iSpindle - DIY Electronic Hydrometer

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Abyssal said:
I feel like if you hard wired anything to the float then the wires would throw off how the float reacts to the change in density? Like the hanging wires would throw off the center of gravity and couldn't keep it consistent depending on how the wire hangs.
Click to expand...


That's a good point. Especially if you coat the wires or put them in some kind of food safe sleeve or something. I suppose the trick would be to make it have enough weight/buoyancy that the force from the wire was negligible, but now we are probably talking something too large to fit in a thermal well.

I'll ponder some more...
 
BrunDog said:
I suppose I get the challenge of learning/doing such a project, but the Tilt is pretty cheap. I think the time you end up investing for one-off runs would not be worth the effort compared to just buying the Tilt. Unless you wanted to make a business out of it... just check you aren't infringing any IP protection.
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I think the tilt guys are pursuing a patent. If so, then they could ask for this thread to be deleted by the mods...let be flame war about patents begin.
 
Carlscan26 said:
I think the tilt guys are pursuing a patent. If so, then they could ask for this thread to be deleted by the mods...let be flame war about patents begin.
Click to expand...

As I understand patents (I'm an engineer, not a lawyer) nothing in this thread would be an issue. Patents protect them against someone selling something that violated it not discussing it. Also, unless this is the same guys they're probably out of luck as prior artwork exists:

https://www.google.com/patents/US20140260607

As far as cost, if I don't count time (which is obviously cheating), my current BOM estimate is $40 each so I should be able to build 3 of them for what a Tilt costs. But as was already mentioned this isn't really about cost, it's about the learning/challenge. I've done a handful of PCB designs, and write software for a living, but I've never done anything with the ESP32, accelerometers, or battery power. So really it's just an excuse to delve into new area. And of course I will have to brew more beer to test it...
 
schrod said:
And of course I will have to brew more beer to test it...
Click to expand...
and then of course you can waste beer so you'll have to drink it!!


You poor bastard!!!

Now how to create this particular issue for myself??
 
Carlscan26 said:
I think the tilt guys are pursuing a patent. If so, then they could ask for this thread to be deleted by the mods...let be flame war about patents begin.
Click to expand...

I am an EE, been a designer for 44 years, am the named inventor in a dozen patents and a named contributor in many more.
Patents do not prohibit discussion of the specific art, any prior art, any related art, or any unrelated art.

If the mods cave to such a ridiculous request, then too bad for them...

Cheers!
 
Great so you know half of how a patent works. The other half is protecting it. Go do some searching; this has been discussed elsewhere on this site.
 
Carlscan26 said:
Great so you know half of how a patent works. The other half is protecting it. Go do some searching; this has been discussed elsewhere on this site.
Click to expand...
The braumeister is patented, yet both this site and it's sister Aussie site gave explicit instructions on how to clone it(I'm the OP of probably the biggest brauclone thread there is) including the controller later to become Ardbir, I have not yet received a cease and desist nor have any of the other major contributors. Now if you were going to sell a clone thereof I dare say the story would be a little different.
 
day_trippr said:
I am an EE, been a designer for 44 years, am the named inventor in a dozen patents and a named contributor in many more.
Patents do not prohibit discussion of the specific art, any prior art, any related art, or any unrelated art.

If the mods cave to such a ridiculous request, then too bad for them...

Cheers!
Click to expand...

The patent process is the intentional public description of the device. So yea, talking about it is fine. However, violating a patent by MAKING one, even if just for yourself, does indeed violate the patent. Of course, because it costs money to defend a patent, no company is going to pursue an individual violator like that (especially if it's a device of low value, like this one).

A party that actively encourages others to violate a patent can create liability for that party (see the USPTO). Where does this thread / forum fit into "encouragement"? Not sure.

Since we (HBT) have zero interest in any legal schtuff, let's not morph this thread into a maker thread. I'd prefer to see you all work on ways to NOT violate the independent claims of that patent.
 
My apologies for derailing the thread passedpawn and thank you for providing clarity around what we can and can't do.

Since I was the one who brought it up, I'll close by saying I can't find anywhere in their site where they are indicating they are pursuing a patent - maybe I dreamed it, or they had it and removed it.

Back to the original topic...
 
BrunDog said:
The patent listed above is by the very same guys who make & sell the Tilt.
Click to expand...

Good to know, I wasn't able to find names associated with Tilt (I admittedly didn't try that hard). I've also learned some things about patents here and will respect their rights and wont discuss it further.
 
if im not mistaken i think i can make this for ~$28, all from aliexpress and ebay, let you guys know if it works :D
 
ElChangoGuero said:
anybody used this NEW wimos wifi version? apparently it has more memory and its only $1 more

WEMOS D1 mini Pro
Click to expand...

The Wemos has been used on several DIY project here on HBT. However it lacks the on board accelerometer/gyro though just checked and it does fit nicely in a 50ml tube. max draw on these is 500ma.
 
froot said:
The Wemos has been used on several DIY project here on HBT. However it lacks the on board accelerometer/gyro though just checked and it does fit nicely in a 50ml tube. max draw on these is 500ma.
Click to expand...

Yes, i am getting that separately GY-521 they also make a nice ProtoBoard Shield for Wemos, going to use the TP4056 and see if i can get it to work with 2 NCR18650B batteries and fit on this soda bottle preform, if everything works well maybe ill try upgrading it to a wifi fermentation controller/digital hydrometer.
 
BrunDog said:
Note that board does not have an onboard antenna.

Might look at Adafruit's Feather form factor.
Click to expand...

It should come with an built in antenna, although it might not be as strong there for the external antenna connector...hmm...although i read the mini pro uses less energy that the mini

Description: The D1 mini Pro is a mini wifi board based on ESP-8266EX.

Features:

11 digital input/output pins
Interrupt/pwm/I2C/one-wire
1 analog input(3.2V max input)
16M bytes(128M bit) Flash
External antenna connector
Built-in ceramic antenna
New CP2104 USB-TO-UART IC
Same size as D1 mini, but more light
 
BrunDog said:
Note that board does not have an onboard antenna.[...]
Click to expand...

It does. It's the "Rainsun" ceramic antenna module.
1.jpg

Should be comparable to the etched antennae found on many BT modules...

Cheers!
 
day_trippr said:
It does. It's the "Rainsun" ceramic antenna module.
1.jpg

Should be comparable to the etched antennae found on many BT modules...

Cheers!
Click to expand...
So much bigger that the one on my desk not looking forward to soldering these up:eek:
 
ops right, didnt check the dimensions. Even wemos will barely fit there :p Is there any china supplier for those? Or how I can get it or something similar?
 
toadyus said:
That one should be wide enough but It's not long enough as it's only 13.5 cm You need the XXL as it's 15cm, you can get it from the same seller. I bought 5 :)
Click to expand...

damn! really hope you are wrong hahaha and everyone's should work fine, should get it any day now.
 
probably you will just need to fit everything inside :) Although I just read on german forum that dimensions etc are crucial for the developed software.
 
Skimmed the thread so may have missed the discussion of this, if I have - apologies.

What about doing a low power solution like BLE? Something along the lines of an Adafruit Bluefruit device https://www.adafruit.com/product/1697?q=nRF51822&

And here is an out of the box idea - no battery - but that probably won't work due to range (unless maybe you could tether the free floating part of the device to a charging pad affixed to the side of the bucket - but of course that would greatly increase the complexity of the project)

https://www.hackster.io/kazola/nfc-...energy-854c46?ref=part&ref_id=13511&offset=10
 
dr3x said:
Skimmed the thread so may have missed the discussion of this, if I have - apologies.
Click to expand...
Congratulations! You are the first person to use the "I skimmed but didn't read it all" line in this thread! :tank: ;)

dr3x said:
What about doing a low power solution like BLE? Something along the lines of an Adafruit Bluefruit device https://www.adafruit.com/product/1697?q=nRF51822&
Click to expand...

Sorta like this?

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?p=7904323

dr3x said:
And here is an out of the box idea - no battery - but that probably won't work due to range (unless maybe you could tether the free floating part of the device to a charging pad affixed to the side of the bucket - but of course that would greatly increase the complexity of the project)

https://www.hackster.io/kazola/nfc-...energy-854c46?ref=part&ref_id=13511&offset=10
Click to expand...
Would be cool for sure. Complexity off the scale compared to this.
 
This project just appeared on Hackaday. There might be some useful insight in the discussion (although I won't be holding my breath).

http://hackaday.com/2017/03/01/iot-device-pulls-its-weight-in-home-brewing/
 
terragady said:
probably you will just need to fit everything inside :) Although I just read on german forum that dimensions etc are crucial for the developed software.
Click to expand...

So...bought both and it looks like the XXL is the right one for the 3d printer part and neither will fit in a glass carboy, good thing I use buckets lol

17093786_1572580672782367_69689757_n.jpg
 
Rather than just subbing i'm really interested in this I've read the thread and can't really see anyone having posted a link to all the parts that are needed, so i've pulled some together a list of all the components but being a novice can someone double check, that all this would all work. there are a few parts missing.

The Pelting container and also the little 3x5 board, and the sled to fit it all in.

iSpindle Aliexpress wishlist you can make you own decision about whether you want to buy batteries from aliexpress, the components wemos etc have always seem to work pretty well for me though.

The Petling is here ->eBay which is the one linked previously in the thread. the thing i'm not sure about is the molding break that is at the top it looks like a dream for harbouring nasties.

the 3x4cm PCB

The Sled for the life on me i can't download the STL file, but given my search for low cost 3d printers in the UK, it'd probably be cheaper for me to just by Tilt itself....

Does this all look about right? if so it comes to around $30 - £24 plus the sled and a PCB so pretty good value.

I'm really tempted to get my soldering iron out again and give this a bash...
 
Mikmonken said:
I'm really tempted to get my soldering iron out again and give this a bash...
Click to expand...

Looks like you have everything, i still havent received all my parts but its the same but from a different seller, i wouldnt buy the resistors since you can probably get them cheaper locally, the sled you will have to 3d print for sure and for the board shield, the guys from Wemos make one specifically for their boards.
 
While still waiting for the soda bottles, a very kind friend promise to make one for me.

Right now, I am working on gravity-based temperature schedule. Can't wait to test it.

bplv2.jpg
 
ElChangoGuero said:
Looks like you have everything, i still havent received all my parts but its the same but from a different seller, i wouldnt buy the resistors since you can probably get them cheaper locally, the sled you will have to 3d print for sure and for the board shield, the guys from Wemos make one specifically for their boards.
Click to expand...


Well I've not placed the order yet, I'm struggling to visualise how it all goes together what goes into the sled etc.
 

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