BlueSpray BSC08i 8 Zone Wireless Unit Smart Wifi Sprinkler Controller Timer

Update: BlueSpray has been working much better since auto-updates were enabled and having the repeater. It does still require occasional electroshock therapy (once every 3 months), but now isn't so demanding. I have even created a program called CatShooter, which will cycle through all the sprinklers for 15 seconds when the feral cats in the neighborhood get howling at night. Very useful... and I can tell that Bluespray likes it too.Summary: Codependency is defined as a psychological condition or a relationship in which a person is controlled or manipulated by another who is affected with a pathological condition; and in broader terms, it refers to the dependence on the needs of, or control by, another. If you are prepared for this, then this is the device for you....My relationship with Bluespray started in 2013. After setting up the device, although easy to do, Bluespray seemed to require me to come back to it often. I quickly realized that Bluespray wanted and needed me to interact with it. If I didn't do this, Bluespray got upset. If I communicate with it when it is in one of these moods, I learned that it thinks the time is January of 1970 as this is the time the system clock always seems to reset itself to (also the zero time for Unix). Fortunately, if I connect my browser to Bluespray, it likes me again and picks up the time from my system and is happy for a while, but if I forgot to connect to it regularly, alas... back to 1970.Picking up when Bluespray lapses back to the 70's is fairly easy to see: I wake up in the morning and the garage door is open because Bluespray didn't close it last night, or if when coming home from vacation, I sometimes have dead plant because Bluespray has decided not to water them. But, connecting to it again usually fixes Bluespray, but not the plants (alas). And if I cannot connect to it via a browser which also happens, I just power cycle the device (like Electroshock therapy), and this makes Bluespray happy again.Bluespray does behave better if it has a good connection to the Internet, where I guess it like to talk to NTP servers all day because they keep telling it what time it is. However, because Bluespray comes equipped with a tiny low power WIFI antennae, it can't easily connect to my WIFI router which is less than 100 ft. This is strange because Siri has 3 WIFI bars.I think this makes Bluespray loney and sad, but by giving Bluespray a repeater (another $50-$100) and spending time getting that working with the security on my home WIFI network, Bluespray stays happy as long as both the repeater and router stay connected to the Internet, which also seems to be a problem in my Verizon DSL, but that is another woeful story, which I won't go in to.Talking to the creators of Bluespray, fortunately is quite easy, and they are very friendly being also from Texas. We have interacted a lot, trading funny stories about Bluespray... We both wonder why Bluespray acts weird, we tweak settings on Bluespray, and sometimes fully reset Bluespray which lets me reprogram the device, seasons, sensors, schedules, and zones all over again. Also, you can get Bluespray to act differently if you upgrade its firmware. This is fun because Bluespray acts very funny then making the garage door do funny things like go up and down every five seconds until, at last, the door finds its way all the way down and it stops. By fully resetting the device and reprogramming it, Bluespray acts nicely again.As with any codependent relationship, Bluespray and I are not as happy as we were at the beginning. What I had hoped to be a cool little helper has turned into relationship which requires attention often and is depressing us both (well at least me). My hope is that someday, Bluespray will act well and do as I ask, perhaps with another firmware upgrade, or perhaps with some hidden configuration setting, or perhaps Avidz would send me a new and improved WIFI antennae, or perhaps add a RJ45 ethernet port, perhaps perhaps perhaps....I love you Bluespray.

This is the first Amazon review I have ever written; I am doing so because this is a great prroduct. This was the first of five of the BlueSpray controllers I have now purchased and installed. Prior to this purchase I had a couple of questions that were asked via email. I received a very detailed response to those questions the next morning, which to me was indicative of the response turnaround time of a service assistance request. I ordered this unit from Amazon based on those answers. This unit worked perfectly and was configured correctly after following the included directions. I recommend using a laptop running Windows 7 with its own wireless node for configuration rather than a hard wired network desktop computer. The unit was configured and tested for three days prior to installation outdoors as a retrofit into a Hunter controller case that was the existing sprinkler controller. The Hunter 24 vac power supply was used and although some case mods were needed to the BlueSpray case, the retrofit installation on a four zone system took about 15 minutes. Setup of zones and schedules can be as simple or as complex as you want to make it. I have programmed 40 separate schedules on a controller with 10 zones and 40 seasons without reaching any memory limitations. I give the unit high marks for programming flexibility. I also appreciate the capability to use my own photographs of our property as a backdrop for showing sprinkler zone locations, although it would be nice to be able to host those photos on my local computer in addition to through a Photobucket type of picture sharing site that is currently supported. I also appreciate that I can access all five sprinkler controllers through our tablet or through our smartphones and manually actuate an individual sprinkler. And I really appreciate since there are no external programming controls on the BlueSpray case, that other people can no longer walk up to our controllers and change the settings without my knowledge. One controller is about 180 feet from the house and the nearest WiFi access point and is mounted on a block wall and has maintained a consistently acceptable, not great, but workable, WiFi signal to a Dlink DAP-1650 AP mounted indoors through a brick exterior wall on the second floor of our home. A second controller is mounted on the far side of a block wall 100 feet from the same DLink AP and has had a consistently good WiFi signal. The other three controllers are less than 80 feet from an AP through at least one brick wall and consistently show good or better signal strength. Because of the programming flexibility in the controller, I do plan to control other remote devices around our property, such as lights and large irrigation valve actuators, through the BlueSpray controller.The second and third controllers were ordered through Amazon, but arrived in a condition that indicated the possibility that they were previously used units. I resolved/repaired the issues and they worked as good as new. The fourth and fifth controllers were ordered through another on-line seller and were both configured and installed without any problems.One reason I chose the BlueSpray controllers is that all data and settings are stored on the controller and no "Cloud" access is required. Internet access is need for the controller through the main home router to access weather forecast data, if you enable that functionality.After configuring all five units, I did find a small quirk in the way the algorithms handled the display of the future run times in the Calendar display when run times were set up in seconds. I reported it to the service techs and they worked with me continuously to find the cause and resolve it. The fix will appear in the next firmware update. The company seems to be committed to working with its customers to improve the product and incorporate ideas for future capability betterment.This is a great product with a lot of potential for additional applications for home automation. I look forward to using that additional functionality as the company develops.