ESP8266-01 sharing my enthusiasm

[Heckler]

towlerg,

To flash the ESPBASIC OS into the module you will need some sort of connection to the modules TX/RX pins at 9600 baud.

One very easy way is to use an USB/Serial converter like this one...
https://www.tindie.com/products/Apri...ll_prod_search

This board is specifically designed for the ESP -01 module.
Makes if VERY easy to interact with the -01 module, includes reset and flash buttons, is 3.3v, has the usb/serial built in.

Then you go to www.espbasic.com and download the flasher utility and follow the video tutorial.

Once you have the espbasic os loaded on your module you then do all the programming inside an IDE that is hosted via a webpage inside the -01 module by connecting to 192.168.4.1 from your pc connected DIRECTLY to the esp module. Once connected to the module you can change its settings and have it connect to your home wifi and then you would connect your PC back to your home wifi (or wired network) and then browse to the esp's newly aquired IP address from your home wifi.

Drop dead simple and very powerful.

Or you could buy one of the nodemcu esp modules and it has its own usb/serial built in with many more I/O pins. But I am enamored with the cheap, simple, tiny little -01 modules.

after you flash the OS to the module then use a terminal program like putty, etc. to connect to the usb serial port and watch the feedback there as you reset the module. If you have given it (via the settings page in the IDE) your home wifi credintials it will report via the serial port what the newly acquired IP address is, or you can go into your home router and try and find the device there. (much easier to use the serial feedback info)

good luck
dwight

[Heckler]

If you don't have an easy way to connect your PC to the wifi (as opposed to a LapTop which should have built in wifi)... I have had good success with one of these...
http://www.amazon.com/Edimax-EW-7811...words=usb+wifi

[towlerg]

I had a quick look and was surprised to see an OTA method. I guess it works like a bootloader, with the usual potential to overwrite the bootload code when you're flashing?

George

[Heckler]

towlerg,

Once you get the BASIC OS flashed into the device then ALL code programming is done OTA via the hosted IDE inside the module.
The only reason to use the serial connection would be to gain additional information via feedback from the module.
Some of that feedback includes...
>attempts to connect to whatever wifi you have given it credentials for
>the newly acquired IP address if a successful connection is made
>if a wifi connection is not successful then you will see the fact that the device is reverting back to an AP so you can connect to it directly to modify configuration
>after 30 seconds from most recent reset/poweron it will tell you it is starting to run the default program code (which is any code saved with out a specific file name)
>other serial data, depending on code statements like "print" or "serialprint" that direct the module to send data to the serial pins tx/rx

But once you have the BASIC OS loaded there really is no danger(that I have experienced) of overwriting or corrupting that OS from the IDE.
You just write/save your ESPBASIC code in the IDE and then click the run button at the top of the IDE webpage.

The serial feedback is just additional helpful information but not a necessary requirement to continue working with the module, changing/editing code, etc.

In my example, where the module is displaying time of day, the only way for the module to get that time is to be in STATION mode, connected to my home wifi and the www.
If the module is in the AP mode where you would connect to it directly (192.168.4.1) then it would not have access to any NTP server to get the time of day.

The real power of this module (for me), and the connection to PIC BASIC on this forum, is to easily be able to interface to a PIC of your choosing and interface via the serial RX/TX and have your PIC running it's own program and have easy access to wifi and the www

I hope this helps
good luck

[Dave]

Dwight, I saw your project posted on the ESP8266 Forum and decided to add it to my NIXIE clock I built a few years ago. Here is the clock... I built them with some old salvaged VM100 tubes and sockets from a couple of Allen Bradley DRO's.