Automated testing

zombie

Dolphin
M.A.S.C Club Member
#1
Just announced at MACNA. Automated testing of the big three. Unfortunately only compatible with apex 2016 so it's gonna piss a lot of people off.

https://youtu.be/TqJcoyCn4yk

You might be an engineer if...You have no life and can prove it mathematically.
 

Dr.DiSilicate

Great White Shark
M.A.S.C Club Member
ex-officio
#3
Balz3352;676145 said:
Piss people off Like me! Once I need an upgrade I will most likely switch controllers
Switch to or from Neptune? Just curious what's up???


The auto testing is cool but I don't think I'd need 4 teats a day. I wonder if you could program it to do 1 a day? The titration will 40 bucks for 2 months at 4 times a day which is steep but may be worth it if you could stretch it.


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Balz3352

Reef Shark
M.A.S.C Club Member
#4
Im not a fan of companies who purposely faze out older products by forcing upgrades. Especially when less than a year ago they said that they would keep things compatible. Im betting my apex will work great for many years and by the time I need an upgrade someone else will have a better product. Like ghl.

Id honestly only want to test alk daily and calc probably 2 times a week.
 

Dr.DiSilicate

Great White Shark
M.A.S.C Club Member
ex-officio
#6
Balz3352;676155 said:
I might change my mind on the matter if there truly is a reason the classic wouldn't work with it. But I highly doubt that.
It says that the "classic" which I also have will not work "for many reasons..." so now I'm a bit pissed. Lol

To upgrade my apex I'd need the new $800 apex and another energy bar $230 and then to add the testing about $550 sooooo $1580... holy crap. I have a test kit.


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Dr.DiSilicate

Great White Shark
M.A.S.C Club Member
ex-officio
#7
You can program to test as often or seldom as you like however. My wife even says that it sounds "kinda cool" but she doesn't know about the pricing! That's plane tickets to wherever for the family. Or a mortgage payment. Lol
 

zombie

Dolphin
M.A.S.C Club Member
#8
Dr.DiSilicate;676162 said:
It says that the "classic" which I also have will not work "for many reasons..." so now I'm a bit pissed. Lol

To upgrade my apex I'd need the new $800 apex and another energy bar $230 and then to add the testing about $550 sooooo $1580... holy crap. I have a test kit.


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You wouldn't need a new energy bar (unless you only have one and need it to sell your old one). But still $1300 minus whatever you could sell your old one for is a bit steep.

You might be an engineer if...You have no life and can prove it mathematically.
 

Dr.DiSilicate

Great White Shark
M.A.S.C Club Member
ex-officio
#9
zombie;676169 said:
You wouldn't need a new energy bar (unless you only have one and need it to sell your old one). But still $1300 minus whatever you could sell your old one for is a bit steep.

You might be an engineer if...You have no life and can prove it mathematically.
Are the old ones backwards compatible?


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zombie

Dolphin
M.A.S.C Club Member
#10
Dr.DiSilicate;676170 said:
Are the old ones backwards compatible?


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Yes. All pre apex 2016 modules are compatible with 2016 head unit. Even AC3 modules.

Everything except the trident and the eb832 are compatible with classic.

You might be an engineer if...You have no life and can prove it mathematically.
 

aquarius

Blenny
M.A.S.C Club Member
#11
This is nice except the new apex is effing ugly. And their customer service is atrocious. GHL has alk testing now as well and in talking with them today they are expecting to have calcium and magnesium sometime next year as well so hopefully apex won't be the only option. And a much better looking option to top it off.
 

zombie

Dolphin
M.A.S.C Club Member
#12
aquarius;676185 said:
This is nice except the new apex is effing ugly. And their customer service is atrocious. GHL has alk testing now as well and in talking with them today they are expecting to have calcium and magnesium sometime next year as well so hopefully apex won't be the only option. And a much better looking option to top it off.
How is neptunes customer service atrocious? They have always gone above and beyond in my experience. My beef with the GHL is that their programming platform is a royal PITA similar to protective relays I program for work. A hobbyist grade controller should not require a BS in engineering and years of field experience to be "easy" to program.

You might be an engineer if...You have no life and can prove it mathematically.
 

aquarius

Blenny
M.A.S.C Club Member
#13
GHL may not be the way to go but I can't imagine the programming is that hard but never having used one personally I can't say. In all truth I'd really like to see a controller from Ecotech as I'd be willing to bet it would be the best controller offering. As far as customer service I manage over 20 apex units, most of them gold edition plus who knows how many extra modules yet I still have to call and leave a message for them to get back in touch with me at their convenience. I don't see what about that is above and beyond lol. That seems more like what I'd expect to get as far as customer service from jebao not an American company charging a premium for their product. You don't get this from any company that I'm aware of but Neptune, certainly not Tunze, Cobalt, Ecotech, Marineland or Hydor which fortunately are the only other products I've ever needed service on in the last 20 years other than Neptune.
 

zombie

Dolphin
M.A.S.C Club Member
#14
The waiting does suck I agree, but not really different than other electronics manufacturers with similar sized markets. Most use form lists and callbacks nowadays (though is really nice when you can talk to an actual person right away). What I mean by above and beyond is their system that sends you a temporary apex/module overnight shipped with only a deposit while you wait for service during a claim (even if out of warranty) and they will provide full blown support (minus free labor and parts if an RMA is needed) even on out of warranty items.

You might be an engineer if...You have no life and can prove it mathematically.
 

jda123

Dolphin
M.A.S.C Club Member
#15
It is going to suck and not work right for a few iterations anyway. By then, most of this will all come out in the wash. Some smart dude might even figure out how to make it work with the older models. I would caution any early adopters of this not to really count on it for anything and to test by hand before you take an action.
 
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