Hi all, we released a improved Pioreactor v1.5 today for both the 20ml and 40ml version.
You can read the high-level details here: Pioreactor v1.5 is here! | Pioreactor
I’m happy to answer any questions you have!
Also, 3D model files are available here: Pioreactor 20ml and 40ml v1.5 by Pioreactor | Download free STL model | Printables.com
Congrats team! Looks awesome. Especially +1 for the stemmaqt
I just saw the new Pioreactor 1.5 hardware - looks awesome!
The blog post mentioned:
a new pocket for an LED-on-a-PCB.
Is this a LED board we can buy from you guys? Or is there some existing off-the-shelf part that fits in this slot, and can be used as a LED source for say photosynthesis?
The blog post also mentions there’s a dedicated slot for a Adafruit Spetrometer board - is that this model?
Just curious what the use case for that is?
The blog post also mentions there’s a dedicated slot for a Adafruit Spetrometer board - is that this model?
Yes, that’s the correct model in mind! It can be used for measuring culture color, and later, culture fluorescence.
a new pocket for an LED-on-a-PCB.
We don’t yet have any hardware that fits here yet, but another company does: LED Boards – IO Rodeo however, these boards work over stemma QT, and don’t have any logic to turn on/off.
Thanks for answering!
So the IO Rodeo LED boards should physically just drop-in to the Pioreactor 1.5 hardware, right?
But you’re saying the fact they use Stemma QT is an issue, right? The existing LED channels are just using Dupont-style connectors, right? Or is there some way to use Stemma QT to control the additional LEDs?
And the no logic to turn on/off - is the idea that you just cut power to it? Or am I missing something here?
Yes, those boards will fit the location of the X2 “pocket”. They use Stemma QT as a power source only, i.e. don’t expose any addresses/devices for controlling the onboard LED. That means if you connect this board to the Stemma QT “line” (ie. with the eyespys) that the LED is always on (some users may not want this).
Ah got it - yeah, I do want to be able to set a photoperiod for my experiments.
And the Pioreactor has a single Stemma QT/QWIIC port, with the idea being you’re meant to daisy-chain stuff, right?
So obviously there’s no way to just shutoff power to the Stemma QT port just like that, since that would also turn off other peripherals, like the Eyespy boards - have I got that right?
Will Pioreactor be releasing their own controllable LED boards shortly, or in the future? 
Or is there some hacky way you could use the IO-Rodeo boards, but wire it up to the normal LED channels on the Pioreactor?
That’s correct, there’s no way to power-off STEMMA QT.
Will Pioreactor be releasing their own controllable LED boards shortly, or in the future?
Or is there some hacky way you could use the IO-Rodeo boards, but wire it up to the normal LED channels on the Pioreactor?
I’m actually not sure. I haven’t tried this, but can test it on Monday. It’s not a great solution however, since our LED outputs are current controlled, but the IO Rodeo boards don’t expect that.