Replacement firmware for iSpindel (GravityMon)

[mper]

Hi Thanks for the replies. My configuration is set to the image below. For brewfather i had HTTP1 (POST) set to http://log.brewfather.net/ispindel?id=************

View attachment 780641

Your settings are correct for brewspy (i've verified that it works on one of my ispindels). I assume you are using the standard format template (iSpindle POST) for this endpoint ?

On the brewfather the endpoint is also correct, however you might need to adjust the name / format template if you are using SG and not Plato. Brewfather assumes that the default values are in plato unless the device name ends with [SG]. This also assumes the standard format template is used.

Can you share the format template used as well ? Click the FORMAT button under the push settings. HTTP-1 should be the one shown on that page.

If the issues persist I would suspect that there is something with your network that causes the issue.

 

[engltayl]

Yes it just on default. Its strange as ive had it working on the same network previouly ok.

 

[jinjorge]

@mper Awesome work. Looking forward to using your firmware with my recently ordered iSpindels

 

[mper]

@mper Awesome work. Looking forward to using your firmware with my recently ordered iSpindels

Thanks, and I appreciate the help with the documentation.

 

[DuncB]

Is it possible to make gravity mon work just to sense temperature? I'd like to have a monitor in my keg fridge but no need to keep an eye on gravity or use those components?
Ispindel doesn't work if not built with all parts.

 

[jinjorge]

Thanks, and I appreciate the help with the documentation.

You are welcome. I am happy to help

 

[mper]

Is it possible to make gravity mon work just to sense temperature? I'd like to have a monitor in my keg fridge but no need to keep an eye on gravity or use those components?
Ispindel doesn't work if not built with all parts.

It will start without any sensors but I will not work properly in gravity mode without the gyro. I guess you want to run it on battery power and not powered via USB. I would not be that difficult to change it as you want (or I could create a separate project just for measuring temperature).

Could you describe how you would like it to work ? Do you just want the temperature or would humidity and other factors be of interest (could change to another sensor).

 

[DuncB]

It will start without any sensors but I will not work properly in gravity mode without the gyro. I guess you want to run it on battery power and not powered via USB. I would not be that difficult to change it as you want (or I could create a separate project just for measuring temperature).

Could you describe how you would like it to work ? Do you just want the temperature or would humidity and other factors be of interest (could change to another sensor).

Hi
I just wanted a battery powered sensor for temperature. I'd keep it in the petling so it didn't get damp and then could connect to brewspy or local monitor by WiFi.

That will provide remote temp monitoring and also can alert if temperature changes out of a range.
So I'd leave the gyro out of the build.
I suppose for people who wanted to grow mushrooms or look after cheese then humidity measure would be useful.
Interesting that lots of hospital fridges are temp critical and have alarms etc.
They cost a fortune and I suggested putting ispindels in the normal fridges but that was a leap too far. Much easier to find a reason to not change than make a change. I estimated it would save about 5000 dollars.er fridge.

 

[mper]

Hi
I just wanted a battery powered sensor for temperature. I'd keep it in the petling so it didn't get damp and then could connect to brewspy or local monitor by WiFi.

That will provide remote temp monitoring and also can alert if temperature changes out of a range.
So I'd leave the gyro out of the build.
I suppose for people who wanted to grow mushrooms or look after cheese then humidity measure would be useful.
Interesting that lots of hospital fridges are temp critical and have alarms etc.
They cost a fortune and I suggested putting ispindels in the normal fridges but that was a leap too far. Much easier to find a reason to not change than make a change. I estimated it would save about 5000 dollars.er fridge.

I will have a look at it, would not be to difficult. Probably best to create a new project and remove all the code connected to the gyro.

 

[DuncB]

I will have a look at it, would not be to difficult. Probably best to create a new project and remove all the code connected to the gyro.

Thank you, no hurry for it at all. I do use the gravity mon on my 5 other ispindels for brewing.

 

[nhofer7]

So you think ill be able to flash this on an esp-32 c3 mini board by wemos? With bluetooth 5.0 battery might be better. It says it's compatible with d1 mini shields.

https://www.wemos.cc/en/latest/c3/c3_mini.html

 

[DuncB]

My battery lasts for months with D1 mini and wifi every half an hour. Battery life is better if the D1 has a good reception to the wifi router.

 

[mper]

So you think ill be able to flash this on an esp-32 c3 mini board by wemos? With bluetooth 5.0 battery might be better. It says it's compatible with d1 mini shields.

https://www.wemos.cc/en/latest/c3/c3_mini.html

I think this is a different cpu architecture than the version that is pre built. Its supported by platformio so you probably need to build a version for that chip. Settings can be found here, WEMOS LOLIN C3 Mini — PlatformIO latest documentation

 

[nhofer7]

I think this is a different cpu architecture than the version that is pre built. Its supported by platformio so you probably need to build a version for that chip. Settings can be found here, WEMOS LOLIN C3 Mini — PlatformIO latest documentation

Might be over my head as I'm not too familiar with PlatformIO. So you think all I would need to do is change

platform = espressif8266 @ 4.0.1
framework = arduino
board = d1_mini

to

[env:lolin_c3_mini]
platform = espressif32
board = lolin_c3_mini

in the inplatformio.ini file?

 

[mper]

Might be over my head as I'm not too familiar with PlatformIO. So you think all I would need to do is change

platform = espressif8266 @ 4.0.1
framework = arduino
board = d1_mini

to

[env:lolin_c3_mini]
platform = espressif32
board = lolin_c3_mini

in the inplatformio.ini file?

Thats the config for the esp8266 target, you change the board setting under the gravity-32 section. Im not sure in which version of platformio the C3 model is supported so I would upgrade to the latest version v5.1.1. With these changes it should compile fine. I will see if I can get a few of those boards and test them myself. the formfactor is much better than the ones I tested.

[env:gravity32-release]
board = featheresp32 -> lolin_c3_mini
platform = espressif32 @ 5.1.1

 

[mper]

So you think ill be able to flash this on an esp-32 c3 mini board by wemos? With bluetooth 5.0 battery might be better. It says it's compatible with d1 mini shields.

https://www.wemos.cc/en/latest/c3/c3_mini.html

I got a few of these in the mail and it looks like I need to do some troubleshooting to get this variant to work. It looks and behaves quite different from the other ESP32 chips that I tried before. I will keep you updated on my progress....

 

[nhofer7]

Thanks very much apreciate your efforts.

 

[mper]

Thanks very much apreciate your efforts.

Thanks, but unfortunately I have not really made any progress with this chip. From what I can tell so far there are some hardware design issues connected to the wifi antenna so in order to connect you need to reduce the wifi power (less range) but dont think this will be a problem for most users.

However it looks like there are a few issues in the Arduino/Expressif32 libraries connected to this chip which are still open and pending resolution. Sometimes it takes a long time for the issues to be found and fixed.

I will put this on hold since I spent quite a lot of hours on trying to get it up a running and wait for some of the issues to be fixed in the libraries that I depend on.

 

[mper]

Is it possible to make gravity mon work just to sense temperature? I'd like to have a monitor in my keg fridge but no need to keep an eye on gravity or use those components?
Ispindel doesn't work if not built with all parts.

Hi, I've put together a first version that you can test. I have done some basic tests but there is more to be done. It's a subset of the gravitymon software and does not have all the flexibility. Unfortunately there are no docs yet, I havent had time to do that part. Let me know if this is what you where after; Link to project is here;
https://github.com/mp-se/tempmon

 

[DuncB]

Hi, I've put together a first version that you can test. I have done some basic tests but there is more to be done. It's a subset of the gravitymon software and does not have all the flexibility. Unfortunately there are no docs yet, I havent had time to do that part. Let me know if this is what you where after; Link to project is here;
https://github.com/mp-se/tempmon

Okay that's fantastic I'll get it loaded and give it a go.
Will build the ispindel without gravity monitor first of course.

 

[mper]

Okay that's fantastic I'll get it loaded and give it a go.
Will build the ispindel without gravity monitor first of course.

You can switch between the 2 softwares and it will retain the configuration unless you erase the device. Configuration is stored in different files on the device.

 

[mper]

Thanks very much apreciate your efforts.

I found another option based on esp32 s2 that i ordered, will try that to see of it works better….

 

[mper]

Thanks very much apreciate your efforts.

Finally some progress on the ESP32C3 mini, found the blocking issues and now got the software running on the unit as a first step. Will need to do a lot of testing to see that everything works as intended. Will keep you updated on the progress. Will see if I can do the same for the ESP32S2 mini variant as well. Both of them have a good formfactor and could really replace the esp8266. Thanks for pointing me to that chip!

 

[mper]

Found a bug in the templating engine that I fixed in this release.

https://github.com/mp-se/gravitymon/releases/tag/v1.1.1

 

[mper]

Managed to get GravityMon to work on an ESP32C3 mini so now there are two ESP32 based board that are supported. This is the first beta and I still need to do some more testing before its production ready. @nhofer7

https://github.com/mp-se/gravitymon/releases/tag/v1.2.0-beta1

 

[mper]

I've added support for the ESPS2 mini chip as well so there are 3 options of ESP32 chips to choose from.

Thanks to @Thorrak for implementing support for the C3 chip in Brewflasher, all of the chips can be flashed with Brewflasher 1.5!

 

[DuncB]

Can you post a link to the mini chip as I'm only tracking down development boards when I search and I wondered the dimensions of the ESP32 mini.
Thank you.

 

[mper]

Can you post a link to the mini chip as I'm only tracking down development boards when I search and I wondered the dimensions of the ESP32 mini.
Thank you.

Both the c3 and s2 have the same dimensions as the esp8266. The info can be found here, S2 mini — WEMOS documentation

the s2 have more row of pins but have the same outer dimension as the c3.

From the top: Lolin ESP8266 v3, ESP32 S2 mini v1, ESP32 C3 mini v1, ESP32 D1 Mini (WROOM-32)

 

[Thorrak]

Both the c3 and s2 have the same dimensions as the esp8266. The info can be found here, S2 mini — WEMOS documentation

the s2 have more row of pins but have the same outer dimension as the c3

Did Lolin end up fixing the radio issues with the C3 Mini?

Edit: Looks like they now have a v2.1.0 without the same notes about lowering the WiFi power, so possibly!

 

[mper]

Did Lolin end up fixing the radio issues with the C3 Mini?

Edit: Looks like they now have a v2.1.0 without the same notes about lowering the WiFi power, so possibly!

I had issues with wifi power on the c3 so i ended up reducing power to be able to connect at all. So i dont think they fixed the problem

 

[Thorrak]

I had issues with wifi power on the c3 so i ended up reducing power to be able to connect at all. So i dont think they fixed the problem

 

[mper]

Its the 1.0 version of the c3 that i have so they might have fixed that on newer boards

 

[DuncB]

@mper
Thank you for the size info. I was hoping that the ESP 32 mini was smaller so that I could try and fit an " ispindel" into a yeast bay bottle which could then fit in some of my narrower fermenters that I use for long ferments with Brett.
Not to worry though.

 

[mper]

@mper
Thank you for the size info. I was hoping that the ESP 32 mini was smaller so that I could try and fit an " ispindel" into a yeast bay bottle which could then fit in some of my narrower fermenters that I use for long ferments with Brett.
Not to worry though.

Well there are other arduino boards that are smaller. look around and let me know if you find a formfactor that is good, would not be to difficult to support other options. Perhaps the raspberry pi pico would be an option?

 

[nhofer7]

Managed to get GravityMon to work on an ESP32C3 mini so now there are two ESP32 based board that are supported. This is the first beta and I still need to do some more testing before its production ready. @nhofer7

https://github.com/mp-se/gravitymon/releases/tag/v1.2.0-beta1

That's great news. Still waiting for my c3 to show up hopefully it will be any day now .

 

[nhofer7]

I attempted today to flash the firmware on the c3 mini v2.1 using brewflasher. Flashing was successful but when I reset the device it's not throwing out a wifi hotspot. Wondering what I might be doing wrong. When I connect to serial monitor I get.
Saved PC:0x403d0f62
SPIWP:0xee
modeIO, clock div:1
load:0x3fcd6100,len:0x438
load:0x403ce000,len:0x90c
load:0x403d0000,len:0x2358
entry 0x403ce000
ESP-ROM:esp32c3-api1-20210207
Build:Feb 7 2021
rst:0x3 (RTC_SW_SYS_RST),boot:0xf (SPI_FAST_FLASH_BOOT)

I have tried this multiple times and same thing.

 

[mper]

I attempted today to flash the firmware on the c3 mini v2.1 using brewflasher. Flashing was successful but when I reset the device it's not throwing out a wifi hotspot. Wondering what I might be doing wrong. When I connect to serial monitor I get.
Saved PC:0x403d0f62
SPIWP:0xee
modeIO, clock div:1
load:0x3fcd6100,len:0x438
load:0x403ce000,len:0x90c
load:0x403d0000,len:0x2358
entry 0x403ce000
ESP-ROM:esp32c3-api1-20210207
Build:Feb 7 2021
rst:0x3 (RTC_SW_SYS_RST),boot:0xf (SPI_FAST_FLASH_BOOT)

I have tried this multiple times and same thing.

Lets see if we can sort it out. First, did you get a ttl/usb cable and connect that to the tx/rx/gnd pins? For the C3 i dont use the USB serial console since i wanted to easily read the console when connected to battery, so if you are not connected to the tx/rx pins then you would not see any output (you can check the documentation for how to connect). Dont connect the +5v cable since this might cause a disaster....

When testing with the C3 i found out that it would sometimes take a while for the access point to appear. Dont really know why thats the fact. So i would wait for at least 60 seconds before trying to reset again. Once the AP is configured its quite fast to connect to the wifi (not as fast as the esp8266).

It could be that there is something wrong with the flashing procedure but it worked when I tested that version. The output you see is probably the espressif bootloader which would be seen via the usbSerial so it looks like it not in a boot loop at least.

 

[nhofer7]

Lets see if we can sort it out. First, did you get a ttl/usb cable and connect that to the tx/rx/gnd pins? For the C3 i dont use the USB serial console since i wanted to easily read the console when connected to battery, so if you are not connected to the tx/rx pins then you would not see any output (you can check the documentation for how to connect). Dont connect the +5v cable since this might cause a disaster....

When testing with the C3 i found out that it would sometimes take a while for the access point to appear. Dont really know why thats the fact. So i would wait for at least 60 seconds before trying to reset again. Once the AP is configured its quite fast to connect to the wifi (not as fast as the esp8266).

It could be that there is something wrong with the flashing procedure but it worked when I tested that version. The output you see is probably the espressif bootloader which would be seen via the usbSerial so it looks like it not in a boot loop at least.

No I did not flash using a usb to serial. Is it required that I flash it that way? I just used usb C. I flashed rgb led using arduino platform and that worked. So my board is not defectiv.

 

[mper]

No I did not flash using a usb to serial. Is it required that I flash it that way? I just used usb C. I flashed rgb led using arduino platform and that worked. So my board is not defectiv.

Sorry, I was not that clear. Flashing is done with the USBC cable but for reading the serial log you need a ttl/usb converter that connects to the rx/tx pins. I can see if I can build a version that sends the output to the USBC so you can test it at least.

 

[mper]

No I did not flash using a usb to serial. Is it required that I flash it that way? I just used usb C. I flashed rgb led using arduino platform and that worked. So my board is not defectiv.

There is now an option in brewflasher where the standard usbc is used as serial console. give that a try.