OpenSprinkler OSBee User manual

Opensprinkler Bee WiFi 3.0 User Manual
(Mar 2021)
1. Introduction
OpenSprinkler Bee (OSBee) 3.0 is an open-source, WiFi-enabled sprinkler controller for latching solenoid
valves. It is suitable for garden and lawn watering, flower and plant irrigation, hydroponics, and other
types of watering projects. It comes with built-in WiFi, OLED display, laser cut acrylic enclosure, and can
switch up to 3 zones independently. It is primarily designed for latching solenoid valves, although with a
simple modification it can also operate non-latching valves (e.g. standard 24VAC sprinkler valves), low-
voltage fish tank pumps, and other types of low-voltage DC or AC valves and pumps.
The package includes one assembled and tested OSBee circuit board in 3D printed enclosure, USB
cable, and (optionally) a USB power adapter (5VDC output, minimum 1A current).
2. Hardware Setup
OSBee has four terminals marked COM (common), Z1 (zone 1), Z2, and Z3. The positive (+) wire (often
colored red) of each valve should be connected together and go to the COM terminal; the negative (-)
wire (often colored black) of each valve should go to an individual zone (1, 2, or 3). At the back of the
controller there are four big screws. Un-tighten a screw, insert the wire through the opening below it,
wrap the wire around the screw, then tighten the screw. OSBee is powered by a USB adapter through a
microUSB cable.
3. Software Setup
The first time you power on OSBee, or after each factory reset, the controller starts in AP (Access Point)
mode. In this mode, OSBee creates a WiFi SSID, the name of which is printed on the LCD screen (e.g.
OSB_xxxxxx). Use your smartphone, or laptop to connect to this WiFi SSID (there is no WiFi password).
Once connected, open a web browser on your phone (or laptop) and type in the IP address 192.168.4.1.
This should open the WiFi configuration page. The main purpose of the WiFi configuration is to let
OSBee know your home WiFi's name and password, so that it can subsequently connect to your WiFi. So

choose, or directly type in your home WiFi's SSID and WiFi password (Note: it only connects to 2.4G
WiFi). If you have already created a Blynk app token (see Section 5), you can also paste it here,
otherwise, just leave the token blank. Click on 'Submit'. At this point, OSBee will attempt to connect to
your WiFi, and if successful, it will reboot itself, and now WiFi configuration is complete. From now on, it
remembers your WiFi and will always attempt to connect to it when it's powered on. If you want to
change the WiFi network, you can perform a factory reset and it will go back to AP mode.
In WiFi station mode, OSBee obtains an IP address from your home WiFi router. This IP address is
printed on the LCD screen at the bottom. Open a browser and type in the IP address, it should open
OSBee's homepage show below. The default device key is opendoor, which you can change in Settings.
4. Using the Built-in Web Interface
The Homepage (left image above) shows the current time, status of each zone, and buttons that lead to
other pages. Click on "Settings" at the lower-left of the homepage, this will open the Settings/Options
page (middle image above), where you can configure the time zone, device name, zone name, and other
options. At the homepage, you can also click on "Manual" to open the Manual Control page, where you
can start a test program or any of the existing programs. Again, the default device key is opendoor.

Back to the homepage, click on a Program button (the black-colored
button creates a new program, and blue-colored buttons are existing
programs) to add a new program or edit an existing program. The
program editing interface (shown on the left) allows you to change
the program name, configure it as a weekly or interval program, set
odd/even day restrictions, set the first start time and additional start
times. Each program consists of a number of program tasks. First
append a new task, then click a zone to enable or disable that zone
from the task, and finally set the duration. Program tasks are flexible:
you can set multiple zones to turn on at the same time, and you can
have the same zone turn on multiple times in different tasks. You
can also leave all zones off in a task, to create a delay/gap for a
specified amount of duration. To delete or edit an existing task, click
the index of the task, which will highlight that task in yellow, then you
can edit zones or the duration again. When you are done, click on
Submit to finish editing the program.
The homepage also has a
Program Preview button which
opens a new page showing a
graphical preview of the
programs. At the top-right corner
of the program preview page, you
can navigate to different days.
The Log button opens a new
page showing the history of
recent watering events, including
the time, zone, and program/task
information of each event. If you
want to trigger a software reboot
of the controller, go to Settings
pages, and use the 'Reboot'
button there.
LCD and button functions: OSBee has a built-in OLED display. It shows the current time, and zone
status. At the bottom it shows the IP address. Clicking the black pushbutton (lower-right to the LCD) will
cycle through additional information, such as MAC address etc.
Factory Reset: to perform factory reset (e.g. if you need to switch to another WiFi network), press and
hold the pushbutton for more than 5 seconds, and release. The controller will reboot, all settings will be
recovered to factory reset, and the controller will go back to WiFi AP mode.
Firmware Update: when new firmware becomes available, you can either update firmware over WiFi (at
the homepage, top-right corner, Update button; or in a web browser, type controller's IP address
followed by /update.html); you can also update a new firmware using the microUSB port (the controller
has built-in USB serial). Details on how to update firmware through USB can be found on OSBee's
Github page:
https://github.com/OpenSprinkler/OSBeeWiFi-Firmware

Customize boosted voltage for valve opening/closing: by default OSBee generates a boosted voltage of
21V to open/close a latching solenoid valve. This usually works fine for all latching valves, regardless of
the brand/type. However, some solenoid valves require a different voltage for opening the valve vs.
closing the valve. This voltage can be customized in the Settings page, where you can specify a different
voltage for opening vs. closing.
Interfacing with Non-Latching solenoids and low-voltage DC pumps: although OSBee is designed
primarily for latching solenoid valves, it CAN work with non-latching solenoid valves as well (such as
standard 24VAC sprinkler valves, low-voltage DC pumps such as fish tank pumps, and other low-voltage
valves) with a simple modification. To do so, 1) locate the NL Jumper (non-latching jumper) on the
circuit board (close to the microUSB port), solder that jumper so that the two pins are connected; and 2)
in Settings set the valve type to 'Non-Latching'. When operating in non-latching mode, once the valve is
open, the controller will continue supplying holding current to the valve to keep it open. NOTE: never
connect a latching solenoid to the controller when it's configured in non-latching mode -- as latching
solenoids have very low resistance, using them in non-latching mode will result in shorting.

5. Using the Blynk App
OSBee firmware supports remote access through the Blynk app. This allows you to remotely access the
controller, check its current status, and run a program. To use this feature, first install the Blynk app on
your smartphone. Then scan the OpenSprinkler Bee Blynk project QR code, available at:
https://github.com/OpenSprinkler/OSBeeWiFi-App/tree/master/Blynk
this will import the project to your Blynk app. The full version of the project requires paying a couple of
dollars to buy additional Blynk energy points, while the simple version of the project does not require any
additional payment to import the QR code.
Once the Blynk project is created, you can go to the project settings to obtain the cloud token. Then
paste this token at OSBee's Settings page, submit, and reboot OSBee controller. This way the firmware
will communicate with the Blynk cloud using the token, and allow the Blynk app to access the controller
remotely, even if you are not at home.
6. Specification and Open-Source Links
Input voltage (typical): 5VDC through USB
Input voltage (maximum): 12VDC (e.g. if using solar power)
Current consumption: 80~140mA (depending on WiFi signal strength)
Power consumption: input voltage x current (typically 5V x 100mA = 0.5 Watt)
Product dimension: 63mm x 63mm (2.5in x 2.5in)
Product weight: 50g (1.7oz)
Hardware components: ESP8266 (MCU+WiFi), MC34063 (voltage booster), PCF8563 (RTC),
CH340C (USB serial), SSD1306 (OLED), 4x half H-bridges.
OpenSprinkler Bee is completely open-source. Its hardware design files, firmware code, and Blynk
project QR code can be found at the following Github repositories:
●https://github.com/OpenSprinkler/OSBeeWiFi-Hardware
●https://github.com/OpenSprinkler/OSBeeWiFi-Firmware
●https://github.com/OpenSprinkler/OSBeeWiFi-App