- #Coolterm esp8266 serial#
- #Coolterm esp8266 manual#
- #Coolterm esp8266 software#
- #Coolterm esp8266 license#
The key things to know is that you will need a USB to serial module to initially talk to the ESP8266, be familiar with serial communication and able to do some script programming. There is plenty of material out there to get anyone going with this little wonder. The module features a serial interface so you can communicate with it to program it. This is perfect to drive LEDs or relays and make them open or close according to some logic and control either running on the module or instructed via a web or TCP server. The ‘stuff’ is simply digital signals, a 0 or a 1, or in volts, a few millivolts or 3.3 volts.
The ESP8266-01 used in this project, has 2 GPIOs, GPIO0 and GPIO2, meaning that we can program the module so it can read and write stuff on these GPIOs. The ESP8266 acts as an access point and/or a WIFI station, so once it is configured it acquires an IP address and then you can communicate with it via a web browser or a TCP connection (phone, tablet, computer, etc). LUA is a scripting language used widely in the gaming industry and I picked it to program the ESP8266 because of being compact, very high level and allowed rapid prototyping. But it can also be programmed in LUA using the NodeMCU SDK (open source, just Google it or go to GitHub).
#Coolterm esp8266 software#
It can be programmed in C by flashing it with the manufacturer’s (Espressif) software development kit (SDK). The ESP8266 is a very small WIFI enabled microcontroller. Combining this module with a standard relay switch design, I thought I had a solution for way under 100.00 dollars integrated all in one single PCB board, suitable for mounting on a proper box. I found the ESP8266, a WIFI module which is small, cheap, I mean 3-dollars-cheap and fully programmable. But I was not happy so I looked around and came up with a better idea (or so I thought!). I built it anyway and, well it worked for a while.
Well, two problems with this, first it is really clunky connecting all those coaxial cables to the relays and there would be a lot of signal loss (and good luck tuning that), its bulky and pretty difficult to assemble in one unit and that would not work properly second, it was more expensive than I expected, even DIY it was around 100 dollars. Add some UHF female SO-239s and we have a WIFI Antenna Switch. Get a RaspberryPi and add a relay board and then I have my WIFI wireless relay control. I checked the prices, and they were outside of my budget for a switch. And more importantly, I did not want to run another set of cables to drive a wired remote controlled one.
#Coolterm esp8266 manual#
I bought a 4 position manual antenna switch and very quickly realized (again) that I did not want to go up and down the stairs with kids and wife sleeping to switch the antenna. 80 mtr, 40 mtr, 20mtr….Īnd I didn’t want to run multiple lines to the attic, so an antenna switch was necessary.
#Coolterm esp8266 license#
But it came back! Just recently, I got my ham radio operator license back and started to get active on 2mtr and on digital.ĭue to lack of space outdoors, I had to settle for installing my center fed dipole on the attic (I have a long attic), but I quickly realized I needed more than 1 antenna. I’ve moved a lot around the world for work (oil and gas) so my dedication to ham radio pretty much faded away. My interest for science and electronics grew and I ended studying physics but always tinkered with electronics, whenever I could. It was then when I built my first vacuum tube transmitter and refurbished and old receiver (also vacuum tubes) that somebody from the club was throwing away. Then I got my ham radio operator license when I was 16 years old and I was very active in the ham club and on the air. I started playing with electronics back when I was 10 years old in Argentina, where I grew up.