HOWTO - Make a BrewPi Fermentation Controller For Cheap

[balrog]

I was able to get it going on Ubuntu at one point but not worth the hassle.
I'm gonna do this, only issues are getting the wifi/touchpad drivers in during os install. Other issues I've run up against are off-brand arduinos or that usb chip trouble, but this is very cool what you did and I am feverishly psyched to give it a try; veritably trembling with antici

 

[LBussy]

I see what ya did there.

"In theory" making this work under Ubuntu should be possible. It's all about where you draw the line on what's BrewPi, and what's UI. In my mind, touchpad/pointing is not a BrewPi issue (and you may be agreeing.) I believe headless is the way to go and that's how I test nearly everything because it eliminates UI conflicts/issues.

With the off-brand stuff, again, that's less of a BrewPi issue IMHO. The current script (and please test if you want to make me a liar. ) should handle pretty much all USB-attached Arduinos and clones. As far as I know they will show up as /dev/tty[ACM][USB*] and be allowed to be chosen. If however a person chooses to save $1 and buy a clone without a bootloader, they should take the responsibility to make that Arduino an "Arduino" before they run install.

As anyone who has come close to writing scripts/code will agree, you can't out-think everyone. You do your best, list your requirements/assumptions, and if someone is smart enough to be craftier than you, they take the responsibility for it.

All that said, I'm more than happy to address "mainstream" stuff, however I may not volunteer to buy one of everything.

 

[TheFlangerBeer]

Hi all.
I have read many threads but I can not find an answer for this specific problem.

I am a Brewpi user with: RPI3 (RevC) + arduino UNO + tuned refrigerator from 3 years ago. It took me a lot of work to prepare everything, especially to tune the refrigerator, and I’ve been working very well with brewpi all this time.
The problem is that the Rpi3 SDcard is damaged and I lost the backup! I bought a new card but I have been trying for a few days to get a copy of Noobs compatible with Brewpi-arduino-Rpi3.

The problem is not to change or buy Spark … is that the system I had was cheap, efficient and I have everything ready to connect and take advantage of it.

So I would need a link to a noobs / iso compatible with my Raspberry Pi3 + arduino...or alternative solution.

I have tried many things but finally the summary:

1. NOOBS + wheezy present rainbow problem in boot (I suppose that by incompatibility with Rpi3).
2. NOOBS + Jessie seems that everything is fine, but it presents an error when executing ‘sudo ./install.sh’ and gives error: 4 libraries are missing php5 + libapache2. (ERROR ERROR ERROR ERROR ERROR).
3. A new installation of docker with containers...it takes errors with some aditional commands so: it does not work.
   
   None of 3 procedures recognizes arduino, but it is not damaged.

-----
LBusy if possible can you say if my hardware is compatible for your modified brewpi? if so, how can I proceed to install?

Any help will be welcome (links to download pls) and TY in advance.

 

[MacDee]

Hi all.
I have read many threads but I can not find an answer for this specific problem.

I am a Brewpi user with: RPI3 (RevC) + arduino UNO + tuned refrigerator from 3 years ago. It took me a lot of work to prepare everything, especially to tune the refrigerator, and I’ve been working very well with brewpi all this time.
The problem is that the Rpi3 SDcard is damaged and I lost the backup! I bought a new card but I have been trying for a few days to get a copy of Noobs compatible with Brewpi-arduino-Rpi3.......
Any help will be welcome (links to download pls) and TY in advance.

I would try @LBussy 's legacy remix:

https://github.com/lbussy/brewpi-tools-rmx/blob/master/README.md
.
I had the same set up as you and I followed this

Off With Her Head!

I also used his little executable to setup the Linus conf file and ssh on a newly flashed SD

then his

BrewPi Remix Install

And it worked like a charm, it would have worked faster if I realized the SSID was case sensitive.

 

[day_trippr]

Pretty much everything under the Unix Sun is case sensitive

 

[LBussy]

And it worked like a charm, it would have worked faster if I realized the SSID was case sensitive.

I added tool-tips and instructions to that end as well.

I also updated the app to just pull the local WiFi setup if it's available. That should really speed things up.

ETA: FWIW I moved those pages to https://www.brewpiremix.com (with redirects of course) so you don't even have to go searching for links. I think that's pretty easy to remember.

 

[TheFlangerBeer]

TY all for your responses and help, specially Mr. LBussy for your hard work.
I will comment results about my "Brewpi resurrection"
Cheers all

 

[LBussy]

I stand on the shoulders of giants. What I was able to get done was because of everyone here.

 

[balrog]

Be careful on those shoulders if their owners are drinking.

Or have a camera rolling.

Carry on

 

[TheFlangerBeer]

It has been impressive: only with 3 commands and 15 minutes I have been able to restore my beloved 'Legacy Brewpi' and it works perfectly with my arduino.

For your information -and for who can help-, I have not installed the OS from the beginning: I had previously installed 'docker', I mean the last and recommended version of brewpi to work with containers+spark. I tried to see if it worked and everything was checked and perfect.
Previously I uninstalled Brewpi as recommended by Mr. LBussy ('The Boss' at the same level as Springsteen), and reinstalled his modified Brewpi Legacy, and it works perfectly.

In summary: Simple and effective.

In your honor, I will call my RPI "LBussy-Day_trippr-MacDee Brewery System"

However, to start from scratch, I will install a clean version of Raspbian and test it.

EDIT: Installed from a Raspbian Stretch with desktop and 'long' string

wget -qO- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/lbussy/brewpi-tools-rmx/master/bootstrap.sh | sudo bash

and all works fine.
Now will make a copy of my SDCard. TY very much

 

[LBussy]

Very glad it worked out for you!

 

[day_trippr]

That's awesome! Great work on this effort, Lee!

Cheers!

 

[TheFlangerBeer]

Sorry (I dont know if it if Off Topic)... How can I generate a copy of SD Card froma Windows10 PC?
I can see 2 disks (one is 'boot' and another has not a format valid for windows)...
TY again

 

[LBussy]

There’s multiple ways, but you can re-create an image similar to how you started using Win32DiskImager:

https://raspberry-projects.com/pi/pi-operating-systems/win32diskimager

 

[TheFlangerBeer]

OK, TY again, but what I mean is that we can see in Windows two units when insert SDcard:
one is for booting RPI (we can see the files), and another is not recognized by OS.
What I do is generate two .img (one of each unit in the SDcard), and each one is for 14,9gb... (?) it has no sense because it appears to be double capacity of SD (16gb)
The question is: for restoring in a new SD, what .iso do we need to select?

 

[MacDee]

OK, TY again, but what I mean is that we can see in Windows two units when insert SDcard:
one is for booting RPI (we can see the files), and another is not recognized by OS.
What I do is generate two .img (one of each unit in the SDcard), and each one is for 14,9gb... (?) it has no sense because it appears to be double capacity of SD (16gb)
The question is: for restoring in a new SD, what .iso do we need to select?

With win32diskimager or Etcher when cloning choose the Boot one. Windows can't read the other one since it is Linux based but those cloning programs reads it all. It will then create a single image file. Then to clone a new card you put it in to and choose that image file to put on to the new card.
https://www.raspberrypi.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=188417

 

[TheFlangerBeer]

Awesome! I will try.
Thank you very much for the disinterested help. However I owe you some beers from my kegerator

 

[LBussy]

I'd recommend you get a second SD card and TEST your backup before you need it.

(don'taskmehowIknow)

 

[TheFlangerBeer]

Sure. This is what I am doing in this precise moment

 

[bloombrews]

I got Lee's RemixPi running side-by-side with a Fermentrack, in a total seperate RPi set-up/Conical.
Curious to see what you all think the Pro's and Con's are? The Fermentrack is really a "New Born" compared to the almost 5-Year old BrewPi/LeeReMixPi, so the Fermentrack, to be fare, has almost no time out of the gate yet.
I love the FPi for the ease of set up for your sensors and Profiles. FPi support for TILT, or other gravity sensors, is a huge bonus! The GUI is soo easy to navigate without instructions.

The graphs on the BPi are much easier to read. I have a hard time reading the colors of the FPi, they seem to blend together, unless you expand the graph manually. Where you are in the Profile temperature setting in the FPi is not as easy to see as the BPi is.

Not trying to "beat up" One over the other, just seeing how they perform.
This computer Hardware and Software would have cost many many Thousands of dollars not too many years ago (and still does, if you buy it), So if it is a touch better then and Inkbird, Its a Winner all over! And it far exceeds that of course!

Thanks to all the hard work Thorrak (and Company) and of course the Elco (and Company) build, with FuzzeWazze rebooting it to us non-programmers out here 5-years ago almost. And now Lee Bussy making the Legacy accessible again to us lover's of the "Ol Pi" that have no clue about the programming end of it.
Where else can you go take your "Hobby" to the NEXT level, by "stealing" other Peoples hard work? Got to love it! THANKS!

 

[LBussy]

I think Thorrak started with the BrewPi firmware as a model at least. Certainly both seem equally capable of doing the controls work. The BrewPi graph is very nice, but decoding all the events is daunting.

Both are getting easier to install (now) but I think the BrewPi might have he edge (now) on multichamber. To be fair, it has been a a while since I have messed with Fermentrack, so it may have made progress in that area as well. Of course when it comes to wireless, hands down, Fermentrack.

I’ve got no real skin in the game, my heavy lifting for BrewPi has been in the tools area for now.

 

[Thorrak]

I think Thorrak started with the BrewPi firmware as a model at least. Certainly both seem equally capable of doing the controls work. The BrewPi graph is very nice, but decoding all the events is daunting.

Both are getting easier to install (now) but I think the BrewPi might have he edge (now) on multichamber. To be fair, it has been a a while since I have messed with Fermentrack, so it may have made progress in that area as well. Of course when it comes to wireless, hands down, Fermentrack.

I’ve got no real skin in the game, my heavy lifting for BrewPi has been in the tools area for now.

A full BrewPi setup consists of three components: the hardware BrewPi controller, a web interface, and the brewpi-script that communicates between the two. I've got two projects out there which touch all three components -

The first project is the ESP8266-based port of the BrewPi controller. This is a direct port of the (Arduino) BrewPi firmware to run on an ESP8266, and comes in two flavors: Serial and WiFi. The Serial firmware can (almost) be used as a drop in replacement for an Arduino controller. It supports all the same features aside from the rotary encoder -- the only real difference is the pins. The WiFi variant adds the ability to connect to a Raspberry Pi via WiFi, thereby allowing you to ferment on a different continent from where your installation of the web interface resides.

The second project is Fermentrack, which is a complete replacement for the BrewPi web interface. Fermentrack is compatible with both Arduino-based and ESP8266-based BrewPi controllers, connected via either Serial or WiFi. It supports nearly the entire feature set that came with BrewPi-www - as well as a number of additional, new features.

The ESP8266-based port of the BrewPi controller is actually supported by both the BrewPi web interface as well as Fermentrack - you just have to use a custom version of the brewpi-script to get it to work with BrewPi-www.


Prior to @LBussy making changes, I would have argued that Fermentrack was the best choice for every "legacy" BrewPi user -- but only because it was being actively developed whereas there wasn't any active development on "traditional" BrewPi-www. Now that there is someone actively developing for it, I would argue that it really does come down to choosing the feature set/interface you prefer (even though I'm going to follow this post with thinly veiled propaganda explaining what I love about Fermentrack).

That's just it though -- the fact that a debate can exist around the merits of the legacy BrewPi-www vs. @LBussy 's update of BrewPi-www vs. Fermentrack, or Arduino-based controllers vs. ESP8266-based controllers vs. @ame 's Python port is the most exciting part of all of this! The more options that exist (and the more engagement that exists with developers and users) the healthier the community is as a whole, and the more likely people are to upgrade their temperature control to something that will help them produce better beer.

 

[Thorrak]

I got Lee's RemixPi running side-by-side with a Fermentrack, in a total seperate RPi set-up/Conical.
Curious to see what you all think the Pro's and Con's are? The Fermentrack is really a "New Born" compared to the almost 5-Year old BrewPi/LeeReMixPi, so the Fermentrack, to be fare, has almost no time out of the gate yet.

In my head, the biggest "pro" to the BrewPi-www interface is exactly what you cite: It's old, it's established, and there's a massive community of people who know how to use and support it. If you've had a legacy BrewPi in the past, then you know exactly what you're getting into when you set it up. With @LBussy 's changes, a lot of the pain that existed with the interface is being eliminated (lack of multi-chamber support, installation difficulty, etc.).

Additionally, with the BrewPi-www interface, you're getting something that is stable. Although @LBussy is adding new features and cleaning things up, for the most part once it's installed it's done. So long as your SD card doesn't have issues, you'll never have to think about it again. You might not get new features beyond the basic ones an installation comes with, but you also never have to worry about something being incorrectly indented and suddenly bricking your installation.


The biggest "pro" to Fermentrack in my head is the fact that it was designed from the ground up with usability in mind. The sensor/pin configuration gives you a graphic visual of exactly what the status is of your BrewPi-controller - and what is left to set up:



Fermentation profiles are designed to be explicit in what they do, as well as portable between installations:



Multi-chamber support is done via a wizard, where each step of connecting a new controller is explicitly laid out:



It's this mentality - that anything that makes installing/using Fermentrack difficult is a bug - that I consider it's advantage.

 

[LBussy]

I'd love to see it all as interchangeable as Lego's at some point. Who knows, maybe it can be.

And I'm not sure I've been clear about WHY I did the work I did. At the start, it was just because a friend knew and was comfortable with BrewPi. People who don't work with technology on a daily basis, and even some who do, don't like change. So I says to myself: "Lee, surely you can make this work." Then I saw where some people had success using the PHP7 versions of the packages and I thought "easy, just an installer script update." Well .... anyone who has dug into another's work knows where this one ends up.

I did NOT do this work because I did not like what Thorrak's done or thought it lacking. As a mater of fact I've pointed a lot of people that way. Had I continued to brew over the past several years I would have kept my esp8266 rig running and would just have followed along with that line and at some point my friend would have gone that way too.

If I had one wish for the esp8266's capabilities, it would be to have enough channels to support the rotary encoder. For me that was rather a deal breaker the way I used my setups. They run "headless" with no RPi, as simple controllers. That's selling them FAR short of their capabilities of course. It's probable that I was being too closed-minded about how it's capabilities would change how I approached my "needs."

One thing we should all remember though is it's to Elco's credit that his concept of a micro-controller making better beer has brought us all here where we have different flavors to discuss!

While I was replying, you were busy typing Thorrak!

It's this mentality - that anything that makes installing/using Fermentrack difficult is a bug - that I consider it's advantage.

And there's something we DEFINITELY agree in! My list of things I'd love to do better with BrewPi is as long as ... well, it's long. Brewers should not have to be programmers and analysts.

 

[Thorrak]

And I'm not sure I've been clear about WHY I did the work I did. At the start, it was just because a friend knew and was comfortable with BrewPi. People who don't work with technology on a daily basis, and even some who do, don't like change. So I says to myself: "Lee, surely you can make this work." Then I saw where some people had success using the PHP7 versions of the packages and I thought "easy, just an installer script update." Well .... anyone who has dug into another's work knows where this one ends up.

If I could like a post twice, I would, just for this. The community is better off when everyone has an option that works for them. The fact that Elco made the project open source means that @LBussy can go through and fix his design choices. It says something that this thread is 190 pages long!

And there's something we DEFINITELY agree in! My list of things I'd love to do better with BrewPi is as long as ... well, it's long. Brewers should not have to be programmers and analysts.

Send your list across, and I'll add those features to Fermentrack

 

[LBussy]

Tell ya what: I'll install Fermentrack again when I get a spare moment and I'll send you my unadulterated notes. I looked through my list again and I don't think anything I have on this right now would be in your work - this is almost all specific to the original BrewPi web UI.

 

[Kaelisrah]

No worries, enter this command:

sudo /home/brewpi/utils/updateFirmware.py

I cannot say if things will pick up and run right after that, I can't remember if I've tested this codepath yet. If, after you flash the controller it does not run, reboot with:

sudo reboot now

That should take care of you.[/QUOTE]

I ran the Brewpi RMX setup and it couldn't see the controller. I tried the update you posted here and it's still saying "Could not find compatible serial device" "Unable to receive version from controller." "Please make sure your controller is connected properly and try again."

It looks like the Arduino Uno is showing as ttyUSB0. The only thing I've done with this Uno is put a blink test program on it using my PC. This is not a genuine Arduino make.

 

[LBussy]

I ran the Brewpi RMX setup and it couldn't see the controller.

How did you determine that it couldn't see the controller?

I tried the update you posted here and it's still saying "Could not find compatible serial device" "Unable to receive version from controller." "Please make sure your controller is connected properly and try again."

It looks like the Arduino Uno is showing as ttyUSB0. The only thing I've done with this Uno is put a blink test program on it using my PC. This is not a genuine Arduino make.

That whole set of firmware scripts is (virtually) on my bench right now. Aside from some minor cleanup it's largely unmolested from the original. It's also not very consistent so it needs some work. I've been avoiding it because going back and forth between the different scripting languages messes with my head something fierce.

If the install ran correctly except for that (web page loads correctly, shows "Cannot receive LCD text from Python script") you can try side-loading the hex file.

Download the hex file here:

https://github.com/lbussy/brewpi-fi...oad/0.2.10/brewpi-arduino-uno-revC-0_2_10.hex

Download Xloader from the author's web page:

http://xloader.russemotto.com/

Unzip it to a folder somewhere and execute XLoader.exe. The rest should be obvious. If you can get a good load and the scripts still don't see it, something "unexpected" is happening. If you want to see if something simple jumps out at us, you can run this to see what sort of card is detected (this script will not remain here so future readers of this thread can just ignore it):

wget -qO- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/lbussy/brewpi-tools-rmx/devel/test.sh | bash

Copy/paste in the results and we can see what's up.

 

[balrog]

Dear @LBussy , thanks.
Ok. Dell Lattitude D630, Debian Stretch, had to fart around a bit with the non-free B43 wifi firmware junk, but once that was sorted the script, the single line, worked beautifully.
I swear I heard angles singing.
There might have been unicorns.
There were definitely rainbows, and not the kind Cartman complained about on Southpark.

It worked great.

 

[Kaelisrah]

How did you determine that it couldn't see the controller?

I'm super new to this. I just assumed since I got those messages I posted and that the brewpi site said "Script not running" that the Arduino wasn't being recognized. The brewpi site also lists "Error while receiving device configuration: SyntaxError: Unexpected token C in JSON at position 0" under device configuration.

If the install ran correctly except for that (web page loads correctly, shows "Cannot receive LCD text from Python script") you can try side-loading the hex file.

This describes what I'm seeing.

wget -qO- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/lbussy/brewpi-tools-rmx/devel/test.sh | bash

Copy/paste in the results and we can see what's up.

My result is:

pi@brewpi:~ $ wget -qO- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/lbussy/brewpi-tools-rmx/devel/test.sh | bash

The following seem to be the ancillary tty device(s) available on this system:

Manuf: , Serial: on /dev/ttyUSB0.