Set point alert timing

[tburres]

Hey Danny,

Still learning and enjoying Roastmaster!  I was looking for a way to get the set point alerts to pop up a few seconds early so I can see what the planned setting is supposed to be - could be interesting if you are adding the ability to set controls based on curve readings, but for time based controls it would be an alert that says Set Gas to 3.5 in 5 seconds and then count down from 5 to 0.  Anyway, hope you are well and if you are in need of beta testers and I can help, I would love to.

[Danny Hall]

Interesting idea. I've made a backlog ticket for it. I'll give that some though - from memory, should be easy to do, but I want to look at the code.

I forget - do you use Data Logging? If so, you may find yourself rethinking your whole approach when version 9 hits. It all depends on your complexity and needs. Version 9 is in app review at the moment. Patiently waiting.

Version 9 has a new feature called "Events" (see attachment). At their base, they are time-stamped markers that can be tagged in curves or roasts. They can signify (for now) Turnaround, Drying End or be just a text-based note tagged to a time.

For data logging, though, they can also function as temperature-based alerts when applied to a curve. Just set them up in a curve or curve template, and you'll get alerts when the temp has been reached - either ascending or descending. They're pretty slick. For my own roasting, I've done away with control curves altogether. I find it much easier to have everything consolidated in 1 curve.

Thanks for the feedback.

[tburres]

Got version 9 and experimented a bit with events on a few roasts today.  Would you be willing to send me one of your all-in-one curves so I can see how you are using them?

[Danny Hall]

Attached below is the profile I "migrated" while developing the events feature. I converted it from an existing profile containing control curves, and honed it for couple of months to work well with both the first batch where the roaster is a bit cooler, and subsequent back-to-back batches where its fully heated.

For auto-trigger alerts, and event can be set to either before, during or after the roast. In my profile, I have an event "Roaster Charged", set to alert before the roast, to let me know when my charge temp has been reached. The rest are set to fire during the roast.

As you work with events, you'll notice in a event details screen, an event can be one of three things:

• Marker: this is the "general" type - a simple text string that can be anything you want
• Turnaround: when set to auto-trigger, will fire as soon as the temp starts to rise, after 15 seconds of roasting (giving probes time to equalize)
• Drying End: Signifies the end of the drying phase - can be set to auto trigger at a specific temp

The reason for the significance is that the latter two (turnaround and drying) are integrated into the reporting metrics. (Ramp and development are inferred from crack times). So, with events, it will be possible to run reports and compare turnaround time, vs duration, or maybe drying percentage vs. development percentage. This is the means by which Roastmaster knows which is which.

I encourage you to experiment with reporting, if you haven't yet. The enhanced reporting metrics are really quite an eye-opener for finding patterns in roasts. Plus, I gave all the reports the ability to find relevant cupping scores in addition to the two metrics you choose. So, in the line chart graph, tap the bottom left button, and you can see cupping scores overlaid on the two metrics you chose.

Let me know if you have any questions - I think the first help file I do for the site will deal with events.

PS: My go-to roaster is an electric 1kg Dahlian. Great roaster, but, being electric, not as responsive as a gas roaster. So, I run heat at 100%, and just jockey the damper. At my "Open Damper" alert, I open the damper to full, and leave for roughly 15 seconds, letting smoke and chaff clear. Then I close to anywhere between .5 and 1 (barely open). This lets me coast into first crack gently, and extend development time. Then, another event reminds me to close it at the time that will let the heat build back up for my target drop time.

This profile is very heavy on dev time. The coffee drinkers in my family are split between drip and espresso, so I love getting ahold of some heartier centrals, or other beans normally too bright for SO espresso, and muting them down for some really lively, but not over-the-top espresso.