DigiTemp Plugin - Information and Installation

[travisc]

What is the DigiTemp Plugin
This plugin interfaces Indigo to 1-wire temperature sensors. These sensors are small, easy to use, accurate, and only cost about $5 each. Connect a bunch of them to a single pair of wires to create a 1-wire network. They call it a 1-wire network but really you need two, one for ground, one for data. I used the extra phone line wires in my house to create a whole-house network with sensors located in every room.

This plugin is essentially a wrapper around DigiTemp, a program written by Brian Lane, which does most of the dirty work.

What It Needs
Interface
You'll need an interface to connect the 1-wire network to your Mac. There are two options that are confirmed to work.
- A LinkUSB 1-wire to USB interface.
or
- The DS9097U 1-wire to serial interface. Can be bought from Digi-Key here. You'll also need a USB to Serial adapter. I prefer the ones that use the FTDI chipset.

Temperature Sensors
The 1-wire sensors look like transistors. They're small and easy to conceal. The most popular sensor is the DS18B20 (Digi-Key link). That's the sensor in its raw form. They can be easily soldered to a prototype board with a terminal block so they're easier to hook up. Waterproof versions are also available from SparkFun.

- Other sensors are also supported, see DigiTemp's web page for details.)

Download the Plugin
The latest version can be downloaded here.
If you'd like to be emailed when the plugin is updated, please subscribe to this topic.

Installation
1. Download the plugin from the link above, unzip it if your browser didn't do that for you already.
2. Double-click on the DigiTemp.indigoPlugin file, Indigo should launch and ask if you'd like it to install the plugin.
3. The plugin's config screen should pop up. Select the serial port your LinkUSB or DS9097U is using.

Adding Sensors
It's easiest if you add sensors to your 1-wire network one at a time. If you add them all and then hit the Scan For Sensors button in the plugin's config, you'll get a big list of sensor ID's but won't know which is which as the DS18B20's don't have their serial numbers written on them. The easiest way to add them is to use the steps below.

1. Add a sensor to the 1-wire network.
2. Open the plugin's config.
3. Press the Scan For Sensors button. The sensor's ID should show up in the list after the scan.
4. Close the plugin's config.
5. Click on the New... button to add a new device to Indigo. Type: Plugin, Plugin: DigiTemp, Model: Temperature Sensor.
6. A dialog box will popup with the current list of sensor ID's. Select the new ID from the list.
7. Repeat steps 1 thru 6 for each sensor.

I'll write a more thorough HowTo with screenshots and pics of my 1-wire setup when I have some more time. This should be enough to get some users started.

[travisc]

Changes so far ...

Version 1.0.3 (Oct 19, 2014)
- Fixed an issue with Yosemite. Actually, Matt fixed it. Thanks Matt!

Version 1.0.2 (May 19, 2013)
- Quick fix to add compatibility with Indigo 6 Beta 8.

Version 1.0.1 (Nov 28, 2012):
- Added the 32 bit version of digitemp back into the binary

Version 1.0.0 (Nov 15, 2012):
- Fix for compatibility with Indigo 6 beta.
- This version should now work on older PPC macs
- Fixed a bug where the plugin might crash after running a sensor scan for the first time.