TiltBridge - Tilt-to-WiFi Device for Tilt Hydrometer

[Exception13]

Bruh. Want a video of me building a tiltbridge?

Chuckle. Building a TiltBridge...

1. Plug one end of cable into TFT
2. Plug other end into ESP32
3. ... Ummm ... Is that it?

 

[bloombrews]

Bruh. Want a video of me building a tiltbridge?

I'm in a meeting right now, but give me a sec.

You already have a youtube video on your
Native ESP8266 BrewPi Firmware - WiFi BrewPi, no Arduino needed!
So why not? I will watch it and give Yo a 2 thumbs Up, if it is worthy!

 

[bloombrews]

Chuckle. Building a TiltBridge...

1. Plug one end of cable into TFT
2. Plug other end into ESP32
3. ... Ummm ... Is that it?

The ESP32 is not a NOOBS, so I guess step 4 would be to flash it first.... That is where I promise you all, I will screw it up!
Where is the video???
What is "TFT"? I need a video!

 

[Exception13]

The ESP32 is not a NOOBS,

I suspect you are confusing which thread you're in, cause the TiltBridge project doesn't use a Pi so no NOOBS goes anywhere near it.

Building the project is indeed those 3 steps. The 4th step might be.....

4. Fire up your 3D printer and print a case

TiltBridge is truly a no-solder build.

Cheers!

Chris

 

[LBussy]

The ESP32 is not a NOOBS, so I guess step 4 would be to flash it first.... That is where I promise you all, I will screw it up!

You plug it in and hit a web page. It works on Chrome, not on Firefox. you go to BrewFlasher Web Edition and pick the right firmware.

 

[Thorrak]

The hardest part of making this video is finding my tripod mount for my phone.

 

[bloombrews]

Building the project is indeed those 3 steps. The 4th step might be.....

4. Fire up your 3D printer and print a case

I did not build this yet, so I have no knowledge of how easy it is. I just figured the ESP has to be loaded up with the program script, firmware. I planned on actually reading all the documents when I get my OLED display, ESP32, and wire harness.
When I said "NOOBS", I was just saying that it is not a ready-to-go, preprogrammed ESP32, out of the box. I did know that no Pi is needed, just paraphrasing in my own mind... But the 4th step has to be - Load up the Firmware by Brewflasher or someway else?
thanks for your feedback @Exception13

 

[bloombrews]

The hardest part of making this video is finding my tripod mount for my phone.

Its under @day_trippr Dad's Pencil Sharpener!
Here it is !- (hope this is not a copywrited picture....)

 

[bloombrews]

4. Fire up your 3D printer and print a case

Are these Printers, now cheap to buy and how much use do you get out of a 3D printer? You never know how useful something is , until you buy it and find another 1,000 purposes for it! I do need a case for my Pi+Uno+Relay+terminal strip......

 

[RocketBrewer]

I think you meant this?

https://tilthydrometer.com/products/tilt-repeater

No, what he was pointing to was the code for a ESP32 Tilt Repeater. Way cheaper, and works very well!

 

[bloombrews]

No, what he was pointing to was the code for a ESP32 Tilt Repeater. Way cheaper, and works very well!

$60 is not a lot of dough today... A case of good beer is almost there now! But building the ESP Tiltbridge would be more rewarding to your skill set, and I like that aspect! Plus, @Thorrak needs hacks like me, to ask questions, when our build does not work and there's does!

 

[Thorrak]

There you go. Minimal hand waving. It really is that simple.

 

[Thorrak]

$60 is not a lot of dough today... A case of good beer is almost there now! But building the ESP Tiltbridge would be more rewarding to your skill set, and I like that aspect! Plus, @Thorrak needs hacks like me, to ask questions, when our build does not work and there's does!

Definitely — I think the main takeaway is that a Tilt + 1 repeater + Tiltbridge works great - if that’s what you need to get both Bluetooth and WiFi reception. Ideally you wouldn’t need the repeater but the option is there — whether you build the repeater yourself or buy one from Tilt.

 

[bloombrews]

Definitely — I think the main takeaway is that a Tilt + 1 repeater + Tiltbridge works great - if that’s what you need to get both Bluetooth and WiFi reception. Ideally you wouldn’t need the repeater but the option is there — whether you build the repeater yourself or buy one from Tilt.

Definitely want to build this, not as a cost savings, but a learning factor.
Nice video! It is good for limited knowledge of this programming language and how these boards work.- Thanks!
Maybe move the Video to the beginning of this thread, since it will get lost after a few more pages being posted here.

 

[Mad Mann]

Have you tried using BrewFlasher?

Have been unable to find directions on how to load the TILT APP on my HO laptop... Currently unstable and slow on my Raspberry PI, do you have any suggestions?

 

[Thorrak]

Have been unable to find directions on how to load the TILT APP on my HO laptop... Currently unstable and slow on my Raspberry PI, do you have any suggestions?

What is a HO laptop? And what Tilt app are you referring to — Tilt Pi?

TiltBridge is a hardware solution which might work for you, but you would need a device to load it with. If you have a desktop/laptop that can run either BrewFlasher desktop (or Chrome with BrewFlasher Web) then you may be able to build one and solve your problem.

 

[Alexi Christidis]

Does anyone know if you need one tilt bridge per tilt? Or can they handle multiple tilts at once?

 

[Thorrak]

Does anyone know if you need one tilt bridge per tilt? Or can they handle multiple tilts at once?

They can handle all the colors at once. (But only one tilt per color )

 

[Alexi Christidis]

They can handle all the colors at once. (But only one tilt per color )

Awesome!

Is the range better than the Bluetooth on the raspberry pi? I have about 6 running but the Bluetooth isn't strong enough when the tilts are In tank. Thought I'd try this wifi bridge.

 

[Thorrak]

Awesome!

Is the range better than the Bluetooth on the raspberry pi? I have about 6 running but the Bluetooth isn't strong enough when the tilts are In tank. Thought I'd try this wifi bridge.

Probably not, but the idea is that you can build as many tilt bridges as you want, inexpensively, and stick them next to each individual fermenter to get the signal in range.

Signal strength is variable based on the specific ESP board, however, and the antenna type it uses.

 

[Alexi Christidis]

Probably not, but the idea is that you can build as many tilt bridges as you want, inexpensively, and stick them next to each individual fermenter to get the signal in range.

Signal strength is variable based on the specific ESP board, however, and the antenna type it uses.

Ah OK one per tilt nice and close. That's a good idea.

Any recommendations on strongest wifi signal on esp boards? Or they all similar?

 

[Thorrak]

Ah OK one per tilt nice and close. That's a good idea.

Any recommendations on strongest wifi signal on esp boards? Or they all similar?

Sadly, no.

My focus is mostly on the screen type than signal strength — all of them have been good enough to pick up my tilt from inside the fermenter (and relay it to WiFi). My recommendation would be to start with one, see what you can get, and then scale up if necessary. The boards are cheap, regardless!

 

[Alexi Christidis]

Sadly, no.

My focus is mostly on the screen type than signal strength — all of them have been good enough to pick up my tilt from inside the fermenter (and relay it to WiFi). My recommendation would be to start with one, see what you can get, and then scale up if necessary. The boards are cheap, regardless!

Roger that. Thanks for the advice.

 

[bloombrews]

There you go. Minimal hand waving. It really is that simple.

Thanks @Thorrak ! Now I just need to figure out why my Sheets, are not updating without sending myself another "comment" with my email address..
Question- When the ESP flashes to your rally cool looking TiltBridge Icon, is this updating the data? Then the dashboard goes back to the readings pulled.

 

[Thorrak]

Thanks @Thorrak ! Now I just need to figure out why my Sheets, are not updating without sending myself another "comment" with my email address..
Question- When the ESP flashes to your rally cool looking TiltBridge Icon, is this updating the data? Then the dashboard goes back to the readings pulled.

No -- the data is being updated in the background pretty much continuously. The Tilt effectively "shouts" its reading out about once a second, and the TiltBridge picks it up in the background. Each screen, however, is "frozen" once displayed, so while the data behind the scenes is being updated, the data on screen only gets refreshed when the screen changes. The logo was a design choice made during development to make it easier for me to explicitly see screen changes (and make sure a TiltBridge wasn't frozen).

 

[bloombrews]

Okay, got my Tilt logging onto my Fermentrack GUI ! A few questions (I always have lots...)
1) I downloaded the Tiltbridge App for Android. The Documents, do not tell me where to find my Tiltbridge GUID. I do see your "To Do -Document TiltBridge Cloud setup". So when I hit the "+" add Tiltbridge, I am also not sure where I can scan a QR code or find and add, the GUID??
2)Being unfamiliar with a lot of "Terminology", I have no clue what Bound or Unbound is, and if I should bound my Tilt to the Controller. I did this to see what happens... and was even more lost......
3)Attach or Detach from Controller??? I did do a search here on this Thread, but could not find answers for these questions. Is attaching or not important?
4)And lastly (promise... will not be the last!) - I now see an ABV reading on my GUI page along with the Tilt graph. Where do I insert the OG, so this can give me an accurate Potential Alcohol reading? Only guessing, the Fermentrack uses the first OG it sees, as the "true" original gravity, and then starts to compute the ABV according to the current gravity reading? Since I started this Tilt late into fermentation, the starting gravity is already low and can not be used to calculate potential ABV. Can I override this and insert the true OG from a few days ago?

EDIT - Ignore #1 above. OK! I found the QR code by "digging" through my IP address, Settings, and then found the code and got my Tiltbridge App working! NICE stuff! A lot of free work must have been put into all of this to work - Thanks!
I still need 2-4 answered, if possible...
Also, no need to use google sheets any longer, as the Tiltbridge user app is fantastic.

 

[Thorrak]

Okay, got my Tilt logging onto my Fermentrack GUI ! A few questions (I always have lots...)
1) I downloaded the Tiltbridge App for Android. The Documents, do not tell me where to find my Tiltbridge GUID. I do see your "To Do -Document TiltBridge Cloud setup". So when I hit the "+" add Tiltbridge, I am also not sure where I can scan a QR code or find and add, the GUID??
2)Being unfamiliar with a lot of "Terminology", I have no clue what Bound or Unbound is, and if I should bound my Tilt to the Controller. I did this to see what happens... and was even more lost......
3)Attach or Detach from Controller??? I did do a search here on this Thread, but could not find answers for these questions. Is attaching or not important?
4)And lastly (promise... will not be the last!) - I now see an ABV reading on my GUI page along with the Tilt graph. Where do I insert the OG, so this can give me an accurate Potential Alcohol reading? Only guessing, the Fermentrack uses the first OG it sees, as the "true" original gravity, and then starts to compute the ABV according to the current gravity reading? Since I started this Tilt late into fermentation, the starting gravity is already low and can not be used to calculate potential ABV. Can I override this and insert the true OG from a few days ago?

EDIT - Ignore #1 above. OK! I found the QR code by "digging" through my IP address, Settings, and then found the code and got my Tiltbridge App working! NICE stuff! A lot of free work must have been put into all of this to work - Thanks!
I still need 2-4 answered, if possible...
Also, no need to use google sheets any longer, as the Tiltbridge user app is fantastic.

Are you referring to Fermentrack in #2 and #3? If so, then “bound” means “bound to a temperature controller (BrewPi).” Similarly, “attach” means the same thing in this context — attaching the temperature controller and TiltBridge.

For #4, I actually don’t know. That was code someone else contributed, so I’m not entirely sure what the algorithm is (but what you are suggesting makes sense). Unfortunately, there isn’t a way to edit this, as it’s a function entirely of the data in the graph.

 

[bloombrews]

Are you referring to Fermentrack in #2 and #3? If so, then “bound” means “bound to a temperature controller (BrewPi).” Similarly, “attach” means the same thing in this context — attaching the temperature controller and TiltBridge.

For #4, I actually don’t know. That was code someone else contributed, so I’m not entirely sure what the algorithm is (but what you are suggesting makes sense). Unfortunately, there isn’t a way to edit this, as it’s a function entirely of the data in the graph.

Yes, Fermentrack.
I understand "bound". Maybe I am just thinking too much, but I was not sure why I would Unbound my Tilt from the controller? Once it is added into Fermentrack, then it is always bound (or attached), to the running script. I guess if you did not want the Tilt in your fermenting wort, then the graph page would just be "clutter" on your GUI page, and you would then Unbound it to clean up the page? I just never tried to unattached it, since I am just happy now, Fermentrack and the Tiltbridge are running smoothly now!
As far as the ABV potential, my next brew will start from the beginning Original Gravity on Fermentrack, and then this reading should make sense.

 

[bloombrews]

Does anyone know if putting your ESP32 in this case (under the screen), with just a small hole for the power cable in, and another small hole (1/2inch) opposite side, is enough ventilation to keep the ESP from getting too hot. No exhaust fan here as you see. I used the case that was shipped with the ESP

 

[Exception13]

Does anyone know if putting your ESP32 in this case (under the screen), with just a small hole for the power cable in, and another small hole (1/2inch) opposite side, is enough ventilation to keep the ESP from getting too hot. No exhaust fan here as you see. I used the case that was shippedView attachment 816766 with the ESP

I use a 3D printed case that @Thorrak posted the STL files for. It has a cutout on the top to expose the screen and has a small hole to allow the power cable to plug into the board.

I'm not sure how much heat that screen puts out, but perhaps you could cut the top of that box in the same way.

Cheers!

Chris