#120

[@garycrockett4477]

Success! Your first unfinished sketch - turning the builtin LED on and off via WiFi - I was able to complete that sketch (with help from some other websites), and got it working. My wife and daughters were VERY impressed! Again, thanks for helping make a complex topic so clear and understandable.

[@RalphBacon]

Fantastic! It's the small successes that can drive us on to do bigger things, Gary. Keep going!

[@mrroobarb]

Always test, test and test again... So many projects of mine (once hard soldered) have failed for reasons unknown due to lack of testing. It is so annoying when something you have used on the bench and works perfectly fails as soon as it's deployed in the real world. A video on this subject would certainly be of interest to me and hopefully others. Great work as always, many thanks for creating and sharing, Bruce.

[@RalphBacon]

You are most welcome Bruce Morgan, I'm glad you like the video, and I will add your topic to my list. The major problem with software is that developers always test the "happy path" and don't allow for anomalies. As for hardware, well that's a different kettle of fish. Nice to hear from you.

[@ThatMicro43Guy]

I’ve had a Wemos D1 sitting at home for ages and struggled to get my head around it. But last night I mastered it with the help of your video. Today I’ve installed it into my central heating boiler to smart control the timer via Blynk and it is controlled from my iPod via Siri Shortcuts. Awesome! Thanks for the inspiration to get off my *&&£*#* and sort the project out.

[@RalphBacon]

I can ask for no more than that I have inspired you to "have a go". And it seems you went above and beyond, Brian.

[@TheRealStructurer]

Just started with the D1 Mini, so there was a lot of good info here. Thanks for sharing 👍🏼

[@RalphBacon]

Glad it was helpful! Check that the TX/RX pins really are those, if you use them (mine were reversed!)

[@jezebabe]

Interesting intro to the Wemos D1 mini and shield family. I only just stumbled upon the D1 after getting into the Arduino. Thanks for all the information and demos. I have subscribed and look forward to exploring your other content.

[@RalphBacon]

Thanks for the sub, JezH, nice to have you along for the Arduinite journey. I'll be doing more with the ESP8266 / ESP32 as we go forward. Thanks for posting.

[@MrEerilybasic]

​@@RalphBacongreat video. I subscribed!

[@RalphBacon]

Glad you liked it, and Welcome Aboard!

[@OsoPolarClone]

Glad to see you back after your difficult times and that your “honey do” list is completed! ;-). I enjoy your videos as always; they are very informative and instructive!

[@RalphBacon]

Thanks for that, Bruce Peterson, nice to hear from you. But just a heads up that I'm on holiday/vacation soon so I will be "off grid" for another two or three weeks. But after that, full steam ahead to Xmas.

[@OsoPolarClone]

Ralph S Bacon Enjoy your holiday

[@royoboy5787]

Your verbosity is wonderful:)

[@RalphBacon]

Um... you sayin' I talk a lot? Yes, I agree otherwise my videos would be a lot shorter! I hope you still enjoy them, Roy, thanks for posting here.

[@anatolypetrova6841]

Thanks for this video, Ralph! Currently diving into many rabbit holes concerning the installation of Home Assistant and adding protocols for my new home. I just ordered a Wemos D1 Mini (V3) with a DC Shield and a PWM Converter. I'm planning to use the D1 with ESPHome (or maybe something easier such as Tasmota or ESPEasy because it's my first installation) to give 0-10v signals to my mechanical ventilation (Zehnder ComfoAir E300). I checked the Zehnder in my new home and it got three pins (?): GND, 12v and 0-10v. So with a closed circuit I can drive the Wemos D1 from my Zehnder and get it to automatically running once I'm showering (with a humidity sensor picking up a drastically increase in humidity) and once my cooker hood is on (maybe with a smart plug / switch or from the unit itself, because it's a Siemens cooker hood with Home Connect). Will keep you posted how it all works out in a couple of months :)

[@RalphBacon]

Sounds like a project to keep you busy! Have you seen Pete Scargill's website that deals with MQTT, Node-Red and full Home Automation. I've briefly skimmed what he was doing, got my 4-ch Sonoff to respond to Alexa and then stopped. That was at least 1 year ago. But he is the guru of this stuff, worth taking some time to read his stuff, really it is. tech.scargill.net/

[@MrBobWareham]

Thanks, Ralph for the introduction to wemos

[@RalphBacon]

Glad you liked it, Bob, always good to hear from you.

[@daviddoidge1252]

Welcome back, missed your videos

[@RalphBacon]

You're very kind, David, to say that! But make the most of this one because I'm on vacation for a couple of weeks which means another gap. But we'll get back into the groove (as the youth of today probably don't say any more) pretty soon! Thanks for posting.

[@daviddoidge1252]

oh noooooo................haha Have a safe holiday

[@georgestewart5879]

Great video as usual Ralph, nice little unit with loads of possibilitys.

[@RalphBacon]

Thanks for your post, George Stewart, good to hear from you.

[@dannyjensen4954]

Great video. Thanks and Merry Christmas.

[@RalphBacon]

Same to you!

[@Ed19601]

My go-to ESP. Module :-) There are 2 versions of the battery shield. The newer one has a resistor between Ao and Vbat (via a jumper). The battery shield is really handy, but not the most efficient to use in terms of on-time as the 3.7 is first transformed to 5 voltv which is then brought back to 3.3. For a power backup it is unbeatable, for a battery only project there are better solutions. The temperature shield is best used for testing as the Wemos proximity will raise the temperature. Though I have not used it myself, I hear the relay board might not be such a good choice as it seems to have some weird driver IC....... But I could be wrong

[@RalphBacon]

Funny you should mention the battery shield, Ed. Whilst it certainly does work to power the Mini D1 I have not done any kind of power consumption testing (yet). But as a UPS module it works brilliantly (I testing plugging in an out the charging cable many times and it did not bat an eyelid).

[@Ed19601]

@@RalphBacon yes it does. Easy to use

[@sygad1]

Very much enjoyed your presentation style, good pace and you clearly point out things to look for. If you're open to suggestions for future videos, I would love to see you do a video on how the D1 mini can be used to control a relay or solenoid valve.

[@RalphBacon]

Great suggestion! Perhaps my Bacon's Bytes video series will include this as part of the MOSFET episode.

[@arsebiscuitsandwine]

Great video as always Ralph - I've got a bag of D1s I haven't had chance to play with yet, this video will be a great help when I do.

[@RalphBacon]

Yes, do play with them. I think the ESP8266 based modules are pretty good these days and nicely integrated into the Arduino IDE too. Thanks for posting.

[@resnbl1]

Another header wiring question: with your neat little stack (D1, battery shield and OLED), how would you make connections for other external devices (LEDs, sensors, etc.)? I'd like the D1 to be breadboard-able during development, but then fit into a stack for deployment.

[@RalphBacon]

You can get development shields to build your own custom circuit on. Obviously they have to be small enough to fit onto the ESP8266 Mini format or else you would have to design a daughter board that connects to the headers but overhangs if you have a big circuit. The bare dev boards are cheap, mainly because they are just a bit of PCB with headers sized to fit this format. Also look at my recent Home Alone project; there I have designed a HEX PCB base so I can have six on a single board so it is a bit flatter. Oh, and use *good quality* sockets, headers and stackable headers.

[@resnbl1]

@@RalphBacon Thanks for the hints. I might just go with the usual protoboard stuff as I only have about six lines from the D1 stack to other components.

[@KenCharleton]

Good video thanks Ralph

[@RalphBacon]

Glad you liked it!

[@cacaokingdom3122]

I have LiPo batteries with that micro JST connector hard mounted to the battery without leads. Would be interesting to check polarity compared to that connector.

[@RalphBacon]

There just doesn't seem to be a standard - well, not at the time of making this video. Perhaps things have got better by now and follow a defacto standard.

[@george8bitsworth]

I have one question. I suspect the answer is common knowledge, but is the power voltage for the Wemos D1 3.3 volts? A note about Linford Cristie. I first heard of him (probably when the rest of the world heard of him) in summer 1992 when he won the 100 meters in the Olympics. My personal note is that I was watching the race from a bed in St. Richards Hospital in Chichester. I was recovering from a broken leg which I broke while on vacation/holiday from California.

[@RalphBacon]

Yes, all ESP8266-based boards run at 3.3 volts. Although 5v is also present ofttimes just for compatibility with the Uno. At the very least some sort of resistor-based voltage level shifting should be used; ideally, a proper level-shifter would be better. They cost pennies but are just so "messy" to wire up which is why so many Arduinites take a punt and just try it with 5v. Sometimes it survives, sometimes not. And congratulations on your leg healing some 25 years ago; let's hope it never happens again.

[@johnstephenson2891]

Ralph, I know it's an old video and this comment/question is a little "off-topic" but what lib did you use to get the clock running. Current 1.2.7 displays nothing but I get half a clock with 1.2.0., SFE_MicroOLED.h. Thanks

[@RalphBacon]

To be honest, John, I just loaded up the example sketch that comes with the library I'm using (and is probably in my GitHub for this project). Try using the library I did and see whether that works better for you.

[@johnstephenson2891]

@@RalphBacon I found a simple fix! It was called "Go to bed, and try tomorrow!" It all worked fine!! lol

[@petewhite4233]

Hi again Ralph I'm going to forget about the OLED I was having problems with for the time being, as I know it works perfectly with another library. Meanwhile, I've managed to adapt your code for sending temperature data using the SHT30, which I don't have, to the BMP180 shield. Remember, I said "what could possibly go wrong?" Well, nothing actually and it works a treat. Having dabbled a bit with HTML/CSS, one refinement I thought of was to have the page refresh every so many seconds/minutes so as not to keep pressing F5 all the time. So I included the line: client.println(""); within I used &quot because multiple inverted commas threw up errors with the compiler. But it still doesn't work. I wonder if you could show us the correct syntax in this context as it might be useful to others as well. Thanks again for your very informative videos and your help with the OLED

[@RalphBacon]

I don't blame you giving up on that library/OLED combination at all, Pete! You've got a solution so stick with it. Regarding that line, you can use _single_ quotes within your main double-quoted string. LIke this: client.println(""); Have a go. Don't forget to put all HTML into PROGMEM or you will quickly run out of run-time memory. These days I put all my HTML into a separate text file and read it in and spit it back out again, makes testing and editing the HTML much, much quicker. It does mean you have to store it somewhere, eg SPIFFS or SD card.

[@petewhite4233]

Oh, OK. I thought I had tried that actually. I'll try again.

[@petewhite4233]

Yes, it works fine! Thanks for that. It works on my phone too

[@RalphBacon]

Success at last then! Good to hear it!

[@Matias-rn9ff]

Great video sir!

[@RalphBacon]

Thanks for your post, Matías, good to hear from you.

[@petewhite4233]

Many thanks for prompt reply, Ralph. I was using the Adafruit lib 'forked' by Mike Causer to specifically cater for the 64x48 I2C display. I am at a loss, therefore, to understand the error message - #if (SSD1306_LCDHEIGHT != 48) #error("Height incorrect, please fix Adafruit_SSD1306.h!"); #endif However, I am quite happy to use U8g2 lib (which often succeeds where others fail!) It will do what I want it to do. Thanks for the warning about screen burn.

[@RalphBacon]

It probably means you have not added a #define in your sketch to tell the library which screen you have. In my edited library I have added the line: #define SSD1306_64_48 which might be all you need. Otherwise use the Adafruit library on my GitHub which either I have edited or it came like that, but I have no idea which it was: github.com/RalphBacon/ESP8266-Home-Alone-Vulnerable-Person-Monitor I'm still using this library so I know it works just fine! And you don't have to add anything but it will get out of date as Adafruit update theirs.

[@petewhite4233]

Despite adding #define, as you suggested plus a couple more for the height and width, the OLED still doesn't perform as expected. I still get a display chopped off on all sides as if no attempt has been made to tailor it for this size. What is the point of the error trapping if it behaves in exactly the same way as when I comment it out. I'd be interested to know if your display behaves in the same way as mine. Of course it is still useable for a text display, you just need to be careful with formatting. U8g2 lib takes care of the different sizes of display and works a treat. And I still get nothing from the Sparkfun clock. I was experimenting with the wifi, which seems OK, if a bit slow and I want to try out your code for the SHT30. However, I don't have one but will have to modify your code to read the BMP180 shield instead. What could possibly go wrong!!??

[@RalphBacon]

If your OLED screen is the same as mine it has GOT to work! I have it running on more than one example. So how about I send you my OLED test sketch - well, the one that Adafruit includes that I have edited, can't remember what, too long ago. Use that with the libraries here and it has just GOT to work! As you say, What could possibly go wrong!!?? Get the libraries and the test sketch here: www.dropbox.com/sh/g3j9adxz8q61tps/AABG_l4bKqKEinMKsUm6Y7gVa?dl=0 When you compile (you're using the Arduino IDE?) keep a sharp watch on where it is dragging the libraries in from! Make sure it is this one!

[@TMS5100]

watch those boot pins and esp8266 is a great microcontroller to use.

[@RalphBacon]

Thanks for your post, ms3bani, I agree it is a good chip indeed. Good to hear from you.

[@IanSlothieRolfe]

I had a look at a LiPo battery I have and it has the red lead on the left of the JST connector (With the longitudinal key on top and the "hook" on the bottom) , as your sheild expects. However googling for images of JST power connectors shows some of them wired the other way! There are a dozen or so types of JST connector with different pin pitches and sizes though, so maybe it depends on the connector type? At least I am warned to check carefully... I have a Seeed Arduino with a JST type connector that is wired the other way, although that one expects two key ribs on top. Lucky I never tried plugging the LiPo into it!

[@RalphBacon]

Yes, it appears it is up to the implementor to determine polarity, Ian. What could possibly go wrong? Oh.

[@MrBobWareham]

Hi Ralph where do you get your D1 Mini from as I have two clones that don't work properly and want to purchase the real thing I notice now that the d1 v3 has no can so are they genuine? Bob

[@RalphBacon]

Hi Bob, I got all my Wemos D1 Mini stuff from Banggood as they seemed to stock the whole range. Now whether that is a genuine range or not I couldn't say. It does have the Wemos branding but that means nothing. That said, I now have two of my Home Alone units running 24/7 in my mum's apartment and they don't go wrong! Geekcreit seem to have flooded the market recently though. Example: www.banggood.com/5Pcs-WeMos-D1-mini-V2_2_0-WIFI-Internet-Development-Board-Based-ESP8266-4MB-FLASH-ESP-12S-Chip-p-1150188.html?p=FQ040729393382015118&

[@darkhydra8908]

awesome video!!!

[@RalphBacon]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@Roy_Tellason]

Just curious, have you tested the range of these devices? I'm wondering how far they can go, and still make a reliable wifi connection.

[@RalphBacon]

I haven't done any range testing, Roy. I do know that it works fine through two brick walls at about 10m in my mum's flat in Germany which was my only concern. This report has much more detail: hackaday.com/2014/09/26/esp8266-distance-testing/

[@Roy_Tellason]

Well, I must say, the results seen after following that link are *quite* impressive! I guess I'm going to have to get a hold of some of these modules and play with them a bit.

[@RalphBacon]

That's the only way you will truly know the results. Go for it!

[@g7mks383]

Really found this demo and explanation useful. I have been trying to tie all this together with your voltage monitor to monitor 12 volt solar battery over WiFi. perhaps this may be of interest to you for the future. There is little about to give accurate battery reading over WiFi. As I newbie it is a struggle to tie different projects together for me but just cannot get the end result of it working. Thank you for your video's they are very helpful.

[@RalphBacon]

Glad you're finding this video still useful!

[@RobB_VK6ES]

There is no recognised connection standard for JST connectors. Caveat Emptor. The other misconception lies in the JST name. Again it is not a connector series designation but rather the name of the original maker, Japan Solderless Terminal hence the name carries over multiple connector series usually separated by a suffix like JST SH. Laziness dictates the abbreviation to just JST.

[@RalphBacon]

Yes, spot on Rob. Wikipedia even says that it's up to the implementor to decide on polarity. Could be very dangerous when the connectors are supplied pre-wired like that. Thanks for the information, appreciated.

[@IanSlothieRolfe]

I dont know if its possible to remove the contacts from the housing and swap them like you can with "dupont" and molex connectors, but it might be worth a try.

[@RalphBacon]

That's exactly what I did, you just need a *very* slim screwdriver to lever the white plastic hook away as you pull out the lead. Gently, gently is the name of the game here. Thanks for the suggestion Ian, good to hear from you.

[@willofirony]

Welcome back Ralph. Yet another great video. HOWEVER, my suspicions were aroused by your choice of SSID of "Greypuss". Have I detected a scurrilous plot to replace Benny with an ESP????

[@RalphBacon]

Don't worry, Michael, Benny is not about to be replaced any time soon. *Greypuss* is the name of a stray that we adopted about two years ago. He is semi-feral. We caught him, got him chipped, immunised, wormed and de-flead. And he never forgave us. He still comes for good most days but to say he is skittish is yet another typical British understatement. He definitely does not know which side of his bread is buttered. 😔

[@ismzaxxon]

Fingets on board pins and tapping. ESD issues. Looks like it's a bit unstable with working and not working. Great demo, will stick with uno i think.

[@RalphBacon]

And sticking with the Uno is very sensible if you don't need wi-fi (and hence connectivity to/from the device) and your needs for computational power are modest. Horses for courses. Let's face it, the Uno has had a long and successful run and is still a great board. That said... That said, the "instability" you saw was undoubtedly me mucking about with the board - I've never, ever had a full-sized Wemos D1 board do anything other than what I expect it to do. I must keep my fingers away from the chip when I do my demos in future. It's still worth considering, Terry, if only for the IoT aspect. Does everything a UNO can do (more quickly) plus that connectivity. Just suggestin'. 😀

[@ismzaxxon]

@@RalphBacon fair enough. If it normally works, i will give it another look.

[@williammiller7543]

Another Great Video. could you possibly add a rotary encoder to the Wemos Mini. I've had problems with the esp8266 and rotary encoder (KY-040). I'm trying to get a menue setup.

[@RalphBacon]

Hmm, you are not the first to say that. But I recently did an experiment on a Wemos D1 (full sized) board for another Arduinite for a rotary encoder and it worked _exactly_ as expected. So I wonder what it is that some users are experiencing?

[@reidmoule3358]

How do you add the WEMOS_SHT3X library from your github page to Arduino?

[@RalphBacon]

Download and unzip if required. Place it in the *libraries* folder in your sketch folder (the libraries folder is a *subfolder* of where you place your sketches). Include the library as per the demo sketch.

[@Electricworld-1]

Thank you very much , very good.

[@RalphBacon]

Glad you liked it, thanks for posting, nice to hear from you.

[@petewhite4233]

Having bought the D1 mini and several shields inc the OLED I tried all morning to get the wretched thing working. With the Adafruit lib, supposedly modified to suit a 64x48 display, I got an OLED height error and inviting me to modify the header file. What??? How am I to know what to do. I eventually commented out the three lines in the Arduino sketch so that it ignored the error and it worked - sort of - with parts of the display truncated as expected. I had at least satisfied myself that there was nothing inherently wrong and the address was correct. I then tried the little clock from Sparkfun - again, no joy, although others don't seem to have a problem. I am sure all libraries are properly installed and up to date. I then turned to the U8g2 lib, which I've used before and guess what - it worked a treat. It is (supposedly) a genuine Wemos with their logo. BTW the D1 itself in wifi mode works ok having tried your sketch to turn the led on/off. Any comments would be welcome.

[@RalphBacon]

I used the standard Adafruit libraries, Pete, but I do remember having to edit it before finding a *later version* which catered for this new 64x48 sized screen (as you can see from my Home Alone project it works superbly). If you need a different library version I can put it on my GitHub for you. On a related note, I was warned that you can get screen burn with this OLED screen after just a few months. I researched and saw an actual picture of this exact screen with some quite severe ghost images. So I programmatically switch off the screen after 30 seconds when I haven't really got much to show and switch it back on again when things happen in my project (eg there is movement, an upload is in progress, an error occurs etc).

[@garycrockett4477]

Ralph, thanks for the video. I appreciate it. Very informative. An idea - make a Wemos NTP server. It would interrogate the (country appropriate) ntp pool, update an I2C connected RTC with the correct time, then spend the rest of the day responding to NTP queries from one's home network.

[@RalphBacon]

Interesting! Although ultimately I'll leave this for others as I need every byte of bandwidth!

[@Roamor1]

Thank you for this very informative video. I was confused about the pins also. Do you have any plans to connect the Wemos to something like Domoticz?

[@RalphBacon]

Yes and no, Neils. As part of my workshop automation project, I will be connecting up other ESP8266 devices to a Raspberry Pi via NODE-red and MQTT.

[@Bobojsza84]

How is it possible to install the CH340 driver! Write me the full procedure please!

[@RalphBacon]

This should help you Gabor: learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/how-to-install-ch340-drivers/all

[@Bobojsza84]

@@RalphBacon I have got an Arduino panel type Wemos D1 R1. Is it compatible the method of installing CH340 driver due to this webside?

[@RalphBacon]

Yes, the driver is for your Windows PC not the Arduino, so it doesn't matter which Arduino board you plug into your CG340G (or have installed as part of the Arduino board). I have a Wemos D1R1 too and it works fine. You only have to do this once and your PC will recognise the CH340G forever.

[@Bobojsza84]

@@RalphBacon I have already installed the CH340 driver, because the videó David that this is the compatible one which is necessary for Arduino Wemos D1 R1.

[@Bobojsza84]

@@RalphBacon Thanks for the important informations. Should you show me websites, about Arduino Wemos D1 R1 programming from beginner level, to Advanced level? If you can show, please write down the links! Wrtie down the links that expalins the programming method easily!

[@thetynings]

Great vid Ralph. Have you ever tried programming the ESP8266 in Lua rather than Ardunino libraries/sketches. If so, how did you find it?

[@RalphBacon]

I've never programmed in Lua, Phil, and it looks like a mix of C++, Python with a sprinkling of _je ne sai quoi_ to give added flavour! At the end of the day, as long as the compiler generates efficient code I don't see why this would be any worse (or better, iether) than other languages out there - pays your money, takes your choice as they might say. Are you asking me because you are considering it or are you a seasoned Lua programmer?

[@peterg902]

For the completely uninformed, to be able to configure the IP address - to say a different static address - does one first install the Arduino IDE, then download the Wemos mini boards manager thru the Arduino IDE, and configure the wemos thru that software? How does this all work?

[@RalphBacon]

I may be wrong, Peter, but I _think_ you are confusing the Integrated Development Environment with the actual sketch that you upload to the Wemos D1, if you are talking about giving it a static address. 1. Install the Arduino IDE. 2. Through the boards manager add the Wemos D1 (Mini) boards 3. Select the correct board in the Tools menu 4. Write your sketch in the usual way 5. Compile and upload to your selected board You will note that there is no IP address being changed here - _that_ is up to you in your sketch to state that the Wemos will run at, for example, 192.168.1.199 - but that has nothing to do with the actual installation of the hardware that gets the code to the device. If you're still confused, reply to this message and I'll see what I can do.

[@peterg902]

@@RalphBacon Apologies, My computer network background is kicking in here. Too much of a newbie in the electronics world. In order to control multiple devices, i wanted to have some control over the IP address of each device. The general idea would be to lock in IP addresses, so Wemos devices or apps can know who to contact if they want to contact a specific device (reach each other in a defined or systematic way - instead of the DHCP way, where the IP address is assigned more randomly from the pool of available addresses). I have ordered the product to learn more...

[@RalphBacon]

What you are proposing is quite feasible, just separate the way the code is uploaded to the device from what the device is running! If you are expecting each ESP8266 device to act as a server that's fine, when you start the server up you tell it what the IP address is. You can then send in a GET request and receive data back (eg the temperature). Sometimes, however, it's more convenient to have the ESP8266 device act as a client that pushes it's messages out to a central device - but then we're talking about Tasmota, MQTT, Node-Red and the like - something I'm very keen to implement but, as yet, away from the test bench have had no time to do so. I'm throwing those acronyms at you to show you there is a whole world of home automation out there, tried and tested, for you to discover. It's great!

[@petewhite4233]

Ok, thanks for that. I'll give it a go. Grrr, computers! Still, it keeps me off the streets! Oh, and best wishes to your mum. I have an old friend who's 93 in October.

[@RalphBacon]

Wow, that literally is an old friend. I somehow doubt I will ever get there, despite my mum's genes! Let me know how that library goes, all in due course, no rush.

[@MaxintRD]

@Ralph, nice video! If you like the D1 mini, there are some other interesting boards, such ad the double and triple base board and the LED-matrix. Even more interesting for DIY are the prototype shields that you can use to make your own custom shields.

[@RalphBacon]

Indeed there are, Maxint R&D, and maybe I'll explore those other shields in a future video. We'll just see how the cookie crumbles on this one. Thanks for posting.

[@MrBobWareham]

Hi, Ralph, I have looked through your videos in the hope that you have done a video on programming the d1 with the Arduino IDE but with no luck so can you do a tutorial please as I find your videos easy to follow thanks Bob

[@RalphBacon]

You're in luck, Bob. Tomorrow's video is using the Arduino IDE and a Wemos D1 R2 (not a mini but it's an identical process apart from the board name). I even go into detail about how to get the ESP8266 boards into the IDE, how to select the board, the parameters you need and so on. Although the topic of the sketch may not be relevant to you, the way it is presented hopefully will be! See you tomorrow!

[@tabmaryland2333]

Very nice! This line is similar to the Tiny Circuits line. I imagine that there are dozens of this type of mini microcontroller series (with accessories) available thanks to open source hardware. Perhaps a Benny cyborg is in the works?

[@RalphBacon]

There could never be a cyborg version of Benny, I'm afraid, he is just too fluffy and cuddly. I just Googled the TinyCircuits website and whilst they seem to produce some nice products did you not notice the prices? You could buy a whole stack of Wemos D1 Minis for a single one of their offerings. Such is the power of the Far Eastern market pricing, I guess.

[@MrSKEETSZOID]

I have the WeMos D1 mini The schematic I have has a wire running from the charger module to the Wemos VIN hole but mine doesen't have a VIN hole connection where do I connect it.

[@RalphBacon]

The Wemos D1 mini (mine's a version 3.0.0) requires a DC-Power-Shield to accept Vin (either wires or a standard 5.1mm plug). They are not expensive (£2.73 or $3.49) and work fine, accepting anything from 7v to 24v but I wouldn't push them too far; I've just ordered some more from Banggood: www.banggood.com/WeMos-DC-Power-Shield-V1_0_0-For-WeMos-D1-Mini-p-1160039.html?p=FQ040729393382015118&

[@MrSKEETSZOID]

@@RalphBacon Here is the schematic can I just connect the wire to another connection with out adding something.I an new at this and don't know what I'm doing drive.google.com/file/d/1PRDaSGIENCrb3MHXDk6Qwi3e8gnxunyV/edit Here is the WeMos D1 I have. www.google.com/search?q=wemos+Di+mini+v+2.20+pictures&client=firefox-b-1-d&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=b_N6k4QjmeEJoM%253A%252Crx09cHdm0-c37M%252C_&vet=1&usg=AI4_-kSyRFrRCm3-hDeuqXc2C1t8pycASA&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjOnZPqjv3gAhUH1qwKHWq5C7IQ9QEwAXoECAQQBg#imgrc=LfmFOORdKxZmiM:&vet=1

[@apatel886]

Dear what is different tywe3s vs esp8266 ?

[@RalphBacon]

They are similar modules but I have no experience with one. You can read more here: github.com/arendst/Tasmota/wiki/TYWE3S and here: github.com/arendst/Tasmota/issues/1190 I hope this helps.

[@bigrickshaberdashery2759]

Thanks again.

[@RalphBacon]

You are most welcome Big Rick's Haberdashery, I'm glad you like the video. Nice to hear from you.

[@bigrickshaberdashery2759]

@@RalphBaconBacon going to do a weather station and full automation on the greenhouse or at least dream I will...lol

[@MartinBgelund]

Hasn't ESP32 matured so much that you'll want to use those instead of ESP8266?

[@RalphBacon]

In a word or two, not quite, Martin. The ESP32 (still) needs to integrate more smoothly with the Arduino IDE and have suitable libraries and compiler to assist in using two cores / multi-threading - not something for the faint-hearted. Using multiple threads in my professional coding capacity was quite a challenge but once you became aware of the issues it was all do-able, of course. What an Arduinite will do with two cores and multiple threads is another question. But, I take your point, that the ESP32 is a most capable (not to mention speedy) board that would romp through standard Arduino UNO (and ESP8266) tasks like Linford Christie through a school sports day race! As I have the ESP32 development board it won't be forgotten, but not quite mature enough (ie "just works) just yet IMHO. Thanks for the nudge though, I will duly at this to my list, thanks for posting, appreciated.

[@petewhite4233]

It's not EXACTLY the same as yours, as yours has 2 buttons on the side labelled A & B. I am beginning to suspect there is something wrong with it despite having the Wemos name and logo, but you can never be sure these days. I HAVE been using your library and code. Having said that, on looking at the screenshot in your link it showed the text "Hello Wor" and "OxDEA" which is obviously truncated which is what I get. So, perhaps I'm expecting too much. Many thanks again for your continued interest; it's much appreciated.

[@RalphBacon]

Quick update: the text is not truncated, it wraps onto the next line. More tomorrow...

[@RalphBacon]

OK, disregarding the fact that my OLED has two buttons (which may mean it has a different screen) have you loaded that test sketch with those libraries and got the same, (wrapped) text result? Unless, and until, you have tried this we won't know whether your screen is actually a different screen (or one that behaves differently, anyway). I'll await your response in due course. Fingers crossed!

[@lodesmets9815]

The rolling effect on the screen has to do with the mismatch of the frequency of your camera and the refresh rate of the screen Great video

[@RalphBacon]

I figured it some kind of strobing and this makes perfect sense, Lode, thanks for posting.

[@grisvianbrudlie6093]

how do i upload codes from the arduino ide to the wemos esp32 mini32?

[@RalphBacon]

Exactly the same way as uploading to an Arduino Uno, via the USB socket on the Wemos. Works very well, no buttons to press either like on some other boards.

[@r1273m]

Hi, Can you tell me please how to get WEMOS_SHT3X.h from your GitHub into the Arduino IDE? Many thanks.

[@RalphBacon]

OK, r1273m, here's a step-by-step guide: 1. Go to github.com/RalphBacon/Wemos-D1-Mini-ESP8266-stackable/tree/master/WEMOS_SHT3x 2. Hit the Clone or DOWNLOAD button You will now get this entire repository in ZIP form on your computer (I'm assuming a Windows 7/8/10 one) 3. Unzip the entire folder to your desktop 4. Once unzipped you will find a folder in there called WEMOS_SHT3x 5. Copy the entire folder into your libraries folder (which is itself in your Arduino sketches folder) Now Arduino will be able to find it when you reference it. If you had the IDE open you will have to restart it. 6. Enjoy I hope this helps you (and anyone else having problems) with GitHub repositories (I will have to do all this in a video).

[@r1273m]

Brilliant thank you! Soldered up the boards and connectors so that will be running soon. Thanks again.

[@r1273m]

Followed the instructions, connected it all as in the video and it ran with no problems. I'm new to WEMOS, the last programming I did was Z80 and M68xxx, so you can guess how old I am! Bob

[@RalphBacon]

No older than me, I'm guessing Bob 👍. So glad it all worked out; at the risk of sounding unintentionally patronising: Well Done! It's always a milestone to get something running. I hope you continue with all things Arduino (and Pi). It's not all plain sailing but pick your projects and you'll have fun, that's for sure! Really nice to hear from you, thank you for posting.

[@r1273m]

@@RalphBacon Well that was a year ago and I have done quite a bit with the WEMOS D1 since then. The latest project returned to the SHT30 Temp/Humid shield with an OLED display. It was sitting in the office and my wife looked at it and said "It's not THAT hot in here!" I have some DS18B20 Temperature Sensors connected to another WEMOS (RSB video) and switched this on. Needless to say there was about 3 degrees difference. After a bit of thought I removed the SHT30 shield and made up an extension cable of about six inches and the discrepancy has been resolved. I wonder if the sensor on the shield is warmed by heat from the microcontroller immediately below it. I got the impression that you too was surprised at the ambient temperature on your project. Great that you are still posting these videos despite your eye problems, hope you continue to improve. Bob

[@sickvic3909]

Would have been nice to see the display showing temp humid. :)

[@RalphBacon]

It would have taken too long in this demo, Sick Vic. But, as I said, I might well do another video on these devices as the coding is the same whether for full-sized or mini versions. Thanks for the nudge though, I've written down the suggestion.

[@PeetHobby]

I don't think there are strict rules for JST connectors and wire colors. It depends on how the designer implemented them, the designer can make or order the right combination of wires for that product. Manufacturers can produce wires in any color and combination if you order enough of them. If you're producing a product in large quantities, like 10K units, you can customize almost everything, including custom cables colors, wire combinations, custom text on the wires, etc.

[@RalphBacon]

Yes, manufacturers will customise a connector (the wiring) for you, but it leaves us hobbyists with a risk that it's not what we last used or what we expected, perhaps!

[@877cms]

Thanks

[@RalphBacon]

You are most welcome 877cms, I'm glad you like the videos. Nice to hear from you.

[@jimb032]

Ralph waits until the board is almost obsolete before doing a video...lol! Just kidding...I love those too and I think they are still valid even that ESP32 is more mainstream now. ON THE BATTERY SHIELDS: you may not have broke it.... there exist a flaw in many boards where the 5v is shorted to the ground right at the USB connector. I had to desolder 4 so far and grind away the ground plane right where the mounting via is on the left side Cheers Ralph!

[@MaxintRD]

ESP32 mainstream? Don't agree. The ESP8266 is still fully supported and available. It still has some advantages over ESP32 such as size, power usage and (library) support. In my opinion they are just siblings living well together side by side.

[@Ed19601]

@@MaxintRD indeed, as long as you don't need Bluetooth I see no reason to use an ESP32

[@jimb032]

@@MaxintRD I don't either...I was just pulling Ralph's chain. I still buy those still. But supposedly the 32 is much better with low power...if if that's the case I wouldn't use the wemos anyway!

[@RalphBacon]

I definitely let the magic smoke appear. But I think it was not me shorting it all out on the metal dish, after all, I think it was plugging it in backwards with the JST cable, even for a second. Maybe. I'll never know for sure. But I will certainly check out what you suggest anyway, so thanks for the heads up, James.

[@jimb032]

Well, it's definitely not the most expensive mistake you will ever make. :) I could not believe I received 4 to 5 from all different sellers with this same problem. I think all other ports worked ok, it was just the USB. It's a bit of a pain to remove it, fix the problem and resolder, but not a difficult problem to solve. It's annoying to spend time like that on a dollar product, but at the same time I hate to trash it!

[@backyardelmer9441]

Im not sure "Fire" and "Lithium" together make for good marketing strategy.

[@RalphBacon]

Ha ha! I get very nervous charging these things up using a battery charger. It has dire warnings about leaving them unattended at any time. So "Fire" is probably a tad too accurate a description (and Big Clive did a hilarious video when he dismantled one and it started burning holes in his workbench).

[@gpTeacher]

Great demo Ralph! I noticed the small 'bubble' on the buck chip on the battery power supply board that you fried. Same thing happened to me with a motor shield. I cooked it, the 'magic smoke' escaped and the same chip had a small 'bubble' on it. No biggie. I've been working with the ESP8266 making a remote-control activator with a servo that will press down on the 'on/off' button on my air conditioner remote to turn it on remotely. So if it's a hot day, I can send the initator email from the office just before I leave and the AC will cool the house for when I get home. I used the ifttt.com applet site and the thingSpeak.com website to build the event applets. I can now send an email to an address and it signals the ESP8266 to turn on/off the air conditioner. Way cool and a very approachable way to get into IoT. Check it out! Best wishes and keep it up! Gord

[@RalphBacon]

You win the *Eagle Eyes award of the week* . I didn't mention it in the video but I noticed it too, soon after my mishap. Yes, it was definitely fried when that bubble appeared! As for your other suggestion, I do still intend to create an MQTT/Node-Red workshop automation project, using Sonoff devices at the very least, so keep tuned.

[@bryanbolton821]

UltraFire don't have 5000mAh on their site.

[@RalphBacon]

You mean that battery IS a fake, Bryan? Damn. Actually, I don't even think it is an UltraFire let alone 5,000mAH! Cheapie Far Eastern dodgy hardware. Not sure I'd trust it in any permanently installed equipment, it's OK for my workbench.

[@tablatronix]

choosing which headers was the hardest decision i have had to make in a while. lol

[@RalphBacon]

You may gently mock, tablatronix, but I did it wrong with the replacement LiPo shield, and soldered header PINs on it when I should have soldered header SOCKETs on it. Doh! So I had to desolder them and do it right. That little anecdote got left on the cutting room floor but I was somewhat embarrassed! Easy to do, hence why I raised it. And, to make it worse, not all shields come with all options so you could end up with an unconnectable shield (unless you have spare headers/sockets etc). So that just proves something, if only I could work out what.

[@tablatronix]

Ralph S Bacon wasn’t mocking, I was telling the truth, hah I ended up using none and used machine headers instead cause I had little vertical space. I always deliberate when i get a module. Hmmm breadboard... or female headers for jumper wires.. OR RIGHT ANGLE! Aghhhh

[@RalphBacon]

In that case, I'm glad I made the point that Arduinites must consider this important point, as you are proof of the pudding, er, well, you know what I mean, I'm sure!

[@satchell78]

his password is "xxx..." guys! Thanks Ralph

[@RalphBacon]

That's right!

[@squalazzo]

that "5000" battery screams FAKE from a mile away :D

[@RalphBacon]

Surely not, squalazzo? The Easter Bunny told me it was OK, and the Tooth Fairy agreed 😜. But not all are fake. I have ordered six 18650s from Samsung (rated at 2500mAH) with a price to match and those I DO accept as being kosher. But this one... yes, it screams fake! (But still works fine, so far, just with a reduced capacity)

[@squalazzo]

i think 3000 is the limit of the 18650, for 5000 you need the 26650, which you usually find in those cylindrical powerbanks, too

[@RalphBacon]

Ah yes, I have one of the fatter, cylindrical power banks, that is what is inside it.

[@simced]

DO NOT USE ULTRAFIRE! you should go for sanyo/samsung/sony vtc 6 you need mah but ultrafire nonononono!!!

[@RalphBacon]

It's a bit ironic that the word "fire" is in the brand name, admittedly, but so far no fires 🔥