This manual explains how to connect your roast machine to the Cropster Connector by establishing a splicing connection to your J/K/T/E type thermocouples.
Legal Note
Please read this installation and configuration guide carefully, as any mishandling could lead to permanent device damage.
By connecting a Phidget device or temperature probe to any computer or by installing Cropster’s Roasting Intelligence (RI) software, the user agrees to release Cropster from any liability and assumes any possible risk related to the use of this measuring device and/or software. Cropster's terms of service apply.
Cropster cannot advise on the installation of the hardware, and to ensure safety when installing any hardware on your machine, Cropster recommends consulting with a technician who can help with the installation.
Specifications
Requirements
- Ungrounded digital thermocouples type K, J, T or E
📚 Learn how to identify your thermocouple type.
- Cropster Connector (=Phidget 1048)
- Splicing wire
Hardware installation
Disconnect the USB cable from the Cropster Connector and turn off your roast machine during the hardware installation.
Splicing wire installation
WARNING: The following instructions only apply to models where one can unwire and wire the thermocouples without breaking connectors or other machine parts.
- Follow the probe cable from the tip of the probe to its end where the two wires lead into the roaster's control board or the backside of the temperature display.
- Take out the temperature probe wires from where they are connected. Remember their position.
💡Take a picture before you disconnect the wires, so you can look up their position.
💡EURO standard K-type probes (in this example wires go into a control board. Instead of a roast control board you may have a temperature display on your machine. Temperature probe wires (and splicing wires) look different depending on the standard your machine uses. - Take the splicing wire as provided with your Cropster Connector.
- Twirl the ends of the probe wires firmly together with the splicing wires by color.
This example shows EURO standard K-type probes and wires. - Put the twirled wires back into the original position (the existing readout) of the temperature probe wires.
Cropster Connector installation
- Find the free end of the splicing wire.
- Connect the two wires to any port of the Cropster Connector (e.g. 0/G, 1/G, 2/G, 3/G) with the provided screwdriver, as shown in the table below.
- Connect the Cropster Connector via provided USB cable and proceed with the Roasting Intelligence Setup.
| EURO-standard | US-standard |
|
K-type
|
K-type
|
J-type
|
J -type
|
Eventually, the connection will look similar as in the graph below.
Do not attach or place the Cropster Connector in or onto any hot environment.
Roasting Intelligence (RI) Setup
Installing the Roasting Intelligence (RI) software
-
Download RI.
-
Complete the installation process by following the steps provided.
- Download the Phidget driver.
- Double-click the Cropster icon on your desktop to access RI.
-
Enter your username and password.
Use the same login information that you use to access the online platform C-sar. - Click the Login button.
Check out the Release notes for every version of RI5 to stay updated on the latest features and improvements.
You can access the Release notes directly in RI by clicking on Help > Release Notes.
Establishing a connection to the machine
- If you are setting up RI for the first time, click the Select machine button in the banner at the top or click
Preferences > Machine > Configuration bottom left to access the Preferences screen.
📚 Learn how to use the keyboard shortcuts in RI. - To choose the Roast machine, click on the dropdown menu in the Machine section.
💡 After selecting the machine from the dropdown menu, the roast machine settings may automatically be filled in. You have the flexibility to edit these settings at any time to ensure they align with the specifications of your roasting machine.
📚 Learn how to add a new roast machine. - After selecting the machine all supported measurements will load.
Change the order of the measurements by using the-png.png?width=16&height=16&name=DragAndDropIcon%20(1)-png.png)
Drag and Drop icon and moving it into position. - Switch on the measurements you would like to enable and select Temperature sensor (Ungrounded K/J/E/T-type thermocouples) from the dropdown for the measurements.
💡 Make your measurement readouts more compact. Choose the size of your measurement readouts by selecting either the Small or Large view for display. - Select the Channel.
💡The channel refers to the port on the Cropster Connector. If the probe wires are connected to port 1/G, select 1 under channel. - Select the Type of thermocouple.
📚 Learn how to identify the probe type.
- Click Save to finalize the changes.
- After saving the changes, RI will automatically restart. If the setup was successful, you will see the temperature values displayed on the right-hand side of the RI screen following the restart.
📚 Learn more about the Roasting Intelligence (RI) Preferences.
Troubleshooting
If the RI indicates No source connected and/or you cannot see any measurements, please check the following:
- Is the Cropster Connector connected to the computer?
- Is the Phidgets driver installed?
- Mac only: has the Phidgets driver been enabled in the Mac's Security & Privacy settings?
If Roasting Intelligence shows negative temperature readings you will have to swap the wires on the board from “G” to “0” (or 1, 2, 3) and the other way round.
Congratulations! You have successfully set up the Cropster Roasting Intelligence!
Check out the Roasting Intelligence (RI5) - Getting Started manual and enjoy tracking your first roasts! More manuals and videos can be found on help.cropster.com.