framistats.com

Thank you for purchasing a framistats.com computer-controlled automation system. Please read all operating instructions carefully before use. This electronic appliance controller is designed to monitor sensors and control outlets based on sensor readings. There are number of settings which can be set in order to obtain optimal function.

This framistat (“the device”) is designed to control environments with both temperature and humidity. There are two combination temperature/humidity sensors (+/- 0.5 °C @ 25 °C, +/- 3.5% RH). There are also three external temperature sensors (+/- 0.5 °F).

There are four outlets on the device which can be switched by the computer, or automatically based on the reading of the sensors. Two outlets are capable of 2 amps maximum, and the other two are capable of 15A. The device is designed to maintain temperature/humidity at a level higher or lower, and based on any of the sensor’s values.

This system is designed with high-power applications in mind, however it is important to understand the limitations of the device. While automating, this device will not turn on both heaters at the same time. This is to avoid overloading the hardware. Although it is possible to manually turn both outlets on through the software, it is not recommended, and the software has a built-in warning for this. For most purposes, this feature will not adversely interfere with the function of the device.

To set up your new automation system, place each sensor in the corresponding environment you’d like to monitor. For “zone” sensors, plug each humidifier into the corresponding 2A outlet, as well as each heater/etc into the corresponding 15A outlet. Once everything is set up, plug the main power cord of the device into an outlet.

Before installing the software, you will need to set up the link from your computer to the device. If you do not already have a Bluetooth adapter, a USB Bluetooth adapter may have been shipped with the device. Plug this into an unoccupied USB port on your computer. If you are using Windows XP with service pack 2, this should install automatically and not require any drivers.

To create the link, go into control panel using the start button. Double-clicking “Bluetooth Devices” will bring you to a window that looks similar to the following:

Click “Add” to open the bluetooth setup wizard.

Take note of the “Outgoing COM port.” At this point you are ready to set up the software. You may have been given a USB thumb flash drive with the software on it. Run the setup program to install the software. Once it is installed, run the main program, “Automation Control”. First, you will be taken to the settings window:

Here you may set the COM port to use. Clicking “detect” will cycle through the available COM ports until one is found to be linked with a framistat. Or, you can set this to the port which was given as the “outgoing COM port” at the end of the bluetooth setup wizard.

 A note about custom log intervals

You may wish to update the sensors more often depending on how environmental conditions are reflected from automation. Updating more often will result in sensor readings being reflected more immediately. If you change this, you may find best overall results by having the “online” log interval equal to the automation cycle interval (more on this next).

Terms

There are a few conventions used in terminology for functions of the framistat. To better understand them, it may be helpful to see a flowchart of how the device operates.

Above is a breakdown of the key components of the system. The “automation” cycle is responsible for maintaining temperature/humidity, and has a few values which can be set.

Each “zone” that has a corresponding outlet, has unique settings for the values in the flowchart above that have a subscript (n). This cycle accomplishes increasing temperature/humidity based on a sensor reading, and throttling how long an appliance stays on for. This feature is important when working with high-output appliances such as ultrasonic humidifiers or high-wattage heaters, as the humid/hot/cool air may take longer to reac the sensor, causing overshoot.