Vertex Cerebra Controller questions/issues

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#5
Here's my initial impressions:
Pro's
Opening box experience: A+
Build quality: A+
Initial setup:B
Temp probe setup:A+
Wireless connection:A
Con's
Manual or lack of one
QR code not working
Screen interface:B
That's a pretty good initial review from the first batch.

What issues have you heard about [MENTION=3768]Confuse[/MENTION] ? Besides that giant thread of all these people complaining about the lack of information available and the overall size of the controller when they haven't even received or used one yet.
 
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#6
It's running Android Ice cream sandwich. Which is super old. It connects via VNC, which isn't a great internet solution. No word on cloud/app access. There's just too much stuff Vertex never shared about the products and features. Too little information to buy it at this point. I want to know if I'll get the same features and same functionality as my Apex and Vertex has been pretty quiet about features, etc. So screw it. I was gonna put it on my Nano. Wasn't a necessity.
 
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#7
I look forward to following along on this thread. I personally think many were tricked by the hype. I think the cerebra will just be an option for entry level reefers but time will tell.
 
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#8
I feel APEX has earned their fame Rightfully (not just hype) but Funny how quickly people are willing to dump there GOOD apex for this unknown product .I could not in good faith trust my reef to the unknown ..I'm just going to be lurking and waiting for people to sell off their apex add ons (salinity probes/orp/ ALD )
 

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#12
found this review on R2R if anyone want a more in depth review...

"Hello All,
Today I finally got my Vertex Cerebra controller and figured I would post my first thoughts.

I do want to start with the far from pleasant release and how this was handled by Vertex. As most know, the original release date was June 20th. This was quickly pushed to the 24th which was not a big deal. This was followed up by delay after delay . The units originally were not even ready to ship out from Germany. Why set a release date. Once they were shipped they provided new dates for arrival which were quickly pushed back as they realized not everything had been shipped. In the mean time they are telling customers and stores that the product has arrived when it hasn't... Come July 12th and most of the product has been shipped out.

With all that being said this is based off of ~5 hours of use and I will update it as I use it more. I will split this up into a couple of sections:
1. Packaging
2. Controller
3. Multi-Bar/Power-Bar
4. Probes
5. Software
6. Overall Thoughts

I ordered the Prima package, Power-Bar, Conductivity probe, optical level sensor, and a float level switch.

1. Packaging
Similar to most Vertex products, packaging for both the Prima Package and the Power-Bar are great. Lots of foam and everything fits snuggly. As for the probes and sensors, they are in very basic cardboard boxes no padding at all. This shouldn't cause any shipping issues.

2. Controller
Build quality overall is top notch. The controller is fully enclosed in aluminum except for the side caps which are plastic. This is a little disappointing and I don't think it would take much to make those aluminum as well. Being plastic, they are also a slightly different shade of black so its easy to see its a different material. The ports on the back are fairly easily accessible although with bigger hands it is a little tough to get to them since they are inset quite a bit. I am having an issue with the USB connection between the controller and the power-bar being loose and the power-bar resets on slight touches. I have not figured out if this is a cable issue or if it is the connector on one of the devices. Overall I am impressed with the unit and am not too worried about accidentally splashing water on it.

3. Multi-Bar/Power-Bar
Just like the controller, the build quality is great and enclosed un aluminum. They again used plastic for the end caps. For a power-strip it is a fairly large unit and could be problematic for some people to find room for it. The mounting hardware supplied is meant for horizontal mounting only. You can still mount it vertically as I did but would have been a little easier with slightly different mounting brackets. There are also no screws or anchors included to mount the unit to the wall so make sure you have that. The clear window with the led indicator is a nice feature to quickly look at for reference or debugging purposes. The units do use mechanical relays which you hear clicking when they change state. Being mechanical I am also curious about longevity for these relays especially if they are controlling equipment that gets switched a lot. The last complaint is the lack of a USB port on the Multi-Bar. Since the temperature probe is a USB connection and all other probes connect to the Multi-Bar it would make sense to at least have one available. The cable attached is fairly long but it does end up being a bit of a stretch to get to the controller.

4. Probes
I have not had a lot of time to mess with the probes and part of that is because the temperature probe is quite thick and did not fit into my probe holder. Once I get more time with them and a new probe holder I will update this section.

5. Software
The Cerebra seems to be running on a custom build of Android 2.3.7 (Gingerbread). There have been some concerns about security since this controller is running on Android. Seeing that this is running on quite an old version of Android, this is a valid concern, as it was last updated 4 years ago. The unit seems to be fairly responsive most of the time but does get caught up every now and then. The resistive touch screen is my biggest issue so far as scrolling is quite difficult especially on a list with buttons. I understand why they went this route as using capacitive with wet fingers would be even worse. For the initial setup I would suggest getting a keyboard and mouse and for any small changes after you can get by with your fingers. Configuring the outlets is fairly simple and can be done very quickly. I do have my concerns because of the simplicity though. With it being very simple, will people be able to do more advanced things that you can do with code on the apex? I also noticed that the icons are sometimes slow with updating their current status. At first, along with the USB connection being iffy, the controller seemed to be turning outlets on and off randomly. This subsided after I updated the controller so that seems to be fixed. They are also still working on the C-Cloud part and have not ported the software over to Amazon servers so it is not working yet. This also shows that this was a very unorganized release which does not look good on the company. Seeing how long it took to get the actual hardware, I would be surprised if this part is ready by the 18th, which is what they are currently saying.

6. Overall Thoughts
After a very disappointing release I do think this controller has a lot of potential but it shows that it is a first release. Most of the issues do seem to be software related which can be fixed with updates as some already have. I do see a lot of possibilities coming once the "Development Package" is released and users and companies can create third party apps. I do have to wonder why they are running on such an outdated version of Android and hope it is kept more up to date in the future for security reasons.

I hope this gives a some people a little bit of info on this controller and I can't wait to see how it progresses over the next few months and years."

"Update:
Probes/Sensors:
I have some gripes about the two level sensors. First the float switch. It comes with a removable plastic nut which is great...but it is too small to fit over the connector. Which means you can't easily mount it onto anything. Next, the optical sensor just doesn't come with one. This is an issue you can fix but when paying $100's for a controller a cheap plastic nut isn't too much to ask for.
I also have a Atlas-Scientific pH probe that I had for a different project and assumed would work but I am unable to get any sort of reading. The Conductivity Probe is another problem as of now. I have attempted to calibrate it 5-6 times now but once I place it back into my tank I get a reading of 1.020-1.021. My tank is at 1.025 which was checked by two different Milwaukee Digital Refractometers.

Todays update was not too promising but I did get a hold of someone at Vertex and have sent him a list of questions/concerns that he will forward on to the developers in Germany. I will hopefully get a response sometime tomorrow afternoon. Below are a couple of pictures of the controller, Multi-Bar, and sensors."
 
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#15
After reading the re-post here from R2R I do agree with most of his points. About the mix of plastic and aluminum, too picky. Most of us have tanks in darkened areas or low room lighting and you can't see the difference, if you cared. The probe isn't THAT thick and it can just be put in your refugium unless you have some anal concern about what it looks like.
He says the packaging was snug and tight but the probes were loose...doesn't make sense unless they were in external boxes.
I did not buy this to have it be plug and play. So far, its very cool and will only get 'geekier'.
Additionally this unit is by far the best looking tool of its kind out there.
 
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#16
Today I calibrated my PH probe with the Cerebra and also recalibrated my Apex PH probe on another tank. The Cerebra gives a live update on the calibration and when it is steady it stops and waits for you to continue on to the next step. Very clear and precise. The Apex doesn't notify you of what it is doing. You just wait till it has stopped changing numbers and then hit 'ok', when you think its done. I do prefer the Cerebra's way of a live update ( it shows the percent of accuracy ) until its is satisfied and prompts for the next step. Really slick.
 
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#20
It runs and it partially crashes. This being a beta, I'm on a first name basis with the support person/s. I am able to run the ph probe and temp probe but the desktop has repeated crash notices that get in the way. There is a fix for my problem that should be out tomorrow or maybe today. Also, being in beta state I am having fun learning and fixing the controller via support. When there is a crash it doesn't take the complete system down.
The Multibar is running fine for the last week and setup is so easy. This is not for the plug and play crowd yet.
[MENTION=7387]Jerry Williams[/MENTION], how's the controller holding up so far?
 
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