ideas for wifi/internet setup for competitions with heatermeter?


 
A

Alan Gayton

New member
I have just completed my heatermeter build (4.2.4 with thermocouple) for use in KCBS competition. You never know from competition to competition what kind of internet/wifi service you are going to have so I was wondering if any of you that compete have found a good way to setup your wifi. I am really hoping to be able to using the email and texting features of the interface so that I don't feel tied to the pit. It would be nice to be able to walk away for a little while and know that I will get an alert on my phone if something happens. We also intend to have a tablet connected to the same wifi as the heatermeter to use as a command center at our prep area. Gonna run the heatermeter page as well as an alarm and scheduling system to keep us on track.

Here are my thoughts about options so far if it helps:

option 1 - use contest wifi when available and connect heatermeter as a client. This option of course only works when there is wifi and requires reconfiguring at each event. Wifi at contests is not always reliable (and often not available) and I would hate to trust it too much. On the up side though if it exists its usually free and doesn't burn up data.

option 2 - use a team member's phone's hot spot for internet connectivity somehow. Provided I could figure out how to connect it all up this would keep us from having to reconfigure as often. The downside to this is whoever's phone is used will need to stay near the heatermeter, have good signal and stay charged. Also not sure how much data heatermeter (and other connected devices) might use and would hate to burn through someone's data plan.

option 3 - use the heatermeter as the AP and forgo the email and text. Not crazy about this but it would be more secure and reliable and I wouldn't have to reconfigure.
Alternative - set up the tablet (windows 8.1 surface pro 2) as a client (or the ap) and set up a mail server on it. Connect my phone to the wifi and that mail server. Then I could at least get mail in wifi range.

option 4 - reconfigure at each event using the best option above based on what is available.

open to all ideas...
thanks!
Alan
 
You've asked the million dollar question! I just got done competing at Memphis In May BBQ Fest, and had this exact dilemma -- how the heck do I set this thing up for optimal usage?

So, after consulting with some users and a buddy who turned me onto the HM.....

1. Yes, the contest wifi option would work, but as you said, it depends on config'ing, and that's an absolute ***** to do. Do you bring your laptop to contests? I sure don't and never will -- it's just a bad idea. So that def sours things a bit. Also remember, if that AP goes down, you're left with physical controls and no way to change probe types if needed. Not to mention DynDNS is almost certain to not work on a public/mass wifi.

2. I really debated going with #2 for Memphis In May. It seemed like a great idea -- use my own hotspot and I can have dynamic DNS running, etc. But then what happens when you leave your cook site? Nobody else has access except through physical controls. And what happens if there's a problem again? You'll have no way to fix things except with a laptop, once again. I ended up scrapping this idea. Plus, who knows if dynamic DNS will actually work for remote access, etc.

3.Use the AP mode. This was my final choice that I went with. Some adapters have short range, others have antenna support for long range. But then there were tradeoffs. The adapter I had w/ antenna refused to allow me to connect to it once I secured the network with WPA or WEP. So that was useless, as was turning off the SSID broadcast -- same result. In the end, I used a non-antenna adapter (RT-5370 based chipset Panda brand adapter) and secured our network with WPA2, sacrificing TONS of range in the process. But it didn't matter, because all our cooks had the info needed, and someone was bound to be nearby.


4. Reconfig'ing is an option, but that's just saying that you're going to try to pick options 1-3, so option #4 isnt really a solution. My option #4 would be to just rely on physical controls. This of course depends on you not making probe changes at all throughout your cook.


There's no perfect solution, that's the bottom line. AP mode seemed best for me, but I've never played with the tethering option.

tldr -- you described your options pretty much, aside from just running 100% physical control only.
 
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Thanks NickMV,

I think I am leaning towards number 3 as well. I do need to work out the range on my wifi adapter or look at longer range options if it fails to give adequate coverage. I think I can pull off the mail server idea if I see the need. I have access to a some old tablets/laptops and was planning on using one of them (the surface pro 2) as my command center but I could use a much older one (as I consider now the implications of sauce on a touch screen). I was hoping to use this thing next weekend at Euharlee Covered Bridge Que but we are planning to do the Old School Challenge (since we pretty much do that anyway) and I have to make sure it's legal for that.

One other thought I had was bringing a dedicated AP. I have access to some used APs and could set one of them up which would provide better range than the wireless adapters I have. Just trying not to get too complicated. May already be there though ;-)

On a side note I had an old APC UPS that I put new batteries in that should provide several minutes of power to run all this stuff when the inevitable 3AM power outage occurs. Hope to have a generator at some point but I am a stick burner so as long as I have enough notice that powers gone I can wake up somewhat and run my pit the old way if need be.
 
You could use a portable router/repeater (or your 'dedicated AP'). take the load off the host Wifi system might make it more stable, you can control access, you can probably set it up w/DNS service as well.
 
Yeah cant believe I forgot about mentioning the router solution. Obviously no internet (unless routers have improved and can pick up a connection on 1 antenna and share through the other?), but def will improve range if you dont want to use an antenna-based solution.

I need to try to track down an RT5370-based adapter w/antenna, as I already have my antenna setup but my last Edimax non-5370 adapter got bent and broken inside the case. I think I saw one the other day. That seems to be the most compatible adapter out there.

Also, good idea on the UPS if you have power issues. I believe both iPhone and Android apps (I use android's PitDroid) will alert you if it loses contact with the server after X minutes (typically like 5 or less), so that'll be your best bet for knowing (other than the UPS's audible alarm, which I'm guessing you'll never notice from inside in bed).
 
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I'm not a networking specialist, but could you use a router that that you carry with you that the HM connects to. The phone could provide Internet access for the router. The Internet would be intermittent depending upon the phone. But, I don't know what other option you would have for good Internet except to have a hotspot device provided by your cell carrier or access to Wifi by the competition folks. I used ddwrt on a Netgear router to do this at home to provide access to a computer in a room without cabling.

If you set up a router, exactly like the one you use at home, I would think your HM would find it and connect to it without having to reconfigure your HM.
 
Ha ha I am a network specialist but I deal with large education environments that are rather static. On things like this I have learned I do well to ask. Always someone out there with a better idea and this time is no exception. Thanks for the responses I now have a better plan; check it out and let me know if there are holes:


I have an old wireless n router. I will set it up as the AP and let it provide dhcp. I will connect the laptop to it by network cable. This will leave the laptop's wifi open for access to other wifi networks. If available, I can then set up Internet connection sharing on the laptop. I can also set up the laptop as a mail server to receive mail from heatermeter and be checked by devices on the wifi or the Internet if available and dynamic DNS works. This configuration should be portable, secure, and reliable but in the off chance I need to change something I should be able to do it easily since the laptop will be hard wired to the router. Also wouldn't be too hard to reconfigure for my phone's hot spot if I can get it to work without changing the overall configuration.


Thanks
Alan
 
Look into wireless repeater mode. Sometimes called client-repeater, range extender, etc. "bridge" mode on the one linked here:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00DTPYRTI/tvwb-20
I'm planning to pick one up at some point - Some of the places I go for work have sketchy wifi - gotta stand just right to get signal. This should alleviate standing on my head in the shower to talk to the wife over VOIP.

Depending on what your spare router is, you can flash Tomato, DD-WRT or even OpenWRT to add a lot of functionality, if it doesn't have it stock. If you're good at poking around OpenWRT, I think HM could be set up with 2 USB WiFi adapters & have an all-in-one box, depending on reception. (client of host wifi/hotspot +AP for phones to connect over LAN (and share WAN)

This is probably the only set & forget solution, other than joining the hosts' wifi for WAN. You can set the HM to the AP SSID and/or set the client to connect to a phone/hotspot SSID. dynDNS can be set & forget - if you have a WAN connection, you can use your phone on the WAN side. If not, NAT loopback should take care of it while you're on the same LAN.
I've never paid attention to how much data is sent, but I have a tiny data package & never worried about it. Might be different if you have 10 people with OCD refreshing every 5sec, but I still don't see using gigabytes in a weekend.
 
What I did was to create a small router/AP using a raspberry pi. There were several walkthrough's available and ended up being a fun little project. I have my 3 heatermeter's set to recognize it automatically on power up. Makes a good little personal network to monitor the cook when I travel around the country for the large events I do.
 
I ran my heatermeter in a contest this weekend. I don't have the fan port installed in my smoker yet but I used it to monitor the pit. I decided to just set the heatermeter up as an AP just to see what it's range was. I have this edimax wifi adapter: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B003MTTJOY/tvwb-20 . At first it wouldn't let anything connect even though every device I tried saw the wireless SSID. I tried some alternate configurations that didn't work but when I restored the original file (made a backup just in case) the wifi started working and worked flawlessly the rest of the weekend. I was really surprised at the range of the Edimax. I walked from my pit through most of the competition area and down to the judges tent. While not a great distance by any means if was at least a football field size area and my old wireless temp gauge would not make it 100ft. I still intend to get that dedicated Access Point setup but it's good to know that this unit will work for me till then. I was also pleased with the web interface's performance on my Windows Phone. I had no issues viewing and configuring the HM from my phone. I showed it off to some of the other teams and I might wind up building a few more units.
 
Yeah it certainly is handy for sure. I got annoyed with having to turn off the wifi connection to go back to getting regular Internet data for use on my device, but it certainly is a handy thing to be able to switch back and forth. The edimax is an amazing little device, I do find that with a lot of obstruction the signal can get a bit noisy so I don't use them in a production environment at work. I do recommend them to friends because they are so darn inexpensive to bring wifi to older devices .
 
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