Hi

Phidgets are picky about client-host connections - the Webservice software running on either the SBC or laptop host must exactly match the version in Roastmaster. I just release Roastmaster v 4.1 around 10:00 PM US-EST last night with the latest Phidgets software. I'm going to update the website this morning - I ran out of time last night - sorry.

First, make sure you're using version 4.1 of Roastmaster released last night.

Then, just update your host with the latest Phidgets software.

• For the SBC, just launch the SBC Administration Console by double-clicking the SBC in either the preference pane (mac) or control panel (windows). Then navigate to the "System" main tab, then the "Packages" sub tab and click update all.
• For a laptop host, download the latest build from Phidgets (currently 20130618) and install on your laptop

Let me know if you have any problems

Cheers
Danny

This is for your Quest you mentioned, right? You'll need to order them online. I ordered mine from a fellow named Eric Svendson. He has a great tutorial here. His contact info is on the PDF - ordering was a breeze for me.

When I ordered, he was out of stock of the nicer compression fittings, so I opted for simple pre-drilled allen caps crews. I don't see them labeled as such on the current price list, nor am I sure why the $12 adapter M8 screws (which I assume is them) only list the ET location on the roaster, instead of both ET and BT. I ordered 2 of those cap screws - one for BT and one for ET, and they were identical. Perhaps that's a misprint, or newer roasters may have different specs.

He's good at answering questions - shoot him an email and he'll be able to explain the parts better. I assume the first fitting on the list is the compression fitting, and the rest are cap screws - but double check with him.

If you have the probe on page 3 - that is a 1/8" probe, so make sure to get the fittings that accommodate 1/8".

Let me know if I can help.

From my research (not formal testing) K type has a broader temp range, but is more expensive. K style seemed to be the ubiquitous standard when I was designing data logging, at least in roasting circles, so I went with that one first. Recently, I've been contacted by many shop roasters who are wanting to use data logging with the probes built into their roasters, which are usually the cheaper J type. Alas, I don't own a shop roaster, so until I do I can't speak from experience about the feasibility of mod'ing them, I can only say that if it's a J or K type thermocouple that you can hook up to the Phidgets temp sensor, Roastmaster should be able to handle the input just fine.

Having the iPad wireless and portable comes in very handy. Phidgets give you the freedom to walk about with your iPad and monitor the roast and see live temp updates from other rooms - or the couch or deck or whatever, while the hardware sits dutifully next to the roaster, broadcasting its readings via wifi - much easier than you having to sit by the roaster. The BBQ would not offer that, since the end of the probe is connected to the iPad - you'd be stuck there with it - or at least need to walk in and check it frequently. Again, the BBQ is for a future release. I'm hoping the API works well - I believe it will, but i won't be ready for at least another month.

Why would you need above 500? Hmmm, that's a good question. In an earlier version of Roastmaster, I limited curves to a range of 999 thinking that was plenty of head room. A user contacted me, saying that he needed a greater temp range for larger shop roasters, claiming their roaster needed over 1000. I could only assume that possibly the charge temp for larger batches can get to be pretty high. I've always doubted that, though - if they were that high, then J type probes wouldn't measure them. Possibly, in retrospect, he wasn't understanding something about curves. Whatever the case, I present that info about the temp range just so you'll be aware (or other googlers) in case there's something about the physics of shop roasters the eludes me.   I know that on my Quest, temps never go above 230° C, so a temp range of 500° F would work fine for use with a Quest.

I personally use a Behmor and a Quest both, but Roastmaster is pretty open-ended in its design (almost to a fault in some areas). Folks use it with lots of different roasters - truth be told I talk to more shop roasters than home roasters. I researched all of the major home roaster models when designing it, and settled on a design (particularly of profiles and curves) that I felt would work well with any roaster - even shop roasters.  I've payed a lot of attention to the Behmor, due to the popularity of the roaster, but have remained very steadfast in keeping a Behmor workflow as an 'opt-in' scenario. In other words, you won't find any Behmore-specific fields or data, unless you actively enable them. Regretfully, I have to fend off many requests from Behmor users in order to keep the design of profiles and curves simple and flexible.

The SBC3 is here. If you are planning on purchasing a laptop regardless, then might be best to try data logging with that first to get the hang of it. I've mounted my SBC and temp sensor on a small board, with a hook I hang next to the roaster. THat's much easier IMO, than hauling out a laptop/temp sensor combo every time I roast. Your mileage my vary though. The good thing is you can try it out without investing in the SBC, then add that later if you want to.

Hope this helps
Danny

Hi

A number of folks have asked about this. I would like to see this ability as well. I explored it early on in development, mostly with the mindset of having the ability to compare roast degree. I did some tests, but I could rarely reproduce the same lighting from roast to roast, so the results were disappointing. The more I've thought about it lately, though, the merits for noting things like uneven color, speckles of oil, sheen etc. are helpful, even if the color isn't 100% reliable.

I've added your notes to the backlog ticket I keep about photos. I try to tackle things based on the number of requests I get. I expect to look into this in the near future. Thanks for the feedback!

Hi Jon

I contacted you via email on Monday. Just want to see if you're still having trouble getting a link going with Phidgets.

Please let me know if so and we'll try to work it out.

Cheers
Danny

Forgot to mention... the idea about inventory alarm is an excellent idea. I can see the big benefit for shop roasters or folks who buy in larger quantities.

I've added it to my backlog list of features to add. Thanks for suggesting that!

Danny

Hi

Curves are a means to store variables that change throughout a roast - mainly temperature readings or roaster settings. In a new roast, tap the blue curve button near the digital readout, and create a new curve. Set it to "Reading" for recording temps you observe, or "Control" to record roaster settings you use, such as heat, amps, gas, air, etc.

Then, while the roast is in progress, you can enter nodes into the curve by tapping the digital readout near the gauge. A node will be created timestamped in the selected curve at the value you enter. You can define as many curves of varying types as you need in each roast. With my Quest, I usually track 2 control curves: Heat and Fan, and 2 Reading curves: Bean Mass Temp and Ambient Drum Temp.

There's a video here that walks you through using a curve... http://rainfroginc.com/documentation/your-first-roast-screencast/

Profiles are more advanced. They are a means to store curves that you want to match in future roasts. When you happen upon a good roast you want to record and try to duplicate in the future, you can copy and paste the curves from that roast into the "Curves" section of a new profile. Then, in future roasts, select that profile, and your target curves will populate the graph for matching.

Hope this helps - let me know if you have other questions.
Danny

Hi Ken

In a profile, "Curves" hold the control and reading curves you want to use as a guide for a roast - i.e. existing curves you want to match in the future. These appear in a roast when you use that profile, but still belong to the profile itself, so they are shared among many roasts. "Curve Templates" hold placeholder curves that will be created as blank curves in a roast whenever you use that profile for the purpose of recording new temperature measurements. The new curves spawned by Curve Templates belong only to the roast in which they are created. Based on your post, I don't think you'd need to use Curve Templates - they are meant primarily for folks who roast by bean mass temp readings - so that the setup of a roast is automatic, and they're not stuck defining new curves over and over again for each roast to record temp readings to.

At the moment, curves operate strictly on a linear fashion - nodes hold a value at a specific point in time. This is the perfect scenario for folks who roast by bean mass temperature with Reading curves - they provide an exact way to replicate a roast and are weight independent. Folks who don't have a way to measure internal temps, though, must rely on Control curves, which offer a lot, but are dependent on the roasted weight being the same.

Snapshops (more on these in a moment) was my first step at easing the burden on folks who use Control curves to account for this. A couple of updates ago, though, I wanted to take it further and laid the internal framework for Control curve nodes to be conditional for common events like first or second crack (similar to what you're asking) - to remove the weight-dependency. Not many folks were asking for that then, though, so I put it on the back burner to address the most popular requests. In the past month, though, lots of folks have been asking for something similar, so I'm looking forward to getting back to that. In the mean time, though, you're limited to concrete points of time from the start to stop of a roast.

Here' my suggested workflow

For your roasting, create a new profile, then within that profile create a new "Control" curve. Set the max level to whatever is appropriate - 500 sounds right. Create one node at 00:00 at 482° in the curve details screen.

In new roasts, choose your profile and the Control curve will display in the graph as a straight line - showing you how and at what level to start. When you reach first crack (or anytime you want to alter the temp), select the curve in the graph and enter a new node by tapping on the digital readout. Roastmaster will create a Snapshot of that curve, and your new node will be displayed in the graph. Since you'll now be using a Snapshot of that profile, the original master will remain intact with 1 node, and the Snapshot will correctly have the two nodes - showing exactly what occured in the current roast.

Master profiles always have references to the snapshots that were created of itself, so you'll have a good way to browse and rate them later from the profile screen and see patterns that emerge. Also, as you collect roasting data, you'll be able to browse roasts in the full screen analyzer, and swipe among many roasts to compare and contrast the profile snapshots, and see the curves and a graph of cupping data for each.

Hope this helps - if you still have questions, just let me know!

Kind regards
Danny