STC-1000 Custom Open Source Firmware

[Edak]

I am not sure whether anyone on here saw this or not but I think it's a great project for those who want to use a cheap thermostat replacement for their brew fridge and schedule lagering, etc. A cheap and common platform that is now more useful? I think that's a cool thing...

Anyone tried it? Experiences?

HBT Thread:
http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/stc-1000-a-464348/

Source Code:
https://github.com/matsstaff/stc1000p

How I found out about it:
http://hackaday.com/2014/03/15/temperature-controller-gets-open-source-firmware-upgrade/

 

[MastersBrewery]

Epic!!

 

[sp0rk]

Already posted this in the main STC thread
It'll actually be a great cheap alternative to a PID, should work for controlling a HERMs

 

[Mardoo]

Wow! Pretty awesome. Thanks for sharing. I really need to update my under-the-hood knowledge.

 

[alphaomega]

Hi!
Just signed up as this thread turned up on google.
I'm the guy behind this hack.
First, I just want to say thanks for the attention. I'm stoked the news has traveled around the world (I'm swedish)
Secondly, I'd be very glad any of you would like to try it out. Version 1.00 has just been released.
I just want to inform you that,
1: it is not possible to revert to original functionality as the original code is protected.
2: it seems that not all STC-1000's are compatible, so check your STC-1000 hardware before proceeding
However, I do think you will like the firmware if you do decide to try it. Should you have questions or if you should happen to find a bug, please ask in homebrewtalk thread, as that is what I will follow regularly.

Cheers!
//mats

Edit: I just read some of the coments in the main STC-1000 thread and wanted to clarify. This firmware will not be suited for HERMS usage (at least not any better than stock firmware), as it is still thermostat control and not PID. What it brings to the table is temperature profiles for fermentation, (i.e. keep temperature X1 for Y1 hours, then temperature X2 for Y2 hours and so on).
But, my next order of business is to try to implement a PID control firmware, so give it a couple of weeks and maybe...

 

[MastersBrewery]

Hi!
Just signed up as this thread turned up on google.
I'm the guy behind this hack.
First, I just want to say thanks for the attention. I'm stoked the news has traveled around the world (I'm swedish)
Secondly, I'd be very glad any of you would like to try it out. Version 1.00 has just been released.
I just want to inform you that,
1: it is not possible to revert to original functionality as the original code is protected.
2: it seems that not all STC-1000's are compatible, so check your STC-1000 hardware before proceeding
However, I do think you will like the firmware if you do decide to try it. Should you have questions or if you should happen to find a bug, please ask in homebrewtalk thread, as that is what I will follow regularly.

Cheers!
//mats

Edit: I just read some of the coments in the main STC-1000 thread and wanted to clarify. This firmware will not be suited for HERMS usage (at least not any better than stock firmware), as it is still thermostat control and not PID. What it brings to the table is temperature profiles for fermentation, (i.e. keep temperature X1 for Y1 hours, then temperature X2 for Y2 hours and so on).
But, my next order of business is to try to implement a PID control firmware, so give it a couple of weeks and maybe...

Is there any way of telling if the STC-1000 I have is compatible

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

Alphaomega

Your in good company. There are quiet a few on here that play & code Arduino type setups so you wont have many problems getting brewers play with your STC code.

Any chance that it can be LAN conectable so that temps can be logged via PC. I realise that it will need an ethernet port etc....but thats the fun of doing it.

 

[alphaomega]

So far the only way to know, is to open it up. The process is pretty well described in the user manual so have a look at that if you are interested.

There is little chance of adding communication of any kind. I've put pretty much work into cramming all the current functionality in. The MCU in this thing is truly tiny.

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

Fair enough.

 

[mr_wibble]

Any chance that it can be LAN conectable so that temps can be logged via PC. I realise that it will need an ethernet port etc....but thats the fun of doing it.

You could make your own logger, that would be an interesting little project.

There's a few Arduino ethernet+SD-card piggy-back boards.
I reckon that would only be a page of code too.

 

[kjparker]

You could make your own logger, that would be an interesting little project.

There's a few Arduino ethernet+SD-card piggy-back boards.
I reckon that would only be a page of code too.

If your going to go to that trouble though, I question why you wouldnt just base your entire controller off the arduino, instead of using both.....

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

Because its a challenge.....and allways good to be the first to do it

 

[vortex]

And if you're going to use an Arduino, you may as well just use a RaspberryPi - then you can do anything you're capable of coding without hardware limits that make it feel like you're coding in the 1970s again.

 

[Edak]

I prefer punch cards myself...
On a serious note, the reason why this is good is because the device already has a display and analogue frontend so not much work to do.

 

[anthonyUK]

If your going to go to that trouble though, I question why you wouldnt just base your entire controller off the arduino, instead of using both.....

The Arduino is only used for programming. It is not required after.

 

[mrsupraboy]

What does this hack actually do. I read through the top links but still not sure

 

[Edak]

Allow you to create ramp profiles and timed set points so you can slowly change the fermentation fridge temperature. Think consistent profiles for crash chilling, diacetyl rests, etc

 

[sp0rk]

Edit: I just read some of the coments in the main STC-1000 thread and wanted to clarify. This firmware will not be suited for HERMS usage (at least not any better than stock firmware), as it is still thermostat control and not PID. What it brings to the table is temperature profiles for fermentation, (i.e. keep temperature X1 for Y1 hours, then temperature X2 for Y2 hours and so on).
But, my next order of business is to try to implement a PID control firmware, so give it a couple of weeks and maybe...

Just wondering, is this because the NTC Thermistor doesn't have the accuracy of a PID?
Your firmware still offers set temps for certain timings, I can't see why that wouldn't work for a HERMS (This being said, I don't use a HERMS)
As long as I flick my pump on at the same time as the STC-1000 starts to heat, everything should work, right?

 

[Kodos]

Just wondering, is this because the NTC Thermistor doesn't have the accuracy of a PID?
Your firmware still offers set temps for certain timings, I can't see why that wouldn't work for a HERMS (This being said, I don't use a HERMS)
As long as I flick my pump on at the same time as the STC-1000 starts to heat, everything should work, right?

the big difference between a PID and a thermostat is the ability to compensate for residual heat and overshoot. EG if the STC was to turn on your element and heat up to 65 deg, the power to the element would get cut off when it hit that temperature, but the element is still freaking hot, and will continue to heat your wort/liquor/whatever, and you might overshoot your temp by 5 degrees or more while the element cools down.

PIDs work out how quickly the element is heating the liquid, and will slow down by pulsing on and off as it slowly approaches the set temperature.

Or I've completely misunderstood most of what I've read about PIDs (a real possibility) :blink:

 

[Edak]

You are right in that a PID is for predicting future temp rather than hiring a set point. The reason why they didn't put pid into this project is a lack of code space.