Jandy RS are identical, the PCB's are a little different. I spoke to someone at Jandy and they say that the chip on the PDA bezel is different from the RS bezel and they have different functionality. If the serial adapter is designed for the RS bezel, I might have to swap out my PCB for the RS one.