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RainRelay8 plugin vs Rain8Net Plugin

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    RainRelay8 plugin vs Rain8Net Plugin

    I just purchased the Rain8Net Pro2, a Rain8Net Pro2 Expansion sprinkler controllers and the WF2SL - Wifi to Serial Converter (since the valves and the relay control point are not near my computer).

    I'm using HSPro and can download the HS Plugin "RainRelay8" for free. Then there is the "Rain8Net" plugin for $40.
    To make it even more confusing, there 3 versions of mcsSprinkler.

    Question:
    Which should I use?

    Thanks,
    Alan

    #2
    Not positive but I think one is for the IP controlled device, and the other is for the serial. Jeeze, I hope that is correct.

    Originally posted by Alan View Post
    I just purchased the Rain8Net Pro2, a Rain8Net Pro2 Expansion sprinkler controllers and the WF2SL - Wifi to Serial Converter (since the valves and the relay control point are not near my computer).

    I'm using HSPro and can download the HS Plugin "RainRelay8" for free. Then there is the "Rain8Net" plugin for $40.
    To make it even more confusing, there 3 versions of mcsSprinkler.

    Alan
    Don

    Comment


      #3
      The Relay8 and Rain8 have the same software protocol so turning on and off the 8 ports can be done with any of the plugins. mcsSprinklers contains scheduling logic which includes environment-based scheduling to optimize the water utilization as well as retention of historical data for comparision purposes. With the other plugins you essentially are using the time-based event model of Homeseer to do your scheduling. The three levels of mcsSprinklers are based upon the capability needed. Basic is time-based scheduling, Standard is time or weather-based, Professional contains bells and whistles for user-specific customizations. During mcsSprnklers trial the three levels can be evaluated with a single download.

      Comment


        #4
        Micheal,

        How is the web data obtained? - in that, is there a specific site which needs to be configured, then devices get created which McsSprinkler monitors? I currently use UltraWeatherbug. This gives me the ability to set devices for specific weather conditions - temp, rainfall etc.

        Robert
        HS3PRO 3.0.0.500 as a Fire Daemon service, Windows 2016 Server Std Intel Core i5 PC HTPC Slim SFF 4GB, 120GB SSD drive, WLG800, RFXCom, TI103,NetCam, UltraNetcam3, BLBackup, CurrentCost 3P Rain8Net, MCsSprinker, HSTouch, Ademco Security plugin/AD2USB, JowiHue, various Oregon Scientific temp/humidity sensors, Z-Net, Zsmoke, Aeron Labs micro switches, Amazon Echo Dots, WS+, WD+ ... on and on.

        Comment


          #5
          mcsSprinklers specific questions really belong in a different thread. mcsSprinklers will take the weather data from wherever it is available and this is selected on a sensor-by-sensor basis so you could take temperature from your local Temp08 via HS virtual device, Wind Speed from a local school's AWS feed, Rainfall from a WeatherUnderground location, Forecast Rain from Weather.Com and ET from from .cvs files for those that have weather stations that dump data to a file.

          Comment


            #6
            Wow, it does a lot! Just wish the Pro version was more affordable. But, it is clear that a lot of time went into creating that software :-)

            I still don't know the difference between RainRelay8 and Rain8Net plugins. Anyone?

            Comment


              #7
              Two different authors, but essentially the same. You have the ability via HS devices to turn on and off each of the eight outputs of the unit. The Rain8Net has a counter input, but I do not know if Larry's plugin supports this input or not. If you want a scripting package for timed control to wrap around one of these plugins then you can use Steve's that is posted on the irrigation forum. mcsSprinklers STD gives you ET-based control which is what most want to conserve water. You will be meassuring your ROI in terms of weeks if you have any variability in your weather conditions during the irrigation season.

              Comment


                #8
                Almost all plug-ins have at least a 30 day trial..so you can try them and determine the features-options that you like...if any do not work as you expect then you've made no commitment.
                -Larry

                A member of "The HA Pioneer Group", MyWebSite

                Plugins:
                VWS, AB8SS, lrpSpeak, Calendar, Arduino, Harmony, BlueIris, Sprinklers, ZipBackup...

                Hardware:
                Intel NUC8i7BEH1 running Windows 10 Pro headless, HS3 Pro, Plex running on Synology dual High Availability DS-1815+ NAS (24Tb each), Synology Surveillance Station running on DS-416 Slim (8Tb), Samsung SmartThings, Google Home, Alexa, Hubitat Elevation, ZNET, Ubiquiti UniFi Network, Davis Vantage Pro II Weather Station. Whole house speaker system using a couple of AB8SS switches. Vantage Pro II Weather Station, Rain8Net Sprinklers, Hubitat Elevation, Google Home, Alexa, DSC Security System, Ubiquiti UniFi Network.

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