ESP8266 a Complete Beginners Guide (IOT)

I am making this instructable after my long 2-day struggle with ESP866. Since the day it arrived , to this day , I have surfed through nearly 50+ websites , blogs, instructables , data-sheets . In middle of all this I decided to make my own INSTRUCTABLE for other people who would like to be a part of this wonderful family .

(Yes I used the word family, IOT is a family )

CRUX of this instructable:

1. About ESP8266 .

2. How to start ESP8266 ?

3. Flashing and Programming ESP8266 .

4. Basic Blink Example controlled via Mobile .

Note to the readers : I added this instructable in various Contest , so if you like what you read please VOTE .

Winning a contest will help for further development and experimenting .

If you have read this far :READ MY COMPLETE INSTRUCTABLE AND I ASSURE YOU , IT WILL MAKE YOUR LIFE EASIER .

Questions and Queries are welcome , feel free to drop a message ( with some love , hehe )

Let us start -

• What is ESP8266 ?
• The ESP8266 is a low-cost WiFi chip with full TCP/IP stack and MCU (Micro Controller Unit) capability produced by Shanghai-based Chinese manufacturer, Espressif Systems.
• OR It is just a WiFi module which can be used with other Electronic Platforms . You can relate to it as the WiFi which is present in your Laptops , Smartphones , Tablets , etc . It has a 4 MB Flash memory which can be used to store programs .
• Over the years there have been many advancements on ESP8266 and there are many different modules of the same. Since I have the ESP-01 module only I will discuss it , also it is not breadboard friendly so therefore we have to use Male to Female headers / PCB with Female headers for ESP and Male Headers for breadboard .

• The BEST PART is it is very cheap starting from $3 .

• It can act like AP(Access Point) or connect to AP or Both .

• It can be used in Home Automation devices .

• It can very well receive commands via the internet or local host.

• It can act like an ARDUINO .

• The ESP8266 is also faster and stores more than the Arduino , the only con is with the ESP-01 since it has only 2 GPIO pins ( General Purpose Input Output ) , for which you can use ESP-12.

Working of ESP8266 :

1. First we connect and set-up the environment required for ESP8266 , that is through the Arduino-IDE . Nowadays there are may different platforms to run ESP8266 , but since Arduino is universal , we will use that.
2. The ESP8266 needs to be flashed with a firmware which will host the program . In this too there are many different firmware(s) . And it needs to be put into Flash mode before flashing.
3. After Flashing we upload our program in the same way like an Arduino but with a small catch that the ESP8266 needs to be put into Bootloader mode before uploading .
4. Saving the program on the ESP8266 so that it does not reset after restarting .
5. Last but not the least ONLY 3.3V and NOT 5V .

*************************************************************************************

WARNING : WORKS ONLY WITH 3.3V AND NOT 5V . ESP8266 WILL PROBABLY FRY AT 5V .

ENSURE TX ,RX , Vcc ARE AT 3.3V BEFORE CONNECTION .

*************************************************************************************

The basic question is what all is needed to use this great tool . I will also lay out all the alternatives I have read so far which are used to program ESP-01 (ESP8266) .

1. ESP8266 module . I will use ESP-01 .
2. A 3.3 Volts power supply

   or 5 volt to 3.3 volt DC-to-DC converter

   for standalone ESP projects or AMS1117 or LM1117 converters(LD33 ) .
   

3. Arduino UNO or any other Arduino , with wire ( With or Without the IC )
4. Female to Male , Male to Male Header wires .
5. Breadboard mini or general 850 Point one ( Basically any Breadboard ) .
6. If you don't have or want Arduino , You can use a FTDI or USB to Serial TTL CP2102 adapter .

NOTE : Basic thing to understand is that the ESP can be powered with Arduino or the CP2102 adapter while programming , but for standalone projects we need a solid power supply at 3.3 Volt and 500mA .

*************************************************************************************

WARNING : WORKS ONLY WITH 3.3V AND NOT 5V . ESP8266 WILL PROBABLY FRY AT 5V .

I don't take responsibility for it.

*************************************************************************************

Basically it needs only 3.3V and Maximum of 800mA at peak and Minimum 250mA to operate .

I have attached a PDF from the ESP8266 Community Wiki that is a datasheet of ESP8266 .

I will be using this Freeduino ( Similar to Arduino ) to program the ESP-01 , since I don't want to remove the IC from my new UNO .

Setting up the Environment .

Software Arduino Environment v 1.6.4 or greater

Installing with Boards Manager Starting with 1.6.4, Arduino allows installation of third-party platform packages using Boards Manager.

It have packages available for Windows, Mac OS, and Linux (32 and 64 bit).

Install Arduino 1.6.4 (or greater) from the Arduino website ( I have 1.6.11) . Start Arduino and open Preferences window.

Enter http://arduino.esp8266.com/package_esp8266com_ind... into Additional Board Manager URLs field. You can add multiple URLs, separating them with commas. Open Boards Manager from Tools > Board menu and install ESP8266 platform (and don't forget to select your ESP8266 board from Tools > Board menu after installation).

Procedure:
Start Arduino 1.6.4 or Higher

Select ‘Tools’- ‘Port’ whatever # your USB-serial is on

Select ‘Tools’ -‘Board’ ‘Generic ESP8266 Module’

Select ‘Tools’- ‘CPU Frequency’ ‘80MHz’ or Overclock afterwards at '160Mhz'

Select ‘Tools’ -‘Flash Size’ ‘512K (64K SPIFFS)

Select ‘Tools’ -‘Upload Speed’ ‘115200’ for ESP 12E , also Some ESPs may be 9600

CONNECTIONS

The Connections are ( For ARDUINO ) :-

Firstly Remove the Atmega Chip from the Arduino

1. Vcc and CH_PD ( ENable) to 3.3V on Arduino
2. GND to Ground . ( For ESP -12 , GPIO15 to GND as well )
3. Tx to Tx of Arduino
4. Rx to Rx of Arduino
5. RST , GPIO0, GPIO2 are floating ( Neither High nor Low )

Important part here is the ESP uses more current than the Arduino , thus at risk .

Therefore I use and external DC 12 V , 1 A beside the PC connection .

For other connections refer the Images .

Before flashing lets check the connections

The ESP modules usually come with a built in AT Firmware by the Ai-Thinker .

So refer to this Image for commands .

Open up the Arduino , Go to the Serial Monitor ( Do select your COM port ) and Write :

AT

// This should return OK , else it's not working

Possible Errors :

1. Check connections
2. Select proper Baud Rate
3. Arduino COM port is correct
4. The Red LED ( ESP 01 ) is Bright (High )

If none of these work Pray to God .

Some Commands :

AT+GMR = to check firmware version

AT+RST = Soft reset

AT+CWLAP = Find Nearby Wi-Fi

AT+CWJAP = Connect to a specified AP

NOTE : If you are trying to connect to any wifi using AT+CWJAP and it returns ERROR or just sits there

Follow these commands :

AT+RST

AT+CWJAP=" "," " // ( This should return Error or OK, it's fine )

AT+CWJAP? // No AP or Error , Still Fine

AT+CWJAP = "Your SSID","Your Password" // THESE ARE CASE SENSITIVE

ALTERNATE TO AT command from ARDUINO :

There is this Java Software : ESPlorer , a wonder to use .

I have uploaded this also in the ZIP file .

Now the main step ,

The ESP can be programmed by various methods .

There are many Firmwares for it like the NodeMCU , ESPBasic , Arduino , etc

The NodeMcu runs on the LUA script ( Out of my expertise as of now )

But Arduino still runs on C++ ( In my expertise )

So we will Flash a firmware which will make the ESP to take the Arduino Script (Cpp script ) and run it .

Softwares available :

1. ESP8266 Flasher
2. NodeMcu's own Flasher
3. ESP Flash Download Tool
4. Another ESP flash tool

In my Quest ( To flash ESP 12E ) , I learnt and tried mostly all of them .

I made a zip file for all the different tools I have used .

Now to the main part ( Using the ESP8266 Flasher )

• Open ESP8266 Flasher
• Select the COM port ( Very Important )
• Select the BIN file , i.e your Firmware file
• Take GPIO0 to GND ( RST and GPIO2 are floating )
• Select 0x00000
• Hit Download
• The Blue Led starts to Blink fast

It will start to Erase and Write firmware ( 0 to 99% )

And will end at saying Unable to leave Flash mode , Don't worry it's perfectly fine.

THE BIN FILE is in THE ZIP ( v0.9.2.2 AT Firmware.bin ) Use this .

Possible Errors :

• GPIO0 is not grounded
• Loose connections
• COM port is not correct

If nothing works , restart your ESP and Take the RST ( Reset ) to Gnd and remove

Let the blue Led flash once and try again from the start

These instructions are available everywhere but the most important part here is to put the ESP module in Bootloader mode before uploading .

Firstly select The correct Board - Generic ESP8266 module

Then the COM port

Open any program in Arduino , let us say Blink .

Change pin 13 to 2 , and use a LED and Upload

Now before hitting Upload , take Gpio0 to ground

And RST to ground afterwards , Remove RST after half a second ( The blue led flashes for some millisecond )

Take GPIO0 back ( To high or Float )

Hit Upload , the blue flashes once and then blinks till it gets uploaded .

Now you are all done . Remember before uploading put ESP in Boot Mode .

Thanks for reading and If you have any queries just comment below , Very Happy to Help .

P.S : If you are looking for serious home automation , Try using NodeMCU or ESP-12E or 12F .

Since they have More GPIO pins .

If I helped you in any way , do hit on that little heart , means a lot to me .