I am trying to understand how to connect things, like temperature sensors, to the GIOP module, either with the RJ12 or green wire blocks, then how to assign channels to them within the BrewBlox config. My temperature sensor has the 5-volt, ground, and data wires and is DS18B20.
I cannot seem to find the documentation on how to associate the two with each other. I am happy to read through the documentation, I just need to be pointed at it.
Thanks in advance!
Everything is here - Getting Started | Brewblox.
Use the RJ12 to connect the temp probe but be sure it is wired correctly if you didn’t get it from Elco. Brewblox will find it automatically if it is. The green wire blocks are for control outputs except for the separated pair to the right which is for power input.
I have read through that documentation, along with being aware tbat the premade RJ12 temperature sensor from Elco are best. But, my last shipment took almost two weeks to arrive (FedEx fault) and was hoping to work with it before I order more Sparks, GPIO Modules, and whatnot for my build out plans.
I must have missed the part in the documentation about the RJ12 plugs being auto-finding and the green blocks for controling things. I just saw the input option in the add channel setup and thought it could be used for a temperature sensor, but makes sense why that is not the case as it only a two wire option.
What is the proper wiring for a three wire sensor with 5-volt, ground, and data wire for a RJ12 plug. I have seen a couple of different images including one that looks correct but am unsure what the “front” of a plug is.
Thanks!
When I have wired up my own sensor or extensions, I’ve used RJ11 plugs like Elco does, these are 6P4C plugs (6 pin 4 connector) so easier to not get it wrong. The connectors on RJ11 plugs are labelled 2 through 5 so even if you use an RJ12 plug the outer two pins are not used.
Presumably your sensor uses Red - 5V, Black - GND and White - data. If not, you will need to adapt accordingly (the data wire on the one I bought locally is yellow). The top of the plug is the side where you can see the connectors (not the clip side). With the cable entrance oriented towards you, the pins are labelled left to right. The Spark uses pins 3 - 5 with Red = 3, Black = 4 and White = 5. Pin 2 is left unconnected.
Thanks for the additional information! I will poke at it more tomorrow and hopefully get my first temperature sensor online.
Cheers! 
Yep, when I used a properly wired RJ12 plug, it automatically detected the temperature probe. Thanks for the help!
Hopefully I will not be back for help wrh the other side of the GIOP when I hook up solenoids, motors, relays, etc.
Is there a way to monitor in voltage input, i.e no voltage or 5v in, for something like a door sensor? I would assume that I use the green blocks for this setup, but am again having a hard time find information in the docs for how to wire and setting it up.
Currently, the only sensor inputs are for temperature. The external sensor feature is often used as an extra input to control an actuator as a workaround. It reads out as temperature but people have used the numeric value to control say a pump when the value is really litres.
This is done by sending the value to Brewblox using MQTT and you need a way to measure the value and then create and send the MQTT packet. In your case, you could use an IO pin on the Pi to monitor the sensor and either a python script or something like Node-red (installed on the Pi in a container that is run within Brewblox) to do this. Or you could use a sensor switch designed for use with home assistant and configure it to send to Brewblox.
What specifically are you thinking of doing? Also, the green blocks are for output to control something except for the pair to the right (the last block with the small gap between it and the other 4). That one is for external power in.
One would think, I was hoping, that it could monitor a simple open/close single from a door sensor being opened or closed as a standsrd input.
Brewblox was designed to monitor and control brewing equipment including kettles, mash tuns, HLTs and fermenters. It is very versatile and can even be extended using some additional tools. But it wasn’t designed for inputs that typically do not have any use in brewing.
Having said that, you can send just about any sensor info to the history service using MQTT across wifi and display it in the dashboard using a Metrics widget. On a quick search, I saw several DIY projects online that uses a reed switch, an ESP32 or 8266 and MQTT to send the switch status to home assistant. You just have to construct the message in the format that Brewblox uses and send it to the brewblox/history service instead.
Thanks for the additional information! I will take a look at the DIY projects online that uses a reed switch, an ESP32 or 8266 and MQTT to send the switch status to home assistant and see if it fits my needs.
You can configure a channel to detect current on the gpio module. So a simple resistor and switch can be a digital input.