Matho's controller

[booargy]

Good work bloke. Can I have one aswell please.

booargy

 

[marzross]

Put me down for one as well.
Thanks cheers Mario

 

[bradsbrew]

Hey Matho, firstly great work mate.

Put me down for one.

Cheers

 

[ampy]

Nice work Matho, I am also interested if there will be any left.

Ampy

 

[suchidog]

Matho definately interested if I can still get one?

Cheers Suchi

 

[Deebo]

Interested.

Does the shield come with the lcd? (Good value if it does as just and lcd with some buttons is $30 here http://www.freetronics.com/products/lcd-keypad-shield)
Where would I find info on what other components the shield would require (probes/relays etc?) and what it can do/control etc? (are you selling just the shield or also a complete controller?)

 

[matho]

well it looks like Ill be putting more than 10 kits together

Interested.

Does the shield come with the lcd? (Good value if it does as just and lcd with some buttons is $30 here http://www.freetronics.com/products/lcd-keypad-shield)
Where would I find info on what other components the shield would require (probes/relays etc?) and what it can do/control etc? (are you selling just the shield or also a complete controller?)

deebo,
the shield comes with a LCD screen, I'm going to put together an instructon on putting together the controller but the things you would need are, a IP rated box like THIS, four push buttons like this or this I prefer the first ones as they are IP67 rated but both push buttons have been tested and work well. a 12v switch mode power supply that can be got off ebay for about $5 which should also have enough power to run a brown pump if that is what you want to do, you also need a SSR and heatsink to drive the heating element. Now I'm going to supply a DS18B20 with the kit but to use it you will need to mount it in a thermowell and solder it to a lead. you will also need additional hardware to mount it in the box and wire it up.

What I have set it up to do is to control a brewing system like the braumeister so it controls a heating element with a PID algorithim and also controls a pump, the pump is controlled by a 240v 5 amp relay which will be able to drive a march pump or a 12v brown pump, the contacts of the relay have been brought out to a screw header so you can use it to switch whatever voltage you require. I am only planning on selling a kit for the shield and I'm not in this to make any money just to supply a controller that is accessable to a lot of people. There are about 4 spare pin left on the arduino and I'm thinking of making another shield to bring those pins out to a header so that if you want you can change the code to control more things.

cheers steve

 

[AndrewQLD]

I'm pretty keen as well Matho, looks fantastic for us people that aren't to tech minded.

Andrew

 

[Smokomark]

I am also keen on one of these. Great work developing this Matho

 

[sponge]

I would very well be interested depending upon price. I'm just finishing up making my dual temp controller with just STC's for HX and HLT but have always been interested to go down the PID path but have only had a round a years experience programming PLC's so this would make things much simpler and fool proof.


Sponge

 

[benno1973]

Definitely interested if there's still room!

 

[Robbo2234]

still Interested, Just depends on price.

so if I plan to use a brown pump I just wire in a transformer to the PCB terminals to drop it down to the correct voltage?

THANKS MAN!!!

 

[adryargument]

I'm interested!

 

[MastersBrewery]

Matho,

I note you have a fair bit of interest, and as you stated in the arduino thread the outlay for a large number of boards is restrictive, coupled with the chance of a minor fault in first run. Perhaps a first run of say 10 'beta' boards, and those with systems ready to go and willing to test could be first off the rank, these testers could then report back any issues if any and a second run of boards with any changes then done, if replacements required for the first 10, should be figured into price - you originaly said about $35-$40 I'd say to give you room to have it fully sorted $50 would cover replacements for the first 10 if needed, if not we really only buying you a beer or two which I think is well deserved :beerbang:

Mike

 

[Smokomark]

Matho,

I note you have a fair bit of interest, and as you stated in the arduino thread the outlay for a large number of boards is restrictive, coupled with the chance of a minor fault in first run. Perhaps a first run of say 10 'beta' boards, and those with systems ready to go and willing to test could be first off the rank, these testers could then report back any issues if any and a second run of boards with any changes then done, if replacements required for the first 10, should be figured into price - you originaly said about $35-$40 I'd say to give you room to have it fully sorted $50 would cover replacements for the first 10 if needed, if not we really only buying you a beer or two which I think is well deserved :beerbang:

Mike


Sounds like a good idea. I am happy to wait a bit , as i'm still collecting other components for my build. Even priced around 50 bucks it is great value.

Mark

 

[Edak]

I have found that if I am producing a batch where cost comes up to nearly 200 dollars, and the best source for parts is digikey. they are damn cheap, have the best range and ship in two days from USA to Australia. The they post free if 200+, otherwise expensive postage.

 

[matho]

still Interested, Just depends on price.

so if I plan to use a brown pump I just wire in a transformer to the PCB terminals to drop it down to the correct voltage?

THANKS MAN!!!

thats right the relay contact is brought out to 2 screw terminals, so you can bring what ever voltage you need into one terminal and connect the other side to the pump just like a switch

Matho,

I note you have a fair bit of interest, and as you stated in the arduino thread the outlay for a large number of boards is restrictive, coupled with the chance of a minor fault in first run. Perhaps a first run of say 10 'beta' boards, and those with systems ready to go and willing to test could be first off the rank, these testers could then report back any issues if any and a second run of boards with any changes then done, if replacements required for the first 10, should be figured into price - you originaly said about $35-$40 I'd say to give you room to have it fully sorted $50 would cover replacements for the first 10 if needed, if not we really only buying you a beer or two which I think is well deserved :beerbang:

Mike

I don't really want to charge any more than $40, Ill have to think about it.

I have found that if I am producing a batch where cost comes up to nearly 200 dollars, and the best source for parts is digikey. they are damn cheap, have the best range and ship in two days from USA to Australia. The they post free if 200+, otherwise expensive postage.

thanks for the heads up

 

[rodda]

Awsome stuff, I would love to have one. Would be willing to pay at least 50 for your work, saves me alot of frustration.

 

[dkaos]

Forget 3V, I want a brauclone!

I'm in Matho.

 

[Deebo]

dont forget the mq-3 alcohol gas sensor that switches the controller to auto mode and doesnt let you push any buttons untill you blow under the required reading...

http://www.sparkfun.com/products/8880