Go-around in require("AT") with PICO on 2v00 and ESP8266 ESP-07S on AT 1.2 (7/16) and SDK 1.5.4.1 (12/16)

Looking into ESP8266 ESP-S07S because I need an external / 'externable' antenna...

It's a while I used 'native' ESP8266 connected to Espruino (PICO). When I need Wifi, I go for the convenient Espruino-Wifi... So I had some trouble finding the tree(s) for the forest - I mean the right setup. Some crystallizing the setup out of the sometimes fuzzy documents got me going... at least for a bit. - Don't get me wrong... the documentation of how 'it was the' is still needed and an update with replace may not the best option...

First tried require("ESP8266WiFi");, but that did not go that well. I could go to the Wifi module, but the wifi connect always failed. Doing some inlining of the module sources and enabling debugging, I did some more search on the Web for the error I got: CIFSR failed: +CIFSR:STAMAC, ....

         |_| espruino.com
 2v00 (c) 2018 G.Williams
>
Connecting to WiFi
Uncaught WiFi connect failed: WIFI CONNECTED
Uncaught WiFi connect failed: undefined
>getWifiIP()
=undefined
CIFSR failed: +CIFSR:STAMAC,"bc:dd:c2:e8:8e:2e"

I found this forum entry about ESP8266: CIFSR failed - from three plus (3+) years. @Gordon hinted that "ESP8266WiFi" may not be the right module version. And in deed - even though my ESP-07S are of more recent version when looking at the dates, "ESP8266WiFi_0v25" module made the trick.

I would like to have the option to put my choice of ESP8266 modules on the Espruino-Wifi board. Espruino Wifi is a nice, complete, integrated thing... and uses less space than this carrier/breakout for the Wifi module just by itself (see picture). The carrier is so wide that it is not usable on regular bread boards: it buries all connection points. I had to resort to the double pinning with pins on the back and socket-sockets on the top. If narrower, the labeling of the pins would have to go, or at least to shrink... Espruio-Wifi has same length but is three pin rows more narrow.

@Gordon, this provides me now substance to answer a question from you whether to think about unpinned Espruino-Wifi: yes... I can not say with reason... and even a step further: un-ESP-ed... Espruino-Wifi-wifi-unpopulated then even becomes a viable alternative for the PICO... pins still available on (ESP8266) pads, but with micro USB (but... yeah... it has less freedom in power, but faster CPU - 100 vs 84 MHz - and more RAM 128 vs 96 k, and flash 512 vs 384 k.

PS: A good capacitor across VCC and GND at the ESP8266 module is still required. - My breakout board for the module is extremely bare... but has space...

3 Attachments

Ahh, yeah - in all the code examples on http://www.espruino.com/ESP8266 I leave the ESP8266WiFi_0v25 module as the default one so copy/paste type stuff should work. I'm open to pull requests that might make it more obvious though? I could just make ESP8266WiFi the new one, with `ESP8266WiFi_early as the handler for the old one.

While I could do the Espruino WiFi unpopulated if I do a new batch, what different ESP8266 modules were you thinking you'd use? As I understand it all the ones that fit in that footprint are effectively the same.

That's correct, they are all the same because the layout / routing / RF constraints do not leave much open, except that some modules carry out the extra serial memory interface pins... like the ones on my Espruino-Wifi boards (but it is not connected). This ESP-07S does not expose this extra pins, as you can see in the pic showing the back.

1 Attachment

Ahh - yeah, that was actually kind of an accident on my part - I should have used the one without the memory pins.

But that's interesting - those ESP07S have a UFL connector for an aerial? I can see that would be a great option.