i try to make this the easy way, using an RFID card to control the moment when i can pour beer or not in my kegerator, is there any possibility i can make this whitout any complication, what do i need to do???
Hi,
You need to flash your KBPM with a new image to get the RFID to start working. Please ask Mikey if he can send you the image. You also need a solenoid valve installed on your beer line and a separate 5V relay to power the solenoid. The flashed KBPM will only give the open/close signal to the relay.
You can take a look at markarmers previous topics regarding the use of iButtons and RFID cards on this forum. He has helped me a lot when I implemented this feature.
Good luck!
/Bjorn
In addition to what Bjorn mentioned I thought I would throw in the following info on my build.
I’m using both RFID and iButtons to track pours - to make it easier than selecting your name from the tablet interface after each pour. I’m not using solenoids to restrict. I’ve got 3 KBPM’s so each reader attaches to a separate controller. I’ll only cover the RFID stuff as I found that more practical than the iButtons.
Here’s the RFID reader and stickers/wrist bands I’m using:
The RFID reader I found has a one wire output so you don’t need to do anything special to attach it to the KBPM. If you order the same one make sure to specify that you need the 5v version. I attached the stickers to the bottom of each pint glass using an epoxy as the glue they came with didn’t hold up well. Several months later and lots of cycles through the dish washer they are holding up great. When someone stops by for the night they pick any pint glass, scan the RFID tag, and then associate it to their account. All pours for the rest of the night they just need to scan the RFID tag on the bottom and it knows who they are. The bracelets are for “regulars” and are permanently assigned by setting a comment in the “nice name” field under token management. I have a cron job that runs each morning that flushes out all RFID tokens that don’t have the nice name field set (so bracelets stay, pint glass rfid tags get dropped).
Hopefully this info helps out!
Are you using 3 RFID readers?
I built the kegboard arduino shield a few years ago with a RFID reader to monitor 2 taps. When I wanted to monitor a third tap I purchased a KBPM. The kegboard arduino shield and KBPM are on the same server so the RFID reader works for both.
Only one reader for all 3 KBPM’s. When you scan a tag the onewire ID flows up to the tablet which uses the data so it doesn’t matter which one it is connected to.
Got it.
Your build looks good, are you monitoring all of those taps?
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@bh651: I’ve decided to mirror your setup using the 5v MINI HID Prox reader, but am running into some trouble. I wired it up with 5v power and ground, then connected the one wire lead to pin 3 of the kegjack: https://kegbot.org/docs/kbpm-owners-manual/specs/#kegjack-rj45-pinout
Is this the correct location to connect it to the KBPM?
I’ve reflashed my KBPM multiple times with the various RFID options turned on, one at a time. None seem to work. Do you know which RFID option @mike built into the firmware you used?
@gibs - Sorry, somehow missed your last Q. Yup, all 5 taps are monitored. We installed kegbot 16 months back and have only had a few minor issues during that time. Here’s our current stats as of this morning:
@e2r4 - Correct, pin 3 is what you need for the reader. Do you know if your reader speaks the 1-wire protocol? I’m not sure which option was enabled by Mike but was provided with an app that would flash my KBPM for me to version 20. I’ll PM you a link to the image I used.
Thanks for the confirmation on pin. Yes the reader speaks the 1-wire protocol. I ordered the reader you suggested in this thread.
I’ve attempted to flash the KBPM with the microflash app you sent me but it errors out with “Failed to reacquire the device.” I might have to wait for @mike to shed some light on the correct options he built into the firmware he sent you.
I was able to solve my problem. I traced out the pin mapping on the KBPM and found out that KegJack pin 3 was connected to A4 on the chip.
I set the following in kegboard_config.h, flashed it new code, and the 1-wire RFID reader works now.
#define KB_PIN_ONEWIRE_PRESENCE A4Hi
I need the new firmware and the app to upgrade My kegboard so i can use ibutton and Rfid.
Would appriciate If someone could help me find it
Regards
Niklas
Hi Niklas,
You do not need a new app just flash the new firmware to your KBPM. Send your e-mail and I will send you the firmware.
/Bjorn
Great. Thanks. I have sent you a message
Could you Please tell Me the steps flashing kegboard
Thanks
Niklas
Hey gibs!
How did you code your shield?
I have 2 taps that I want to monitor first, then eventually hook up some sort of solenoid valve connected to RFID/Pin Pad to control the flow.
Thanks!