Stc-1000+

[atoughram]

two new STC's flashed and one of them is controlling my beer refer now.

 

[krazydave]

Well, I got in my Arduino and controllers today. I can confirm that both STC-1000's ordered from AGPtek are v1.0 and I got them in 2 days with Prime.

Being a complete n00b when it comes to Arduino, it was easy to get it installed and going. However, I'm also a n00b to github and was having issues trying to "download" the picprog.ino and open with IDE. I was trying to click on the actual picprog.ino file in the list but couldn't find a way to download. Then eventually realized that there was a download link for the whole package in .zip.

Soldering was easy enough, though I do have a decent amount of soldering experience. I did notice that the bottom of these boards seem to be coated with some type of clearcoat or plastic layer. I just melted through though and had no issues.
For those trying this, get a solder sucker and learn how to use it. It'll make your life easier!

Once I eventually figured out how to get the picprog.ino program into IDE properly, flashing was exactly as your instructions say. One word of the wise to those new to Arduino like myself, install the IDE software and USB drivers first from the Arduino site, then plug it in and make sure your computer detects it and make note of what COM port it's on. Being in IT for years I know this, but I also know many people wouldn't. Once you have the COM port, you'll want to make sure that your IDE software is set to that port (under tools - serial port).

So, I flashed one of the STC's and am just playing with the menus at this point. Definitely could use some updated instructions though as you'll likely want to print them out and leave them where they're handy when programming profiles.

Thanks alphaomega for all of your hard work on this! Hopefully I'll be able to find the time soon to run some tests for you and let you know the results.

Also, thanks to everyone else who gave info on the pin headers and cables. As my controllers are pretty well enclosed, I'm hoping to make it easy to plug and flash in the future if I need to without having to tear everything apart.

 

[alphaomega]

two new STC's flashed and one of them is controlling my beer refer now.

Please report back you experience. Even if you can't do logging, how does it 'feel'? Is it cycling too often? Does it keep temperature? Overshoots?

 

[balrog]

Being a complete n00b when it comes to Arduino, it was easy to get it installed and going. However, I'm also a n00b to github and was having issues trying to "download" the picprog.ino and open with IDE. I was trying to click on the actual picprog.ino file in the list but couldn't find a way to download. Then eventually realized that there was a download link for the whole package in .zip.

One word of the wise to those new to Arduino like myself, install the IDE software and USB drivers first from the Arduino site, then plug it in and make sure your computer detects it and make note of what COM port it's on. Being in IT for years I know this, but I also know many people wouldn't. Once you have the COM port, you'll want to make sure that your IDE software is set to that port (under tools - serial port).

These two points are exactly what I was going to mention for the instructions, in case anyone like me was GitHub/Arduino noob like me. The Arduino was really the only sticking point I had. I would recommend at least following through the BLINK LED "Hello World" equivalent program just to ensure you can figure your Arduino out. The second Arduino issue I had was my computer would "drop" the COM4 requiring simple USB cord unplug/replug. I think it has to do with the short SLEEP time or something but suddenly during testing I'd couldn't reflash as Arduino IDE complained about missing COM4. This is TOTALLY Arduino and my setup though, not AlphaOmega firmware.

Alpha, one minor point--when inputting settings on stock firmware, one presses PWR to fix the setting, and with STC+ setting a setpoint temp in a profile is fixed as soon as you up/dn to the temp, right?

Thanks alphaomega for all of your hard work on this! Hopefully I'll be able to find the time soon to run some tests for you and let you know the results.

Also, thanks to everyone else who gave info on the pin headers and cables.

I cannot emphasize enough how much everyone has helped me getting this setup, with nickmv, disney7, autograhm, and others. HBT rocks.

 

[disney7]

I hate to jump around (from the user manual draft), but I've been meaning to leave a desoldering tip.

A "solder sucker" works fairly well for me and is pretty much required if I'm desoldering something that already has a pin in it.

However, I've found the easiest way to clear the header through holes in the STC is to heat from the bottom of the board. Once the solder melts, quickly remove the iron and blow from the top of the board strongly. Most of the time you can blow all the solder out and have a perfectly clean solder pad.

You should wear safety glasses when doing this and be aware of where the blown solder is going to go (it usually cools before it hits the floor). You might also want to make a splash shield on the bottom of the board with painter's tape to prevent solder from possibly splashing onto the daughterboard pads, but I haven't had a problem with this.

Since this is not a professionally accepted desoldering technique, you undertake it at your own risk. Don't blame me if you burn something or your cat explodes.

 

[wilconrad]

Please report back you experience. Even if you can't do logging, how does it 'feel'? Is it cycling too often? Does it keep temperature? Overshoots?

I subbed my flashed controller out for another that was managing a lager I've got fermenting; it held at 50F through the evening without issue. Will be doing a diacetyl rest this weekend or early next week followed by a ramp down to 35 to test out the new ramping feature.

My setup is a thermowell inside a carboy, and I do experience some "ping-ponging" between 'heat' and 'cool'. This is not unique to the new code, though, I had this problem with the old STC. A potential solution to this issue would be to have separate hysteresis settings for the heat & cool sides. e.g. set cool to kick in at +1deg and heat to kick on at -2deg would likely resolve it.

 

[alphaomega]

My setup is a thermowell inside a carboy, and I do experience some "ping-ponging" between 'heat' and 'cool'. This is not unique to the new code, though, I had this problem with the old STC. A potential solution to this issue would be to have separate hysteresis settings for the heat & cool sides. e.g. set cool to kick in at +1deg and heat to kick on at -2deg would likely resolve it.

STC-1000+ does have different setting for heat and cool delay.
Edit: Yeah... But you said hysteresis... Well, I see where you are coming from, but that seems weird to me. I do think a good solution would be to make sure you use a low wattage heater. Probably in the order of 10-20 watts. If the heater kicks on for 10-15 minutes, it should really not do much. But given enough time it should be able to raise temperature sufficiently beyond room temp. + it is a fire hazard to have a heater in an enclosed space. So low wattage and high surface area would be my 2 cents.

Alpha, one minor point--when inputting settings on stock firmware, one presses PWR to fix the setting, and with STC+ setting a setpoint temp in a profile is fixed as soon as you up/dn to the temp, right?

No, you press the 'S' button to store the value when you done setting it. (I always hated pressing 'power' to store, that seems plain wrong to me).

 

[nickmv]

I'll be using mine this weekend to ferment a batch of Belgian Witbier, so I should have some feedback come Wednesday or so. I'm definitely going to use multiple setpoints, as the Belgian needs to warm up after a certain amount of time.

 

[wilconrad]

STC-1000+ does have different setting for heat and cool delay.
Edit: Yeah... But you said hysteresis... Well, I see where you are coming from, but that seems weird to me. I do think a good solution would be to make sure you use a low wattage heater. Probably in the order of 10-20 watts. If the heater kicks on for 10-15 minutes, it should really not do much. But given enough time it should be able to raise temperature sufficiently beyond room temp. + it is a fire hazard to have a heater in an enclosed space. So low wattage and high surface area would be my 2 cents.

I am using a pretty low wattage heat source (a 60W bulb in a paint can, see below), but I like your suggestion. I'll try out a lower wattage bulb.

I may also need to move the temp probe closer to the outside of the fermenter; right now it is dead center. By the time the center of the wort has heated/cooled to the target temp, the wort closer to the carboy walls has heated/cooled well beyond target.

Thanks for your suggestion, will give it a try!

 

[balrog]

I may also need to move the temp probe closer to the outside of the fermenter; right now it is dead center. By the time the center of the wort has heated/cooled to the target temp, the wort closer to the carboy walls has heated/cooled well beyond target.

Hm, I was going to put PC case fan and small personal heater (like this) but maybe I should rethink the heat and dial it back a few notches.

On the other hand, I love the idea of thermowell placement as a way to moderate overshoot hysteresis. Taped to the outside is most reactive to ambient while centerwell is least ambient temp reactive. Hmmmm

 

[atoughram]

Please report back you experience. Even if you can't do logging, how does it 'feel'? Is it cycling too often? Does it keep temperature? Overshoots?

Yes sir I will - I've got HY set to 2f - but with only twelve hours of data, I dont see much difference. Unfortunately I dont have taps mounted on the front of the refrigerator so each time I open it, you see a bump in the data..

 

[atoughram]

However, I've found the easiest way to clear the header through holes in the STC is to heat from the bottom of the board. Once the solder melts, quickly remove the iron and blow from the top of the board strongly.

:rockin:I dont have a solder sucker at the moment and have used this method on all three STC's... IT WORKS!

Also - if your cleaning the circuit board off with brake cleaner, dont get any on the display because it will discolor it... dont ask me how I know this...

 

[disney7]

Hm, I was going to put PC case fan and small personal heater (like this) but maybe I should rethink the heat and dial it back a few notches.

On the other hand, I love the idea of thermowell placement as a way to moderate overshoot hysteresis. Taped to the outside is most reactive to ambient while centerwell is least ambient temp reactive. Hmmmm

Don't forget that with an active fermentation, the beer is being stirred constantly by the yeast. You really shouldn't see much difference between a thermowell and a well insulated probe taped to the outside of the fermenter until the yeast slows down (and at that point temps aren't as important).

 

[balrog]

Don't forget that with an active fermentation, the beer is being stirred constantly by the yeast. You really shouldn't see much difference between a thermowell and a well insulated probe taped to the outside of the fermenter until the yeast slows down (and at that point temps aren't as important).

Forgot about the roiling fermentation; I've never seen the "action" since I use a bucket FV. Part of the magic is taking off the lid after 3 weeks and seeing....who knows what? I've had crystal clear, nothing on top beer; and I've had english ale yeasts, even after 3 weeks, that left what can best be described as mad-cow-brain-disease-cottage-cheese covering the top -- of crystal clear beer.

What a hobby! And soon I'll have Super AlphaOmega STC Thermally Controlled Awesomeness Fermentation Beer. (There's a great acronym hiding in there somewhere but I can't find it)

 

[wilconrad]

Don't forget that with an active fermentation, the beer is being stirred constantly by the yeast. You really shouldn't see much difference between a thermowell and a well insulated probe taped to the outside of the fermenter until the yeast slows down (and at that point temps aren't as important).

I've found this to be true with ale fermentations (where there are literally chunks of stuff whipping around inside the fermenter). The pic above is of a lager fermentation at the peak of primary, and the bottom fermentation doesn't create enough action, resulting in a significant difference between the probe temp and the wall of the carboy.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[StittsvilleJames]

Good news! I'm a complete ******* and just bought an arduino uno r3 and an stc 1000 on ebay to try this, so if it works for me, it's bulletproof!

Do I need anything else? I skimmed the instructions quickly here at work and will read fully later this evening. I saw something about an arduino serial ide monitor. Is that a thing?

Can't wait to do this. The STC was a great deal at 14$ and if I can make it do more than factory settings, that would be killer.

Thanks for your time and effort, Alphaomega et al.

 

[disney7]

I've found this to be true with ale fermentations (where there are literally chunks of stuff whipping around inside the fermenter). The pic above is of a lager fermentation at the peak of primary, and the bottom fermentation doesn't create enough action, resulting in a significant difference between the probe temp and the wall of the carboy.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

I've only made one lager (its about ready to drink) and it was in a stainless fermenter. I didn't think about there being such a difference.

 

[wilconrad]

I've only made one lager (its about ready to drink) and it was in a stainless fermenter. I didn't think about there being such a difference.

By significant I mean 2-3 degrees, so not huge, but enough to create whiplash in the temp signal.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[atoughram]

a well insulated probe taped to the outside of the fermenter

How do you insulate the probe taped to a fermentor - here is a graph of my fermentor - not fermenting anything - but full of 13 gallons of water. As you can see, the heater cycling is still being read by the sensor.

 

[seabass07]

Not sure how anyone else is doing it, but I use a sock over the sensor taped to the fermenter. It seems to work pretty well for me.

 

[disney7]

I'll have to take a picture later to better illustrate, but I take a plug of 3/4" rigid (pink) foam insulation, then I cut one side to match the curvature of the fermenter. Next, I cut a little slot in the foam that just allows the temperature probe to fit. Finally, I tape it to the fermenter with painters tape and make sure I haven't left any gaps for air to travel through.

I'm not sure exactly what you're referring to on your temp graph. If you mean that the lines are all oscillating and not more straight, you're going to get that with a thermostat type temp controller. PID control would reduce it quite a bit, but you'd still have some.

 

[DrunkleJon]

How do you insulate the probe taped to a fermentor - here is a graph of my fermentor - not fermenting anything - but full of 13 gallons of water. As you can see, the heater cycling is still being read by the sensor.

I use either an old can koozie or a towel or the like.

 

[alphaomega]

Hi!

Sorry to interrupt the probe insulation discussion, just wanted to let you know
v1.00 is now released!
Yay!
Doesn't really mean much, in terms of changes, just finished the user manual and bumped the revision, because I now feel the project is good enough to warrant the 1.00 status

 

[balrog]

Hi!

Sorry to interrupt the probe insulation discussion, just wanted to let you know
v1.00 is now released!
Yay!
Doesn't really mean much, in terms of changes, just finished the user manual and bumped the revision, because I now feel the project is good enough to warrant the 1.00 status

WELL DONE, SIR!

 

[atoughram]

Hi!

Sorry to interrupt the probe insulation discussion, just wanted to let you know
v1.00 is now released!
Yay!
Doesn't really mean much, in terms of changes, just finished the user manual and bumped the revision, because I now feel the project is good enough to warrant the 1.00 status

Det är underbart!!!

Thank You for all of your hard work Mats!

 

[alphaomega]

Det är underbart!!!

Thank You for all of your hard work Mats!

Härligt med lite svenska Får mig att känna mig som hemma.

Thanks a lot!

 

[atoughram]

I'll have to take a picture later to better illustrate, but I take a plug of 3/4" rigid (pink) foam insulation, then I cut one side to match the curvature of the fermenter. Next, I cut a little slot in the foam that just allows the temperature probe to fit. Finally, I tape it to the fermenter with painters tape and make sure I haven't left any gaps for air to travel through.

I'm not sure exactly what you're referring to on your temp graph. If you mean that the lines are all oscillating and not more straight, you're going to get that with a thermostat type temp controller. PID control would reduce it quite a bit, but you'd still have some.

Forget the letters on the graph - I used this graphic on a different thread...

Look at all the small oscillations modulating on the mean temperature - I think this is from an un-insulated probe.

I found a chunk of styrofoam that works perfectly so that should smooth out.

The graphic is a probe on the outside of my plastic conical - and the temperature controller is an STC+!!

At point B - I put 13 gal. of cold water into the fermentor - SP set at 75f

Point C - I reduced SP to 73f - I just looked and a mechanical thermometer on the fermentor is reading about 74f

This data is from this morning.

I think with a little calibration and tweaking this system will ROCK! :rockin:

 

[atoughram]

Härligt med lite svenska Får mig att känna mig som hemma.

Mycket bra! Jag vet inte svenska men jag kan använda Google Translate!

 

[alphaomega]

Mycket bra! Jag vet inte svenska men jag kan använda Google Translate!

Yeah, I kind of got that
Not that google translate is not great, but the result is more or less yoda speak

 

[StittsvilleJames]

Good news! I'm a complete ******* and just bought an arduino uno r3 and an stc 1000 on ebay to try this, so if it works for me, it's bulletproof!

Do I need anything else? I skimmed the instructions quickly here at work and will read fully later this evening. I saw something about an arduino serial ide monitor. Is that a thing?

Can't wait to do this. The STC was a great deal at 14$ and if I can make it do more than factory settings, that would be killer.

Thanks for your time and effort, Alphaomega et al.

Hi!

Sorry to interrupt the probe insulation discussion, just wanted to let you know
v1.00 is now released!
Yay!
Doesn't really mean much, in terms of changes, just finished the user manual and bumped the revision, because I now feel the project is good enough to warrant the 1.00 status

Perfect timing.

 

[atoughram]

Yeah, I kind of got that
Not that google translate is not great, but the result is more or less yoda speak

I'll stick with English then...

 

[krazydave]

Sorry alpha, I must have missed your manual upload by a few minutes when I downloaded yesterday. I just read through it and I think it all looks great - The only thing I notice that differed for me was the output in serial monitor when pressing 'd' for the first time. As I had no previous firmware on there, I only received "STC-1000 detected"
Unless of course your update to v1.0 changed that.
I'll re-flash with v1.0 in a bit. I've also just unearthed one of my chest freezers to do some testing. I recently moved, so my brewery (a.k.a. garage) is still a pile of boxes and tools.

I don't have any data logging ability yet, but I'll let you know my results of the programming and testing in the near future.

 

[krazydave]

okay, re-flashed and got the same info in the serial monitor when pressing 'd' as the manual.
One thing you may want to add to the manual is a guide to what all of the dots in the display mean. Cool and Heat are self explanatory, and with the standard STC, flashing cool and heat means its in it's delay period which should probably be added to this manual as well.

I'm not sure what the dot above the tenth of a degree mark is. I'm just guessing that it means degrees, or that it's in F mode (I think I read something about this in a previous post a while ago).

Also, there's a dot that sometimes shows below "set" on the display which I'm not sure about either.

Other than that, programming this according to the manual is pretty much spot on thus far.

I currently have it hooked up to one of my freezers which has some kegs at serving temp. Its probe and another thermometer probe are both strapped under a towel to the side of one of the kegs. I calibrated the probe prior to installing and it seems to be reading the same as the other thermometer. Both relays appear to be working normally.

I know the Farenheit scale is silly to you, but I must say that I'm stoked just to not have to do a conversion every time I look at it. Thanks a ton (on top of all the other thanks needed) for implementing that in your firmware as well!

 

[alphaomega]

I think you downloaded from master (stable), which I only updated yesterday.
I also belive I mention most of the LEDs and their function in the manual, but it could probably be improved.
The 'set' LED is used to indicate if a profile is running, and the dot is indeed degree sign, indicating a temperature is displayed (it might be more evident in C version as then the C is also lit).
Not silly at all, I'm an engineer and while I do know how the scales work, if I'm presented with a temperature in F, I need to convert it to C in order to understand what it 'means'. Much like how I would need to convert the currency when abroad to know the 'cost' of something.
The debate on which scale is superior is moot, they are just scales.

 

[seabass07]

The debate on which scale is superior is moot, they are just scales.

They are whichever we are familiar with.

 

[Shockerengr]

The debate on which scale is superior is moot, they are just scales.

Superior is simply - which one can you use most readily without error - and is different for everyone

 

[disney7]

FYI, I just cracked open the STC-1000 on my ferment chamber and it is a v1.1 dated 6/20/2009. I bought it about three years ago when I started brewing.

I also recently received a new v1.1 dated 2013.

I know a few others here have found older v1.1's, but a lot of us are getting v1.0's when buying new now. Based on that and the fact that the text/markings on the two versions are completely different (A400_P vs S1000), I'm starting to think that the two versions are not directly related and are being manufactured at the same time in two different places.

I've e-mailed two of the places I found that supposedly make the unit (in China) and haven't gotten any reply.

 

[alphaomega]

It would be really nice if they were to reply, but even so, I think what we need is to get a reliable source. I doubt the manufacturer will sell single units to individuals. And even the ebay retailers probably don't buy directly from manufacturer.
I think it really sucks that there is no way of knowing what we are buying.... Maybe we'd need to put pressure on retailers and demand A400_P hardware, and if they can't guarantee that, then we won't buy from them.

 

[ButcherBoy]

I've been following this for awhile, just ordered two on from Elitech via Amazon. Got them on Sat., they're both V1.0. Looking forward to flashing them both. Haven't checked the one I got last year yet, it's working to keep my kegerator at serving temps so I haven't wanted to crack it open yet.

 

[DrunkleJon]

Something I noticed. It appears you can determine what version you have by looking at the STC-1000 font on the sticker. It appears that the text of the 1000 is less bold on the 1.0's. Just a thought and something I noticed when I got my last two 1.0's from Elitech.