No Pit Probe


 
M

MarkL

New member
I just finished building a HeaterMeter with a Raspberry Pi. Everything seemed to go well on build and software installation. I can't figure out how to get rid of the -no pit probe- on my lcd and also in the software. I soldered 3 of the audio jacks on 1, 2 and 3 as it said in the instructions. There is nothing soldered on the board on probe 0. Should there be? Is there a software setting that fixes this or did I build it wrong?
 
MarkL said:
I just finished building a HeaterMeter with a Raspberry Pi. Everything seemed to go well on build and software installation. I can't figure out how to get rid of the -no pit probe- on my lcd and also in the software. I soldered 3 of the audio jacks on 1, 2 and 3 as it said in the instructions. There is nothing soldered on the board on probe 0. Should there be? Is there a software setting that fixes this or did I build it wrong?
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Probe 0 is your pit probe, so because you have nothing soldered there it won't work. But if you disable Probe 0 in the HeaterMeter software Probe 1 becomes your pit probe.
 
Thanks. I tried disabling it, but the LCD and Home Screen still both show no pit probe. Is that how it will be unless I solder up another jack?
 
Honestly I'm unsure whether or not probe 0 needs to be soldered in. I wouldn't be surprised though. Just solder it up, two minutes worth of work
 
Probe 0 gets soldered with either a 2.5mm jack like the other 3 or the thermocouple jack. It doesn't stay empty. You may have misread the assembly instructions.

Edit: I see on the assembly wiki page under Thermocouple Installation that it says:

Note that you will not install the standard Pit jack (2.5mm audio) or the 10k 1% pullup resistor (R18) closest to the Pit jack.
​
This could possibly be misinterpreted. Further down in the wiki where it talks about installing the probe jacks I added a note about the thermocouple probe.

rm1Zk59.png
 
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Steve_M said:
Probe 0 gets soldered with either a 2.5mm jack like the other 3 or the thermocouple jack. It doesn't stay empty. You may have misread the assembly instructions.

Edit: I see on the assembly wiki page under Thermocouple Installation that it says:

Note that you will not install the standard Pit jack (2.5mm audio) or the 10k 1% pullup resistor (R18) closest to the Pit jack.
​
This could possibly be misinterpreted. Further down in the wiki where it talks about installing the probe jacks I added a note about the thermocouple probe.

rm1Zk59.png
Click to expand...

Thanks Steve. Luckily it is an easy problem for me to remedy with a minute of soldering. The hard part is waiting two weeks for the part and paying $4 in shipping for a$.99 jack.
 
For now just go into the HM config and set probe 0 to DISABLED, then Probe1 will function as the pit probe, so at least you can use your HM in the meanwhile... You don't need to have a probe 0 jack installed on the board for this to function, though the web interface will show your pit temp in the Probe1 position (not the pit probe position), the HM display will show the Probe 1 temp in both the Pit Probe section and the Probe 1 section. I am not completely sure if this feature is in the release firmware at this point or not, but it is in the snapshot firmware, so if it doesnt work try installing the latest snapshot firmware.
 
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Ralph, see posts #2 and #3. Apparently that function doesn't work unless probe 0 is soldered in. Unless OP is disabled it incorrectly somehow.
 
SteveCK said:
Ralph, see posts #2 and #3. Apparently that function doesn't work unless probe 0 is soldered in. Unless OP is disabled it incorrectly somehow.
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Nope. It should work just fine if you set Probe 0 to "Disabled" in the "Type" dropdown list.

0Ir64t4.png
 
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SteveCK said:
Ralph, see posts #2 and #3. Apparently that function doesn't work unless probe 0 is soldered in. Unless OP is disabled it incorrectly somehow.
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I'm 99% sure you are incorrect here, it should still work without the probe jack installed in the Probe 0 spot. The HM is using the input from the Probe1 pin on the ATMega as the Pit Probe, it's not doing any switching that would route the signal physically through the Probe 0 jack. If it's not working I would guess it's because the firmware version he is running doesnt have that feature rather than the probe jack not being installed. If Probe1 is showing a temp on the HM display and the snapshot firmware is installed I am 99% sure this should work.

Alternatively he could unsolder one of the other probe jacks and solder it into the Probe 0 spot in the meantime and replace the other probe jack when he gets the part.
 
Steve_M said:
Nope. It should work just fine if you set Probe 0 to "Disabled" in the "Type" dropdown list.

0Ir64t4.png
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RalphTrimble said:
I'm 99% sure you are incorrect here, it should still work without the probe jack installed in the Probe 0 spot. The HM is using the input from the Probe1 pin on the ATMega as the Pit Probe, it's not doing any switching that would route the signal physically through the Probe 0 jack. If it's not working I would guess it's because the firmware version he is running doesnt have that feature rather than the probe jack not being installed. If Probe1 is showing a temp on the HM display and the snapshot firmware is installed I am 99% sure this should work.

Alternatively he could unsolder one of the other probe jacks and solder it into the Probe 0 spot in the meantime and replace the other probe jack when he gets the part.
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I gave solution on Post #3. OP said it didn't work. Hopefully he sees this again.
 
...and I guess this would be one good reason to order the kit from Bryan rather than ordering the parts from the suppliers... 'cause if you order the TC board he will send you the TC jack and if you order the non TC board he will send you four regular jacks, leaving no room for you to make this kind of mistake. I would guess in the end it probably comes out cheaper to order the kit anyways, but I haven't done the math on that, but as the OP noted the shipping from multiple sources will kill ya....
 
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SteveCK said:
I gave solution on Post #3. OP said it didn't work.
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It has to be the firmware version, don't you think? I've never tried this without the Probe 0 jack installed, but I have used the feature and it does work... except it was not supported on the release version firmware at the time. IDK if the feature has been rolled into the release firmware at this point or not, but from what I am reading here my guess is not....
 
I'm don't know the firmware progression intimately, but seems odd that there would be the option to disable it and it doesn't disable it. Like I said before, hopefullly OP sees this and takes another look over.
 
I could be wrong, but I think "disabled" has been there from before this Pit Probe feature was implemented. I recall it not working for me (with the release firmware version) and the only way for that to happen is if I could disable Probe 0 and see it not work. I dont have the time or the gumption to mess with my HM firmware today to test, but I would suggest the OP install the snapshot firmware and give it a try if he wants to use his HM right away... or pull a probe jack from another probe....
 
That feature was committed on Dec 22 2014, which is newer than the "release" version of the code, Version 12 in October 2014.

Running the snapshot code, which I think is days away from becoming the new "release" of Version 13 would allow this feature to work.
 
OK, then it's official, this feature is NOT part of the current release firmware, you would need to install the snapshot for this to work. Thanks for confirming that Steve... I've been running snapshot firmware(s) for so long it's hard for me to keep track of what is and isn't rolled into the release version.
 
Thank you all for your help on this. My fault for not ordering enough jacks. You're right that I should have ordered the kit from Bryan, but I had some of the components already from other builds, so I thought I would save a few bucks and take some of the clutter from my electronics surplus box. In the end, it will cost me more than what I was going to save. :)

I'll grab the latest snapshot to test my HM while I wait for the other jack. I thought about unsoldering one of the other jacks, but I'll be patient instead.

Thanks again.
 
Like Steve_M said, we're not saving lives here, so give the snapshot firmware a try. I am sure it will solve your pit probe problem and the snapshot firmware always has the latest greatest features in it. I've found the snapshot firmwares to be very stable, this one has been around a long time and as Steve noted it is about to become an official release, so no reason not to jump in now so you can start using your HM right away.
 
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