BCS 4.0 Public Beta 1

[brahn]

Happy Thanksgiving!

This post is to announce the release of BCS firmware 4.0 Public Beta 1.

This version of the firmware is a complete rewrite from the 3.x series firmware. The major differences are:

• Totally redesigned responsive UI
• REST / JSON based API to make developing for the BCS much easier
• Some functionality has been moved out of the firmware to utility application suite
• Data Logging re-imagined to make it easier for 3rd party logging applications to log data, but on-device logging is more minimal
• No Manual Mode or HMI. HMI is planned for a future release, at this time there is no plan for Manual Mode to return.

This beta release marks the point where the firmware is considered feature complete, meaning no new features will be added before the 4.0 final release. Any functionality already included in 4.0 that is not working properly will be evaluated and fixed prior to release.

While people have been running 4.0 in their breweries for some time, this is PRE-RELEASE software and should not be used in production environments where downtime is not an option. There is currently no documentation for the 4.0 firmware. We will be building the documentation during the public beta period. If you are not comfortable using undocumented, potentially unstable firmware DO NOT INSTALL THIS RELEASE.

The utility applications provide tools for migrating from 3.x configurations, backup/restore, and a simple recipe tool to make it easy to change variables between batches. A PID Tuning tool is in the works, and a very cool temperature probe calibration tool has been developed by forum user bbrally.

A good starting point for the utilities is the config migrator: https://embeddedcc.github.io/bcs-config-migrator/
bbrally's temperature probe coefficient calculator utility is available here: http://bbrally.from-ca.com/

If you are interested in developing software to extend the BCS functionality, please check out our GIthub page: https://github.com/embeddedcc/

The initial 4.x API docs are available here: http://www.embeddedcc.com/api-docs/ There will be some changes to the API as version 4.x is finalized.

[brahn]

It is possible to downgrade back to the 3.x firmware after updating to 4.0 if you decide you want to try 4.0 but not run it in your production environment.

[pbryngel]

Hi,

The update looks great and the configuration migration worked well. Are digi16 boards supported in this release, because all I can see for options are the LED.

Thanks,

Pete

[JonW]

Are digi16 boards supported in this release, because all I can see for options are the LED.

No Digi16 boards are currently not supported.

[brahn]

I forgot to mention that the Digi16 are not currently supported. I expect to add support for the Digi16 in a future release.

[gyropilot1]

this will work on the bcs462? I am still lost with the TFTP. but before I damage anything I will like to know

thanks
Charles

[Cyclops]

i might give this a try but i normally use a win button to progress. Think it has to be time to wire up a button on the panel

[Cyclops]

i might give this a try but i normally use a win button to progress. Think it has to be time to wire up a button on the panel

[oakbarn]

this will work on the bcs462? I am still lost with the TFTP. but before I damage anything I will like to know

thanks
Charles

I put 4.0 on one of my BCS 462 and it all looks Great. You also get MORE PWM outs which makes the BCS 462 more useful as you can now control 8 Outs with Temperature. I like TFTPUtil that is free from http://sourceforge.net/projects/tftputil/. It opens with the IP Address that you need to put into the Dialog box in the BCS whwn doing an Update.

[oakbarn]

1. What does the "config migrator" do?
2. Do you just run it and it upgrades the firmware itself?
3. If it does not do the Firmware Update, what order do you upgrade?
4. If you run it and want to revert to 3.7.1, can you do that?