BruControl: Brewery control & automation software

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Well played @crane... well played.
Indeed, and it worked great after a little modification. My brain was hardwired to "if true"... Never even thought of using false.. derrrrr.
[mash_step1]
if "Mash Rest 1" state == false
goto mash_step2
endif

[mash_step2]
if "Mash Rest 2" state == false
goto mash_step3
endif

etc etc
 
If it is in regards to my script with 0’s it for the proportional valves and that’s 0-100 for the valve position.
 
I thought I would close out a problem I had been having with the W5500 ethernet shield. I finally got a new screw shield and with this new screw shield installed, the ethernet shield works properly. The only variable in the test setup is the screw shield itself. I am using the same MEGA 2560 controller, the same 2x3 header, the same ethernet shield, the same networks cable, the same network, the same power supply, etc.. It appears something was "wrong" with the screw shield and I am not sure when or how it got that way but just in case someone is having some funny ethernet shield network connectivity problems and it is when the screw shield is installed, be sure to look at the screw shield closely.

Update: After a bit more experimentation with the two screw shields I have, it became a bit clearer that the problem I was having with the communication with the ethernet shield and the BruControl HMI was not the physical screw shield itself. It was rather with a problem I mention in a post below and the RP-3 RTD board connections. I tested the new screw shield without the RP-3 wiring hooked up (SCK, SDO and SDI) and tested the old screw shield WITH this wiring hooked up. After some back and forth comparative testing it became clear that both screw shields work normally in regards to the ethernet connectivity until the RP-3 was wired up to D50, D51, and D52 with v44A.MEGA.ER. Thus far it appears that only the SCK connection kills the ethernet communication with BruControl or at least when this single wire is removed, the connection is restored immediately. It is worth noting that even though BruControl showed that the controller was offline, I could still ping it successfully when BruControl connectivity was dropped. In fact, upon startup of the controller, BruControl would first show the controller as online but once the next refresh came about a couple seconds later, the controller would show offline (and would not return until the process repeated after a controller reboot). I am not sure if the wiring is hooked up incorrectly in some fashion but from the wiring diagrams, it appears that it is correct as the RTD sensors show accurate data.
 
Last edited:
So does this mean that the integrated ethernet is working now as well?
Unfortunately not. That didn't work at all with the BC firmware, regardless if the screw shield was installed or not. It is my running theory that the firmware is not turning the W5500 chip on but I have no idea if that is the reason or not. Example sketches work but might require some libraries for ethernet that are not how BC works (or something along those lines).
 
I thought I would close out a problem I had been having with the W5500 ethernet shield. I finally got a new screw shield and with this new screw shield installed, the ethernet shield works properly. The only variable in the test setup is the screw shield itself. I am using the same MEGA 2560 controller, the same 2x3 header, the same ethernet shield, the same networks cable, the same network, the same power supply, etc.. It appears something was "wrong" with the screw shield and I am not sure when or how it got that way but just in case someone is having some funny ethernet shield network connectivity problems and it is when the screw shield is installed, be sure to look at the screw shield closely.

Very sorry you had this trouble and wasted time debugging. I know the assembly functioned correctly when we shipped it as we test them all, but nonetheless it needs to work after that time period. We’ll refund you the screw shield - please email us and let us know which one you replaced it with.
 
Very sorry you had this trouble and wasted time debugging. I know the assembly functioned correctly when we shipped it as we test them all, but nonetheless it needs to work after that time period. We’ll refund you the screw shield - please email us and let us know which one you replaced it with.

It's really no big deal and I appreciate your help in looking into the problem all this time. Whatever the issue, I assume it is related to something I did along the way so there is no need to refund me anything. Really, it wasn't defective when it came from you (for a short period way back, it did actually work fully with all the items you sent me). I ended up using the Wingoneer Unit (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N2N7LZA/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20)

Update: See post #1649 update above but the problem in my setup seems to be more specifically associated with the SCK, SDO, SDI wiring of the RP-3 board and not the screw shield itself. I have a post below inquiring about that a bit but as I have the RobotDyn controller with integrated ethernet fully working currently (including the RP-3 with the same wiring), the concern has sort of fallen away for me as to what the problem was with my previous configuration.
 
Last edited:
Received the RobotDyn board. Tried a standard Ethernet example (WebClient, for those interested), and it fails on initialization - indicating it cannot see the W5500 hardware. I'm not sure yet why, but until we figure out why this is not BruControl firmware related.

Edit - they reference a modified library... but the real issue is their hardware requires the RESET function be used on the controller. This shouldn't be a big deal to remedy. Stay tuned.

Edit x2 - yes, the issue is the RESET function. If you connect via serial and turn pin/port 7 HIGH (Digital Output ON), the Ethernet section powers up. There is a solder jumper on the bottom of the board - I'll have to test removing this, but if they put a pull-down on board it probably won't work. However, a temp fix will be to tie pin 7 to 3.3V and DO NOT enable or allow pin/port 7 to become an output, else it could short the pin. Adding this jumper allows the board to work - tested with firmware v44A.MEGA.E.
 
Last edited:
In case there’s any kind of feature request list for future versions:

For the counter input display, is there any chance of adding an option to only display the rate and not the totalizer?

For indicators, something similar to options in Labview (dials, vertical fill bars, etc) would be cool as well.

I have no idea how much effort is involved, and they are definitely in the nice to have category,

Thanks!
p.d.
 
OK I am having another issue with ethernet (again, I know). I just got to hooking up my RP-3 interface and when I wire it as I believe I am supposed to, I lose connectivity via ethernet. From what I can gather, SCK, SDO and SDI connections on the RP-3 are wired to PINs 52, 50, and 51 respectively. So when I do that, I lose ethernet connectivity to BruControl on V44 firmware "ER" for the MEGA 2560. I know those are the same pins used by the ethernet shield but I am not sure if that is problematic or not. If it is, then what does one do to get RTD and ethernet to function? I must be missing something. So what am I missing? By loss of connectivity I am the BruControl shows it is disconnected but I can still ping the shield and get a response.

I should add that when connected via serial, the RTD sensors are providing proper temp readings but when that is the case, the ethernet shield stops talking with BruControl. I pull the wire from pin 52 (SCK) and ethernet connectivity pops back up.
 
Last edited:
In case there’s any kind of feature request list for future versions:

For the counter input display, is there any chance of adding an option to only display the rate and not the totalizer?

For indicators, something similar to options in Labview (dials, vertical fill bars, etc) would be cool as well.

I have no idea how much effort is involved, and they are definitely in the nice to have category,

Thanks!
p.d.

Yes, the rate/total selection iseasy enough to do. Graphics (gauges, etc.) are on their way.
 
Edit x2 - yes, the issue is the RESET function. If you connect via serial and turn pin/port 7 HIGH (Digital Output ON), the Ethernet section powers up. There is a solder jumper on the bottom of the board - I'll have to test removing this, but if they put a pull-down on board it probably won't work. However, a temp fix will be to tie pin 7 to 3.3V and DO NOT enable or allow pin/port 7 to become an output, else it could short the pin. Adding this jumper allows the board to work - tested with firmware v44A.MEGA.E.

Some initial testing shows that if you remove the solder jumper on the bottom of the board, the ethernet section indeed powers up and starts working. This was tested with v44A.MEGA.E and .ER firmwares. I haven't tested anything else so far.
 
Gotta be the W5500 as in 100Mb mode it burns at least 10x the power of the 2560 (it's mostly about the enet PHY). Roughly around .45 watts in a small-ish package.
Besides, it'd look goofy on the AVR :)

Cheers!
 
So for further clarification, unsoldering thjs jumper means no pin7 modifications need be done?
 
Im currently digging through this thread to see if i can find my answer my answer.

I want to control 4 3 phase SSRs. 2 for my HLT and 2 for the BK. I would like for both SSRs to work together respectively for each vessel. Would it be best to use an output for each SSR but use scripting to get them to work with the same single element for each vessel or to use a single output to a DC DC SSR that would have a dedicated 12v source to switch the 3 phase SSRs down stream? I dont want to have to worry about the current load on an output of attaching to SSRs directly to a single output.

Also if it matters I have 2 enclosures. 1 for the brain and 1 for the high current loads.
 
I have now fully installed my "D7 jumper" modified RobotDyn MEGA 2560 controller in my enclosure and it is currently working 100% as expected. Ethernet functions, it gets an IP and is connected to my BruControl HMI in a very stable fashion, the RP-3 RTD board is connected and delivering temp data accurately, current sensors are working, SSR/electromechanical relays are working properly, and PWM output is also working properly. That is as far as I can test currently on my setup. As far as I can tell, the granular stuff is all good on this board.

I still have a ways to go but I appreciate all the help thus far from the forum and BrunDog. I look forward to the new firmware and software to enable the addition of my whitebox labs tentacle for on-line pH readings. Here is my "mostly" low power enclosure for brewing & fermentation control. It is all jammed in there! Enclosure is 24" x 20" x 8".

thumb.php
 
Last edited:
Gotta be the W5500 as in 100Mb mode it burns at least 10x the power of the 2560 (it's mostly about the enet PHY). Roughly around .45 watts in a small-ish package.
Besides, it'd look goofy on the AVR :)

Cheers!

Was just fooling!

Anyhoo, verified @VacationLand 's findings - removing the solder jumper enabled the Ethernet power full-time. So there you have it! Good find here!

Also... @VacationLand ... that build is looking SWEET!!
 
Thanks BrunDog. I often find inspiration in others projects so I thought I would give back a bit. To that, this is the line voltage (50 amp) enclosure that is handling control for the two heating elements, power switching, contactors, breakers, and the remote control box with the e-stop and an alarm emitter, etc. Due to a size constraint, I had to go smaller on this enclosure, so my external SSR heat sink was just too large, thus the internal heat sinks, cooling fans and controllers to keep temps under control. Enclosure is 14" x 12" x 6".

thumb.php
 
Last edited:
Yes, the rate/total selection iseasy enough to do. Graphics (gauges, etc.) are on their way.

Sweet! One other thing I noticed today while trying to graph drift on my load cells, is that graphing a counter input seemed to be limited to the totalizer and not the rate. I’m going to do more experimenting to try and dump the rate to a variable and graph the variable, but no idea if that’ll work or not.

p.d.
 
On to that, I would also like to be able to use a variable to control a PID. For instance I am doing temperature averaging where I measure input and output. I would like to control that average.
 
Sweet! One other thing I noticed today while trying to graph drift on my load cells, is that graphing a counter input seemed to be limited to the totalizer and not the rate. I’m going to do more experimenting to try and dump the rate to a variable and graph the variable, but no idea if that’ll work or not.

p.d.

Curious... I think you are using the counter input from your load cell circuitry... why not use analog input? Resolution too low?
 
Sweet! One other thing I noticed today while trying to graph drift on my load cells, is that graphing a counter input seemed to be limited to the totalizer and not the rate. I’m going to do more experimenting to try and dump the rate to a variable and graph the variable, but no idea if that’ll work or not.

p.d.

You are right - we need to fix that and include rate as a graph-able value. You can't graph variables (yet).
 
Im currently digging through this thread to see if i can find my answer my answer.

I want to control 4 3 phase SSRs. 2 for my HLT and 2 for the BK. I would like for both SSRs to work together respectively for each vessel. Would it be best to use an output for each SSR but use scripting to get them to work with the same single element for each vessel or to use a single output to a DC DC SSR that would have a dedicated 12v source to switch the 3 phase SSRs down stream? I dont want to have to worry about the current load on an output of attaching to SSRs directly to a single output.

Also if it matters I have 2 enclosures. 1 for the brain and 1 for the high current loads.
I have 4 ssrs for each of my 3bbl kettles.. I use a single DC ssr controlled from the ssr output of the mega to control each group of 4 ac ssrs for elements but if I had to do it over again I would have just used one of these mosfet boards as I do in my fermentation control panel.
http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-5...0001&campid=5338413729&icep_item=172263341156
 
Curious... I think you are using the counter input from your load cell circuitry... why not use analog input? Resolution too low?

The HX711 needs its own dedicated Arduino, so I needed to figure out how to generate an output that could be read by the Brucontrol board. Arduino boards can’t natively output a VDC signal (I think?).

I bought one of the AA-1 boards to convert PWM to VDC. It worked well, but to me was just one more thing in the signal chain that could introduce error in the reading.

Then I had the load cell arduino emulate a 1wire temperature probe and output that into Brucontrol. That worked pretty good, but the resolution wasn’t all that hot given how sensitive load cells are.

That left me with what I thought worked best: output a variable frequency PWM signal from the load cell arduino into brucontrol. Resolution is great, doesn’t require extra hardware, and is easily implemented using existing libraries.

p.d.
 
I saw this on your other forum thread. How is the BC setup? Digital input?

Certain pins on BC allow counter input in addition to digital.

I might head to the store today to pick up one of these to see how well a VDC breakout board works:

https://www.sparkfun.com/products/12918

If I wasn’t such a newbie at this, I probably would have started with one of these. Looks pretty simple to use.

p.d.
 
I have 4 ssrs for each of my 3bbl kettles.. I use a single DC ssr controlled from the ssr output of the mega to control each group of 4 ac ssrs for elements but if I had to do it over again I would have just used one of these mosfet boards as I do in my fermentation control panel.
http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-5...0001&campid=5338413729&icep_item=172263341156


I was just looking at using this type of board instead. I have to read up on mosfets and see if they will fit my needs but seems like it will be a better way to go.
 
Back
Top