iSpindel

[RoomWithABrew]

@ceborame
So it just sent one reading out?
Brewspy will also tell you the signal strength if you scroll below the graph (if there is one) click on latest and the figure starts with a - .

The ispindel pcb 4.0 is a good one, the original ispindels had a 3d printed sled and a little motherboard with all the bits stacked together like a sandwich, the issue with that was the aerial was not at the lid but inverted because the wifi board was upside down so that the programming usb port was by the lid. I made some of these and the signal was not as good.

Your battery is fine I'm using 2nd hand batteries and they are still good for several weeks with half hour logging. This suggests it's a network issue now but probably not related to signal strength perhaps a configuration in the router. I'm no expert on that.

I have found that yiannis is very helpful at brewspy [email protected]
he can look at the server to see if he is receiving the info at his end. I had an ispindel that worked fine on the 192.168.4.1 and was connecting to my router but no update to brewspy at all. I changed the router / relay that the ispindel was netted to and it worked straightaway.

The ispindle ( note different spelling ) thread
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/ispindle-diy-electronic-hydrometer.598187/on homebrewtalk.com is very big and they have a lot of experience and have helped me with my many tribulations.
If both of your ispindels are behaving the same way it suggests that it isn't the ispindel that is at fault but the network.

 

[ChrisT]

@ceborame
Are you getting anywhere? My iSpindel still drops off the network occasionally, despite adding an Access Point nearby. Whilst I can't prove it, I'm currently thinking electrical interference, hairdryer, fridge, freezer, kettle, etc. All are very near my brew area. For most equipment they'll try to connect over time and don't really care how long it takes to send a message, not so much with the iSpindel.

 

[RoomWithABrew]

Could be worth changing the channel that your wifi is on. If other WIFI networks nearby are all on the same one it will cause trouble. Somewhere in the router setup.

Also worth having the access point on a different subnet so that the ispindel doesn't periodically try and connect to the further away access point. I had that issue when I forgot to save the fact that I wanted it to go to the NAT relay outside the fridge. Performance was dire during that brew until I fished it out and realised my error.

 

[Michael Burnley]

@ceborame
Are you getting anywhere? My iSpindel still drops off the network occasionally, despite adding an Access Point nearby. Whilst I can't prove it, I'm currently thinking electrical interference, hairdryer, fridge, freezer, kettle, etc. All are very near my brew area. For most equipment they'll try to connect over time and don't really care how long it takes to send a message, not so much with the iSpindel.

Sorry about the late reply

I have been having success with this thanks to everyone's help

So I left it in the lounge sending data to brewspy and this was a success, with over 4 hours with no readings missed, I then moved the iSpindel and put it inside the brew fridge which is in my shed and the readings stopped. I have a whole house 3 hub Mesh Wi-Fi system so I moved one of the hubs to the shed, rebooted the iSpindel and it has been sending regular readings now to brewspy for about 3 days, I am getting a reading of -44 for Wi-Fi strength according to brewspy.

Conclusion is I wasn't getting a satisfactory Wi-Fi signal in the shed, so hopefully the problem is solved

Thanks everyone

 

[ChrisT]

@ceborame
Glad it's sorted, it seems from seeing many posts, that the majority of iSpindel data logging issues are WiFi related. As it doesn't transmit all the time, it's not as robust at getting it's data across as most devices.

For me, it doesn't matter that I lose the occasional data sample. Having said that, I still haven't connected that CAT5 cable I pushed under the house a few months back, so that I can have my "spare" router "next" to my brew area, no more hair dryer interference, just microwaves instead!

 

[RoomWithABrew]

That's great news that you got it working well. You've got batteries for life now. The repeater I linked to is very easy and works great, if you do go down the route of cabling in a new / repurposed old router to act as a relay make sure you give it a different name to your other one. I didn't when I used a spare router and the ispindel would sometimes connect to the weak signal and then lose it in the fridge.

 

[ChrisT]

@RoomWithABrew
It's already configured and working on a separate subnet, just need to move the router from lounge to brew area. I've already got it on a channel that nobody else in the area is using at the moment, just need to move it nearer.

 

[gingerneil]

Just catching up on this - glad to hear its working well with the better network!

 

[Theoriginalrich]

I got an ispindel back in March off @ChrisPDuck but never got round to calibrating it straight away and forgot about it.
I finally sent it away to assetsolutions for calibration and it’s now in its maiden brew. Everything’s working fine in the brew fridge in the garage.
Only problem is, because I’ve combined it with Brewfather I can’t stop checking up on the brew. It’s too easy!
I take it this is something everyone does to start with. It’s like checking the airlock for bubbling, sad but satisfying.

 

[gingerneil]

It's 100% addictive @Theoriginalrich!!
If anyone wants one, drop me a DM.

 

[Eskimo John]

I got an ispindel back in March off @ChrisPDuck .... I can’t stop checking up on the brew. It’s too easy!
I take it this is something everyone does to start with......

Not just to start with! I use an ispindel with all my brews and only check it a few times..... each day!

 

[Eskimo John]

I have an ispindel question to put to the forum:
What software do you use with your ispindel?... and why?
I use Ubidots which is OK but I understand ther are other alternatives and I want to get the most out of mine.

 

[RoomWithABrew]

I use brewspy, sends texts alert as well, did link it to brewpiless controller as well. But preferred to just see the info and then adjust brewpiless myself and it was a good backup in case the temp sensors and control of brewpiless went haywire.

 

[dearleuk]

I use Brewspy as well, but I paid for the premium version and now they are going to charge based on subscription, so now I'm trying to use Fermentrack, but the calibration for ispindel is broken and because the pi version is in a container, I don't know how to fix it

 

[Eskimo John]

How is it broken?
There are ways of calibrating ispindels that aren't hard but are a bit long winded. I will post a link to one here when I can find it.

 

[dearleuk]

The error message is

The "numpy" python package is not available which is required for calibration

I could be doing this all wrong, but all Fermentrack shows is the temperature readings, nothing for gravity, so I have tried to enter the calibration readings I have and that is when I get the error message

 

[Eskimo John]

Have you tried reseting the ispindle? You have to put something metal across the two pronged jumper accessible through the lid several times.

 

[dearleuk]

Have you tried reseting the ispindle? You have to put something metal across the two pronged jumper accessible through the lid several times.

I have; the ispindle is communicating with Fermentrack, just not tracking gravity

 

[Eskimo John]

Have a read here to see if this helps:
https://github.com/thorrak/fermentrack/issues/652

 

[ChrisT]

Fermentrack for me, but mainly 'cos I had a Pi lying around and seemed like a good idea at the time. If I didn't have a spare Pi, I would have gone Brewpiless to start with.