I installed this latest RT update and tried to roast. The displayed data during pre-heat was so bizarre I had to uninstall 2.3.0 beta and revert to 2.2.1 alpha. IIRC, the issues I ran into are…
1- Y-axis scaling is off by about 2:1 using °F data. This is the main reason I reverted to 2.2.1 alpha. This scaling error occurs with both the live chart and when looking at previous roasts.
2- IRBT (Drum) data starts plotting off-scale (below the X-axis) using °F but seems to start at the X-axis when using °C.
At first glance #2 above seems a simple plotting error which is not present in 2.2.1 alpha, but I noticed that the Yellow Point and start of 1st crack both happened early by about 15°F. If that’s a dirty IR sensor lens I can deal with it (I have ~40 roasts so maybe it’s time), but since it coincides with f/w (v/508, 512 vs. 507) I have to ask if IR data handling has changed before I start tearing into things. Data from earlier roasts usng f/w 507 was about what I’ve come to expect (Yellow Point at ~345°F, FCs ~400°F) when I last roasted 2 weeks ago. Now Yellow Point is ~330°F, FCs ~385°F.
Btw, I think I whined about s/w updates not having any indication they are being installed. When I re-installed RT 2.2.1 alpha I noticed there was an animation indicating the s/w install. Thank you for that!
Here’s a feature request- I’d appreciate a dead man button somewhere on RoasTime so I don’t have to lunge for the roaster control panel. Just an icon to click that serves the same purpose as the button on the control panel.
Hi Bab,
We have not changed anything of how temperatures are displayed. As you mentioned yourself please check the sensor surface.
The idea is that you cannot remotely push a dead man switch from the USB. You have to go to the Roaster, so this is likely not going to change.
I just use RT 2.3 beta for the first time. THANK YOU! THANK YOU! The new Recipe section is a great success! As a former Artisan with Alarm files user, this new Recipe section is just what I have been looking for. Bravo to the RT programmers!
Jacob-
Thanks for the reply. And thanks for confirming no change to IR sensor data handling. OK… time for some maintenance.
re: dead man switch… I understand your design philosophy. After a little more thought I realized that Artisan already supports the Bullet. That opens the door for a hack to automate the dead-man switch response via USB port and defeating the whole process. Guess I talked myself out of my feature request!
Yes, I thought I had V2, but after an exchange with Sweet Maria’s I learned I have V1.5.
When I asked about it they were alarmed I might have found something on their site that said V2. They’ve apparently avoided any reference to Bullet Vxx designations. However, it was on the Aillio site I’d seen reference to V2 as the current production configuration… that’s what seeded the misunderstanding on my part. Now I’m waiting for the new power board like everyone else (though I’m thinking about the 240 VAC board with a step-up transformer… depends on board availability).
From my understanding the release of v1.5 was when they changed the IR sensor to remove the glass cover and have “air blowing on the sensor”. My understanding was that this improvement would remove the need to clean the IR sensor as was occasionally necessary to do in the v1.0 units.
Are we now hearing that we still need to clean the sensor in a v1.5 unit? If so, then I need to add that back-in to my maintenance routine for the Bullet.
The latest version of the manual does not mention cleaning the surface of the v1.5 IR sensor. It only speaks to cleaning the window that was in front of the IR sensor on the v1.0 units.
So, I’d like to hear from Jacob as to the interval, recommended cleaning solution and/or technique to properly clean the surface of the IR sensor. I probably have as many coffee cleaners and solvents as the next “coffee geek”. But, we have no guidance from the manufacturer on this particular maintenance for the v1.5 IR sensor. When it comes to cleaning something as important as this sensor, I think it prudent to hear what Aillio specifically says on the subject.
@yakster, that’s exactly what I wanted to see and thanks for pointing me to that post! It was being discussed before I was a Bullet owner and participating here.
I’d previously taken a peek at my IR sensor when a couple of people here reported beans lodging inside the sensor area of the v1.5. Using my Depstech Endoscope, my sensor’s area was free of debris and the sensor surface was clear.
I’ll add that sensor inspection to my maintenance repertoire and now know the recommended cleaning too. Hopefully, they will add that when they do a future update of the Bullet manual. I have my own edited and notated version and will add this process to it in the maintenance section.
I just finished cleaning the IRTS and have discovered a huge admiration for those who have installed that mod in their V1 Bullet. That was not a trivial task. For my part I backed out of getting full access to the sensor when I spent an hour looking for a lost screw and settled for using the alcohol-soaked swab through the opening. There are things best left untouched till someone holds a gun to your head!
We have more spring winds tomorrow and the next day, so it’ll be a couple days before I can roast and see if there was any change in measured IR temp at 1st/2nd crack. Frankly I didn’t see anything on the swab, so if it changes I expect it’ll be minor.
Good to know what you observed. Doesn’t appear that the sensor needed cleaning and I’m curious how many roasts you have on your Bullet? Cleaning that sensor may be something that only needs done “once in a blue moon” which would be fine with me.
As I recall I saw 40 roasts had been recorded. I received the Bullet in the 2nd half of Jan this year.
I recall BlackStripeCoffee mentioning the need to clean the sensor every 20 kg (?) of roasting (they roast a lot of coffee!), so I was watching for some indication of a change. The change was sudden, so I expected something significant… chaff particle? bean fragment? No such luck.
Got frustrated with windy weather here in SE Arizona, so I roasted 4 batches anyway. I found the IBTS offset at Yellow point & FC persist. My issue was/is apparently not a dirty lens on the IBTS. This result isn’t really a surprise since (unlike BlackStripeCoffe’s experience) the swab seemed to pick up nothing from the surface of the lens.
So I’ll just deal with the offset by dumping the beans earlier 12°F to 15°F (there seems to be a slope to the error, so it’s not just an offset). When I hear about some other explanation/approach on this forum I’ll adjust.
Btw, I believe this started when I updated from f/w 507 to f/w 508 then 512.
On the 64 Bit version, the recipe never worked, at the end of the roast I didn’t have manual control over the roaster, I pressed the PRS button and nothing happened, I had to unplugged the roaster and start another roast to allow the fans to work. after the end of the roast alarm, Roast Time stop recording.
This is frankly one reason that I’m avoiding use of the latest alpha or beta releases of anything for the Bullet. I’m as excited as anyone else to use new features, but what I don’t need is to introduce new problems with the roaster while I’m adjusting to this new device.
In many other software related things I have been that “guinea-pig” for Devs many times. But, when it comes to my coffee roasting, I like stable software and predictable results from the device so that I’m the one interjecting the change via tweaking roasts.
I can not find RT 2.3.1 beta download. I am 2.2.0 and the update button does not update even though it tells me there is an update available. Where can I find the update?
It was being discussed before I was a Bullet owner and participating here.
