Guru or Stoker owner?


 
I have neither of these two great innovations in cooking, but soon will be in the Stoker camp. The Stoker was an easy choice as I do like the idea of being able to leave and still know what is happening with the smoker.

D Casten,

You might want to look into slip rings or rotating connectors. I know slip rings have been used in food processing, not sure about the rotating connectors. Here's some reading material to start with.
http://www.slipring.com/harshenvironment.html
http://www.progressive-engr.com/html/faqs.html
 
I've got both as well. The Guru is a backup. The only advantage a Guru has is it will run off a car battery. The stoker needs a 12v to 5volt converter but that's easily solved for < $10.

I prefer the stoker because I can not only tell the temp of my pit currently but also where it has been (using StokerLog). It can also monitor the temp of 2 or more pieces of meat instead of just one.

Stoker all the way for me!

-rob
 
Stoker all the way....!
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I just got my Guru and love it so far. I didn't want or need all the bells and whistles of the stoker, so the DigiQ II fits my needs perfectly!
 
This afternoon, after trying to connect with John at Rock BBQ for the third (unsuccessful) time about an outstanding order, I decided to give Guru a call and just see how they do business. Kind of shocking how different how different they are; they actually answers my call and spent a good long time with me answering my questions about the Cyber Q. Based on what I was told, u can control and monitor the Cyber Q wirelessly off a router, which is the reason I chose the Stoker originally. If I can do that with the Cyber Q, I may go with it for my second system. Shame for Rock BBQ, but if they'd been just a wee bit more responsive I never wouldve made that call. And FWIW the Guru folks didn't say a single bad thing about the competition, choosing instead to focus on their product and customer service.
 
I thought I'd provide an update on my order with Rock I posted about a few days ago. I just got a call from John's wife to let me know that they are shipping my order. She let me know that she does read various online forums (including this one) to get feedback. She had read my last post, and I told her that although I was sorry that she had to get the feedback in that forum, I was glad she and John did get it. She mentioned John's workload and her desire for him to try and fill orders, as well as respond to inquiries, in a more timely manner.

I appreciated the call, and I left her with my genuine and well meant suggestion that they take positive steps to be more responsive and timely in running their business. They've got a great product, and it's too bad they may be losing business in this way. I'm invested in the Stoker, and really I have no reason to have two different systems. But others might not be, so that's a challenge for them.
 
Kit,

You made the right decision in the end. The CyberQ2 can only be monitored wirelessly using 2 computers and a wireless router. This is because its only interface is a USB port which must connect to a computer. The computer connected to the CyberQ runs remote software like LogMeIn or PCAnywhere. The other computer remotly logs into the monitoring computer.

You might think that you could just get a USB wireless device for the CyberQ and slap that on. That won't work. The CyberQ does not have the firmware/software to do that. It MUST be tethered to a computer.

Another reason to choose the stoker is its ability to monitor several food items at once. For instance, you can get 3 food probes for say - brisket, butt and chicken and plug them into the unit with your pit probe and your blower. You then know the temp pf all those food items at any given time.

The CyberQ has 1 pit probe and 1 food probe. That's it! It's also more expensive to boot!

You'll love the Stoker and give us a holler if you need help with the wireless monitoring. All you will need is a wireless router or game adapter and 1 wireless computer. No remote software, just a web browser. Additionally you can run Amir's software which is awesome. Most of us on the competitive circuit that have the unit do.

-rob
 
A noob here but I believe you can get wireless USB capable hubs which communicate with their own onboard firmware. They essentially act as a wireless USB cable. I haven't personally tried this with the GURU because it just arrived. However I cannot see why this wouldn't work. They very well could be a range issue on how far it can go given passing through the walls of your home.

The USB key that you use to do this should contain all you need to make the connection.
 
The only firmware on the cyberQ is USB2.0. It does not implement TCP/IP stack.

Are you saying there is a device that plugs into a USB port and does Transmit/receive? Then on the the hub end it would receive the USB signals, convert it back to USB??

I have not heard of such a device though I wouldn't be surprised if they exist. If it does indeed exist then it would work.

Find me a model number and I'll contact Bob Trudnak and give him an update to add to the manual. I know him quite well actually as we compete on the same NEBS/KCBS circuit.
 
well, they both seem to be good units. but for me, the guru is the one or shall I say two. I have one of the old competitors, which has been as reliable from day one, and since I now have another smoker. I purchased the digiq. I just dont see the need to go away while smoking.I do like the fact I can go to bed with that sweet smell of smoke in the air, and know it will all be ok in the morning. plus they both fit really nice in a ziplock bag in bad weather.
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I went with the Digiq 2. After months of reading the threads here and searching the web I found the Digi just fit my needs. I'm not too concerned with checking my temp from my Iphone while I'm out and about. I've had it since Christmas and it hasn't let me down yet. I love this thing.
 
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