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cj8scrambler / beer-scale

IOT scales used to measure how much beer is left in my kegs
GNU General Public License v3.0
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Arduino -> Raspberry Pi #1

Open johnluddy opened 5 years ago

johnluddy commented 5 years ago

Great project. Not an issue, rather a request to gain insight on a couple design points.

Access to Scales/data outside unit -- From your description & diagram of Pi reading the BLE data from any available Arduinos, I am assuming the Pi was powered & mounted outside the kegerator and Arduino(s) mounted inside. Correct? If so, did you have any issues accessing the data via BLE reader given the insulation of the fridge? Designing mine with different units in mind and picturing fridge units with different thickness being an issue but have not tested yet.

Arduino mount -- Did you mount the Arduino to one of the scales or inside wall of fridge unit?

Batteries used -- It reads like you used battery power inside the unit. Can you share what worked best for you?

Thanks for sharing your efforts. Such a great resource!

cj8scrambler commented 5 years ago

To be honest, this is a slow moving project that hasn't actually made it into the keggerators yet. I am still working on it, but progress is slow.

I have placed the Arduino inside the keggerator to test signal strength. I'm able to reliably receive the BLE weight data on my phone from at least 10 ft. away. My plan is to place the raspberry pi just outside of the kegerator in a nearby drawer with AC power.

I haven't worked out mounting the arduino safely inside the keg. It will probably end up velcro'ed to a wall with some type of connector to connect 2 scales. Mounting the arduino on the scale will probably lead to it being crushed by a keg.

I have a Adafruit 350mAh battery (https://www.adafruit.com/product/2750), but I've done all the development using AC power so far.

I know the project isn't really usable by others as it is, it's more of a place to hold my ideas. This is also my first time working in AWS, so all the backend code is embarrassing. I'd love to see anyone build on it.

johnluddy commented 5 years ago

Nor problem at all and thanks! The update on the BLE data tests you did was what I was looking for and thanks for the tip on the battery. Great to hear that worked outside the frig. Just getting my prototype materials together and designing high level. I may reach out for more questions and will let you know if I make progress.

I plan to use a similar design but plan include the Arduino in the scale housing. Looking at options for that and may just start with a standard Bluetooth bath scale and add-on.

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From: cj8scrambler notifications@github.com Sent: Friday, March 29, 2019 1:26 PM To: cj8scrambler/beer-scale Cc: johnluddy; Author Subject: Re: [cj8scrambler/beer-scale] Arduino -> Raspberry Pi (#1)

To be honest, this is a slow moving project that hasn't actually made it into the keggerators yet. I am still working on it, but progress is slow.

I have placed the Arduino inside the keggerator to test signal strength. I'm able to reliably receive the BLE weight data on my phone from at least 10 ft. away. My plan is to place the raspberry pi just outside of the kegerator in a nearby drawer with AC power.

I haven't worked out mounting the arduino safely inside the keg. It will probably end up velcro'ed to a wall with some type of connector to connect 2 scales. Mounting the arduino on the scale will probably lead to it being crushed by a keg.

I have a Adafruit 350mAh battery (https://www.adafruit.com/product/2750), but I've done all the development using AC power so far.

I know the project isn't really usable by others as it is, it's more of a place to hold my ideas. This is also my first time working in AWS, so all the backend code is embarrassing. I'd love to see anyone build on it.

— You are receiving this because you authored the thread. Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHubhttps://github.com/cj8scrambler/beer-scale/issues/1#issuecomment-478102675, or mute the threadhttps://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/Aus3G5Dnvg_fmXA_UZjep1nvnbbQ0yLBks5vblrhgaJpZM4cMuOp.

cj8scrambler commented 5 years ago

If space in the keggerator is not an issue then an off the shelf BLE scale would be simpler. However be aware that many scales use custom interfaces, not the standard GATT 'Weight Scale' feature. It wouldn't be impossible to figure out a custom interface, just another challenge.

BTW, I find the Nordic nRF Connect smartphone app indispensable for debugging BLE.