My Ugly ESP GW Prototype

[hek]

Ok, had to toss something together for the ESP gw development.
Not pretty, but hopefully it'll work.

[Fabien]

Why did you need arduino ? ESP can be programmed. The only problem now is EEPROM in Mysensors library. And you don't need 5V/3.3V adapt. ESP input are 5V tolerant (see datasheet).
Can you post shematic and ESP code (arduino compatible ?)

[hek]

@Fabien
Yes, I know it can be programmed directly which could be a good option for (none battery) sensor nodes. It is still somewhat more complicated to get started using ESP modules (compared to Arduino). Waiting with interest on results from the community members trying to port MySensors library running natively on ESP.

But anyhow, the gateway @tbowmo is designing will running on a ATMega1284 and communicate through serial AT-commands to ESP, so I'd better start developing that code as well.

Regarding ESP inputs being 5V tolerant.. When googling around I'm getting mixed results regarding this. Better safe than sorry.

[Fabien]

On datasheet P15 : http://www.adafruit.com/datasheets/ESP8266_Specifications_English.pdf

All digital IO pins are protected from over-voltage with a snap-back circuit connected between
the pad and ground. The snap back voltage is typically about 6V, and the holding voltage is 5.8V.
This provides protection from over-voltages and ESD. The output devices are also protected
from reversed voltages with diodes.

[RJ_Make]

@hek Ugly???? That right there is a thing of beauty in my world...

[scalz]

@hek: very interesting. I will follow your work too.
Do you know Huzzah esp8266, I think yes. Because pcb board is opensource and it is easier to use than china breadboard. But maybe you received it with esp on it? Otherwise it could help if you have more chips.
See you soon.

[hek]

@scalz said:

Huzzah esp8266

Yes, Huzzah seems nice. But I bought a couple of these (which includes an esp-07):
http://www.ebay.com/itm/141656822263?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

[hitosnap]

All ESP stuff info http://tech.scargill.net/ ESP12E or ESP13 .

[Didi]

I knowMr Scargills techblog very long and it´s really good

[tbowmo]

@hek

Do you have some more details on that level converter thingie that you've used between the arduino, and the ESP8266?

[hek]

I used this one:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/181572335264?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

[Moshe Livne]

@hek what is the thing the nrf is sitting on? what is the esp for? and if this is ugly, you should see some of my stuff.... it is almost neat....

[hek]

@Moshe-Livne

Te radio is sitting on a (slightly modified) NRF-socket adapter plate as I didn't have any AMS step downs laying around.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Socket-Adapter-plate-Board-for-8Pin-NRF24L01-Wireless-Transceive-module-51-/200960749614?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2eca31b02e

The ESP is there to create a wireless connection to the controller (PoC).

[tekka]

@hek said:

Waiting with interest on results from the community members trying to port MySensors library running natively on ESP.

I'm running the GW sketch (and repeater node) natively on the ESP8266 - however, the porting needs some additional work on EEPROM handling and pointer addressing. Also, a stable power supply is important (>3.1V with ESP8266 and NRF24 attached, no peaks). Will post more as porting progresses.

[Mickey]

@tekka said:

@hek said:

Waiting with interest on results from the community members trying to port MySensors library running natively on ESP.

I'm running the GW sketch (and repeater node) natively on the ESP8266 - however, the porting needs some additional work on EEPROM handling and pointer addressing. Also, a stable power supply is important (>3.1V with ESP8266 and NRF24 attached, no peaks). Will post more as porting progresses.

Do you porting it to Arduino environment or using the native esp sdk ?

[A Former User]

Would also be interested to have MySensors on ESP8266 "native" (without Arduino) using the Arduino IDE. This is what you are planning to do ?

[BulldogLowell]

I'll donate a Photon to someone who can port the ethernet gateway over to Particle!!!

@hek ?? WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO ADD A LOT OF FUNCTIONALITY WITH THIS LITTLE POWERHOUSE

128KB RAM
120MHZ

[epierre]

I already have one, thanx !

guy, I had the same idea, and the photon is a beast (when you make it work for I was an alpha alpha tester...)

[epierre]

@BulldogLowell someone already ported the nrf24l library here: https://community.particle.io/t/request-answered-nrf24l01-library/2286

[NeverDie]

Have you guys seen this? http://www.seeedstudio.com/depot/EMW3165-CortexM4-based-WiFi-SoC-Module-p-2488.html
The specs seem almost the same as the Photon's, but it's less than half the price. And, it's in stock.

I'm open minded. Is there a reason to prefer the Photon?

[tbowmo]

@NeverDie

Looks interesting. However, it's probably a bit more complicated to use for newcommers, as it's not arduino compatible (not yet anyways).

[NeverDie]

@tbowmo said:

@NeverDie

Looks interesting. However, it's probably a bit more complicated to use for newcommers, as it's not arduino compatible (not yet anyways).

Good point. Also, the Photon already has header pins soldered on, and not having that means extra work.

I think I'm persuaded that, at least for now, the Photon can justify its higher price.

What's the best board to dock it into? Or is it simply roll-you-own with female headers on some prototyping board?

Sparkfun will have a Photon redboard, but at $39.95....

[tbowmo]

@NeverDie

Is Photon compatible with Arduino? (the build eco system). That is one of the key elements of mysensors at the moment, and what makes it accessible for newcommers.

If not then everything needs to be ported to another build system..

[BulldogLowell]

@tbowmo said:

Is Photon compatible with Arduino?

It is "Arduino-like" for sure, but a little different in that it's implementation is still developing. I've done a few projects with Photon, including (vera controlled) LED projects and sensors. There are some differences so you may find it rough at first (particularly with the availability of Libraries).

Probably a great add-on to your sensor network if you are more experienced with Arduino.

Like MySensors, they have a terrific forum!

PS, comparable to the EMW3165, the P1 version of photon is $10

[NeverDie]

@tbowmo said:

@NeverDie

Is Photon compatible with Arduino? (the build eco system). That is one of the key elements of mysensors at the moment, and what makes it accessible for newcommers.

If not then everything needs to be ported to another build system..

Glad you brought this up.

[rvendrame]

@tekka said:

I'm running the GW sketch (and repeater node) natively on the ESP8266 - however, the porting needs some additional work on EEPROM handling and pointer addressing. Also, a stable power supply is important (>3.1V with ESP8266 and NRF24 attached, no peaks). Will post more as porting progresses.

Would mind to share your sketch for the ESP8266 + WiFi+GW + nRF24 ? If I understood correctly --- the ESP can run the mySensors GW + regular Wi-fi, replacing the arduino? Any other downside than the EEPROM ?

Thanks!

[tekka]

@rvendrame yes, ESP8266 + nRF24L01 = GW. However, build is currently unstable and WIP.

[rvendrame]

@tekka, ok got it. I just managed to run my serial GW on my media-player computer (using a serial to ethernet program), so I now I finally have my kind of ethernet GW. Thanks!

[barduino]

@rvendrame said:

@tekka, ok got it. ... so I now I finally have my kind of ethernet GW. Thanks!

NodeJS?

[rvendrame]

@barduino , I have Vera as controller. And I have a old mac mini which is my media player / nas / voip / etc... I just installed the .99c TCP2Serial on it, and plugged my serial gateway. It is working like a charm.

[Daniel Oliveira]

Hi @hek and everyone,

I'm starting to get really interested in knowing more about these ESP8266 litle things but after some "googling" I still didn't figured out one thing. I already saw some projects to use an ESP alone as a GW (with a RF24 module attached) but is it not possible to have a MySensor's network of only ESPs?

One ESP as GE and multiple others as sensor nodes? Why?

Thank you all in advance,
Daniel

[hek]

Most probably possible once someone get library running on it.

[tbowmo]

@Daniel-Oliveira

If you were to make a sensor network only with ESP8266, you don't need mysensors (as I see it). It has network capabilities by itself (wifi), so you could actually just connect them to your existing wifi network (or create a new one with an old router).

One thing though, they probably will use more current, compared to nrf24 / rfm69. Unless you can power up/down the module. But then you'll have latency time when connecting to the wifi, before sending the actual sensor values.

But besides that, it should be possible to make some sort of sensor network with the ESP only..

[Lucas Figg]

Does anyone have any working examples of Sensebender Micro working with a Photon? I have all the parts but finding it difficult to unravel all GW libs and so on. I just want to use my sensebender with a Onewire waterproof temp sensor and for it to report back to the Photon every 5 minutes or so.