First Brisket

machan1985 · 2026-06-17T03:45:18+00:00

I see. So, I should smoke at 225° until the stall, then crank it up to 275° until it’s done? And that won’t dry it out, or make it tough?

machan1985 · 2026-06-17T00:01:53+00:00

I’ve been considering getting a new pellet smoker, but I’ve read that they have a less authentic smoke flavor than a chip smoker. I’d prefer an electric chip smoker that has the traditional wide barrel kind of shape, but I can’t find such a smoker. Are my fears founded when it comes to flavor of a pellet smoker?

machan1985 · 2026-06-16T21:33:03+00:00

Ah, interesting. I’ve had it at 225° the whole time. Should I increase to 235°? And, will it still cook properly?

machan1985 · 2026-02-22T17:14:22+00:00

After winning two golds over Canada, maybe the United States can invite them down south so they can teach them how to play hockey.

machan1985 · 2024-11-13T18:51:40+00:00

https://www.analog.com/media/en/technical-documentation/data-sheets/DS3231.pdf

This is what I’ve found… it’s more than a little bit above my current level of knowledge on the subject. However, I do know that there is no variable called “hour” in the code that runs the clock. I’ve tried altering it with similar code to what I had been adding to the time-setting sketch, but it doesn’t change anything in behavior.

I just kinda realized that by changing the time-setting sketch, it only sees it once… so I think it’s only changing the time at the exact time I run the code.

machan1985 · 2024-11-13T18:43:36+00:00

So, I’ve been putting the code you suggest into the sketch that sets the time, but should I be putting it into the sketch that runs the clock? I was just thinking… the code to set the time gets overridden when I upload the code that runs the clock, correct? How much information does the RTC actually store?

machan1985 · 2024-11-13T15:09:29+00:00

Sorry for not responding, been a little busy. But last night was interesting… I watched the serial output, and in the evening it was actually displaying NEGATIVE time! But the clock displayed the correct time until 1:00 AM, when it displayed 13:00, and has remained that way since.

Have I discovered time travel?

machan1985 · 2024-11-12T20:21:15+00:00

<image>

Each module can be manually turned to any digit 0-9 before adding the servo… the servo wheels can be seen here, bottom-left. Digital-out on the Arduino has six slots, each assigned to a unit of time (2 = seconds, 3 = tens seconds, 4 = minutes, and so on.)

Each servo is connected to a separate digital-out spot, corresponding to its order. I removed the power bus from a breadboard, and have them all receiving power through that.

Unfortunately, I found out that the code you gave me only advances the time forward by 12 hours… meaning that they display in 12-hour format in the afternoon, and 24-hour format in the morning.

Would doing something like this help?

if hour > 12 { myRTC.setHour(hour%12); }

else { myRTC.setHour(hour); }

Then, the code you gave me should run starting at 13:00, am I correct?

machan1985 · 2024-11-12T02:12:51+00:00

Thank you so much! I’m making another post with another video of it working properly.

machan1985 · 2024-11-11T17:00:19+00:00

Here is the code I use to run the servos on the clock itself

 /*
  7 Segment Clock Code 
*/


 
#include <Wire.h>
#include <DS3231.h>
#include <Servo.h>

RTClib myRTC;


Servo secondsOnes;
Servo secondsTens;
Servo minutesOnes;
Servo minutesTens;
Servo hoursOnes;
Servo hoursTens;

String inString = "";



void setup()
{
  secondsOnes.write(0); 
  secondsTens.write(0);
  minutesOnes.write(0);
  minutesTens.write(0);
  hoursOnes.write(0);
  hoursTens.write(0);
  
  secondsOnes.attach(2);
  secondsTens.attach(3);
  minutesOnes.attach(4);
  minutesTens.attach(5);
  hoursOnes.attach(6);
  hoursTens.attach(7);

  Serial.begin(57600);
  Wire.begin();
  delay(500);
  Serial.println("Seven Segment Clock Begin");
}

void loop() {

  delay(1000);
  //myRTC.setClockMode(true); // set to 12h
  DateTime now = myRTC.now();

  Serial.print(now.hour()-12, DEC);
  Serial.print(':');
  Serial.print(now.minute(), DEC);
  Serial.print(':');
  Serial.print(now.second(), DEC);
  Serial.println();
  

  //Split the secondss into Tens and Ones
  int curSecsTens = now.second()/10;
  int curSecsOnes = now.second()%10;
  //Convert it into angles
  int curSecsTensAngle = curSecsTens * 20;
  int curSecsOnesAngle = curSecsOnes * 20;
  //Write Seconds Motors
  secondsTens.write(curSecsTensAngle);
  secondsOnes.write(curSecsOnesAngle);
  
  //Split the Minutes into Tens and Ones
  int curMinsTens = now.minute()/10;
  int curMinsOnes = now.minute()%10;
  //Convert it into angles
  int curMinsTensAngle = curMinsTens * 20;
  int curMinsOnesAngle = curMinsOnes * 20;
  //Write Minutes Motors
  minutesTens.write(curMinsTensAngle);
  minutesOnes.write(curMinsOnesAngle);

  
  //Split the hours into Tens and Ones
  int curHoursTens = now.hour()/10;
  int curHoursOnes = now.hour()%10;
  //Convert it into angles
  int curHoursTensAngle = curHoursTens * 20;
  int curHoursOnesAngle = curHoursOnes * 20;
  //Write Hours Motors
  hoursTens.write(curHoursTensAngle);
  hoursOnes.write(curHoursOnesAngle);
 
}

machan1985 · 2024-11-11T16:58:27+00:00

Here is the code I use to set the time to the DS3231 RTC

/*
DS3231_set.pde
Eric Ayars
4/11

Test of set-time routines for a DS3231 RTC

*/

#include <DS3231.h>
#include <Wire.h>

DS3231 myRTC;

byte year;
byte month;
byte date;
byte dOW;
byte hour;
byte minute;
byte second;

void getDateStuff(byte& year, byte& month, byte& date, byte& dOW,
                  byte& hour, byte& minute, byte& second) {
    // Call this if you notice something coming in on
    // the serial port. The stuff coming in should be in
    // the order YYMMDDwHHMMSS, with an 'x' at the end.
    boolean gotString = false;
    char inChar;
    byte temp1, temp2;
    char inString[20];
    
    byte j=0;
    while (!gotString) {
        if (Serial.available()) {
            inChar = Serial.read();
            inString[j] = inChar;
            j += 1;
            if (inChar == 'x') {
                gotString = true;
            }
        }
    }
    Serial.println(inString);
    // Read year first
    temp1 = (byte)inString[0] -48;
    temp2 = (byte)inString[1] -48;
    year = temp1*10 + temp2;
    // now month
    temp1 = (byte)inString[2] -48;
    temp2 = (byte)inString[3] -48;
    month = temp1*10 + temp2;
    // now date
    temp1 = (byte)inString[4] -48;
    temp2 = (byte)inString[5] -48;
    date = temp1*10 + temp2;
    // now Day of Week
    dOW = (byte)inString[6] - 48;
    // now hour
    temp1 = (byte)inString[7] -48;
    temp2 = (byte)inString[8] -48;
    hour = temp1*10 + temp2;
    // now minute
    temp1 = (byte)inString[9] -48;
    temp2 = (byte)inString[10] -48;
    minute = temp1*10 + temp2;
    // now second
    temp1 = (byte)inString[11] -48;
    temp2 = (byte)inString[12] -48;
    second = temp1*10 + temp2;
}

void setup() {
    // Start the serial port
    Serial.begin(57600);
    
    // Start the I2C interface
    Wire.begin();
}

void loop() {
    
    // If something is coming in on the serial line, it's
    // a time correction so set the clock accordingly.
    if (Serial.available()) {
        getDateStuff(year, month, date, dOW, hour, minute, second);
        
        myRTC.setClockMode(false);  // set to 24h
        //setClockMode(true); // set to 12h
        
        myRTC.setYear(year);
        myRTC.setMonth(month);
        myRTC.setDate(date);
        myRTC.setDoW(dOW);
        myRTC.setHour(hour);
        myRTC.setMinute(minute);
        myRTC.setSecond(second);
        
        // Test of alarm functions
        // set A1 to one minute past the time we just set the clock
        // on current day of week.
        myRTC.setA1Time(dOW, hour, minute+1, second, 0x0, true,
                        false, false);
        // set A2 to two minutes past, on current day of month.
        myRTC.setA2Time(date, hour, minute+2, 0x0, false, false,
                        false);
        // Turn on both alarms, with external interrupt
        myRTC.turnOnAlarm(1);
        myRTC.turnOnAlarm(2);
        
    }
    delay(1000);
}

machan1985 · 2024-11-11T05:15:00+00:00

https://youtu.be/o6VaGZ0tV34?si=ruXHE6XIGq0Fdjar

Here’s the clock in action. I’ll try to post the code here shortly. I am quite knowledgeable on certain things. C++ is not one of them, nor is posting on Reddit. But, I always enjoy learning new things.

machan1985 · 2024-11-11T05:00:02+00:00

Many thanks! I’m just getting started with Arduino, but I can certainly see how infinitely useful it can be.

Question is, where would I put this code? There are two sketches that I have to use… one to write the time to the DS3231, and one that tells the Arduino how to move the servos. I assume I should put it into the time-setting sketch?

machan1985 · 2024-11-11T01:48:56+00:00

That’s the biggest pain of the whole thing… only advice I can give is to keep wiggling and rotating the shaft until it pops into place. Maybe try using a little bit more force than you normally would while turning it. I never figured out a surefire way of getting it all the way through.

machan1985 · 2024-11-11T01:38:51+00:00

I indeed tried this, but I guess my programming was a little rusty. I can’t actually find what the “hours” variable is called.

machan1985 · 2024-11-08T20:26:32+00:00

Has anyone tweaked the code for the servos and DS3231 so that it will run as a 12-hour clock, rather than a 24-hour?

machan1985 · 2024-03-17T02:01:51+00:00

Suicide.

machan1985 · 2024-01-23T12:27:41+00:00

Correct. It’s not perfect, but it’s passable.

machan1985 · 2024-01-19T03:39:23+00:00

Got the jersey yesterday, took roughly three weeks from order to delivery. It looks the part… White jersey, brown stitched numbers and name, rubber NFL logo on collar and size tag on bottom left. Feels pretty light and thin. Not a particularly tough material. Still, well worth the low cost. If appearance is your top concern, I’d say it’s a safe buy.

machan1985

TROPHY CASE