new thermostat on reptile basic

http://reptilebasics.com/blog/2011/0...m-electronics/

Thanks for that, interesting read. I still wish the main web site was up and not just an in progress one. Anyone have an online user manual?

just got mine two days ago works great i love it. im going to post my rack i made for $20 and im using that thermostat with it

I like some of the features. The battery backup for the display, the user replaceable probe, the 700watt capacity, built in night drop, grounded cord. Sounds like a quality product and if RBI is standing behind it that says a lot right there. I think we are going to be "guinea pigs" and try it out on our incubator.

Seems like a solid tstat so far. The ability to lower the temps without having to cycle all the way through is enough to make me switch from helix, because that crap is annoying. The extra wattage should be helpful one day too.

Hello all-
I am happy to see my new gadgets have been spotted! I have always liked this forum over most of the others so I figured I will address some of the questions/statements I see here first!

First off, the probe accuracy- I have selected a digital probe, much like the other two proportional stats out there. It is in the same family of sensors as at least one of the other units and while I have not pulled apart the other to see I would be surprised if it was not also in the same family. This family of sensors is digital so no calibration is needed. They are very consistent from piece to piece and fall into the 1-2% accuracy range. The thermostat itself uses .25 degree resolution. After a gagillion hours of staring at thermostats operating about every heater I could think of I found that to be the best across the board compromise. I can get it down to around the .1 degree range but found that did not necessarily make things better and with some heaters made things worse. With this combination of probe and software resolution I could keep most all heater combinations around 1 degree once it stabilized for extended periods of time. In many cases weeks. In an insulated incubator almost indefinitely as long-as you don't open the door anyhow. That aint bad.:taz:

I also went away from the dimming method of proportional control. I went with a duty cycle approach or “pulse”. Basically we chopped up a 1 second period into about 900 parts. We gradually increase or decrease the number of parts of a second the power stays on. The trade off is this is not too good with incandescent light bulbs for heating. They will blink. But for most all other elements like heat panels, heat tape, etc this works quite well and gives me much better control than the dimming I tested did. It also helps to get rid of the annoying hum you get out of dimming stats on metal shelves- for those that care. Not to fear- a dimming version is already on the horizon for those that use light bulbs! All of the hardware is pretty much built in to the existing units we just need to get the software finished. We have been really working hard on the 3 out there now but will start on the new projects in the coming few weeks.

Next, I saw someone say they were $20 MORE than a Helix. Not sure how the math was figured on that but the VE-200 is the closest to a DBS-1000 and is about $25 LESS. Since you brought up Helix you also get more than 1 button, Hi/Lo history and a 200 watt higher power rating. The VE-300 retails about the same as the Helix and has built in night drop and alarms on top of the VE-200 features.

The battery backup in the VE-300 is also pretty nice. Should last about 3 years without any AC power. Got one going for 4 months and still going strong! I want to personally see the 3 years but will have to wait awhile. Very similar to the battery set up on a computer motherboard. By the way- ALL models retain ALL settings with a power loss and for all eternity for that matter- the battery is only for the clock so your internal night drop settings will still be working properly when AC comes back.

So why did I do all of this?
As I have seen pointed out, the 1 button thing is a bit silly. I have successfully used, and sold, Helix for many years now. But I have never understood the button thing. I know why- money, but never understood. It just does not cost that much. First declaration I made when this got started was there shall be more than one button! My next item was why not have a probe long enough to actually use without charging extra for it? I mean come on- how much does 4 more feet of wire add to the cost? How about the ability to replace the probe easily? How about the fuse as well? Again, all money driven choices but really a pain.

I have looked at hundreds of thermostats in service over the years and sold thousands. Most all of them seem to either need a p.o.s stand that sort of works to hold them up or they wind up laying on top of the rack pointing at the ceiling. I know that’s how most of mine were. Cured that. Again, simply cost a little bit more. This case also allowed me to better vent the heat out and also provide a higher power capability. The thing microprocessors and triacs really do not like is heat. The heat in a solid state thermostat comes from a component called a triac which does the switching. Neat thing is they don’t wear out but they do get hot. More power = more heat. The smaller the case the harder the heat is to get rid of. Cooler it runs the happier electronic components are.

So, if I spent more on the parts- which I did- then why am I selling them for the same or less? Simple, I don’t make as much and in my opinion for the technology offered the Helix is just not the value it once was. I wanted to make these as user friendly, uncomplicated and as durable as practical. Then I started working on sourcing parts in larger quantity to get the cost down. Not the other way around. Part of the lengthy process.

I also saw a post from someone stating they wanted to wait 6 months or so and see what happens- I 100% understand that point of view. Of course, I don’t like it! I have had beta units out in the field since middle of last year and a few here running for a few weeks longer than that. The ones here have had quite a bit of changing of software and some hardware as part of the development process but have had the same basic guts in them and are still running quite well. The beta’s out there have been humming along on the same hardware components and only a very small software change for the duration and have been operating flawlessly. The other 2 ½ years was spent with varying degrees of failure and successes that led up to this point. Testing, testing, changing, testing and more testing. I really have been hyper critical on this and the few inner circle people on this project can certainly attest to that. It seemed so much simpler in theory :)

I personally test and do the final assembly on each one before it goes in the box. When it leaves here I can say it 100% worked.

A couple of years back I started producing my own heat panels here. One of the competing makers started a pretty hardcore smear campaign. Houses will burn! Animals will die! A terrible plague will fall on all non believers! Well, a couple of years later and 3000+ panels I have replaced 2. Neither did anything dramatic, they just quit. Replaced them both. One was obvious operator error and one of the first 20 panels I sold. the other I have not seen personally yet but again, no drama- just stopped. To date I have not yet “smeared” back. Really not much point. Reason I have a good rep in this community is I tend to keep my mouth shut and answer questions pretty straight when asked. Not a lot of drama. I also am pretty slow to add or change things. I like them to work and be a pretty decent value and be suited to the task for which they are intended. Fact is, there are two other very reputable stat makers in the proportional category already out there and like anything there are pro’s and con’s all the way around including here. I come to the table with what I believe to be some good pro’s and I hope you will try out my new stats (Even if it is 6 months from now!). I enlisted the capabilities of a couple of very experienced engineers and spent as much time as was required to have the best chance of success. This was something I really did not need to do. It was something I wanted to do.

Oh, forgot to mention- several other new toys on this same hardware platform coming over the horizon! The VE website will be up and running very shortly. I spent about all of my time getting the stats to work right and now I need to catch up on the other trimmings that go along with it. Site will have resellers listed, both here and abroad as well as more detailed specs and instruction manuals. Feel free to ask in the mean time!

Great response Rich, I'm sure I'll be adding one of these to my stable soon. Seems I can't go more than a few months without ordering something from you. :D

You just earned respect with me, PERIOD!
Mine has been up and running for almost a month and to me all 7 pieces of 11" flex are at more constant temps than the Helix.
The one hooked to the VE vary by about 2 or 3 degrees and the helix is closer to 3 to 5.:confused:

Rich thanks for answering my accuracy concerns a two degree throw at the worst case is about as good as can be expected, better than 90% of the thermometers regularly seen in the herp market.

I have a second fiddly question if the VE 200 is connected to a modified seine wave will it continue to work effectively or will the unit 'stick' and end up in a dead off or run away ON state?

I also was the one who questioned the price point I believe the current pricing places all three units within 26$ (herpstat grounded 113$ dbs1000 grounded 136$ and VE-300 139$) Personally I don't care much about the pricing the question is always what is best for my animals. I just felt that I try to have facts right I check before I post, 90% of the time, and if I don't I state it up front. No offence just clarifying my previous statement was accurate.

Do you have a multi probe, Accurate (+/- 0.5ºF would be nice... 1ºF is more realistic I guess) temperature tracking system in the works? I have been hoping that one will appear on the market but so far no dice. If I am dreaming, with a networkable, universal web interface... :D

Thanks for the input, and I am sure your product will do well I am hoping to order one sometime after the summer to test it out.
Alex

I've had mine for a month also. I've had it hooked up to my incubator and so far it's doin' good. Has lots of features and easy to operate. I'll buy more of them. Hell of a device.......