CHEAP wifi modules, at last!

[HenrikOlsson]

Got three in the mail today, ordered a couple of weeks back. Will have to wait and see when I get time to play with them....

[ardhuru]

Great! Looking forward to your observations.

[ardhuru]

Well folks, this comes close enough to get you started.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Usin...SP8266-module/

[HenrikOlsson]

Yes, found that too and have now been able to "manually" connect to my WiFi and serve up a most basic web-page using the terminal program in MCSP and a USB to UART dongle (no PBP code involved yet).
Couple of random notes partly from info I've found and partly from experience.

My module is the little blue one with a 2x4 pin header on it.

* Make sure you use a dongle/adapter that outputs 3.3V, not 5V!
* If you have a red and a blue LED on the board it's a V090 (using 115200 baud), if you don't have the LEDs you have a V080 (using 57600). (See here
* On the V090 module the Ch_PD I/O needs to be tied to (or pulled up to) Vcc.
* The USB dongle I was using wasn't able to provide enough power at it's 3.3V Vcc setting. Had to use external power supply.
* Watch the Tx and Rx markings. Mine seems to reversed (ie I had to connect Tx on the module to Tx on the dongle) or I was just very tired and confused at the time. I haven't yet figured out if it's the module or the dongle that's marked incorrectly. Good thing is that nothing get damaged (as long as you're using 3.3V signals) so if it doesn't seem to want to talk to you you can always TRY reversing the connections.

Next step will be to make up some sort of test rig with a PIC with two USARTs, one for interfacing to the module and one for interfacing to the PC.

/Henrik.

[ardhuru]

Thats good valuable information, Henrik. Thanks.

[ardhuru]

Henrik, I'm trying to connect the module to a terminal emulator. I have a true serial port on my PC (not a USB-to-serial).

I understand I'll have to use a level shifter. But, would I also need to invert the signals? Or just resistor(s) in the Tx/Rx lines?

[pedja089]

You need MAX3232.

[HenrikOlsson]

Hi,
You'd need to invert and level shift them.
I'd recommend using something like this. (Many many alternatives available of course but make sure it's designed to work at 3.3V).

I'd like to clarify that the dongle I used isn't a "USB to RS232" one but a "USB to UART", this one to be precise.

/Henrik.

EDIT: Oops, pedja089 posted while I was typing and getting distracted with other things....