Using The UltraQ In Manual Mode

You can operate the UltraQ without connection to a smart device in manual mode. Operating in this mode is very basic. You set target temperatures and monitor current temperatures, as well as starting up Scan Mode where the display will scroll through all the temperature probes, displaying their current reading. You cannot change the state of Open Lid Detect or Ramp Mode.

Changes are made in Manual Mode via the three-key keypad on the left side of the UltraQ. From left to right in this photo, you see the Up, Select, and Down buttons:

1. Pressing the Select button briefly will move the display from probe to probe, each press moving to the next probe.
2. To alter a target temperature for a specific probe, press the Select button repeatedly until the temperature is displayed for the probe you wish to modify. (As you press the Select button, the tail will display the color of the probe that is being displayed.) Then press the Select button for two seconds until the target temperature is flashing on the display. You can then use the Up and Down buttons to modify the target temperature. Once you reach the desired temperature, press the Select button briefly to set the new target.
3. To start Scan Mode where the display cycles through displaying all the probe temperatures, press the Down button for two seconds, then release it.
4. When using the UltraQ in Manual Mode, the only feedback you get is the temperatures displayed on the UltraQ, beeping alarms, and the information provided by the LED ring, which we described earlier.

Connecting To The UltraQ With Bluetooth

You can connect your UltraQ to iOS and Android devices via Bluetooth. You can then either use Bluetooth to control your UltraQ over short distances, or you can set up Wi-Fi communications to allow control from anywhere you have Internet access. Whichever you choose to do, you will first need to connect your UltraQ to a smart device using Bluetooth. It's simple and we'll show you now how simple.

Start up the BBQ Guru App and you will see this screen. Scroll down to tap on the "Continue To Device Connection" button.

That will take you to this screen. Tap on the "Connect Controller" button.

The App will scan and then display this screen once it finds your UltraQ. Tap on the UltraQ name.

Now the App will synch up with your controller.

Once synching is complete you will be given the chance to name your controller. After you decide on a name, tap the "Start Grilling" button.

You may see the App download any new level of firmware that might be available.

If a new level of firmware is available, the App will then install it.

Finally, you will see the BBQ Guru App home screen that shows the status of your unit and allows you to control it.

Bluetooth Range

We probably all know that the advertised range for Bluetooth is 10 meters, or 33 feet. We also probably all know that this depends on a lot of things. We did a couple of quick tests and found that under ideal conditions, i.e. line of sight with no obstructions, we were able to keep a Bluetooth connection between our iPhone and the UltraQ up to 140 feet away. Also, we found that on our back deck, we could keep a connection going 39 feet away, but if we moved around the corner of the house, the connection immediately dropped. So, your mileage may vary.

The BBQ Guru App

This is the first time that BBQ Guru has come out with an App to support a wireless temperature controller. We gave you a brief taste of the BBQ Guru App in the previous section, so now let's move on and take a look at the main features of the App.

So let's start off by looking at the BBQ Guru App's Grilling Dashboard:

Menu - Tap the three horizontal lines to display the menu. Alarm Indicator - A solid bell indicates there is an alarm pending. Device Name - The name of your device is displayed here. Firmware Status - The firmware level and status is displayed here, along with either a Bluetooth, Wi-Fi or no connection icon. Scroll Devices - If you have more than one device, you can click on the "<" and ">" symbols to scroll left or right between them. Timer - The time remaining on any timer you have set will display here. Probe Status - Each of the four boxes shown will display information about one of your probes. It contains the current temperature, the target temperature and the probe name. You can tap on any of the squares to go to a screen that shows more information about that probe. Blower Indicator - This icon shows if the blower is plugged in and its current duty cycle. Open Lid Detect - This shows if Open Lid Detect is on or off. You can tap it to be taken to the controller settings screen to change it. Ramp Mode - This shows if Ramp Mode is on or off. You can tap it to be taken to the Ramp Mode screen where you can turn it on and off, and change the target ramp temperature. Timeout Indicator - This shows if you have a timer set. You can tap it to be taken to the Timeout screen where you can set a value and an action to take when the timer expires.

Now, let's look at the other areas of the BBQ Guru App. This following group of screens are available from the main menu accessed by clicking on the horizontal lines () in the upper left corner of the screen.

This is Main Menu screen. Tapping on the three horizontal lines in the top left of the screen opens this menu. You can then tap on individual items to go to those screens.	This is the Controller Settings screen. Here you can name your device, choose your temperature units, turn the controller LEDs on or off, turn Open Lid Detect on or off, choose your Smart Cook Settings, turn Display Scanning on or off, and restore the unit to factory settings.	This is the Alarm Settings screen. Here you can set the Pit Alarm Deviation (how high the pit temperature can go before the alarm sounds), how many beeps should sound for an alarm and how long each beep should last.
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This is the Connect to Wi-Fi screen. We'll see more of this in the next section where we look at the Wi-Fi functions.	This is the Firmware Update screen. You can choose this item at any time in order to check to see if there is a new level of firmware available. If there is, it will download automatically.	This is the Disconnect From Bluetooth screen. If you are having trouble connecting your smart device to the UltraQ's Bluetooth, you may need to use this item to disconnect from Bluetooth and then add the controller back to the App in order to reconnect.

Now let's look at the other screens available to you on the BBQ Guru App:

This is the Pit Probe screen. You get here by tapping on the pit probe square block on the home screen. It shows you the name of the probe, the current temperature reading and the current target temperature. Tapping on the target temperature () will open the next screen where you can set the target temperature.	This is the Pit Target Temperature screen for the pit probe. Here you can set a target temperature for your cooker. You can either tap on the "<" and ">" signs to adjust the temperature, or tap on the temperature block and enter a new temperature from the keyboard.	This is a Food Probe screen. You get here by tapping on any of the food probe square blocks on the home screen. It shows you the name of the probe, the current temperature reading and the current target temperature. Tapping on the target temperature () will open the next screen where you can set the target temperature or toggle Ramp Mode on or off.
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This is the Target Temperature screen for a food probe. Here you can set a target temperature for one of the food probes. You can either tap on the "<" and ">" signs to adjust the temperature, or tap on the temperature block and enter a new temperature from the keyboard. You can also turn Ramp Mode on or off for this food probe.	This is the Timeout screen. You get here by either tapping on the timer value on the home screen () or by tapping on the Timeout icon at the lower right of the home screen ()	This is the Food 1 Probe screen. You can open this screen by tapping on the Cook Ramp icon at the bottom of the home screen. Here you can turn Ramp Mode for the Food 1 probe on and off, as well as specify the target temperature for the Food 1 probe.

Finally, once you have set up your UltraQ for Wi-Fi (we'll show you how in the next section), and if you leave the App logged in to ShareMyCook.com, another feature of the BBQ Guru App becomes operative. You can start a cook, watch its graph and end a cook. Once you have ended the cook, you can log on to ShareMyCook.com using a web browser in order to view past cooks, give them more meaningful names, and add more information to each cook.

Once Wi-Fi is enabled and you are logged into ShareMyCook.com, you can then swipe up on the four square temperature blocks on the main screen. This will reveal a "Start Recording Cook" button. Tap it to start recording a cook.		Once the cook has started, you will now see a "Stop Recording Cook" button and "View Cook".
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Tap on "View Cook" to view a graph of all your temperature probes. Note that the chart only shows readings at one-minute intervals. Also, the chart does not refresh. You must close the chart and tap on "View Cook" again to see an updated chart:		Tap on any part of the graph to view the probe temperature readings for that moment in time.