iSpindle - DIY Electronic Hydrometer

[ElChangoGuero]

How much bigger is the sled than the bottle?

sled is around 37mm and the max inside diameter of the bottle is 35mm, but the main issue is the curve of the bottle with the sled

 

[Mikmonken]

sled is around 37mm and the max inside diameter of the bottle is 35mm, but the main issue is the curve of the bottle with the sled

Is it this one from eBay the xxl big pet https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/142295113730 ? It states that's the internal diameter is 40mm... View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1490255298.224843.jpg

 

[gezzanet]

mmmmm
my big momas just turned up today. I bought these and will have to see if i can get them to work.
WARNING-not the same as the german ones
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/17169215...49&var=470660824753&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

Biggest-Preform-Geocache-Container-Pack-of-10-or-20-With-Lids-200mm-Long
They are 200mm from top of cap to bottom external
od of tube 36-38-36mm
ID of tube 31mm wemos is 25mm or so wide

if no good maybe ill stick hops in them.

 

[ElChangoGuero]

Is it this one from eBay the xxl big pet https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/142295113730 ? It states that's the internal diameter is 40mm... View attachment 393797

yup, same one, still doesnt fit lol, my friend might finish the new design today though

 

[ElChangoGuero]

so...what do you guys think? the space at the bottom is for the 20g weight, hopefully ill print it again and test it out soon.

https://www.tinkercad.com/things/1TcD78DvxQu

 

[gezzanet]

I WA wondering wether some sort of sliding design for the battery holder might make trimming easier
Also can you fill your tube up with water and measure the mls capacity pls?

 

[rocketpants]

I'm in the middle of a build of this now. I've changed up the parts a little bit but the idea is pretty much the same.

I've complied and uploaded the script to the wemos and am able to get to the wifi configuration script using it as an IP, but after that, when it attempts to connect to my internal wifi network I can't seem to connect again. I don't see anything come up in the arduino IDE console that helps.

Any ideas?

 

[ElChangoGuero]

I WA wondering wether some sort of sliding design for the battery holder might make trimming easier
Also can you fill your tube up with water and measure the mls capacity pls?

looks like if i fill it up to the top and cap it its 148ml

 

[gezzanet]

My 200mm long ones are ~130ml

 

[pocketmon]

so...what do you guys think? the space at the bottom is for the 20g weight, hopefully ill print it again and test it out soon.

https://www.tinkercad.com/things/1TcD78DvxQu

My .002

1. what if 25g or more is needed? I red the documents on Github and saw two numbers: 15 and 25 degree. Mine tilts around 30 degree by using 20g, and I am going to use 25g. (There is not much space, so I am going to use wheel balancing blocks.)

2. Is it possible to design a sled that can fit a battery holder instead of the battery? Li-on battery is not stable. Soldering the battery seems dangerous to me.

 

[ElChangoGuero]

My .002

1. what if 25g or more is needed? I red the documents on Github and saw two numbers: 15 and 25 degree. Mine tilts around 30 degree by using 20g, and I am going to use 25g. (There is not much space, so I am going to use wheel balancing blocks.)

2. Is it possible to design a sled that can fit a battery holder instead of the battery? Li-on battery is not stable. Soldering the battery seems dangerous to me.

1. well i weighted the rest of the thing i do have(sled, bottle, battery, wemos and some boards) and it weighted around 5.6g, so with the 20g i would figure that it would might hit the 30g total weight easier, but everything is trial and error, if it needs a 25g i might just need to modify it until i get a perfect sled for repeatable results.

2. yea if you can get the size of the holder you can print out a square hole were it can fit perfectly, also you dont really have to solder, you can just put some black tape on it on each end and would be fine if it doesnt move alot

 

[Mikmonken]

My parts arrived today, going to try and solder it all together tomorrow.

And then Tomorrow evening order more parts from aliexpress to have another go because I've ballsed it up...

 

[Mikmonken]

It may not be the prettiest of jobs, and I'm still waiting on the Peltier, but it works.

well when I say works it does work, infact it's always on and switch seems to do nothing, and I can't tell whether the device is charging the battery when it's powered on, but it's logging and I'll take that.

 

[Bigdaddyale]

What sled is this one? Does it fit in the ebay tubes?

 

[gezzanet]

Now thats looking pretty cool.
Does your sled make the battery sit at the bottom of the tube?
Was wondering because our german mates talk about weighting the tube and if yours goes to the bottom is there enough room to put weights?
Also an optimum starting angle of 25 deg is talked about, attained by adding weights i think.
Can i get a copy of your sled drawing cad? file? I would like to edit it for my tubes and print some. thanks

 

[observing]

Mikmonken,

When you built your iSpindel, did you remove the diode from the Wemos and the LED from the GY-521? If so, any hints on doing that?

 

[Mikmonken]

Ok trying to respond to all three

First off I bought the 3D sled from the European distributor it's pretty poor quality and has split already I'll measure it tomorrow and let you know how long it is,

the eBay pelting hasn't arrived yet so I can't say whether it fits but if the eBay dimensions are right it should do.

I used wire cutters to get rid of the diodes and led I felt more comfortable doing that than holdering a solder iron to them and melting them off. I have no idea whether this is good practice or not and as mentioned my device switch doesn't work so it may not be.

 

[Bigdaddyale]

Ok trying to respond to all three

First off I bought the 3D sled from the European distributor it's pretty poor quality and has split already I'll measure it tomorrow and let you know how long it is,

the eBay sled hasn't arrived yet so I can't say whether it fits but if the eBay dimensions are right it should do.

I used wire cutters to get rid of the diodes and led I felt more comfortable doing that than holdering a solder iron to them and melting them off. I have no idea whether this is good practice or not and as mentioned my device switch doesn't work so it may not be.

Are you still using the Ebay tube you linked to in an earlier post?If not what tube are you using?

 

[toadyus]

I have the XXL Big Pet off ebay and the sled doesn't fit, I'm going to have to take the dremel to it.

 

[Bigdaddyale]

I have the XXL Big Pet off ebay and the sled doesn't fit, I'm going to have to take the dremel to it.

How much bigger is the sled? I read it's only a couple of mm

 

[toadyus]

The length wasn't the issue it was the width of the tray...took the dremel to it tonight...it fits now but who knows if this is going to throw off the tilt..lol

 

[ElChangoGuero]

The length wasn't the issue it was the width of the tray...took the dremel to it tonight...it fits now but who knows if this is going to throw off the tilt..lol

i warned you all that it didnt fit! lol still havent gotten my new sled yet but they sent me a picture

 

[Mikmonken]

Are you still using the Ebay tube you linked to in an earlier post?If not what tube are you using?

still waiting for the pelting container, but it was the version that I linked to from eBay that ElChangoGuero says is the wrong size.

 

[dr3x]

In your printed sleds, does the sled hold the battery on an angle to give it some initial tilt? looks like it from the diagrams.

Yes, it is at a slight angle, probably to expose the end for when you solder a wire to it. Photo attached, shows how far the printed sled goes in before it jams. Probably just needs a small amount of material to be filed off for it to go in all the way.

Got lots of resistors from China already, waiting for the main components...

**UPDATE**
This tip just in from Sam from the iSpindle project - try this before you take a Dremel to your sled and shred it:

...But here is the trick, put the sled into hot water ~140°F where it gets soft, then push it gently into the sled. Repeat it if necessary, you will squeeze it until it fits. Not perfect but works!

** UPDATE x2 **
I actually tried it, put water in a ceramic dish, floated the sled on the water and put it in the microwave on the beverage setting and it worked well to soften up the material so it could fit the tube, however the sled legs splayed out a little (warped) so flipped it over and pressed it back into shape and that seems to have fixed that issue. I'll find out when I get the circuit board but shouldn't be too difficult to reform it.

 

[ElChangoGuero]

fits a little lose inside lol? think 34mm might be the sweet spot and battery a little tight, just upgraded the diagram if anyone wants to try it, still waiting on some parts to assemble and test

 

[gezzanet]

yep i wouldn't mind the diagram pm sent

 

[Mikmonken]

As a hobbyist, I recommend KiCAD. It's free and has no board or layer limits. There is a bit of a learning curve though. If you need any help, just ask. I'm no expert, but can make my way through it.

Wow it's a learning curve alright, but I think I'm doing OK.

created a scheema the other day and thought it was all OK, but apparently I hadn't connected my wires to exactly the right place so when I went to create a board it spat it's dummy out.

having a bit of trouble finding all the right components, the toy switch too, I know I could create them, but to be honest I have no clue apparent electronics and wha the symbols mean etc so it's easier for me to find them through other peoples posts.

hopefully at some point in the near future I'll have created my first board.

Fritzing was so much easier, although the spacing on the toy switch footprints would have been all wrong, but I can appreciate whys it's not the best tool for the job having seen some of the other designs people have done.

 

[gromitdj]

Wow it's a learning curve alright, but I think I'm doing OK.
<snip>
having a bit of trouble finding all the right components, the toy switch too, I know I could create them, but to be honest I have no clue apparent electronics and wha the symbols mean etc so it's easier for me to find them through other peoples posts.

Message me with any questions (as to not clutter up this thread)
As I said, I'm no expert. But I can make my way through it, and would gladly help you with component creation.

I'm not familiar with the toy switch. Do you have a link or cutsheet that I can reference? I'll take a look and see what it may take.

Edit: After looking at your Aliexpress List, it looks like it's just a 3 pin component with a lead spacing of 2.54mm (or .1"). You could simply use a 3-pin header for the toy switch.

 

[Bigdaddyale]

The hot water method works well for getting the sled to fit in the tube.

 

[Mikmonken]

I have no idea what sled I have or even if it's on the GitHub but the one I posted earlier fits like a glove in the eBay sled, my shoddy soldering however he meant that the battery became disconnected and then somehow killed the ESP when it kept touching the base. New ESP and gyu board ordered to rebuild.