iSpindle - DIY Electronic Hydrometer

[day_trippr]

I would go with the second option to assure complete mating with the microcontroller...

Cheers!

 

[MT_Keg]

I would go with the second option to assure complete mating with the microcontroller...

Cheers!

Thanks! I wasn't sure if the buildup the header spacer, microcontroller header, and the accelerometer would cause a height interfere.

MT

 

[day_trippr]

After you solder the header down you can always remove the plastic carrier allowing you to mount the micro almost in contact with the carrier pcb, then trim excess leads if desired...

Cheers!

 

[DuncB]

MT Keg
I only have experience making the Ispindel on the pcb 2.1 that BeeBrew used. I followed these instructions
https://dl.dropbox.com/s/rxnhrbdpkd8tsqf/DIY_Spindel_Anleitung_En.pdf

I think that if you are using the connector then the longer pins are up with the black blocks on as well. Certainly are on the instructions above and what I did.
However I did trim my connector down on the third ispindel to reduce the overall diameter of my electronics as it was very tight in the XL petlings I have.
As far as your comment on the sled I had to sand mine down a lot on the edges and also fenestrated it with a drill to reduce its weight from 12g to 8g. The first two only had half the angled lid out of the water at 25degrees. The weight reduction did make it float a little higher which was better.
I could probably get away with no sled just blutacking the battery and counter weight ( lead shot) in the bottom and the fit of the pcb in the top is so tight it would never move. Might try this for spindel number 4.
I went a bit mad and ordered parts for 15 so plenty of soldering to go.
If windows would open the jpg I could attach a picture. ( different forum for that though).
regards
All three I have made worked straight off and I've never soldered a circuit board before.
Two brewed with and worked great. So have faith.

 

[MT_Keg]

Thanks DuncB for the info!

 

[Factor]

I am waiting on one more part but I am going to start soldering up the PCB. What orientation should I solder the header to the board and is the black spacer piece needed? The top part of the PCB (where my pointer finger is) will have the wemos and the accelerometer. Thanks for your help.

The short ends of the pins go into the board. The spacer keeps the connectors up off the surface of the board.

 

[tomas.kopunec]

Follow Up:

Success Finally! Here is what I had to do.... (May or may not be relevant to anyone else)

Because I had previously been messing around with this thing perhaps I messed up the programming. In trying to figure it out, I tried programming it using the Arduino IDE and was able to load some sample sketches that connected to my network. This convinced me it was an error in programming. So back to the NodeMCU flasher. But first I uploaded a blank sketch with Arduino. (may or may not matter)

Then I flashed the Wemos with the following settings to (hopefully) clear the addresses.

Then, I reprogrammed the Wemos with the iSpindel bin, placing it at the 0x00000, rather than the INTERNAL://NODEMCU like the below image.

hi, the photos are already deleted, could you upload them again?

 

[MT_Keg]

hi, the photos are already deleted, could you upload them again?

I think this is what you are looking for:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/...tronic-hydrometer.598187/page-19#post-8366882

 

[gromitdj]

hi, the photos are already deleted, could you upload them again?

@MT_Keg pointed you in the right place. Also, there is a text version that @TugsyNZ provided directly following. Hope those help!

 

[filip]

I'm trying to assemble an iSpindel based on the high level circuit diagram found here: http://www.ispindel.de/docs/circuit_diagram_en.html. Even though I have no previous experience with electronics I think I understand most of it. What I don't get is how to connect the TP4056 charging module to the Wemos D1:

1) Where does the orange connector from the TP4056 go and why? Should I solder it to the same place as the removed diode?

2) Why are we using [+Out] and [+In] on the TP4056? To me it sounds more intuitive to use [+Out] and [-Out].

I hope this is the right place for questions like these

 

[BreeBrew]

I'm trying to assemble an iSpindel based on the high level circuit diagram found here: http://www.ispindel.de/docs/circuit_diagram_en.html. Even though I have no previous experience with electronics I think I understand most of it. What I don't get is how to connect the TP4056 charging module to the Wemos D1:

1) Where does the orange connector from the TP4056 go and why? Should I solder it to the same place as the removed diode?

2) Why are we using [+Out] and [+In] on the TP4056? To me it sounds more intuitive to use [+Out] and [-Out].

I hope this is the right place for questions like these

I use this pdf to assemble my Ispindel:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/28ugwuem1c4u7ki/DIY_Spindel_Anleitung_En.pdf?dl=0

 

[BreeBrew]

@MT_Keg pointed you in the right place. Also, there is a text version that @TugsyNZ provided directly following. Hope those help!

I am so happy to have found this. Initially I had the same problem described here, a constant lit blue led on the wemos. After initializing as described and flashing with the latest ispindel firmware 6.0.6 it turns out it solves another problem some of the users have and I had.

The offset tilt of about 90 degrees was saved after calibration but after powering off and on the offset tilt was back to what it was before calibration. Only thing that seem to help with this problem was going back to an older version of the firmware 5.8.6. Any firmware version above 5.8.6 wouldn't hold the offset tilt so it seemed a bug in the firmware. With the 5.8.6 version on it everything worked fine, except of not being able to upgrade to a newer version.

As it turns out it was a problem with the flashing of the firmware all along. Probably some code that isn't being overwritten by just flashing it with firmware.

I think it would be good practice to initialize the memory of a new wemos before doing anything else with it. Like you would do with a new harddrive, format it first otherwise it can't be used.

I posted this in one of the issues on the github page of universam's ispindel project and refered to @gromitdj his post about this. Universam replied and asked me to make a pull request of the FAQ on there so it wil be available to anyone having either one of the problem.

So kuddos go to @gromitdj thanks very much

 

[Stand]

I just got the ability to ferment under pressure, and I am wondering if it will impact the iSpindel?

Will it leak under 15psi?

Change readings?

I know those vessels are made for pressure, but not from the outside.

 

[BreeBrew]

I just got the ability to ferment under pressure, and I am wondering if it will impact the iSpindel?

Will it leak under 15psi?

Change readings?

I know those vessels are made for pressure, but not from the outside.

I wouldn't risk it. Under normal circumstances these tubes are watertight but I've experienced that during fermentation muck will cumulate between the lid and the thread of the tube. That doesn't harm anything but I am afraid that under pressure liquid will find it's way into the tube.

That said, 15psi is not very much, maybe it will hold. Only one way to find out

 

[MT_Keg]

I officially got mine soldered and firmware loaded. I loaded the Firmware 6.0.X but my offset calibration wouldn't "stick" after a power cycle. I downgraded to version 5.9.1 and all is well. Not sure what happened to the source code between v5 and v6. I do know that the offsets have been successfully written to the GY-521 (MPU-6050) register; if I perform the offset calibration on the version 6.0.x then upload the version 5.9.1 the offset is taken into account even after a power cycle.

For some reason when I switch from degrees C to Degrees F that change doesn't stick in v5 or v6.

Thoughts on the offset or temperature unit issues would be great!

I am going to stick with 5.9.1 for now.

Thanks for your help.

MT

 

[Stand]

I had the same problem and had decent luck updating through the iSpindel directly. I'm not sure why, but it seemed to work better. I have built 2 and had the problem with both. What version of the ESP8266 did you use? I used the 3.0.0

 

[MT_Keg]

I had the same problem and had decent luck updating through the iSpindel directly. I'm not sure why, but it seemed to work better. I have built 2 and had the problem with both. What version of the ESP8266 did you use? I used the 3.0.0

I used the the version suggested by in the AliExpress wish list (https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/ispindle-diy-electronic-hydrometer.598187/page-2#post-7924123).

I bought these: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32703511086.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.3da24c4dubIWRR

@Stand Which version firmware did you install prior to updating the iSpindel? Do you have to jumper the sleep pads on the back for the 3.0.0?

MT

 

[Stand]

@MT_Keg I honestly can't remember. I installed them backwards until I got one that would save my network settings and then I updated it to the latest version by downloading the upload on my phone (how I was accessing the iSpindel config page), and installing it from there.

I used this board: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32845084675.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.27424c4d2wJmXb

I'm sure the one you got will work, but it seems like a common problem with the updates.

I didn't modify the chip at all. The only thing I altered on the electronics was removing the green light from the gyro sensor.

Cheers!

 

[filip]

I use this pdf to assemble my Ispindel:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/28ugwuem1c4u7ki/DIY_Spindel_Anleitung_En.pdf?dl=0

Thank you. It made me realize my mistake; for some reason the circuit diagram doesn't match the written instructions below it.

 

[shambolic94]

Looking for any troubleshooting ideas on my mostly-built iSpindel, which I cannot get to accept the firmware via NodeMCU flasher.

My build followed the perfboard approach (as shown here: https://www.hobbybrouwen.nl/forum/index.php?topic=33743.0). Pics below. I used the BAT43 diode in place of the 470ohm resistor. I removed the wemos diode by pulling it off with tweezers but left on the LEDs on the gyroscope and Wemos (for now) so I could tell when it is on. The battery seems to charge fine and when I switch it on with the Wemos plugged into my (windows 10) PC, NodeMCU flasher recognizes a new COM port. When I try to flash the firmware (I've tried the latest version and a few earlier ones) the Wemos's blue LED starts flashing, but nothing happens in the software. Just an endless rotating blue circle in the bottom left corner and "Waiting MAC."

I've tried several different USB cords for the Wemos and also checked my soldering as best I can without removing the charger from the perfboard. I specifically tried to make sure I hadn't inadvertently bridged any adjacent soldering points (thus the scuffed up areas of the board). I've also tried it with and without external power from a USB port. I've also uninstalled and reinstalled the CH340 driver. I've tried various baud rates and flash speeds (though probably not every possible combination). The flash location I've used is 0x00000.

I did make an earlier mistake in that I tried numerous times to flash the Wemos before I hooked up the battery, using just the current from the USB to the charger. It wouldn't even recognize the COM port when I tried that approach, and I later learned the battery was essential for flashing. I'm wondering if those prior battery-less attempts somehow damaged the Wemos? I've already ordered a new Wemos from China just in case, but wondering if there's any other troubleshooting I can try while I wait a month for it arrive?

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
View attachment 631281 View attachment 631282

View attachment 631281 View attachment 631282

So, just to close the loop on this in case it is helpful for anyone, I finally got the new Wemos from China, flashed it first -- WITHOUT removing the diode or attaching it to anything -- and it took the firmware no problem. Then I hooked it up to the rest of my existing build and everything seems to work great. I guess I must have fried the old one or damaged something when I pried off the diode. One question: if I chose not to pry off the diode on this Wemos, am I correct that it's safe as long as I don't connect a USB cable to the Wemos while the battery is attached?

 

[BreeBrew]

One question: if I chose not to pry off the diode on this Wemos, am I correct that it's safe as long as I don't connect a USB cable to the Wemos while the battery is attached?

Yes that is correct. I didn't remove anything and my latest build is working just fine.
And once you have the firmware on there you can upgrade that over the air from your phone in the maintenance option in the iSpindel config so you don't have to hook it up to a PC anymore.

But be aware, when you do want to hook up the wemos to a PC with the wemos's usb for some reason, then disattach the battery first, otherwise your battery will get 5V unprotected to it which could cause the battery to blow up and/or cause a fire(that is the reason why it is advised to remove the diode on the wemos, then the current can't get to the battery). The tp4056 charger module not only charges the battery with a safe voltage but also protects it from overcharging, discharging below 3V and some other thingies.

 

[Stand]

Are other people seeing a consistent fluctuation in gravity readings with temperatures? I am slowly lowering temp on a lager, and watching my gravity slowly rise in response even though it's been stable with hydrometer readings.

 

[BreeBrew]

Are other people seeing a consistent fluctuation in gravity readings with temperatures? I am slowly lowering temp on a lager, and watching my gravity slowly rise in response even though it's been stable with hydrometer readings.

Yes, temperature has an impact on gravity readings.

"The effect of ignoring temperature correction will show up when the beer is cold crashed after end of fermentation, when the specific gravity should not change but iSpindel reports rise of specific gravity because the density of beer rises when the temperature is lowered"

I got this here:
http://vito.tw/?p=971

 

[BreeBrew]

My latest addition to the iSpindel, I poored 10gr of epoxy in the tube to fixate the sled. Now I can calibrate it once and not worrie anymore that it will move because I switched it on or off or connecting the usb cable to the charger or such.

 

[MT_Keg]

Hey guys.. I am at the final leg of getting this project complete. I have the petling in hand and am planning on making the slide/drawer out of some scrap lumber (white oak). Before I do that I was hoping to get an internal casting of the tube (without destroying it) to use as an initial starting template. I was dimensioning off of STL files but have not been too successful matching up the dimensions to my liking.

Do you guys have any bright ideas for casting the interior of one of these, non-destructively? I was thinking of using alginate.

Thanks,

MT

 

[Bigdaddyale]

Hey guys.. I am at the final leg of getting this project complete. I have the petling in hand and am planning on making the slide/drawer out of some scrap lumber (white oak). Before I do that I was hoping to get an internal casting of the tube (without destroying it) to use as an initial starting template. I was dimensioning off of STL files but have not been too successful matching up the dimensions to my liking.

Do you guys have any bright ideas for casting the interior of one of these, non-destructively? I was thinking of using alginate.

Thanks,

MT

do a search for silicone and corn starch

 

[LBussy]

Do you guys have any bright ideas for casting the interior of one of these, non-destructively? I was thinking of using alginate.

A wood sled? Well that's a new one! Unless you are doing it for the aesthetics, I'll bet someone here would be wiling to print you a couple. Even hiring it out it would be cheap, they are a quick print. I don't have my printer anymore or else I'd do it for you.

You might be able to get one of the various slicer programs (cura comes to mind) and load the .STL to get some dimensions. Otherwise there are some 3D authoring programs that will read them.

As far as casting, I might be inclined to spray the interior with PAM and use a triple-strength clear gelatin cast. Every homebrewer should have some of that around! Even quicker/dirtier, since you are working with wood which is not all that precise, Pam and freeze some water in there/ A quick dunk in warm water should slide it out and it will be fine for some quick measurements.

 

[MT_Keg]

Thanks guys for the ideas! I do not have a 3D printer but I have a lot of woodworking tools that could get the job done (and I thought it might look cool). I did try and dimension off of a STL file but the dimensions varied wildly from the petling I have. Figured I would try something new.

I will post some pics when I finally get some time to get it pulled together.

Some of my petlings have scratches deep enough I can stick my finger nail in... Should I send those back?

MT

 

[gromitdj]

Hey guys.. I am at the final leg of getting this project complete. I have the petling in hand and am planning on making the slide/drawer out of some scrap lumber (white oak). Before I do that I was hoping to get an internal casting of the tube (without destroying it) to use as an initial starting template. I was dimensioning off of STL files but have not been too successful matching up the dimensions to my liking.

Do you guys have any bright ideas for casting the interior of one of these, non-destructively? I was thinking of using alginate.

Thanks,

MT

... I'll bet someone here would be wiling to print you a couple. Even hiring it out it would be cheap, they are a quick print.

I have a couple I'd be willing to part with...

 

[MT_Keg]

I have a couple I'd be willing to part with...

Thanks @gromitdj. I will try and create one first... if i fail miserably I will reach out to you via PM. Thanks everyone for your support!

 

[filip]

I'm charging my iSpindel right now with the switch turned off and that seems to work. Would charging it with the switch turned on break it?

 

[gromitdj]

It doesn't cause any issues with mine. But, in my experience, the LED on the charger will never change colors to signify a complete charge with the switch on.

 

[moad]

I'm charging my iSpindel right now with the switch turned off and that seems to work. Would charging it with the switch turned on break it?

Works for me and led does change colour for me!

 

[Stand]

I took the plunge and pressurized my iSpindel. It seems to be holding pressure alright because if it was filling with liquid I imagine it would say the gravity was dropping and it isn't.

I'm curious if anyone has figured out a way to create a better seal in the cap? I was thinking maybe Keg Lube?

 

[moad]

I used some thread tape, still considering some loctite but waiting until I’ve been using it for a while

 

[BreeBrew]

I took the plunge and pressurized my iSpindel. It seems to be holding pressure alright because if it was filling with liquid I imagine it would say the gravity was dropping and it isn't.

I'm curious if anyone has figured out a way to create a better seal in the cap? I was thinking maybe Keg Lube?

I used some thread tape, still considering some loctite but waiting until I’ve been using it for a while

If you use the caching tubes like this one: https://adventure-caching.de/cache-...lter-giantpet-riesen-pet-rohling-15-cm-x-4-cm there is no need to use anything, these things are absolutely watertight.

 

[gingerneil]

This is driving me nuts... I have 2x Wimo D1 Mini, v3.0.0
I am trying to flash iSpindel before building the full kit. I have tried flashing using all the setting I can find in the thread - flushing out using the INTERNAL options, changing the config for baudrate, SPI Mode and and size - but with no luck. The same happens on both boards. The following is the output from putty. Any thoughts of where to go now ??? What could exception(28) be referring to ?

;dl▒▒|▒d▒|
▒
$▒
b|▒▒▒;▒c▒c▒▒gn▒l'g▒▒▒
#8▒▒$;l;d8▒'▒
▒l▒▒
#
o▒|$▒
▒c▒▒o'▒$▒▒d`▒ol`';▒ۛgb▒$sۛgb▒d▒▒l$▒
l`▒▒'▒
FW 6.1.1
2.2.1(cfd48f3)
Worker run!
mounting FS... mounted!
scanning for OW device on pin: 5
No devices found!
scanning for OW device on pin: 12
No devices found!
scanning for OW device on pin: 116
No devices found!
scanning for OW device on pin: 121
No devices found!
ERROR: cannot find a OneWire Temperature Sensor!
Acc Test Connection ERROR!
Boot-Mode: External System
power-cycle or reset detected, config mode

Double Reset detected
...........
ERROR no Wifi credentials

going to Config Mode
Acc Test Connection ERROR!

Exception (28):
epc1=0x402082cb epc2=0x00000000 epc3=0x00000000 excvaddr=0x000000 00 depc=0x00000000

>>>stack>>>

ctx: sys
sp: 3ffffd60 end: 3fffffb0 offset: 01a0
3fff ff00: 0031c4de 3ffeebf0 3ffef460 40208c02
3fffff10: 00000000 00000000 3ffef1f 0 40202500
3fffff20: 0031c4de 3ffeebf0 3fff1f14 40202e58
3fffff30: 00000000 00000123 00000000 4021f962
3fffff40: 4024ee2c 3fff1f14 3ffeebf0 4021ff22
3fff ff50: 60000600 3fff1f14 3ffe99e0 4024ee39
3fffff60: 4024ee7e 3fffdab0 0000000 0 3fffdcb0
3fffff70: 3ffeec08 3fffdab0 00000000 00000004
3fffff80: 40000f49 40000f49 3fffdab0 40000f49
3fffff90: 40000e19 40001878 00000002 00000000
3fff ffa0: 3fffff10 aa55aa55 00000048 40104f60
<<<stack<<<

ets Jan 8 2013,rst cause:2, boot mode3,7)

load 0x4010f000, len 1384, room 16
tail 8
chksum 0x2d
csum 0x2d
v8b899c12
~ld

FW 6.1.1
2.2.1(cfd48f3)
Worker run!
mounting FS... mounted!
scanning for OW device on pin: 5
No devices found!
scanning for OW device on pin: 12
No devices found!
scanning for OW device on pin: 116
No devices found!
scanning for OW device on pin: 121
No devices found!
ERROR: cannot find a OneWire Temperature Sensor!
Acc Test Connection ERROR!
Boot-Mode: Exception

Double Reset detected
...........
ERROR no Wifi credentials

going to Config Mode
reboot RFCAL
{l$ܟ|▒l▒<
▒d▒c|▒▒▒▒{▒cl▒#▒▒go▒lng▒▒▒
bp▒$;drd▒;▒n▒#▒'cp

 

[gingerneil]

Replying to my own post - rather then deleting so everyone can see a) I'm an idiot, and b) this is the exception you get trying to flash the firmware on an unbuilt device for v6+. Flashed v5.x and I can connect OK to the web interface.
Now to get my soldering iron out!

 

[BreeBrew]

Yes, you have to build it first. All parts have to be present. Now it finds no devices, hence all the errors.

 

[LBussy]

Your error is a pretty generic one, and the name of folks around the world. 28 is access to an invalid address, typically either access to cache after it is turned off or wild pointers. This can be caused by anything.

To be able to help we need to know your exact steps and maybe that will give us some idea where it went cheesy-poofs.