OpenSprinkler OSBee Bee WiFi 3.0 Open Source User Manual
- June 6, 2024
- OpenSprinkler
Table of Contents
OpenSprinkler OSBee Bee WiFi 3.0 Open Source
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). 
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.
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.
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.
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.
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