First, let me join the list of folks praising the efforts of the Artisan team. Nice job. I've now got version 0.4.1 up and running and talking with a TC4/Arduino.

Now a question: are there plans to enable Artisan to read, log, and display roaster settings for things like power and fan speed?

Lastly, I have some thoughts regarding the communication protocol with the TC4/Arduino that I would like to share with the Artisan team. How best to do this?

Jim

Hi Jim.

Glad you like it.

JimG wrote:Lastly, I have some thoughts regarding the communication protocol with the TC4/Arduino that I would like to share with the Artisan team. How best to do this?

The best approach would to join the developers mailing list. There are several people working on the arduino part of the code, but I am not familiar with it.

JimG wrote: Now a question: are there plans to enable Artisan to read, log, and display roaster settings for things like power and fan speed?

They are already are part of the software as Events (yellow button). Events record controlling inputs like changes of Fans, Dampers, Power, etc. The other buttons are the outputs (first crack, etc). Any type of input is logged as an Event, and it is used to replicate profiles (as the outputs would have a time lag). There are different types of events and they can be configured.

Cheers

I have the Victor 86b Digital multimeter. Will this work with the artisan software? (I see this meter has been mentioned earlier in this thread, but I wonder if the last version has been updated to work with this meter.)

Sorry. It doesn't look like it would work from what one member said. Only RS232 devices are supported. I am not sure if there is a special cable or what that makes this device different. The closest match would be the HHM28 multimeter. The HHM28 is now supported in the latest beta version, but it probably does not use the same chip.

Cheers

Is it a bad idea to order something like this?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Digital-K-J-Type-Th ... 5001wt_907

Hi Gismar.

The meter in the above link does not have a serial port interface. That means that it cannot be connected to a computer.

Cheers

What would be the best thermocouple to buy, which gives most value for money?

HI Gismar,

I think the 4 thermocouple devices are "best value" but that does not mean "cheap." Plotting all four thermocouples is now supported.

search for: VOLTCRAFT K204

Then, if you are a handy person, you could get an arduino TC4 (also 4 thermocouples and lower price). Now, artisan can control and read roasters with arduino TC4 (but it is being tested at the moment). The other meters don't control, only read. Lots of progress and people interested though, and it is growing rapidly.

Cheers

I see this comes with k-type thermocouple sensors. Will the j-type sensor work with this thermometer? I have learned that if I use j-type wire I can read (bean temperature) directly from the roasters display - only has to mount the j-type sensor with the wire inside the roaster. So if you know any j-type thermocouples that is recommendable, I will be glad to hear from you:-)

Hi Gismar.

No. The meter above only works with K thermocouples.

I am not sure if I understood you right. The difference between a K or a J is in the range. You can read bean temperature with a K thermocouple.

It is best to use a thermocouple probe (needle with thermocouple inside), especially it you are interested in delta BT. A naked thermocouple is very sensitive and fluctuates rapidly with currents of air, creating jitter. Meanwhile a prope (long needle) has a shell that acts as an averaging filter.

Cheers