Where to start?

[creekrat]

OK. I would say I'm somewhat tech savy and have even built a few computers. But, I have yet to do any programming. I'm looking into getting a RPi, BBB, or Arduino to start tinkering with and was curious as to where to start looking to learn how to right some of the code that will be necessary to one day automate my brew day. Any help is greatly appreciated

 

[atoughram]

I started with an Arduino Uno or Leonardo - It's fairly simple to program and uses a subset of the C language, it's inexpensive, and there is a ton of support for them. Look for them on Ebay - you can find either for less than ten bucks.

Even though the BBB is more powerful, I like the pi better because it has more support. It's a completely different unit than the Arduino's. For either the BBB or the pi, you must know a bit about Linux before programming them to do anything.

So - I suggest that you start with the Arduino and go from there

 

[KuntzBrewing]

You could start with arduino, its more of a development board designed for beginners. But if you want to really impress the tech world, be more customized, and/or take on a bigger more challenging (arguable) task - learn C, not arduino 'C'. Then again I'm in engineering school. I made a semi automated brewing system (college budget restricted the project budget, so full automation was out of bounds).

Bottom Line: don't be intimidated, learn real C programming, it'll make your project that much more impressive. There are several c programming tutorials for free. But the best way to learn is to actually try it.

 

[creekrat]

I don't really care who I impress. I just want to make a great beer!
That being said, if I don't dazzle my tech friends then I'm ok with that. I just want to know where to look so that I can start learning how to program these controllers to be the most effective for what I'm wanting to do, the easiest way possible

 

[eaglerisingbrew]

I used an Arduino Mega on my brew rig (admittedly still not living up to what it could do...) and an Uno on my fermentation chamber.

http://www.eagle-rising-brewery.com/brewery/evolution/

 

[KuntzBrewing]

My eherms and boil kettle run on an atmega 328p which is the same as the arduino uno r3. i have like 4 pins unused still

 

[Tytonegro]

Although the use of an Raspberry or Arduino board seems interesting, I didn't like the idea of having a couple of different boards for all different functions, like:

* a processor board,
* a board for driving relays and/or SSR
* separate power supply
* maybe a signal conditioning or AD board
* an separate LCD screen/board

etc.

My first proto had a processor board and a small LCD display, plus keys and rotary encoder on the frontpanel. That takes a lot of time and hassle to assemble, so now I redesigned and made two boards, processing board and powerboard. The processor board has display and keys on it. The powerboard has the mains interfacing (SSR etc)

Arduino and for sure a Raspberry have an overkill of processing power.

I liked the idea of building a complete self contained unit.
If you have to learn C first then I don't know if your process is ever going to happen. I have a lot of programming experience, but started just recently in C and found it quite daunting...

I posted the outline of my controller here:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f235/single-pot-small-automated-brewing-system-design-475811/

Already have done some ghetto style beers with it. Multi'step mashing and all...

Cheers