Autelis BN100
Jandy / Zodiac PDA HTTP API

1. Hardware identity

The unit documented here is labeled Pool Control for Jandy/Zodiac PDA, model BN100. It connects to the pool panel with a 4-conductor RS‑485 lead (terminal block marked GYBR), Ethernet for LAN access, and a separate power input.

2. Architecture

Intelligence lives in the Jandy/Zodiac outdoor control panel. The physical PDA (and this Autelis) is a dumb terminal: it receives display updates and may return a single keypress on each bus cycle. Autelis bridges that RS‑485 conversation to HTTP so a browser or app can act as the remote.

iOS / browser / script
        │  HTTP (Basic Auth)
        ▼
   Autelis BN100  ──Ethernet──► LAN / WAN
        │
        │  RS-485 (GYBR, 4-lead)
        ▼
 Jandy / Zodiac Aqualink panel
        │
        └── pumps, heaters, auxiliaries, menus, …

Observed Autelis web UI version on System Information: 1.0.2. PDA firmware string seen on splash: PPD: PDA 2.6.1.

3. PDA vs RS Autelis products

4. Authentication & transport

• HTTP on port 80 by default (HTTPS not observed on stock BN100).
• HTTP Basic Authentication on protected resources (401 Unauthorized: Password required without credentials).
• Factory-ish defaults are commonly discussed as admin / admin; change them. Do not embed real passwords in published clients.
• iOS / modern browsers need App Transport Security exceptions (or a TLS reverse proxy) for cleartext HTTP.

Authorization: Basic base64(username:password)

5. Built-in web UI map

6. GET /keypad.xml — LCD snapshot

Returns the current emulated PDA display. The stock UI polls this about every 100 ms when awake (slower in sleep). Pass the document element of the XML response into your parser (same as updateKeypad(xmlData) in keypad.htm).

Example (active menu)

<response>
  <b0>     SUN  4:07PM</b0>
  <b1>AIR         POOL</b1>
  <b2> 93`     85`    </b2>
  <b3></b3>
  <b4>POOL MODE     ON</b4>
  <b5>POOL HEATER  OFF</b5>
  <b6>SPA MODE     OFF</b6>
  <b7>SPA HEATER   OFF</b7>
  <b8>MENU            </b8>
  <b9>EQUIPMENT ON/OFF</b9>
  <b10></b10>
  <b11></b11>
  <hll>4</hll>
  <effects>15,13,15,0</effects>
  <offset>0,0,0</offset>
  <sleep>0</sleep>
</response>

Fields

“Not ready” frames

keypad.htm skips updates when xmlData.childNodes.length < 15, then retries after 50 ms (1 s while sleeping). Clients should keep the last good frame instead of blanking the UI on short/partial documents.

Special characters (display mapping)

The web UI remaps buffer glyphs before display:

7. GET /keypad.cgi?key=N — keypress

Injects a PDA key into the Autelis→panel conversation. The stock UI calls this from doButton(num) and does not wait for a new screen; continuous /keypad.xml polling picks up the result.

Successful responses are a tiny body (observed: literal 1).

GET /keypad.cgi?key=6&timestamp=1710000000000
Authorization: Basic …

8. GET /status.xml (limited on PDA)

Present and authenticated, but on BN100 PDA firmware it may only expose a thin system tree (commonly just a version such as 1.0.2). Do not assume RS-style equipment / temp channels exist.

Related RS-oriented endpoints (/names.xml, /pumps.xml, /chem.xml, /set.cgi) are not the primary control path for this SKU and may 404 or be empty.

9. ajax.js conventions (important for clients)

The device ships a small XHR helper. Two behaviors matter for third-party clients:

1. Cache busting: every request appends timestamp=<epochMillis> (using ? or & as needed). Without this, proxies or URLSession caching can freeze keypad.xml after the first frame.
2. Async completion polling: requests are opened asynchronously; a 250 ms timer drains completed XHRs. Treat Autelis as happiest with serialized or lightly concurrent traffic.

// Equivalent cache-buster
url += (url.includes('=') ? '&' : '?') + 'timestamp=' + Date.now()

Also set Cache-Control: no-cache / use an ephemeral URL session where possible.

10. Timing & reliability checklist

11. Client examples

cURL — read screen

curl -u 'USER:PASS' \
  "http://AUTELIS_HOST/keypad.xml?timestamp=$(date +%s000)"

cURL — press Select

curl -u 'USER:PASS' \
  "http://AUTELIS_HOST/keypad.cgi?key=4&timestamp=$(date +%s000)"

Pseudo-client loop

connect with Basic Auth
loop every 200ms:
    GET /keypad.xml?timestamp=now
    if sleep == 1: show sleep UI; continue
    if childCount < 15: keep previous frame; continue
    render b0..b9 with offset + hll + effects

onKey(code):
    wait until ≥900ms since last key
    GET /keypad.cgi?key=code&timestamp=now
    # do not require an immediate xml refresh; next poll updates LCD

12. Limitations & unknowns

• This is an unofficial reverse-engineering note from a live BN100 + keypad.htm / ajax.js. Autelis no longer publishes a maintained PDA command manual.
• Exact XML root handling and “not ready” edge cases may vary by firmware build.
• Soft keys 1 / 2 are context-dependent (menu-defined).
• No UPnP/discovery procedure is documented here; configure host/IP (or a forwarded hostname) manually.
• Exposing the device on the public internet requires strong credentials and ideally a VPN or authenticated reverse proxy — the stock stack is cleartext HTTP + Basic Auth.

Related open projects (RS‑485 / PDA context)

• earlephilhower/aquaweb — DIY PDA/screen emulator over serial (similar UX, different transport).
• aqualinkd/AqualinkD — broader Jandy RS‑485 protocol notes.