Spark 3 valve control options

Hardware
1

I would like to start to using my Spark 3 to its great potential.

I have a large collection of 5-wire valves.
I have Slave interfaces for Modbus RTU that can add control and report valve postion. But I think the RS485 interface was not activated. So these may be scrap now.

With the withdrawal of the valve control board, what options remain for the control of valves with the Spark 3?

2

This is something @Elco will have to answer, as my knowledge is far from complete.

3

Any word on valve control. Xmas is coming and I may need to write a wish list.

4

We’ve discussed how to handle Spark 2/3 valve support going forward, and the conclusion is that we’ll bring back a slightly modified version of the external valve control board, but with significant disclaimers. I doubt it’ll be available in time for christmas.

@Elco is doing a more detailed write-up, but the short version is that the external (OneWire) valve control boards become unreliable if any significant number is connected simultaneously. This has no simple fix. The Spark 4 GPIO module was designed from the ground up to include valve control.