TiltBridge - Tilt-to-WiFi Device for Tilt Hydrometer

[postalbunny]

been me that screwed it up. I'm

I'll have to print the STLs I have uploaded and check to make sure they fit the screens they claim to fit, but glancing at the files themselves they do appear to be shifted just the amount I would have expected between the two screen versions.

One thing I would recommend - Take a look at the actual screen you purchased and make sure that v1.1.0 is screen-printed on the PCB the TFT is mounted to. I think they found a batch of v1.0.0 screens late last year and actually went back to selling those, so some people who thought they bought v1.1.0 screens actually got v1.0.0.

Turns out they are in fact 1.0.0 (at least on the order link i used). But the screens physically say "1.1.0". I ordered them from aliexpress here: US $7.5 |TFT 2.4 Touch Shield V1.0.0 for LOLIN (WEMOS) D1 mini 2.4 . I wasn't aware there were two versions when ordering the screens. But when ordering the case to be printed I saw the notes and checked. I in fact have 3x screens that say "1.1.0" on them, but are "1.0.0" stock most likely since the 1.1.0 box didn't fit (didn't measure, but the lid tabs wouldn't fit with screen inserted without moving the screen over)

So ... everyone be aware, there are some sites selling 1.1.0 printed screens that are in fact 1.0.0. I wouldn't be surprised to see these showing up as "1.1.0" screens being sold. We may want to take measurements and verify not just by the lettering.

 

[postalbunny]

One suggestion.. on the TFT firmware it would be nice to turn off "press again to reset" function. A checkbox in the UI would be wonderful... since i hate this function. I've managed to reset mine a few times by accident when playing with it and have to reprogram the AP/SSID. I get the purpose of it, but wouldn't care if i had to reflash one that went awol.

 

[Thorrak]

They are in fact 1.1.0 (at least on the screen printing). But these are aliexpress screens... so, it's entirely possible someone is selling a batch of 1.0.0 screens, or just bad specs period... It's hard to get genuine parts via slow boat. I ended up just shaving the knobbies off and use a dab of superglue to hold the screens down. I'm not really too worried about the screen sliding around if it gets loose as long as it can't fall out.

Give me ~1 hour. I think I know what happened, and am waiting on a print to finish

 

[LBussy]

One suggestion.. on the TFT firmware it would be nice to turn off "press again to reset" function. A checkbox in the UI would be wonderful... since i hate this function. I've managed to reset mine a few times by accident when playing with it and have to reprogram the AP/SSID. I get the purpose of it, but wouldn't care if i had to reflash one that went awol.

I feel your pain. I have done it myself too many times.

I re-wrote that portion to make it less likely that you will mistakenly reset the WiFi connection. It is a (somewhat) necessary evil since there are no external buttons in that setup. The update will come when the new version is released.

 

[postalbunny]

Note about the users who are having issues with missing time gaps... I've noticed the TCP stack on these is quite horrible... or the wlan is bad. I originally had just a "LOLIN D32 Pro v2.0.0" that I got off aliexpress so was thinking it's just cheap clone garbage. I ordered a one of the smaller USB-C TTGO boards from amzn to see if it was better.

Both appear to have at best 30-50ms ping response and usualy 300-700ms and about 30-50% pkt loss. I'm not sure if it's just an issue with ping being bad because ICMP is low priority or if it's legit that bad. I'm not logging via MTQQ the results yet so i don't know if i have gaps. But if the wifi is this spotty sitting next to the AP/router then i bet some of the folks here are going to have disconnects and other issues with them in garages, etc.

Two that i've tested so far, neither seems to be much better than the other as far as ping results. I favor the smaller form factor and cheapness of the USB-C model (no need to buy screen at $7):
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32883116057.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.1bec4c4dR8152vhttps://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07VNG9D52/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[postalbunny]

I feel your pain. I have done it myself too many times.

I re-wrote that portion to make it less likely that you will mistakenly reset the WiFi connection. It is a (somewhat) necessary evil since there are no external buttons in that setup. The update will come when the new version is released.

Yup.. that's the only reason i wasn't more upset when it happens... there are no external buttons so if it stops "working" for some reason and won't get on wifi then you have to drag it to a PC and reflash firmware which could be scary for some people.

I'd say "feature request" to have a toggle on/off in UI to disable it would be nice to have if there are no other issues to fix and someone is bored

If it was as easy as cutting one of the wires i'd probably do it...

 

[franknh]

Ack! Apparently I need to update/clarify the documentation - sorry about that!

The "SSD1306" is the OLED firmware. That is the part number of the OLED display.

Thanks Thorrak,

Do you have any ide whats the reason for not showing the data from both Tilt's?
The distanse between the Tilt's and Tiltbridge is 2 meters and i use Speidel plastic tank.

 

[LBussy]

If I had to guess, that is a result of the controller not completing the page requests. Those {{mustache braces}} should never show up if all the files load.

Shift-refresh and try again.

 

[Thorrak]

Turns out they are in fact 1.0.0 (at least on the order link i used). But the screens physically say "1.1.0". I ordered them from aliexpress here: US $7.5 |TFT 2.4 Touch Shield V1.0.0 for LOLIN (WEMOS) D1 mini 2.4 . I wasn't aware there were two versions when ordering the screens. But when ordering the case to be printed I saw the notes and checked. I in fact have 3x screens that say "1.1.0" on them, but are "1.0.0" stock most likely since the 1.1.0 box didn't fit (didn't measure, but the lid tabs wouldn't fit with screen inserted without moving the screen over)

So ... everyone be aware, there are some sites selling 1.1.0 printed screens that are in fact 1.0.0. I wouldn't be surprised to see these showing up as "1.1.0" screens being sold. We may want to take measurements and verify not just by the lettering.

View attachment 716057

So, the v1.1.0 base I had posted previously had the posts in the wrong place. That's on me - @gromitdj was helping make revisions, and when I was saving them down I neglected to save them down with any indication of the revision number, and ended up uploading the wrong revision. I updated the "base" case STL on Thingiverse this afternoon - the v1.1.0 base should now should properly fit v1.1.0 screens with the display area centered in the case.

For the curious - the difference between the v1.1.0 and v1.0.0 boards appears to be the orientation of the TFT on the PCB. If you look closely at the TFT, the display area is asymmetric relative to the board, and there is mode dead space to one side. As the TFT itself is rotated 180 degrees between the two designs, this asymmetry causes the screen to no longer be centered relative to the case.

Note about the users who are having issues with missing time gaps... I've noticed the TCP stack on these is quite horrible... or the wlan is bad. I originally had just a "LOLIN D32 Pro v2.0.0" that I got off aliexpress so was thinking it's just cheap clone garbage. I ordered a one of the smaller USB-C TTGO boards from amzn to see if it was better.

Both appear to have at best 30-50ms ping response and usualy 300-700ms and about 30-50% pkt loss. I'm not sure if it's just an issue with ping being bad because ICMP is low priority or if it's legit that bad. I'm not logging via MTQQ the results yet so i don't know if i have gaps. But if the wifi is this spotty sitting next to the AP/router then i bet some of the folks here are going to have disconnects and other issues with them in garages, etc.

Two that i've tested so far, neither seems to be much better than the other as far as ping results. I favor the smaller form factor and cheapness of the USB-C model (no need to buy screen at $7):
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32883116057.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.1bec4c4dR8152vhttps://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07VNG9D52/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

TiltBridge has been at the bleeding edge of library support since it was initially conceived, and unfortunately stretches the boundaries of what the platform can do given the current state of the framework. There have been a number of improvements since the last uplift, and @LBussy and @pletch have been helping over the past month and a half to bring everything back up-to-date. These improvements are coming soon as part of what I hope will be the v1.0 release, and hopefully will address the performance concerns you noted.

That said - the update will be software only so all existing builds should be able to take advantage (and anyone that wants to build a TiltBridge shouldn't wait to do so). It's amazing what a difference a year and a half of platform maturity makes!

 

[garzlok]

It's amazing what a difference a year and a half of platform maturity makes!

I've been on this planet for 45+ years and I still don't know what maturity is.

 

[LBussy]

I've been on this planet for 45+ years and I still don't know what maturity is.

55, and I still say "that's what she said!" at least a couple of times a day.

 

[hockeylove]

I am having trouble connecting the esp to my network. I am able to open up the AP page and I can see my network and enter the password. then it states, Saving credentials
Trying to connect ESP to network
If it fails reconnect to AP to try again
It wont connect and the screen on the board is displaying this. please see pic. Can someone help me get this going?

 

[Thorrak]

I am having trouble connecting the esp to my network. I am able to open up the AP page and I can see my network and enter the password. then it states, Saving credentials
Trying to connect ESP to network
If it fails reconnect to AP to try again
It wont connect and the screen on the board is displaying this. please see pic. Can someone help me get this going?

View attachment 716169

I’ve had that happen - sometimes it takes a few attempts, but eventually it always connects. No idea why. It seems to be a function of the WiFi manager library

 

[hockeylove]

No matter how many time I try it does not connect and the screen stays the same. Should I be doing something else after this?

 

[LBussy]

Try to flash again but this time select the erase flash button. Sometimes the memory which stores the credentials gets messed up.

 

[hockeylove]

I finally got my board to connect to the internet and it displaying my tilt! Thanks to Thorrak and LBussy. I have one more question. I cant connect to the tiltbridge dashboard from my browser. I'm on a mac computer and i tried on my iPhone and it states,

This site can’t be reached
Check if there is a typo in tiltbridge.local.


DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN

 

[LBussy]

I have one more question. I cant connect to the tiltbridge dashboard from my browser.

If you drop to the shell and ping tiltbridge.local, do you get an IP address? Are you able to connect to the IP address displayed on the screen?

Mac should understand mDNS natively, but you never know.

 

[Thorrak]

I finally got my board to connect to the internet and it displaying my tilt! Thanks to Thorrak and LBussy. I have one more question. I cant connect to the tiltbridge dashboard from my browser. I'm on a mac computer and i tried on my iPhone and it states,

This site can’t be reached
Check if there is a typo in tiltbridge.local.


DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN

So does it work with your Mac but not your iPhone, or vice-versa?

Are both devices on the same WiFi network with your TiltBridge?

 

[franknh]

If I had to guess, that is a result of the controller not completing the page requests. Those {{mustache braces}} should never show up if all the files load.

Shift-refresh and try again.

Thanks @LBussy

No luck, i will try to reinstall the firmware. But im sure i did install the SSD1306 first time.
Just to be sure, tiltbridge work's on a ESP32-WROOM-32U ESP 32 Bluetooth + wifi dual module but without external antenna?
And it's ok to use 2 tilt's at the same time?

Frank

 

[LBussy]

Are you installing the firmware with BrewFlasher? If so, try the "erase" option. You will need to set up your WiFi connection again, and you will lose any configuration. That will help rule out any spurious BS from the TCP settings.

 

[Dave30]

I ordered TFT v1.0.0 however the one that arrived is v1.1.0. I have to order the case from someone with a printer so I can’t afford to be wrong when I send them the file. Is the printing on the board accurate. Which version has the asymmetric display?

 

[postalbunny]

I ordered TFT v1.0.0 however the one that arrived is v1.1.0. I have to order the case from someone with a printer so I can’t afford to be wrong when I send them the file. Is the printing on the board accurate. Which version has the asymmetric display?

Based on the last reply it sounds like the wrong base was uploaded for 1.1.0. I'm in the same boat as you in that I ordered 1.0.0 and got 1.1.0. May be worth a shot to render the design and measure vs what your board has if you want to be 100% sure.

 

[Thorrak]

Thanks @LBussy

No luck, i will try to reinstall the firmware. But im sure i did install the SSD1306 first time.
Just to be sure, tiltbridge work's on a ESP32-WROOM-32U ESP 32 Bluetooth + wifi dual module but without external antenna?
And it's ok to use 2 tilt's at the same time?

Frank

TiltBridge works on every ESP32 board -- but not every screen hooked to every ESP32 board. If you get a board that doesn't have a screen (or you can't get the screen to work) flash the SSD1306 firmware and it should work just fine.

I ordered TFT v1.0.0 however the one that arrived is v1.1.0. I have to order the case from someone with a printer so I can’t afford to be wrong when I send them the file. Is the printing on the board accurate. Which version has the asymmetric display?

Up until last week, the v1.1.0 STL file on Thingiverse was incorrect. As of last Wednesday, however, it should now be right. I personally printed and tested the revised board design and the one now posted is the one you want to use.

A reminder though - After you build your TiltBridge, the v1.1.0 screens will appear to be inverted. This is normal/OK. There is an option in the TiltBridge configuration menu to "rotate" the screen back to the proper orientation.

 

[LBussy]

In case anyone needs to validate what they have and/or cannot see the silkscreen:

 

[franknh]

TiltBridge works on every ESP32 board -- but not every screen hooked to every ESP32 board. If you get a board that doesn't have a screen (or you can't get the screen to work) flash the SSD1306 firmware and it should work just fine.

I had first bought an esp32 without antenna: P
So when I found one and connected, everything worked.
Works well together with Homeseer Smarthome through MQTT

 

[Thorrak]

I had first bought an esp32 without antenna: P
So when I found one and connected, everything worked.
Works well together with Homeseer Smarthome through MQTT

They make ESP32s without an antenna!?

 

[LBussy]

They make ESP32s without an antenna!?

Some have a disconnected antenna and a tiny connector.

 

[day_trippr]

The esps I have have an etched antenna and a micro SMA connector.
Which gets used is selected by populating one of two 0402 0 ohm resistor positions.
I've tried both the pcb and a small mast antenna and they worked equally well/poorly...

Cheers!

 

[franknh]

They make ESP32s without an antenna!?

Yepp, same connector as the WIFI antenna used in a laptop. Now i receive BT signal trough the 8" floor with good signal

 

[Thorrak]

v1.0.0 of TiltBridge is now Released!

After months of work, hundreds of commits, and the assistance of several other developers (most recently @LBussy and @pletch from the Homebrewtalk forums), I am proud to announce that v1.0.0 of TiltBridge is ready for release! This version brings many behind-the-scenes changes (300+ commits!) in addition to the following:

• Faster performance
• Revamped user interface
• Tilt Improvements:
  • Pro support
  • “Weeks on battery” detection/display
  • Signal strength display
• Numerous stability improvements
• Updated/Improved Google Sheets support

This release is a significant improvement over prior versions, and is recommended for all users of TiltBridge. The updated firmware is available via BrewFlasher, the Fermentrack firmware flash process, or via direct download on GitHub.