I flashed both my Sparks over USB.
How do I run the https version? (maybe a really stupid question…)
I somehow can not reach the raspberry: Connection failed: connection timed out. No more addresses to try.
I also get this message a lot: Unable to fetch Spark status: Error: Network Error
Just type https:// in front of the address in your browser.
Please run brewblox-ctl log.
It sounds like generic network issues, but sometimes this is caused by a docker container that keeps restarting, which can cause a network hiccup on the pi.
This looks like a local addressing issue. Is the Pi consistently reachable by IP?
Your log shows sudden disconnects without the Pi rebooting. If you edit your docker-compose.yml file, and update --discovery=all to --discovery=lan for both Sparks, does this result in a more stable connection?
The pi constantly looses connection almost straight away so I keep unplugging/ plugging it…
I think I will try to start over with a clean install of Brewblox again (tomorrow) and see how it goes from there.
Is it better to connect the Sparks over WiFi instead of USB?
Thanks.
Unplugging / plugging in the pi is unlikely to help. A clean install may help, but it’s far from guaranteed.
Normally, both USB and Wifi are equally viable, but in this case it’s worth a try to switch. The Spark is dropping its connection, but is not freezing up or rebooting. It’s relatively quick and easy to switch to Wifi. This would tell us if the problem is somewhere in the USB connection.
I will try this first then Bob, thanks.
How to edit the docker-compose.yml?
Is there some document available that points out to do this?
Hi Bob
I have updated to spark 4. Pumps now work on Herms, but none of the actuated valves. Tried both PoE and 12v on GPIO and it is set to external - still not working.Log file here, please advise. https://termbin.com/w3h0
Many thanks
It looks like your valves are connected to DS2408 extension boards. Is this correct?
That is correct. Is there an issue with the boards?
12V/24V power from the GPIO board is not forwarded to the DS2408 extension module. These will always operate on 5V.
If you toggle the valve, does the LED on the extension board itself toggle?
There is no change in the led when I toggle the valve.
Does this mean that the spark 4 does not support the DS2408? From the update all I remember reading was they don’t support fast pwm.
The DS2408 based valve boards are not compatible with the Spark 4, only the Spark 3.
The Spark 4 doesn’t put 12V on the RJ12 ports anymore, because it was just too easy to damage onewire devices with it and the DS2408 valve board was discontinued (the only board that used it).
The Spark 4 can drive 12V valves directly with its IO pins, which is a more robust solution than the daisy chained DS2408 boards.
You can inject the 12V yourself, by making an RJ12 cable that puts 12V on pin 2 and GND on pin 4.
When you make that cable, please verify with a multimeter that it is connected to the right pins, before actually connecting 12V. The valve board has the numbering and assignment printed on the bottom.
Thanks for the update. Do I just need a single cable with the 12v and then daisy chain?
However probably best return to the spark 3.
Yes, if you supply 12V to one of the boards, it is distributed to all
Hi Bob and Elco,
I have two Spark 4s and a Pi4 setup to control fermentation temp on 3 unitanks using a single large glycol chiller with individual electric heaters, pumps and solenoid isolation valves. Everything worked fine under testing and, prior to final installation, I upgraded to the latest firmware and Pi software. Interestingly, the BrewBlox ui would not connect to the sparks (service running - green check and the balance red, e.g., service unknown) but did update all of the temp data, graphs, and pumps and solenoids status so it was still accessing the database. When I checked the BB build date in Admin/debugging, it was still 2022-01-21T18:50:12.516Z so I assumed it was a failed update and tried several times to no avail.
I had another Pi4 so I did a clean install, setup the services, and everything was fine. I had exported the blocks from both sparks so imported them but the one from the spark-one gave an error message and didn’t work (the json file the export created also has error messages). The spark-two blocks imported fine but the names were back to the defaults so none of the displays/graphs would work until I renamed everything back to the original names. I reset up the spark-one and all was well.
I had the ui bookmarked using the mdns brewblox.local and gave the new installation a different name so I could have both open at the same time to review the previous setup. Surprisingly, when I accessed the original Pi4 by typing in brewblox.local rather than using the bookmark, the updated installation was there. Testing the bookmark again, I can access both the latest version and the 21 Jan 2022 version on the same Pi at the same time using the same brewblox.local address so it appears the update did not overwrite the older version but instead installed a new docker version. They both update with the sensor values (including a tilt pro) but only the newer version will allow me to access and modify the blocks so the database written to by the sparks is accessible by both versions. The only difference in the addresses is the bookmarked version is brewblox.local/ui/ and when I type it in it is brewblox.local. They both go to the dashboard and the first fermenter after opening with the same address.
I have everything back up and running on the original Pi and have renamed everything to get the installation back working but thought you might want to know about this experience. I should also delete the 2022 Jan version as it doesn’t talk to the sparks.
The other odd behaviour is I can no longer adjust the brightness of the sparks. I can adjust the slider but it doesn’t save.
Any comments or advice?
On your Pi, if you run docker ps, how many containers does it show? A brewblox system has 5 shared containers + however many device services you have.
Are both your Pis called “brewblox”? It may be the old one is turned on, and still running brewblox. You can see the UI IP address by opening dev tools (ctrl+shift+i), opening the network tab, reloading the page, and inspecting one of the requests.
If the system only shows ~6 running containers, but the old version is still accessible, I suspect it is your browser having the UI cached. You can check this with a hard refresh (ctrl+F5).
The display brightness and the export errors are bugs on our end, and the fixes will be included in the next release.
Sorry for any confusion - it was a long winded post. Once the old Pi was working with the newer version and the spark-one blocks reconfigured, I turned off the second Pi which I had set up with a different name. I had to rebuild the spark-one blocks because importing the previously saved blocks failed which also cleared all blocks first. Importing the saved blocks wasn’t needed but I did it as an early attempt fix (and to see how it worked). I wanted to continue to use the old Pi so I didn’t have to go through setting up a VPN again for remote access.
There are 10 containers including I think only 4 services. The shared ones appear to be redis, ui, history, traefik, victoria and eventbus although, I may have set up eventbus for receiving MQTT posts from iSpindels using the replacement firmware GravityMon (it was 4 months ago) so that would be 5 services.
I did wonder if it might be a browser cache problem. I just opened the UI using the bookmark, got the older version, did a hard refresh, and the newer version loaded. The bookmark still loads the older version but I can fix that now I know it isn’t an issue with the Pi installation.
Thanks Bob. Great system and just what we needed for our fermenters. One request, support for PT100 temperature probes (supplied with the fermenters). I know you guys are working on it but just adding my voice. For now, we can get by with a thermowell and the probes we bought from you.
Good to hear it works now.
It does look like I miscounted once I had to switch hands.
Heard, and noted.