iSpindel Digital Hydrometer

Australia & New Zealand Homebrewing Forum

Help Support Australia & New Zealand Homebrewing Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
I am interested in this too, as i ferment in pressurised conicals. I think the other part to think about is whether you can get wifi inside your stainless fermenter too, as it would act similar to a Faraday cage? I also think a concern is if external pressure is applied liquid may slowly force its way in through the screwtop lid. I have used the geocaching containers before im pretty sure they will not crumble under pressure



Edit:
I just saw this http://hobbybrauer.de/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=11235&start=700
for wireless charging!


The Wemos D1 mini pro has a spot for an external antenna. I bought 2, 1 for brewpiless and one for iSpindel. This might be the way to go.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/262671685292?

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/High-Qua...r-IPEX-Connector-150mm-Black-GX/282297584917?

I am still to figure out which is the diode to cut on the Mini pro as it is a different layout to the original D1 mini
 
yeah i ordered the pros and antennae the other day, hoping it all works out. Worst case is i can give the finished products to a friend if i do not get reception inside the fermenters.
 
So to get into the iSpindel to configure it, hit the D1 mini's reset button a bunch of times and when the iSpindel shows up on your WIFI network connect your computer to it.

In a browser you need to connect to the iSpindel config pages. 192.268.4.1 works for mine. You can test to see if data is being sent. In the Config page select your wifi network (SSID) and password. I set the interval for 15 seconds while making sure everything was (or wasn't working) once I saw the blue lights on the wifi board flashing every 15 seconds, I changed it to 900 seconds (15 minutes) suitable for logging and ensuring the battery lasts a fermentation.

Some hints that will help. I used the tag end wires from the resistors to make the linkages required.

My soldering isn't pretty but it seems to be working.

This Configuration part has me stumped.
I can log in & enter network ssid & p-word, but nothing is saved.

Is there some trick to this, like manually entering things into the Arduino IDE that i'm missing?
 
I had that config problem as well. Changed the 470 ohm to a shottky and then it worked. Them my internet went down with nbn and haven't got it back to play any further yet.
 
Installed the shottky but it still won't save wifi details or log-in. The Wemos can see 6 wifi signals/extensions but can't log into any of them. It keeps saying error config corrupted then goes into config mode. Weird how it can read temp, tilt & battery & transmit it to the monitor, then get a wifi error & shut down.

Does it sound like a dodgy soldering issue?
 
Installed the shottky but it still won't save wifi details or log-in. The Wemos can see 6 wifi signals/extensions but can't log into any of them. It keeps saying error config corrupted then goes into config mode. Weird how it can read temp, tilt & battery & transmit it to the monitor, then get a wifi error & shut down.

Does it sound like a dodgy soldering issue?
how close are you to your router when doing it? just wondering if the signal strength is poor.Otherwise i would try reflashing the wemos.
 
Thanks for the response gezzanet, turns out it was a soldering issue. Posted the error msg on GitHub & universam1 deciphered it to be a conflict with the ds18b20 - soldering. The program was shutting down as soon as it encountered this error. You need hands like a freakin fly to get in there & solder these things.

I did do a signal test when I was playing around with it. Range was about 50m from the router, incredibly for such a tiny cheap unit. It'll be interesting to see how iSpindel performs in the kegmenter.

Anyone tested it in a s/s vessel yet?
 
I've got one now ready to roll. So depending on what I get to brew next it might either be in the plastic or a ss. Saw some people using ss had some luck with having a wifi router close to the fermenter and one guy put a simple wire aerial In the fermenter. Also there are some who are using the wemos pro which has an external aerial jack. So there seems to be some success with ss
 
Has anyone tried any wireless charging version?

Would this work?
Qi-Universal-Wireless-Charging-Kit-Charger-Adapter-Receptor-Pad-Coil-Receiver-For-Android-Phone-THL-OnePlus.jpg_640x640.jpg


https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Qi-...32365102543.html?spm=a2g0s.8937460.0.0.SCfnUv
 
All my parts have arrived (I've had most of them for ages, but have been too lazy to get started).

I begin the job of soldering tonight.
 
Well after lots of help from the iSpindel team, I finally got it sorted. The biggest headache I had was having to use a larger switch that meant redesigning the layout. But she's calibrated, charged up & pumping out data to ubidots. Time for a sherbet

I took someone's advice on this thread & bought spares, so there's a primary & 2 secondaries in the pic

ImageUploadedByAussie Home Brewer1499849343.349545.jpg
 
I took someone's advice on this thread & bought spares, so there's a primary & 2 secondaries in the pic

View attachment 106916
Great job!

Where did you get the enclosures from? I'm having trouble finding any ebay sellers who have stock and will ship to Australia.

Any tips for those who are also (slowly) collecting all the bits but are yet to commence the build?
 
I typed out "LINK" first, then highlighted the text, then clicked the hyperlink icon, which brings up a box where you can paste in the URL. Then click 'Insert' and it's done.

Edit: The hyperlink icon is the one that looks like a chain link, the 7th icon along above the box you type in.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top