iSpindle Concentrators, Repeaters, Bridges, Hubs

[JSB241]

Only if you are putting the D1 in a case.... the USB port is off center.

 

[Peter Walker]

I thought I had config my is-index to connect to ispinhub but I am not seeing it on the web page could someone check over the screen shots and see where I might of gone wrong
Thanks

 

[wd16261]

I thought I had config my is-index to connect to ispinhub but I am not seeing it on the web page could someone check over the screen shots and see where I might of gone wrong
Thanks

I think you need to use the internal ip address of the iSpindHub (192.168.4.1).

 

[Peter Walker]

Many Thanks wd16261 that is where I wrong it is now connecting now waiting to see if it connects via Brewfather as well

 

[Peter Walker]

well i have altered the address on is-index and now see it in iSpinhub bu ti am not seeing the is-index in Brewfather, any ideas?

 

[wd16261]

Did you enter your Brewfather key in the iSpindhub settings?

15 min is the minimum Push frequentie! Otherwise it will be rejected by Brewfather.

 

[Peter Walker]

Yes I did that and still no iSpindel in brewfather

 

[wd16261]

Maybe there is a type error in your API key? Which one did you use? The Custom Stream key or the iSpindel key?
It should be the Custom Stream key! (only the characters behind ?id= )
I don't send my data from the iSpundhub to brewfather but I did some test in the past and for me it worked.

 

[wd16261]

Just configured my iSpindhub to send the information to Brewfather with my Custom Stream API key and it worked!
After 15 min my ispindel was visible in the Devices:

 

[Peter Walker]

thanks wd16261can you have a look at the attached pic and indicate which on ei should use please
Thanks Peter

 

[wd16261]

thanks wd16261can you have a look at the attached pic and indicate which on ei should use please
Thanks Peter

No that is not the correct one you should not generate an API key but just look under the settings in Brewfather and look for Custom Stream instead:

I have hidden my key because if someone uses this key then his information will arrive in my database!
So I think it is better to remove your picture also.

 

[Peter Walker]

No that is not the correct one you should not generate an API key but just look under the settings in Brewfather and look for Custom Stream instead:

View attachment 760718

I have hidden my key because if someone uses this key then his information will arrive in my database!
So I think it is better to remove your picture also.

Again many thanks got it working now for the soldering and see if the screen works fingers crossed

 

[Peter Walker]

What do you mean ?
The latest release is sending information to BF.
You want the same layout as @korev ? I'm currently working on revamping all screens and make them easily editable.

thanks for the info i now have the D1mini connecting to brew father and my ispindel. I 'm now about to do the soldering and trying the screen, does the 2" screen download incorporate the mods made by Korev?

 

[korev]

Not sure if this is the right place to put this but the FermWatch project was inspired by @ZeSlammy

FermWatch – Monitoring fermentation with Brewfather®, BrewPiLess and iSpindel or "No phone No worries!"
How to Guide and software GitHub - Hwerow/FermWatch: Monitoring fermentation with Brewfather®, BrewPiLess and iSpindel.

Cheers
P

 

[ZeSlammy]

Damn ! I was just about to start working on iSpindHub as I am on holidays but first I need to look into this beautiful project !

 

[DuncB]

@korev
That is a great piece of work. Wish I'd ordered the 2.8 screen instead of the 2.0 but I'll get on and order one.
Just wondering have you set up your brewpiless with a pressure sensor and or also set it up to autospund ?
If so wondering which bits of hardware you ordered for that aspect.
@Thorrak might be able to help put the firmware onto brewflasher for this project.

 

[DaveS]

Is there a way to use fermwatch without a brewfather subscription ?
I use brewpiless and ispindel only.
@ZeSlammy Don't let fermwatch distract you too much while on holiday,Ispindhub is a brilliant project.
Any improvements are most welcome!
Cheers

 

[korev]

Is there a way to use fermwatch without a brewfather subscription ?
I use brewpiless and ispindel only.
@ZeSlammy Don't let fermwatch distract you too much while on holiday,Ispindhub is a brilliant project.
Any improvements are most welcome!
Cheers

You could probably modify FermWatch to have the iSpindel reporting via BPL but you would lose the OG and Estimated FG, unless you were to create an entry perhaps by WiFiManager to enter those values.
Cheers

 

[korev]

@korev
That is a great piece of work. Wish I'd ordered the 2.8 screen instead of the 2.0 but I'll get on and order one.
Just wondering have you set up your brewpiless with a pressure sensor and or also set it up to autospund ?
If so wondering which bits of hardware you ordered for that aspect.
@Thorrak might be able to help put the firmware onto brewflasher for this project.

Yes, I have used BPL 4.1r4 with a D1 Mini and an ADS1115 to monitor pressure until - the unfortunate accident of attaching the gas out to the liquid out on my All Rounder and the transducer did not like the wort up it.

I have just ordered a replacement transducer from AliExpress 12.26US $ 15% de réduction|Transducteur de pression en acier inoxydable, capteur en acier inoxydable, eau et huile, 5V, 1/8NPT, 30/100/150/200/300/500 psi | AliExpress 30 PSI 5V - this may or may not work but it looks a similar spec to the one that died.

I have set up an ESP32 4.2 shown in the container below ready to test once the transducer turns up. Below is the general arrangement.
I used a Kegland gauge and Blowtie and I had some spare 1/4" Tees- you could use all push fit connections. The pressure transducer was 1/8" so I used a brass adaptor. I have the hardware for autospunding but have not set it up yet as I mainly use the pressure to carb my beer not to pressure ferment.

Once I am happy with the reliability of the pressure reporting I will probably do away with the gauge and just use FermWatch to indicate the pressure.

@Thorrak I would be happy for you to include the FermWatch firmware on Brewflasher
Cheers

 

[korev]

Update - The new transducer has arrived and is working. Now calibrated and running in an extended test.

 

[KennyCason]

I'm coming in late to this thread so please bear with me...

Situation:
I am a Shriner and member of the Brews Brothers brewing unit in San Antonio. I do my fermentation at the Shrine Center several miles away, in a cooler with a temp controller. Wi-fi is available but not always reliable, especially inside the fridge. I would rather not drive all that way just to check fermentation. I have BrewersFriend and Ubidots accounts.

Target:
Use my iSpindel inside the fermenter in the fridge, with week connectivity, to remotely monitor fermentation progress via BrewersFriend or Ubidots.

Proposal:
Is there anything in this thread that will help me out?

 

[DuncB]

@KennyCason

Sounds like you need to build one of these with or without the added antenna. Works great for me post 317 has the links.
It's very easy if you can get the D1 mini no soldering needed just flash and setup. Should see you right.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/thread...s-old-is-new-again.687633/page-8#post-9162642

 

[Dr_Jeff]

Is anyone building these and selling them, the repeaters?

 

[DuncB]

Is anyone building these and selling them, the repeaters?

All you really need is the D1 mini chip and a usb cable to flash it and power it. The extra antenna soldered on helps but not necessary.
I upcycled the antenna from an old wifi broadband hub which I got from a charity shop for next to nothing.

 

[rkhanso]

Is anyone building these and selling them, the repeaters?

As @DuncB mentioned, the bare minimum you need is a D1 Mini, cable and the instructions to make a repeater here: Homemade WiFi exender using the ESP8266 (or many other places on the Internet)

The display and other stuff are cool. But if you want to get a repeater up and running quick and cheap....

You probably won't need an external/separate antenna unless you're really far away from your home WiFi AP. My iSpindel has no trouble reaching the repeater (just a D1 Mini) that's sitting about 1-2' away from the keg and that repeater is well within WiFi distance of one of my home APs.

 

[Dr_Jeff]

I ferment in kegmenters (stainless steel) and they are inside a Beverage Air cooler/refrigeration box that sit ~100 feet for the router/wifi access point, with a brick wall that has a window that is almost in direct line, although there is a wood frame building in the way.
My concern is it being inside the kegmenter, inside the Beverage Air cooler, it has a metal shell and the interior is lined with metal.

 

[rkhanso]

I ferment in kegmenters (stainless steel) and they are inside a Beverage Air cooler/refrigeration box that sit ~100 feet for the router/wifi access point, with a brick wall that has a window that is almost in direct line, although there is a wood frame building in the way.
My concern is it being inside the kegmenter, inside the Beverage Air cooler, it has a metal shell and the interior is lined with metal.

The signal from the AP to inside the box (through the brick wall) will be the one of concern.

You could install WiFiMan or similar app on your smartphone to see what your signal strength is inside the cooler/box. If the signal is good enough it may be worth a try. Or, just set up an ESP8266 as a simple repeater and see if it works. If not, you've not lost anything except the few $ of the ESP. And you can probably repurpose that for some other interesting gadget.

But yeah, you're setup has a more signal insulating impact than mine.

 

[DuncB]

@Dr_Jeff
A repeater just the D1 mini inside the fridge and one outside at a distance away might sort you out nicely.
I get a good signal out of stainless steel fridge thru a wall and another 10 foot to the repeater. My post 317 in the ispindel repeater thread linked above has the links to the wifi repeater and optional antenna. The slammy display is not so useful for signal boosting which is your need.

 

[wd16261]

Not sure if this is the right place to put this but the FermWatch project was inspired by @ZeSlammy

FermWatch – Monitoring fermentation with Brewfather®, BrewPiLess and iSpindel or "No phone No worries!"
How to Guide and software GitHub - Hwerow/FermWatch: Monitoring fermentation with Brewfather®, BrewPiLess and iSpindel.

Cheers
P

I have tried Fermwatch but for me it failed. I could not get the BF Authorisation code in correctly although it was correctly entered when I checked the serial monitor!
Further I found this to much complicated for what I'm looking for. I just want to see my iSpindel readings on a display that is on top of my fridge and a wifi repeater at the same time just like the iSpinhub does.
On the other hand I'm hoping that @ZeSlammy can add some of the features into his project like converting ispindle plato info to SG. I use plato formula in my ispindels because this is the default for BF.

 

[DuncB]

Strange my Brewfather has OG for all of it's outputs / inputs and I have my Ispindels set for OG as well.
I'm not sure there is enough capacity for the D1 mini to be a repeater and a slammy display. Brewpiless can display readings with a screen, but it's display not as informative or large as the Slammy and it can't act as a repeater.
You might have to make the slammy for display and a separate repeater, but they could all be housed in the same box.

 

[ZeSlammy]

On the other hand I'm hoping that @ZeSlammy can add some of the features into his project like converting ispindle plato info to SG. I use plato formula in my ispindels because this is the default for BF.

So let me get this straight
- You are using the Plato Formula but you'd like to see the SG on the display ?
- You are using Plato because BF is Plato ?
I've never used Plato because I'm putting [SG] at the end of the name of all my iSpindels so that BF handle them as "SG reporting devices".

@DuncB there is enough capacity for the display and the repeater part.

I'm polishing the "screen language" but I'm hitting some roadblocks

 

[wd16261]

So let me get this straight
- You are using the Plato Formula but you'd like to see the SG on the display ? Yes correct
- You are using Plato because BF is Plato ? Yes correct
I've never used Plato because I'm putting [SG] at the end of the name of all my iSpindels so that BF handle them as "SG reporting devices". Yes I'm aware of this option but it would be nice to have this option also in the ispinhub

@DuncB there is enough capacity for the display and the repeater part.
Sorry I used a wrong word, I did not mension a Wifi repeater but just a device that forwards the information from the ispindel to (in my case) Brewfather!


I'm polishing the "screen language" but I'm hitting some roadblocks

 

[DuncB]

Thanks @ZeSlammy
So the Slammy could in the future display ispindel readouts and also work as a NAT relay / repeater with functionality similar to this
https://github.com/martin-ger/esp_wifi_repeaterOr did I miss this feature when I setup my Slammy.
I've previously connected my ispindels to my network via a repeater and then had the Slammy connect to that network as well. This way I get information on brewspy and the Slammy.

 

[ZeSlammy]

Normally, you set the iSpindHub onto a network, then you hook your iSpindels to the local network "produced" by the iSpindHub.
So it can fulfill both its roles
- Display information
- Broadcast information to the cloud (through the network it has been hooked to)

 

[wd16261]

I've previously connected my ispindels to my network via a repeater and then had the Slammy connect to that network as well. This way I get information on brewspy and the Slammy.

In the beginning I also connected both the ispinhub and ispindel to the my local wifi network but I found out that it was less reliable this way. Sometimes the information of my ispindel was not received by the ispinhub. And my Wifi router was just next to both so I don't think that is was a network issue.
Since I connect my ispindel directly to the Wifi network of the ispinhub (192.168.4.x) I never have information that gets lost.
I even tested this with 4 ispindels each connected to a different ispinhub and this way it works perfect, especialy since @ZeSlammy made it possible to change the SSID of each ispinhub.

 

[korev]

I have tried Fermwatch but for me it failed. I could not get the BF Authorisation code in correctly although it was correctly entered when I checked the serial monitor!
Further I found this to much complicated for what I'm looking for. I just want to see my iSpindel readings on a display that is on top of my fridge and a wifi repeater at the same time just like the iSpinhub does.
On the other hand I'm hoping that @ZeSlammy can add some of the features into his project like converting ispindle plato info to SG. I use plato formula in my ispindels because this is the default for BF.

Hi I'm sorry it's not working for you. FermWatch is not designed to be a repeater it is just a display. Are you sure that you Base64 encoded your id etc?

I am slowly working on another version using an ESP32 which hopefully will have more flexibility. I am currently using GravityMon as a trial GitHub - mp-se/gravitymon: iSpindle replacement firmware for beer brewing/fermenting as it can send to BF and MQTT which suits what I am trying to achieve.

Cheers

 

[ZeSlammy]

Ok I'm still working on this and I FINALLY managed to properly parse JSON files so that I can have Screens Templates !!!

Basically
text, variable text, lines, rectangles so that you can arrange your own screen !

Should come soon.

 

[DuncB]

@korev
The gravity Mon software looks very good. Haven't had a chance to try it yet but it solves a lot of issues that the ispindel software has.

 

[korev]

@DuncB
I plan to build a new iSpindel and use the gravitymon firmware in the same batch as my older iSpindel to see how it compares.

 

[ZeSlammy]

Ok Guys (and gals)
I just pushed a version that uses a Screen Template "engine"

Basically
{
"g": {
"bc": "TFT_BLACK",
"fc": "TFT_BLUE",
"tw": false
},
"line 1": {
"t": "text",
"f": "SegLight20",
"c": "TFT_YELLOW",
"x": 0,
"y": 6,
"ctr": true,
"text": "#SG °P"
},
"line 2": {
"t": "text",
"f": "SegLight20",
"c": "TFT_RED",
"x": 0,
"y": 26,
"ctr": true,
"text": "T°: #Temp °"
},
"line 3": {
"t": "text",
"f": "SegLight20",
"c": "TFT_LIGHTGREY",
"x": 0,
"y": 48,
"ctr": true,
"text": "#Angle ° / #VoltageV"
},
"line 4": {
"t": "text",
"f": "",
"s": 1.5,
"c": "TFT_WHITE",
"x": 0,
"y": 74,
"ctr": true,
"text": "#deviceName"
},
"line 5": {
"t": "text",
"f": "",
"s": 1,
"c": "TFT_ORANGE",
"x": 0,
"y": "MAX",
"y_delta" : -40,
"ctr": true,
"text": "Last Seen"
},
"line 6": {
"t": "text",
"f": "",
"s": 1,
"c": "TFT_ORANGE",
"x": 0,
"y": "MAX",
"y_delta" : -30,
"ctr": true,
"text": "#LastSeen"
},
"line 7": {
"t": "text",
"f": "",
"s": 1,
"var": "#RSSI",
"cs": [{
"val": 65,
"col": "TFT_GREEN"
},
{
"val": 70,
"col": "TFT_YELLOW"
},
{
"val": 85,
"col": "TFT_ORANGE"
}
],
"def_col": "TFT_RED",
"x": 0,
"y": "MAX",
"y_delta" : -20,
"ctr": true,
"text": "Signal: #RSSI dB"
},
"line ": {
"t": "text",
"f": "",
"s": 1,
"c": "TFT_WHITE",
"x": 0,
"y": "MAX",
"y_delta" : -10,
"ctr": true,
"text": "IP: #IP"
}

}

will give you

Without any need to recompile and try to understand the wicked way I put my stuff together.

I now need to find a way to make templates available and "chosable" but I think it is a progress.

Rotation is supported, automated centering, stuff like that.