iSpindel
Welcome
Welcome to my iSpindel landing page. The official iSpindel home page is also a great resource for everything iSpindel.
What is an iSpindel?
An iSpindel is a digital hydrometer for measuring the specific gravity (or degrees Plato) of something you are fermenting. It connects to web services and uploads statistical information. The web service you connect the iSpindel to can graph the temperature and fermentation statistics without you having to physically disturb the fermenter. The iSpindel can work from inside a fridge or even a stainless steel fermenter.
The Printed Circut Board (PCB)
I suggest that you purchase the most recent version of the Jeffrey PCB from my shopping list. Please use this link to register with PCBWay.com to get a $5 discount and give me a referral. You can check out my blog post about the development of the PCB for more information on its features.
Gerber files can be found on my GitHub page.
The schematic can be viewed in detail by clicking on the image below.
Parts and Assembly
The shopping list below is for The Jeffrey PCB by Open Source Distilling. If any of the links are dead please let me know and I will update them.
The Assembly video for The Jeffery is found by clicking this link. This video can be used to assemble any version of The Jeffrey PCB.
Please note that in my build, The Jeffrey did NOT need additional weights added in order to get to 25° in pure water when the battery was installed at the lowest position. That being said, the ability to add weights and move the battery is still available if needed to fine turn the tilt in pure water. To see how to balance the iSpindel check out my video 25° angle in pure water.
Shopping List
- (Affiliate Links Below)
- The Jeffrey PCB version 2.69. Please use this link to register with PCBWay.com to get a $5 discount and give me a referral.
- Wemos D1 Mini with Deep Sleep. Amazon link. eBay link.
- DS18B20 Temperature Sensor. Amazon link. eBay link.
- BAT43 Diode. Amazon link. eBay link.
- 4.7K ohm resistor. Amazon link. eBay link.
- 220K ohm resistor. Amazon link. eBay link.
- TP4056 USB C – 6 pin. Amazon link. eBay link. Micro USB – 6 pin. Amazon link. eBay link.
- GY521 MPU-6050 Module 3 Axis Gyroscope. Amazon link. eBay link.
- Toggle Switch. Amazon link. eBay link.
- Surface Mounted 18650 Battery Holder. Amazon link. eBay link.
- 3.7V 3400mAh 18650 Lithium Battery. Amazon link. eBay link.
- Please note that I use a 48 gram NCR18650B 3400 mAh battery. I get about 3 weeks of battery life and I can get to about 25 degrees in pure water when installed at the lowest position.
- XL BIG PET Soda Bottle Container. 5 pcs eBay link.
- Soldering Iron Kits with solder and clippers. Amazon link.
Firmware
Follow my video on how to load the iSpindel firmware.
Calibration
There are different calibrations that need to happen in a specified order.
- Offset calibration
- 25° angle in pure water
- iSpindel formula calibration
- Battery voltage calibration (scroll down)
Connecting the iSpindel to a Service for Data Logging and Reporting
Check out my video on Ubidots and how to connect an iSpindel.
I’ll also be exploring the TCP/IP Server for the Raspberry Pi.
Having Trouble?
Check out my iSpindel Serial Monitor Log video to reveal behind the scenes errors that may be happening.
An iSpindel troubleshooting and know-issues page with fixes is now live. Please email me if you have any contributions. The more we share the more we help each other out.
Subscribe to my blog at the bottom of this page to get updates on my new posts.
140 Comments
jimdkc · February 16, 2020 at 11:14 PM
Yeeee! Haaaawwww! Been waiting for this board to become available. I have most of the parts in hand and I’m itchin’ to build!
Joey Joe Joe Jr · February 18, 2020 at 9:40 AM
Yeeeehaw!
Geep · March 31, 2020 at 5:29 PM
I’ve been sheltered in place so long I might be missing something but I don’t see a shopping list, just a link to the PCB (and is the price show there per qty ordered? Ie $20 for 5 pcBs?)
Joey Joe Joe Jr · April 2, 2020 at 10:23 AM
Something happened to it. I think WordPress updated and I lost my ‘reusable blocks’. Anyways, I have rebuilt the shopping list and it should now be available again. I will review the list in detail later but I had to restore from a backed-up version. If any links are broken or you run into any issues let me know and I will respond.
Thanks for bringing this to my attention, Geep!
Bill · June 8, 2020 at 10:18 PM
Did you find out if the pcb price is for 5 boards?
Kobus Moolman · July 13, 2020 at 1:26 PM
Yip, just received 5 boards via FedEx this morning. Total price was about $38 including shipping to South Africa. Took less than a week!
Joey Joe Joe Jr · July 13, 2020 at 2:26 PM
Nice!
Jonathan · August 7, 2021 at 3:05 PM
Hey,
After looking into the Tilt and stumbling upon the iSpindel and all the different options I found your design and blog. Since you offer detailed instructions and videos I decided to go the DIY route with your design.
I just tried to order the PCB but the review failed with this reason:
“Non-plated slots size should be more than 0.8mm/plated slots should be more than 0.45mm”
I didn’t change any parameters besides the solder mask and the silk screen. Should I have? I assumed all parameters were set automatically.
Joey Joe Joe Jr · September 11, 2021 at 1:15 PM
Oh, that’s weird. If you like can you try a second time? If you run into that issue again send me the order number and I can reach out to my contact at PCBWay.
Jonathan · September 11, 2021 at 4:47 PM
After a few days I ordered the PCB from JLCPCB which turned out to be even cheaper. A few days after that, PCBway for some reason reviewed my order again and this time there were no problems.
I finally assembled the iSpindel last night and am super stoked about. Can’t wait for the next brew day.
Chris Denney · February 17, 2020 at 1:28 PM
Great work man. I’ve been learning about the iSpindel myself and trying my best to get one working. Finally got one working last night and only JUST discovered your work today. I’m curious though, why is the 25° tilt in pure water important? Mine is tilting like 50° in pure water but it’s giving me accurate measurements after I calibrated it.
Joey Joe Joe Jr · February 18, 2020 at 9:32 AM
I can’t say why, but the creator of the iSpindel, universam1, has stated multiple times that 20 to 30 degrees in pure water is a requirement, not a suggestion. I’ve seen him tell someone whos’ iSpindel floats in water at about 70 degrees that he would never get accurate results until he balanced his iSpindel in pure water. It’s awesome that you are getting accurate results! I haven’t done much testing around gravity readings yet as my original iSpindel had the firmware bug where offset calibration never saved, so my readings never made sense. I will do a second round of gravity calibrations in the future testing out the easy vs actualy fermentation methods. Thanks for your reply! How close does your iSpindel tie into a traditional hydrometer?
Henrik · February 18, 2020 at 4:12 AM
Great! Good job with the pcb, I’ll make an order soon 🙂
With my last iSpindel I used an app called BrewSpy and it worked for me. Could be an option if your to compare different data services.
Joey Joe Joe Jr · February 18, 2020 at 9:40 AM
Thanks for sharing. Do I plan on trying different data services! I’ve seen a similar phone app before. Can’t wait to try these out 🙂
Mat from Biarritz · March 6, 2020 at 1:30 PM
Hello,
I was nearly pushing the order in pcbway until I see that the pcb is Size : 133 x 34 mm
The pcb is bigger than the geocatching pet 123 x d33 that you link. It’s the one I have already.
The size of philippo is Size : 123.24 x 30.7 mm
Joey Joe Joe Jr · March 7, 2020 at 1:54 PM
My PCB is designed not to fit in the pelting. It has ‘tabs’ that need to be filed down in order to get a snug fit.
Please note too that I geocaching pet dimensions, 123 x d33, I posted are straight from the vendor. When I actually measure the opening with calipers, I get slightly different values. Use this link to get the right pelting for my project.
mat · March 7, 2020 at 4:29 AM
Hello,
I was nearly pushing the order button on pcbway until I see the pcb size compare to the pet container.
The pcb Size is 133 x 34 mm
The ispindel_4.0 size 123.24 x 30.7 mm
And the geocatching you list are (internal), mm
~123 x d33
Did I miss something?
Thanks for your help.
Joey Joe Joe Jr · March 7, 2020 at 1:49 PM
My PCB is designed not to fit in the pelting. It has ‘tabs’ that need to be filed down in order to get a snug fit.
Mat · March 8, 2020 at 8:29 AM
Thanks a lot Joey.
I will order them.
Dannys · March 10, 2020 at 4:55 AM
Can you give me scematic board ispindel?
Joey Joe Joe Jr · March 15, 2020 at 9:05 PM
The schematic has been added to the page 🙂 Please check it out and let me know if you have any questions.
jaisoh · March 20, 2020 at 3:40 AM
Any possibility to get gerbers for the board or at least outline as dxf?
I happen to have bunch of ESP-12F modules for which I was planning to do a board design. I’m intrigued about the snug fit of the PCB inside the tube and would like to leverage the outline you have done 🙂
Joey Joe Joe Jr · March 30, 2020 at 10:54 PM
Hi, sorry for the late reply. Things have been crazy with the virus, this and that. I dragged my feet getting the files out but here they are. It’s my first post in Github so let me know how it goes. https://github.com/OpenSourceDistilling/The_Jeffrey_PCB
jaisoh · March 26, 2020 at 1:36 AM
Any possibility to get the outline of the board for example in dxf? Or the board gerbers?
Joey Joe Joe Jr · March 30, 2020 at 10:57 PM
Hey Jaisoh,
Yeah man, here you go. Sorry for taking so long to reply to your other comment. Let me know if you need anything else. I put up the gerbers on Github but I’m unsure about dxf file format. https://github.com/OpenSourceDistilling/The_Jeffrey_PCB
Jay · March 18, 2020 at 5:46 PM
Hi, I have ordered the boards and parts. I notice the 10K resistor is no longer listed on your parts list. Is it not really needed?
Thanks for putting all this together! I bet it was some work, especially from a pirate ship.
~Jay
Joey Joe Joe Jr · March 18, 2020 at 6:06 PM
Yes, it’s not needed. 220k is the correct resistor, the official iSpindel documentation has a typo in it stating that it should be 230k, but in reality, it should be 220k.
That being said, you can use 220k to 230k resistor and things will be fine. Resistors usually have a 1 to 5% accuracy anyways. The resistor is used to measure the battery voltage and there is a calibration method you can do to dial the iSpindel voltage into a reading from a multimeter. I will release a video on that calibration eventually but there is a link to it was well on this page.
Jay · April 16, 2020 at 5:57 PM
Hey Joey,
I finally got the boards and all the parts! I assembled three of them so far, the first two had different troubles but the third is working out pretty well. I even have it fermenting in sugar water and updating ubidots! It is really nice.
However it seems the temperature sensor is high by 2 degrees. I didn’t see a calibration procedure for temperature can you tell me how to calibrate the temperature sensor?
Also, by the way, I am a little saddened that it don’t work in my fermentation chamber, an old freezer with temperature control. I really should have thought of that before I started. iSpindel is surrounded by a metal enclosure, silly me.
Anyway it is a nice device on a nice board. Thanks for your hard work.
~Jay
Joey Joe Joe Jr · May 6, 2020 at 11:38 AM
Hey Jay, Sorry for the late reply. Just noticed your comment now. I’m not aware of any way to calibrate the temp on the iSpindel but you should be able to do that adjustment in Ubidots. As far as the chest freezer for a fermentation chamber I have heard that it should work but you may need a wifi repeater close. You can use a phone app like Wifi Analyzer to test signal strength. I also found this post in a foreign language (you can use google translate to read it, link below) about making a wifi/radio relay with a regular coax cable. If you give it a try let me know, as I find this interesting but don’t have the ability to ferment in my chest freezer.
https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=auto&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fhobbybrauer.de%2Fforum%2Fviewtopic.php%3Fp%3D208782%23p208782
Cheers,
Joey Joe Joe Jr.
Rhaski · April 10, 2020 at 5:45 PM
Nice PCB, Joe. I’m torn between this and v4.0 ispindel PCB for a bulk build. Because i’m in Australia and getting hold of keystone style battery holders is nigh impossible, I have ordered a heap of those two pin battery holders that look like this: https://www.banggood.com/5pcs-DIY-1-Slot-18650-Battery-Holder-With-Pins-p-1094146.html?rmmds=myorder&cur_warehouse=CN
I just noticed in your latest video that you said that type is no good for your design.
Am i better off going with the 4.0 PCB or I can i simply trim this battery holder to make it work with yours?
Cheers!
Joey Joe Joe Jr · April 13, 2020 at 11:29 AM
Hi Rhaski, I can’t recommend the battery holders you purchased. The pins are too big to fit in the 4.0 PCB and are the wrong ones for The Jeffrey. The pins aren’t standard size and are larger. You may be able to file them down thin enough to use them with the 4.0 PCB. Good luck!
Clemens · April 20, 2020 at 1:25 AM
Hi Joe,
it’d be great if we can find an aliexpress link for the battery holder.
https://de.aliexpress.com/item/32831937650.html
https://de.aliexpress.com/item/32862883490.html
https://de.aliexpress.com/item/4000857959611.html
These should all work, right (single versions of course)?
Joey Joe Joe Jr · April 20, 2020 at 5:25 PM
Thanks Clemens! Those look good to me. Mine have Blossom on the bottom as well 🙂 I’m sure there is a single factory in China pumping them out like crazy.
Undefined Brewing [Chris] · May 9, 2020 at 11:44 AM
Wow thanks for all your hard work you put into this! I just ordered 20 boards in hopes to make a few of my own and ‘give’ some away.
Just a few things, the Wemos D1 mini does not have to match the exact one from Amazon with the “deep sleep” pads. As long as D0 and Reset are connected it has the ability to use deep sleep. Just make sure it’s Wemos D1 compatible board.
Also, I found a good supply of US sourced PET containers that would seem to work just fine (instead of having to have them shipped from the EU). I’ll follow-up when I test them out 🙂 They are about $0.40 each, and the caps are $0.05. Seems, they should just fit the boards height wise. they use the 38mm cap. Plus they come in all different colors, so you can match the boards ink screen 🙂
Joey Joe Joe Jr · May 9, 2020 at 11:57 AM
He Chris,
Thanks for the kind words!
Have you tried the D1 mini with the USB on the bottom? I would assume that it should be okay but haven’t had a chance to try it. I bought a lot of D1 minis now I have a bag of leftovers and can’t justify buying more.
Super interested in the US-sourced PET containers. I’ve been working with some guys in Montreal (regarding making an iSpindel kit) about sourcing petlings from North America and they’ve been talking to China and Mexico. If required, I was thinking of making a North American version of the PCB to fit in the longer petlings found in North America (should be a small mod to the PCB design). Drop me an email at JoeyJoeJoeJr.OSD@gmail.com as I’d be interested in grabbing a sample petling for design purposes.
Cheers!
Joey Joe Joe Jr.
Undefined Brewing [Chris] · May 9, 2020 at 12:01 PM
I haven’t ordered the Mini’s just yet, but, as long as they match the pin-out as the ones you linked they should be OK 🙂
I’ll send you the info on the PET containers via email. You’ll see why they may require some finessing.
Thanks again for all your hard work!
SalParadise · September 6, 2020 at 10:23 PM
Regarding US sourced PET containsers, I ordered these: https://spacecoastgeostore.com/collections/containers/products/xl-preform
Still in the process of building my first iSpindel using this PCB, but according to my calipers, these tubes are 33.7mm diameter by 123.1 at the shallow end and 130.7 at the center (measuring difference in the curvature of the bottom of the container).
Sure there are cheaper options, but these were in my hands here in Michigan 4 days after ordering.
SalParadise · September 20, 2020 at 9:34 AM
Checking in to confirm the PET containers I noted above will work for this build. I’ve now completed my second iSpindel and everything fits perfectly.
Erick Rodriguez · September 9, 2020 at 11:14 AM
Can you share how can I get in touch with that supplier?
Gee · November 11, 2020 at 9:36 PM
Hey Barley man, got a link to those PET containers? I’m also in the US, thanks!
Chris · November 12, 2020 at 10:04 AM
Hey Gee! It didn’t actually work out for me, not only are they are bit slimmer but also a bit shorter. The PCB could potentially be re-worked and maybe using a slightly smaller battery.
Joey Joe Joe Jr · November 16, 2020 at 8:33 PM
Hey Chris, smaller iSpindel using ESP12S is coming eventually. It will remove a redundant voltage regulator and should support a smaller battery (hopefully) without affecting battery life in a negative way. The idea is to make it fit in a variety of smaller tubes.
Undefined Brewing - Chris · May 15, 2020 at 9:35 AM
Hey Joe! I was wondering what you use to do the editing of the gerber files?
Thanks!
Joey Joe Joe Jr · May 15, 2020 at 11:09 AM
I use KiCAD to design and view Gerber files. KiCAD is free and open source. If you are looking just to view and measure Gerber files you can use something like this online viewer (I selected the old viewer that doesn’t require login).
Chris Denney · May 15, 2020 at 11:54 AM
Hi Joe. Do you publish the KiCAD files for customizing?
Joey Joe Joe Jr · May 16, 2020 at 3:51 AM
Hi Chris,
Sorry I will not be releasing the KiCAD files for customizing as they have my name on it and I personally test each board design before releasing it to the community. The Gerber files are available on my GitHub and the schematic is posted on this page. If you want changes to the PCB I am more than happy to work with you to improve the design if it makes sense to make the changes. If you are interested in PCB design it’s pretty easy to get started. I’ve linked below to the video series that I watched to learn KiCAD.
KiCAD Download: https://kicad-pcb.org/download/
1st Video of Instructional Series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vaCVh2SAZY4
Yours Truly,
Joey Joe Joe Jr.
Chris Denney · May 16, 2020 at 6:19 AM
Yeah, makes sense. I’m already quite familiar with KiCAD. In fact I was a guest speaker at the inaugural KiCon last year. https://youtu.be/gmA_P3Tbfvw
I hadn’t realized you posted the schematic. That’s 90% of it. Sweet! Thanks Joe
Joey Joe Joe Jr · May 16, 2020 at 10:49 AM
My pleasure Chris. Keep me posted on your project as you make progress. I’m always interested to see what others are doing 🙂
Gregory · May 19, 2020 at 1:43 PM
Hi joey. Nice project you have done here.
Can you tell us a little more about your practical experience with it?
Does it really work like intended?
Are measurements precise and consistent in time?
How many hour do the ispindel works before a battery recharge is needed?
I would be very thankful if you could solve this concerns for me.
Thanks!
Joey Joe Joe Jr · May 20, 2020 at 11:25 AM
Hey Gregory,
I have gone through the whole calibration process with a fermentation months ago only to realize that there was a bug in the firmware regarding offset calibration. I scrapped everything only to realized the 25 degree in pure water requirement. When I couldn’t get to 25 degrees in pure water with someone else’s PCB I started developing my own PCB. I have now fixed the 25 degree in pure water requirement with my PCB. Right now I have 4 iSpindels sitting in sugar wash and I’m going through the fermentation calibration process. It’s a slow process but we are getting there. Videos will follow. 25 degree video coming out this week.
As far as accuracy goes, many people online say that the iSpindel gets within 1 to 2 specific gravity points. I will be doing my own accuracy tests in the future. Accuracy will be related to how well you calibrate the iSpindels. There are different methods of calibration that I will be testing as well.
Battery life, I believe I did an update every 900 seconds (15 minutes) and the battery lasted longer than 3 weeks. The official iSpindel page states that you can get up to 3 months of battery life if you only update every 30 minutes. Really, how much resolution do you need on a fermentation process? Fermentation is usually done in less than 2 weeks.
If you have any more questions let me know!
Sincerely,
Joey Joe Joe Jr.
Patrick McCarthy · May 24, 2020 at 11:03 AM
Hi Joey
I just want to ask if the circuit board ships to South africa?
Joey Joe Joe Jr · May 24, 2020 at 11:49 AM
I believe that PCBWay ships worldwide.
Scott Sailor · May 28, 2020 at 8:38 PM
I received all the parts and look forward to assembly. Thanks for your great directions and video. I realize now that I purchased a IZOKEE D1 Mini. Looks similar but different layout a bit. Any suggestions figuring out which is the diode I need to remove? Thanks again.
Joey Joe Joe Jr · May 28, 2020 at 9:08 PM
Hey Scott,
I have updated the assembly page. Link below. Go to the bottom and I believe that I have identified the diode. You follow the leftmost 5-volt trace on the USB to the diode. The pinout on that D1 mini is the same so it should work fine. I haven’t gotten around to getting this style of D1 mini as I originally bought an excess of the Wemos version. The USB is on the bottom instead of the top but I think it should work just fine. Please let me know how things go after your build as I want to promote this style of D1 mini but haven’t had a chance yet to try it for myself.
http://opensourcedistilling.com/ispindel-assembly/
Scott Sailor · May 30, 2020 at 8:48 AM
Thank you so much. That is awesome.
Joey Joe Joe Jr · May 28, 2020 at 10:59 PM
You can also flash the firmware before removing the diode and before assembly.
Scott R Sailor · June 7, 2020 at 11:56 AM
I ran into a couple problems with using the IZOKEE D1 Mini. The first issue I ran into was the board is configured differently so the usb port ends up resting on the pcb. This makes it challenging to plug in the cord to flash unless you mount the D1 mini with a bit of elevation. The second issue is the diode. After not being able to flash the first iSpindle I put together for the reason stated above, I decided to take your advice and flash the minis before assembly. This went perfectly fine. but then, just in case, I removed the diode as indicated and tried to flash again. The mini no longer is recognized and won’t flash. I feel like I removed the diode without collateral damage but the mini is still a brick. I have since ordered some Wemo minis for the other four iSpindles I plan to make. I thought I would share. Could definitely be an issue on my end or the item being removed is not the diode. Take care.
Joey Joe Joe Jr · June 7, 2020 at 6:24 PM
Once you remove the diode the only way to power/flash the D1 mini is by the 18650 battery. Fully assemble the iSpindel and charge the battery, turn on the iSpindel, and then you are ready to flash without the diode via USB port.
Please note that the whole idea of removing the diode is to remove 5 volt power via USB. If 5 volt USB power is applied while the battery is installed you can damage your battery and cause a fire… which is very very bad. Removing the diode is a matter of safety and I truly recommend that everyone does it.
After assembly, I would however recommend updating via configuration mode instead. After you flash once, you can load new firmware ‘over the air’ or OTA. An example of OTA can be found in my offset calibration video.
Cheers,
Joey Joe Joe Jr.
Michael Deaves · May 30, 2020 at 2:50 PM
Amazing work Joey! I’m really stoked to get my build going.
I’m wondering if you have any info about sourcing the Petling containers in Canada. I’m in Toronto right now and can’t find them locally anywhere. Maybe we could import a bunch and provide a link for other Canadians to get them at a reasonable price?
Thanks again,
Michael
Joey Joe Joe Jr · June 1, 2020 at 8:25 AM
Hi Michael,
I’ve had some back and forth with someone in Montreal regarding petlings. The lids aren’t right, and for The Jeffrey to fit in I may have to redesign the PCB. I’m looking for alternatives to what’s being currently used. I haven’t yet found anything that can be bought in small quantities at a reasonable price. I had centrifuge tubes on my radar but they come in packs of 50 and aren’t always cheap (and they are all different sizes). The search continues. The best bet is to buy the ones from the shopping list from Europe even though it’s not ideal for people in North America. If you happen to come across anything that you think would be a good fit let me know!
Sincerely,
Joey Joe Joe Jr.
Stig Allan · June 7, 2020 at 2:44 AM
Hi Joey.
I have a few question.
– What is the difference between version 2.0 and 2.1.
– Is it possibbly to upgrade Wemos D1 Mini with Deep Sleep to the PRO-version, I have read that the ceramic antenna should be better in the PRO. I have read that the PRO weight 2.5 gram, where the Mini version weight 10 gram.
/Stig Allan
Joey Joe Joe Jr · June 7, 2020 at 6:16 PM
Hi Stig Allan,
I can add about 15 grams to my build before it starts sinking in pure water with a 48 grams battery.
If you add 7.5 grams at the top I assume you would need to add 7.5 grams to the bottom. If you use a 44 grams battery you would be right on the limit. I suppose this theory would need to be tested in real life.
If the new D1 Minis are that much heavier then a new version of the PCB is probably in order, one that moves down the D1 Mini to adjust for the additional weight. I have ordered a few of the D1 mini PROs but they won’t arrive any time soon. I would recommend going the D1 Mini v3, I think they are cheaper as well.
Jimbo · September 15, 2020 at 1:12 PM
How’d you go with that D1 mini pro modification?
Has anyone had any success?
Joey Joe Joe Jr · September 18, 2020 at 8:30 AM
Is this the green LION one with a built-in charger? I have a few of them but I’m using that design as a jumping-off point for my next design.
Old Geezer · June 7, 2020 at 9:58 AM
Attempted to order The Jeffrey PCB version 2.1.from PBWay. using the link provided. My order was going to be for 10 board. The link took me to the PBWay website, clicked on the instant quote icon. It showed the Jeffery PCB version 2.1, I selected quantity of ten, added to cart.
Next message under review. All normal as I remember when ordering 4.0 boards fro them. Nex t message received was Review failed “Failed reason:
Pls confirm this is one layer or two layers board?; Img1；”
Not sure I know what is going on, can you shed some light on this problem.
Joey Joe Joe Jr · June 7, 2020 at 6:19 PM
I’m not sure what their holdup is. The Jeffrey 2.0/2.1 are both two layer boards. It should be obvious for them to see that. Hummmm. Please let them know it is a 2 layer design.
Jose Maia · June 23, 2020 at 5:14 PM
Hi Joey, thank you for your incredible project. Due to covid-19, shipping from Pcbway via Aliexpress epacket has been suspended (it was U$ 10.00) and shipping by DHL or Fedex is very expensive (U$ 52.00). Would you have another solution like pcbs.io or similar? Thanks
Joey Joe Joe Jr · June 24, 2020 at 1:06 AM
Where do you live? Check out my contacts page for my GitHub.
Jose Maia · June 24, 2020 at 4:06 AM
I´m from Brazil. Thanks for the answer. I downloaded the gerber files from github, but pcbs.io only works with eagle format, oak pcb gives an error when I upload the files. I tried to open it in Kicad, but it asks for a * .pro file that doesn’t exist. What to do???
Joey Joe Joe Jr · June 25, 2020 at 8:58 AM
I’m sorry I’m not familiar with the eagle format. I suppose you could try a different vendor? You may want to check with PCBWay again as I have been receiving packages and I know others as receiving their packages as well.
Another option would be to contact someone from the facebook group here https://www.facebook.com/groups/362324514461370/. People purchase extra PCBs and sell them privately to people. Joe Pitzner for example bought 50 PCBs and is looking to sell his extra ones.
Jose Maia · June 25, 2020 at 9:05 AM
Ok, thanks for help. I’ll try FB group.
Oscar Tanzi · July 15, 2020 at 3:29 PM
I have troubles after mounting. I flashed the Wemos mini and after that… nothing happen with wifi detection… I used a soft to read what is happen and the message is that do not detect anything. I am using a protoboard everything has continuity… so I really do not know where to start.
Joey Joe Joe Jr · July 16, 2020 at 6:04 PM
What does the serial monitor say from the D1 mini?
Lummy · July 16, 2020 at 6:37 PM
Very interesting project. I’m thinking of doing this for myself. However, it looks like the baby soda bottles would take 2-3 months to ship to me.
Was looking at these instead. Do you think they would work?
https://www.amazon.com/5col-Rugged-Geocache-Waterproof-Storage/dp/B00S8Q4T0A/ref=sr_1_12?dchild=1&keywords=baby+soda+bottles&qid=1594949707&sr=8-12
Joey Joe Joe Jr · July 17, 2020 at 11:00 AM
Probably not, the current design is custom-fitted to the XL tubes from Europe. Everything barely fits in the petling as is. My suggestion would be to get the approved items even if it’s a long wait. Others have bought non-tested tubes and they have run into troubles. Good luck!
Jake · November 17, 2021 at 6:16 AM
Same question here, don’t want to buy some European plastic bottle if another one from Amazon will do.
What did you end up going with?
Andy · July 31, 2020 at 5:11 AM
Love the PCB, my order arrives from PCBWay yesterday.
Regarding the removal of the diode from the D1 mini, couldn’t this be designed into the PCB by adding a diode between the TP4056 Out+ pin and the D1 Mini VCC ? This could prevent the D1 VCC (when powered by USB) feeding into the TP4056 and battery ?
Joey Joe Joe Jr · July 31, 2020 at 9:08 AM
Hey Andy,
Great idea! I don’t yet know enough about electronic components to say if that will work or not but your theory is sound. The diode on the D1 mini would protect the USB port from any sort of overvoltage from the battery (if that’s even possible since a battery maxes out at 4.3 volts), and the additional diode you mentioned should protect the battery from overvoltage from the USB port. I will post this idea on the iSpindel GitHub and see if someone there can confirm and hopefully they can help select the correct diode to use for that particular application. Thanks for sharing your idea. Together we can build a better iSpindel!
Sincerely,
Joey Joe Joe Jr.
Andy · July 31, 2020 at 1:31 PM
Hehehe! Now I’m a software guy, not an electronics whizz but the “problem” seems solveable via hardware design to me rather than having to butcher the poor old Wemos 🙂
I will await the feedback from the iSpindel github post and see what those more qualified than us have to say, But if possible then would seem a good improvement to the PCB design as would build in safety.
Yeeeeehaaaaawwww,
Andy.
Joey Joe Joe Jr · July 31, 2020 at 2:57 PM
I’m more of a software guy too. I have some code for the automated reflux still I’ll hopefully be sharing soon. It runs well enough logging temps across the reflux column from an Arduino Uno into MariaDB on a Raspberry Pi 3B+ but I need to make a simple GUI for it next. I have a few software projects going that need videos to share what’s going on and get feedback from the community. Do you know python 3? I’m thinking Tkinter for the GUI but I know there are lots of options out there. I’ve never written a GUI before.
About the diode, yeah it seems like it will work. I mean, it’s exactly what diodes are designed to do. I will post the GitHub and hopefully someone smarter than me can tell us what model of diode we need. I can incorporate it into my next PCB design. Should be a simple enough mod to add it.
Yeeeehawww!
Joey Joe Joe Jr.
Andy · August 1, 2020 at 1:26 AM
Not a Python guy, I tend to use node.js (I develop Amazon Alexa skills) and am happy with C too, I’d happily tinker with the iSpindel code etc.
I use BrewPiLess to control my beer fridge and BrewManiac to control my BIAB beer kit.
Andy.
Joey Joe Joe Jr · August 6, 2020 at 9:39 AM
Hey Andy,
If you want to follow the conversation around diodes for the iSpidnel check out the issue I logged on the official iSpindel GitHub: https://github.com/universam1/iSpindel/issues/408
Andy · August 6, 2020 at 9:44 AM
I’ve already added a comment to the github issue 🙂
Randy · August 7, 2020 at 8:13 PM
Looking at building one of these. Will an Ispindel work in a stainless steel conical fermenter?
Joey Joe Joe Jr · August 19, 2020 at 10:44 AM
I haven’t tried as I don’t have one. Apparently, it is working for many people. Here is a post from the official GitHub page that talks about it. https://github.com/universam1/iSpindel/issues/105
Shawn Mason · August 19, 2020 at 11:34 AM
Is the an alternative US seller for the petling tube? or one that is not 6 weeks out?
Joey Joe Joe Jr · August 19, 2020 at 11:46 AM
No one has been able to find one yet (including me). There are similar ones but none that will work with The Jeffrey. I’ve talked about making a North American version as the tubes can only be sourced from Europe right now. I’ve been told the European vendor is not even shipping to some countries because of Carona Virus.
Shawn Mason · August 19, 2020 at 11:51 AM
Can you post out the full sizing specs of the petling tube and I will see if I can find a source in the US that has something close in size.
Joey Joe Joe Jr · August 19, 2020 at 12:19 PM
The inside is all that matters for fitting in the PCB. I measured 33 mm wide x 129 deep on the inside. Good luck, let me know how it goes.
Kelly Shields · August 19, 2020 at 3:38 PM
I ended up ordering 50 petling tubes and Jeffery 2.1 PCB’s figuring I’d find homes for the extras on my brewing facebook group. Didn’t find much interest with them though. I can toss some on ebay for my same cost if you are interested.
Joey Joe Joe Jr · August 20, 2020 at 11:47 AM
Hey Kelly, go ahead and sell them however you see fit. You have my blessing. Spread the love!
Shawn Mason · August 20, 2020 at 6:49 AM
I know i am being a pain, but will these boards work in stead of the wemos you linked? I have found most everything else in stock.
https://www.amazon.com/Organizer-ESP8266-Internet-Development-Compatible/dp/B081PX9YFV/ref=sr_1_3?crid=320RL4Q3OSJYO&dchild=1&keywords=wemos+d1+mini+v3.0.0&qid=1597931190&sprefix=wemos+d1+mini+v3%2Caps%2C166&sr=8-3
Andy · August 20, 2020 at 7:03 AM
Hi Shawn, yes they will work (I use that style of Wemos clone). The USB connection is on the other side of the board compared with “proper” Wemos boards so you may want to angle the board up slightly when fitting to the PCB. This will give access to the USB socket on the Wemos clone should you ever want to use it. If the Wemos if sitted flat then the USB socket sits on the PCB and you can’t get a USB cable into the socket.
Joey Joe Joe Jr · August 20, 2020 at 11:45 AM
Thanks Andy! I would have said the same thing 🙂
Correction!
Upon further investigation, I think those clones only have a 1MB flash onboard flash of the ESP8266. Not sure if that is enough room for the iSpindel firmware. Does anyone else know offhand?
Shawn Mason · August 20, 2020 at 7:08 AM
Thanks Andy.
Shawn Mason · August 21, 2020 at 5:43 AM
What other batter alternatives are people using?
Joey Joe Joe Jr · August 21, 2020 at 9:49 AM
Hey Shawn, upon further investigation, the Amazon post seems to be badly labeled. In the review section, someone mentioned that this unit has a 4MB flash. 4MB is big enough to hold the iSpindel firmware. So I think you are okay with this unit.
The ESP8285 chip has a 1MB onboard flash, you can add additional flash module during production as many of these manufacturers do. However, the additional flash module is hidden under the metal shield in this case so we can’t visually confirm it’s there. I got confused as this supplier says this is a 1MB and a “4M bytes” board, instead of just saying it’s a 4MB like everyone else says.
Shawn Mason · August 21, 2020 at 9:53 AM
Thanks for digging in again, i was just going to test and see when they get delivered in a couple hours. You are relentless and I appreciate your hard work on this project.
Have you had luck with any different batteries? I was looking at some that were 9600mAh
Shawn Mason · August 25, 2020 at 7:24 AM
I got my switches in, only to find they were not the right angle variety.
The ones linked are seriously delayed. Does anyone have an alternate version they have successfully implemented?
The switch is my last piece before assembly. Curse you online retailer ….
Jorsson · August 26, 2020 at 1:14 AM
Hi Joe Joe!
my son tried to solder on the jeffrey 2.0. he broked one of the solderpoints. + on the battery cell. that solderpoint is connected to b+ if i read the schematcs correctly. Can i solder a wire between the leg on battery cell to solderpoint of b+ to solve the problem or do you have any other solution?
Joey Joe Joe Jr · August 29, 2020 at 8:39 AM
Hey Jorsson,
I think I understand. I can confirm that there won’t be any issues with taking a wire and soldering it to B+ on the TP4056 breakout board and the positive terminal of the battery/battery holder. Just solder in a jumper wire and you should be off to the races.
Shawn Mason · August 26, 2020 at 5:45 AM
Thanks for the link. I found some XL petling that got here in 2 days and seem to measure correctly. I will be fit testing them when my Jeffrey’s come in tonight or tomorrow. I plan to post out my list of parts when i get everything tested.
Shawn Mason · August 28, 2020 at 8:32 AM
Woohoo. Everything worked, iSpindel came on, and I was able to get to the website.
But… Has anyone seen the blue light stay solid indefinitely during the config setup. I am on the latest firmware. Tilt shows 0. But when I hit calibrate, it never applies. I completely am aware i could have borked something on the first build (will be testing 2-5 later today), but wanted to see if this is something that has been seen.
Patrick · August 31, 2020 at 8:02 AM
Hey Shawn, any update on this?
Joey Joe Joe Jr · August 31, 2020 at 11:01 PM
Hey Shawn. Does the tilt ever show anything but 0? Can you email a picture of you assembled iSpindel front and back with no battery? Are you able to provide a serial monitor output?
Shawn Mason · September 1, 2020 at 5:51 AM
I have not gotten a serial output from it. I need to look into doing that. The tilt value is always 0. I tried a couple different Gyros and got the same result.
Not sure how to upload pictures in the comments here. But on this particular unit, upon a closer inspection, it looks like I may have scorched the D0 and D4 pads on the D1 mini.
I have more D1s and PCBs in route currently.
Patrick · September 2, 2020 at 6:23 AM
Hi Shawn, regarding the tube, are you able to provide a US source?
Shawn Mason · September 2, 2020 at 10:35 AM
Hey Patrick,
These are the ones I used. They match specs and work great.
Patrick · September 2, 2020 at 12:59 PM
Unfortunately the link did not come through on your reply, at least I don’t see it.
Shawn Mason · September 3, 2020 at 5:44 AM
This should do it
https://spacecoastgeostore.com/products/xl-preform?_pos=1&_sid=bbfb5303c&_ss=r
Joey Joe Joe Jr · September 1, 2020 at 7:12 PM
Hey Shawn, if you check out the schematic on this page you can see that D0 goes to the RST pin I think for deep sleep. Does your iSpindel send temp data to Ubidots? D4 does go to the gyro. You can use a multimeter to check continuity between D4 on the D1 mini and SCL on the gyro. You could also try soldering on a jumper wire to connect the two depending on where the connection is broken. But if the issue is that the D1 mini solder pad is fried you’ll probably have to replace it if you can’t find another solder point you can use for D4, follow the traces it may lead you to a resistor or capacitor you can solder onto instead. My next video will be on how to get a serial monitor output from an iSpindel.
Antonio · September 16, 2020 at 9:29 PM
hi man,
i have that problem… after flashing the fw, i see the ispindel network but i can’t connect. from the iphone i can’t even see the network.
below the log.
any help is appreciated, thanks.
FW 6.3.1
2.2.2-dev(38a443e)
Worker run!
mounting FS… mounted!
ERROR: failed to load json config
ERROR config corrupted
scanning for OW device on pin: 5
No devices found!
scanning for OW device on pin: 12
Found device with ROM = 28 54 57 58 10 20 2 DB
Chip = DS18B20
Data = 1 74 1 4B 46 7F FF C 10 55 CRC=55
Temperature = 23.25 Celsius,
offsets not available
Boot-Mode: Deep-Sleep Wake
………..
ERROR no Wifi credentials
going to Config Mode
*WM: Scan done
*WM: No networks found
*WM: Adding parameter
*WM: name
*WM: Adding parameter
*WM: sleep
*WM: Adding parameter
*WM: vfact
*WM: Adding parameter
*WM:
*WM: Adding parameter
*WM:
*WM: Adding parameter
*WM: tempscale
*WM: Adding parameter
*WM:
*WM: Adding parameter
*WM:
*WM: Adding parameter
*WM: selAPI
*WM: Adding parameter
*WM: token
*WM: Adding parameter
*WM: server
*WM: Adding parameter
*WM: port
*WM: Adding parameter
*WM: channel
*WM: Adding parameter
*WM: uri
*WM: Adding parameter
*WM: db
*WM: Adding parameter
*WM: username
*WM: Adding parameter
*WM: password
*WM: Adding parameter
*WM: job
*WM: Adding parameter
*WM: instance
*WM: Adding parameter
*WM:
*WM: Adding parameter
*WM: POLYN
started Portal
*WM: SET AP
*WM:
*WM: Configuring access point…
*WM: iSpindel
*WM: AP IP address:
*WM: 192.168.4.1
*WM: HTTP server started
Joey Joe Joe Jr · September 18, 2020 at 8:40 AM
Hey Antonio,
The log looks okay to me. Do you have a laptop or other wifi device you can try connecting with?
I did not write any of the software so I don’t have a ton of insight to share regarding that. There is a similar issue posted on the Offical iSpindel GitHub page (link below). What happens to you after HTTP server started?
https://github.com/universam1/iSpindel/issues/413
Felix · September 26, 2020 at 8:09 AM
Hey Joey Joe Joe Jr,
i assembled my first Jeffrey iSpindel but got some strange behaviour. With the Diode on the D1 Mini still present the iSpindel successfully boots when plugged into USB. But it won’t boot when running on battery. The blue LED is rapidly flashing when switching it on. I checked, that the battery is fully charged. The behaviour does not change after I removed the Diode.
Do you have any ideo what the issue is or can be?
Best,
Felix
Joey Joe Joe Jr · September 29, 2020 at 12:00 AM
When the LED is flashing can you see a wifi network named “iSpindel” available from your phone?
Marco · October 13, 2020 at 9:55 AM
I calibrated my first I-spindel and it went fine, but when i tried to connect it to my phone afterwards i get a stange behaviour. The wifi is connecting and then disconnecting i am using the 6.3.1 firmware.
The funny part is in the config mode all works as a whistle but the real thing is switching on and off (and yes i entered the right SSID and password)
Joey Joe Joe Jr · October 19, 2020 at 10:22 AM
Hey Marco, check out the new troubleshooting and known issues page. Do your D1 minis look like the ones at the top of the page?
marco · October 15, 2020 at 3:52 AM
Calibrating my first 3 ispindles and wondering now what happens if i take the ispindle from the tube and put it back again. Is the equation still valid?
Joey Joe Joe Jr · October 19, 2020 at 10:24 AM
Try it out and let us know if it changes for you. It’s best to leave it in the petling after calibrations have been completed. The PCB is designed so it doesn’t need to be removed after assembly.
Stuart Cole · November 23, 2020 at 3:43 PM
Hey Joey Joe Joe Jr. I’ve ordered your 2.1 PCB and putting together the orders for the other parts. Notice that the eBay seller has stopped selling the battery holders and so I’m looking for an alternative. Any reason this wouldn’t work?
Thanks
Joey Joe Joe Jr · November 23, 2020 at 9:10 PM
Hey Stuart, those look good. I have any holder in the same style as the one in the video should work just fine. I have updated the shopping list with live links. Thanks for letting me know!
Cuneyt Alpay · January 22, 2021 at 3:59 AM
Hello,
Is it possible to use BAT85 diode instead of BAT43. Both are more or less the same (30V 200ma)? thanks in advance
Joey Joe Joe Jr · April 4, 2021 at 11:31 AM
Sorry for the late reply! I’m back. I think any shockley diode will work so long as it’s in spec. I think it’s there to protect the D1 mini while flashing data.
Arjan de Vries · January 29, 2021 at 9:15 AM
Nice device! Looks well made. And i love your humor! 🙂
Looking at the device i’m wondering why you don’t put the switch directly after the battery. Won’t it save power?
Joey Joe Joe Jr · April 4, 2021 at 11:33 AM
Thanks! The on/off switch? It’s at the top for convenience. I’m not sure that moving it would help with battery life.
Todd Imrie · April 11, 2021 at 3:54 PM
What is the minimum width that the Jeffery 2.69 could conceivably be filed down to as I am looking at PET preforms that I can source locally here in NZ?
Dickersby · April 20, 2021 at 11:09 AM
Just got a run of 5 of your latest 2.69 Jeffrey PCBs! Just waiting on a couple of the other parts to arrive so I can get building. Super excited!
Joey Joe Joe Jr · September 11, 2021 at 1:06 PM
Awesome. How did the builds go?
Renato Maia · May 11, 2021 at 12:38 PM
In the next version of the PCB, could you remove the tail? It is not possible to adjust the 25 degrees with it. I use a tube identical to yours. As with the version 2.69 video, I saw that you also removed it.
Joey Joe Joe Jr · September 11, 2021 at 1:06 PM
What part is the tail?
Jacobus Slabbert · September 16, 2021 at 1:46 PM
Good evening,
I am working on alternative firmware. For those who struggle with the mathematics in calibrating, this may be for you., It is Open Source and written in Arduino IDE.
https://github.com/JJSlabbert/iSpindel_ArduinoIDE_Cayenne
Sy · December 25, 2021 at 4:25 AM
Hi Joe Joey Joe Jr,
Firstly, thanks for all the work you have done on this project!
This is the first time I’ve attempted anything like this and sadly I’m not having much luck. Pretty sure that the D1 Mini V3 Pro I bought are all fake. 😭 I can only find the V4 available from the Lolin official store, do you know if that will work with the latest Jeffrey PCB?
Thanks and Merry Christmas!
Sy
Deanomite · February 22, 2022 at 5:15 AM
Got my parts ordered! I am thinking about fermenting in a corney keg and I am wondering if the iSpindel will work inside a stainless steel corney keg?
Thank you!
István · May 14, 2022 at 3:45 AM
The ebay link for the battery holder is dead.
Forrest · June 15, 2022 at 4:37 AM
Thanks for documenting all of this!!! I just received my PCBs and I’m excited to start.
Dead link alert 🙂
1. Wemos D1 Mini with Deep Sleep (Amazon)
2. 3.7V 3400mAh 18650 Lithium Battery (Amazon)
Rick · February 2, 2023 at 3:28 PM
What are the two pins labeled reset, on the PCB?
Joey Joe Joe Jr · April 4, 2021 at 11:43 AM
Hi BicyclesAndBrews!
Thank you very much for the nice write-up! You brought a tear to my eye :’) It’s always nice seeing people actually use the product. Glad it’s all working nicely for you.
Yours Sincerely,
Joey Joe Joe Jr.
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