Heatermeter 4.1.4
- Thread starter FrankH
- Start date
Bryan Mayland
TVWBB Hall of Fame
When you get your boards, can you tell me if the Boxy Barbequeing Robot image on the top side is messed up? When I got my latest v4.2.2 test boards the graphic was just a handful of lines rather than Boxy Robot in all his glory. I know OSH Park switched to another solder mask and I'm trying to figure out if I messed something up one time on my side, or if I need to do something for their new process.
Reference
Reference
Dave S (GeoDave)
TVWBB Fan
When you get your boards, can you tell me if the Boxy Barbequeing Robot image on the top side is messed up? When I got my latest v4.2.2 test boards the graphic was just a handful of lines rather than Boxy Robot in all his glory. I know OSH Park switched to another solder mask and I'm trying to figure out if I messed something up one time on my side, or if I need to do something for their new process.
Reference
Hi Bryan! Hope you are doing well. I haven't visited the forums in a while. I have postponed my electronics and micro controller programming hobby until my two boys get a bit older. Luckily, part of my real job is developing ESRI Flex web mapping applications so I am keeping my programming skills sharp. It is exciting to come back to the project after so many months and see all the great improvements you have made. It looks like the community has really grown too! Awesome!
My mom and I have been enjoying the Linkmeter for a couple years now. She has hers attached to her modified Bradley electric smoker (crappy stock element replaced with $10 Lowes charcoal starter element) and it works like a dream. She is obsessed with it! She has recently commissioned me to build her a new one. She wants the faster raspberry pi interface and the alarm.
I ordered the mouser and digikey parts this evening. I was wondering if I should wait to order these 4.2.2 boards or just build the 4.1.1. What are the new features? Will the 4.1 case work with the 4.2.2 boards?
Hope all is well! Thanks!
Bryan Mayland
TVWBB Hall of Fame
Hey Dave, it has been a while!
The v4.2.2 is still in development but is actually moving along (about a month ago I couldn't seem make any progress!). It's at least a month away, probably two assuming no major problems spring up after I fix the major problems with this one. It adds built-in thermocouple support (requires surface mount soldering) and reduces the noise on the probes that plague the v4.1 series. It also offers a more precise voltage output for the blower, but if you're using an electric smoker then you'll still be using pulse mode. Physically the dimensions are wider in the X dimension, smaller in the Y and also thinner in the Z. The case for a v4.1 even contain a v4.2.
The v4.2.2 is still in development but is actually moving along (about a month ago I couldn't seem make any progress!). It's at least a month away, probably two assuming no major problems spring up after I fix the major problems with this one. It adds built-in thermocouple support (requires surface mount soldering) and reduces the noise on the probes that plague the v4.1 series. It also offers a more precise voltage output for the blower, but if you're using an electric smoker then you'll still be using pulse mode. Physically the dimensions are wider in the X dimension, smaller in the Y and also thinner in the Z. The case for a v4.1 even contain a v4.2.
Here's the new boards
Yes, they are upside down, I just realized I did that
When do you think you have build and tested this board?
Bryan Mayland
TVWBB Hall of Fame
Looks like the silkscreen is perfect. Thanks for posting the images!
Super stoked!
New to this forum but not to grilling and smoking. I just learned about this HeaterMeter project and I'm super stoked about it! Been looking at these electronic pit controllers for a while now but none of them where exactly what I wanted and they were all pretty expensive. Love this one and I already have three raspberry pi laying around the house! I already started buying some parts and I'm itching to start building it but I'm thinking I should wait for you to get this new version and PCB lined out. Godspeed my man! Godspeed!
New to this forum but not to grilling and smoking. I just learned about this HeaterMeter project and I'm super stoked about it! Been looking at these electronic pit controllers for a while now but none of them where exactly what I wanted and they were all pretty expensive. Love this one and I already have three raspberry pi laying around the house! I already started buying some parts and I'm itching to start building it but I'm thinking I should wait for you to get this new version and PCB lined out. Godspeed my man! Godspeed!
Along the same lines, is there an ETA for the 4.2.x board and what (if any) new features does it offer? I've read about the built-in thermocouple boards and better signal filtering compared with 4.1. However, is there a roadmap thread somewhere that I missed that succinctly lists the features/limitations of the various boards (4.0, 4.1, 4.2, etc), what improvements are/were made, and gives a rough timeline?
RalphTrimble
TVWBB Diamond Member
Don't know of a roadmap, but I can say the 4.0 was the last version to have the RCA jack for the blower output, and the last version to have plugs on the bottom (rca blower and DC power). The 4.0 did not have a header for the servo, but you can wire directly to the board to make a servo work. The 4.0 was also the last version to have the old blower driver circuit that pulsed the ground instead of the +12V. It was a good board though, having less noise on the probe lines than the V4.1 board.
The 4.1 board moved the power to the side, removed the RCA jack for the blower in favor of a CAT5 jack that has the pinout for the blower and the servo. There was an initial attempt to integrate the thermocouple but the circuit was unrefined. The blower driver circuit was changed over to pulse the +12v and the blower now uses a regular ground. This board has a bit more noise on the probe lines, and it had an issue with false lid mode triggering if you do not do the (very simple) "white wire mod". It also had an issue where the trace for LED1 stopped just short of the mega, so you need add a wire to make LED1 work. All that said, still a good board that works very well, and I like the position of the CAT5 jack on the same side as the probes on this version.
The next iterations of the 4.1.X boards were very similar, just attempts to addressed some of the issues above, but I am not quite sure how they all worked out cause there is less out there and less feedback. V4.1.3 did have a rather serous flaw where one leg of the DC-DC converter was mistakenly shorted to ground, these boards will not work unless you cut that little bit of trace. It's not hard to do, but you better know to do it or you will end up scratching your head when you first power it up! These last couple 4.1.X iterations are fairly recent and people are still posting looking for feedback on how the 4.1.4 version is working out...
The 4.2.X that Bryan is working on now is kind of a complete rework. He moved all the power and possible interference generating items over to the left side of the board, and put all the sensor circuitry on the right side, and increased the ground plain in order to minimalize noise as much as possible. He refined the thermocouple circuit into the first viable working version, still as an add-on board in the first iteration I do believe. I don't think he was happy with the first draft, and through discussion and experimentation trying to eliminate as much noise on the probes as possible he ditched the onboard RF module slot (still available as an external module) in favor of RC filters on each probe, and it also gave him room to add the thermocouple hardware right onto the board (rather than in an optional module) and he also added the servo booster circuit to this board. As far as I know he is still waiting on the first set of that board to be delivered to him for testing... and has already mentioned doing some changes to the ground plain...
The 4.1 board moved the power to the side, removed the RCA jack for the blower in favor of a CAT5 jack that has the pinout for the blower and the servo. There was an initial attempt to integrate the thermocouple but the circuit was unrefined. The blower driver circuit was changed over to pulse the +12v and the blower now uses a regular ground. This board has a bit more noise on the probe lines, and it had an issue with false lid mode triggering if you do not do the (very simple) "white wire mod". It also had an issue where the trace for LED1 stopped just short of the mega, so you need add a wire to make LED1 work. All that said, still a good board that works very well, and I like the position of the CAT5 jack on the same side as the probes on this version.
The next iterations of the 4.1.X boards were very similar, just attempts to addressed some of the issues above, but I am not quite sure how they all worked out cause there is less out there and less feedback. V4.1.3 did have a rather serous flaw where one leg of the DC-DC converter was mistakenly shorted to ground, these boards will not work unless you cut that little bit of trace. It's not hard to do, but you better know to do it or you will end up scratching your head when you first power it up! These last couple 4.1.X iterations are fairly recent and people are still posting looking for feedback on how the 4.1.4 version is working out...
The 4.2.X that Bryan is working on now is kind of a complete rework. He moved all the power and possible interference generating items over to the left side of the board, and put all the sensor circuitry on the right side, and increased the ground plain in order to minimalize noise as much as possible. He refined the thermocouple circuit into the first viable working version, still as an add-on board in the first iteration I do believe. I don't think he was happy with the first draft, and through discussion and experimentation trying to eliminate as much noise on the probes as possible he ditched the onboard RF module slot (still available as an external module) in favor of RC filters on each probe, and it also gave him room to add the thermocouple hardware right onto the board (rather than in an optional module) and he also added the servo booster circuit to this board. As far as I know he is still waiting on the first set of that board to be delivered to him for testing... and has already mentioned doing some changes to the ground plain...
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Steve_M
TVWBB Guru
Unless you truly need thermocouple support, I'd go ahead and order the 4.1.4 board rather than wait for the 4.2 board. Remember, this is somewhat of a community project, so if you want to know if v4.1.4 is working, order a board, solder it up and let us know!
You're right Steve, but my problem is that just trying it comes with a price tag. Most of the stuff we need comes from the US or outside of Europe and that will increase the price. We split most of the cost (shipping and customs) as we order more than one (this time 7) but we don't have spares. So if the board won't work we'd have to order the parts again but then will have most of the shipping cost etc. double. So that's why I'm looking forward to experiences by others.
I'm more than happy to share my experiences (so far the 4.0 I have works great!) once we've built them.
I'm more than happy to share my experiences (so far the 4.0 I have works great!) once we've built them.
RalphTrimble
TVWBB Diamond Member
In general the majority of the components stay the same from board to board. The newest board Bryan has been working on might be a little different though. I designed the servo booster circuit with the same BC337 transistor that is used elsewhere in the HM, but Bryan commented that he used a MOSFET instead, noting that "v4.2 uses MOSFETS, so there is no use having the one NPN". So we know at least that much has changed, no NPN transistors on v4.2. In addition to that, there are the added components for the RC filters, and thermocouple components as well... Could be more changes too, so if you want to get your parts in a one shot order you'll have to wait. The rest of the stuff, majority of stuff like the ATMega, shift register, general resistors, caps, probe jacks etc will likely be the same....
But I caution you about trying to jump in on the development boards at this early stage unless you are interested in experimentation... When there are major changes such as this it could possibly not work out, or there could be something physical that he decides needs to be changed, and so he can move on to the next design rather quickly and leave one behind. If you jump in and get a board that is left behind you will have an odd-ball and be kinda on your own with not many others running the same board, and a 3D printed case may never be made for that version if it is skipped over fast.
So Steve gave you good advice, unless you need the new features you should probably go with one of the tried and true boards such as v4.0 or v4.1.X. If you are dead set on having the new board and latest features you should at least wait until Bryan has received the boards and built and tested the unit and reported the results here in the forum.
But I caution you about trying to jump in on the development boards at this early stage unless you are interested in experimentation... When there are major changes such as this it could possibly not work out, or there could be something physical that he decides needs to be changed, and so he can move on to the next design rather quickly and leave one behind. If you jump in and get a board that is left behind you will have an odd-ball and be kinda on your own with not many others running the same board, and a 3D printed case may never be made for that version if it is skipped over fast.
So Steve gave you good advice, unless you need the new features you should probably go with one of the tried and true boards such as v4.0 or v4.1.X. If you are dead set on having the new board and latest features you should at least wait until Bryan has received the boards and built and tested the unit and reported the results here in the forum.
Mark Workman
New member
I built a HM v4.1.4 this week. I performed some initial tests in our indoor oven. I am using two maverick et-73 meat probes. I have installed the ambient thermistor too (on Food probe 3). The ambient temp readings are always about 8 degrees higher than the probe temperatures (at room temp). So, I adjusted the offset for the ambient temp. The ambient temp is noisy, but the pit and meat probes seem pretty clean. (I may try to add a .1u cap on J2 to see if that clears up some of the noise.)
I am having problems with the (up,down,right,left) switch. It very rarely works. I have not had time to troubleshoot it.
Everything else seems to work.
I am having problems with the (up,down,right,left) switch. It very rarely works. I have not had time to troubleshoot it.
Everything else seems to work.