Toro ECXTA irrigation time

dBeau

Active Member
I've been looking for a "user interface" to my irrigation system but havent found much of interest. The ECXTRA seem oh so close. The idea is that I want a "normal" looking controller out in the garage, mostly for manual override use and use by folks other than myself. Behind the scenes, the Elk will be monitoring and approving all requests. Considering the difficulty of programming a watering schedule into the elk, I'd also like to be able to remotely set the schedule via the PC.

For all but that last bit, the ECXTRA (or any other typical device) would be fine. The ECXTRA, however, has a feature that allows a program to be downloaded to a USB dongle which can then be taken out and plugged into the EXCTA. The program is then uploaded into the ECXTRA. It's obvious that the ECXTRA communicates with the dongle via some serial protocol. It stands to reason then, that an adapter could be created that would take the place of the dongle and provide direct communication with the ECXTRA.

So the question is, does anyone know anything about the protocol used between the ECXTRA and it's USB dongle? ...created an RS232 adapter for it? ...figured out the packet format and command structure?
 
I've been looking for a "user interface" to my irrigation system but havent found much of interest. The EXCTA seem oh so close. The idea is that I want a "normal" looking controller out in the garage, mostly for manual override use and use by folks other than myself. Behind the scenes, the Elk will be monitoring and approving all requests. Considering the difficulty of programming a watering schedule into the elk, I'd also like to be able to remotely set the schedule via the PC.

For all but that last bit, the EXCTA (or any other typical device) would be fine. The EXCTA, however, has a feature that allows a program to be downloaded to a USB dongle which can then be taken out and plugged into the EXCTA. The program is then uploaded into the EXCTA. It's obvious that the EXCTA communicates with the dongle via some serial protocol. It stands to reason then, that an adapter could be created that would take the place of the dongle and provide direct communication with the EXCTA.

So the question is, does anyone know anything about the protocol used between the EXCTA and it's USB dongle? ...created an RS232 adapter for it? ...figured out the packet format and command structure?

Have you seen MainLobby's user interface / control system for irrigation?
http://www.cinemarsolutions.com/mlserver.mlirrigation.html

We have also used cheap X10 RF or slightly more expensive W800RF wireless hardware for convenient irrigation system maintenance. Bring the controller (water resistent ones are available) out to the sprinkler head in question and put the MainLobby irrigation system into Manual mode (single click) and then operate the zones from the handheld.
 
Toro has a EXCTRA forum with this post:
http://forum.ecxtra.com/topic.asp?$sid=&id=74

Apparently what you need is available from Irritrol:
http://www.irritrol.com/pccontrol/


Thanks Lagerhead... I did manage to find that forum, but the thread you pointed to is new to me. The Irritrol isnt really an option because it seems to have the same problem as the ECXTA, a non-open protocol. From the looks of it I'll bet it costs quite a bit more than the $80 for the ECXTA and the dongle. One poster there mentioned that you can at least leave the dongle connect to both the PC and the ECXTA and it will still function as expected. Knowing that makes buying the thing worthwhile. I'll see if I can whip it into shape.
 
Have you seen MainLobby's user interface / control system for irrigation?
http://www.cinemarsolutions.com/mlserver.mlirrigation.html

That's a pretty slick interface. It's exactly what I would like to use myself. But... I'm trying really hard to keep the house from looking like a "smart house". For the most part, that means everything has to have an interface that is just like what would be expected of a not so smart house. I'm the only one who is supposed to know about the strings getting pulled behind the scenes. When the irrigation guy comes at the of the season to blow out the lines, the last thing I want to do is spend 20 minutes telling him how to use a touch screen... and then hand it over to him. He or anyone else who cares to already knows how to use an ECXTA. I do admire the work that has gone into ML, but it doesnt fit this application.
 
I've been thinking about the same thing - kinda. My wife wants nothing to do with my HA toys and prefers the "old fashioned" controllers for everything. For sprinklers, I was thinking of taking our existing controller and feeding it into a set of digital inputs on the HA computer (think ELK zones, parallel port hack, or other dedicated input) and then using a Rain8 or similar to actually do the controlling. So basically, when the wife changes the controller, it will send a signal to the HA server instead of the sprinkler solenoids, the server will then (via some creative scripting yet to be developed) decide on whether to override her manual setting or not. I haven't thought it all out yet, but I'm leaning this way...

Terry
 
Did you see the new version of the Rain-8? It has buttons right on the unit to turn individual valves on and off.

BTW, there are a lot cheaper solutions than MainLobby if you don't want that elaborate of an interface. FYI, you can always trigger a zone via a PalmPad controller with your automation system, or use the Rain-8 Wireless and trigger it directly (will need a CM19a interface to control it directly via a computer).

There are a lot of options with the various WGL product lines.

I use the Relay-8 and control mine via X-10 commands from HomeSeer. You could also do this via Elk rules or other programmable controllers such as an Ocelot.

I've said this many times, but the reason I like the WGL product line is it has an internal time out (that you set via a computer) so if you loose control (between it and your automation system) it will turn off the zone at that specified time.
 
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