Comments: ESP32 Thing Hookup Guide

One thing the article did not mention is that to upload the code in the Adruino IDE you need to press and hold the 0 button. You need to press it before hitting the Upload button and keep it help down until esptool.py starts to run (i.e. the orange code comes up)

If you don't do this you may get one of these errors: A fatal error occurred: Failed to connect to ESP32: Invalid head of packet A fatal error occurred: Failed to connect to ESP32: Timed out waiting for packet header

-------------------- Tech Support Tips/Troubleshooting/Common Issues --------------------

ESP32 Board Definitions

Installing the board definitions of the ESP32 is not as trivial as using the Arduino board manager. Make sure that you install the ESP32 Arduino core definitions correctly or you might see this error:

exec: "C:\\Users\\...\\Documents\\Arduino\\hardware\\espressif\\esp32/tools/xtensa-esp32-elf/bin/xtensa-esp32-elf-g++": file does not exist
Error compiling for board ESP32 Dev Module.

After going through the installation 4 times from these directions [ https://github.com/espressif/arduino-esp32/blob/master/doc/windows.md ] because the Xtensa and ESP32 Tools were not in the correct folder. I was able to compile and upload to the board once it was installed correctly. You can also follow the directions from our tutorial [ https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/esp32-thing-hookup-guide/installing-the-esp32-arduino-core ], just make sure that all the files are installed correctly.

Upload Error

If you see this error when uploading:

esptool.py v2.0-dev
Connecting...

A fatal error occurred: Failed to connect to ESP32: Timed out waiting for packet header

, try holding the pin 0 LOW by pressing down on the button. Doing a test on Arduino IDE v1.6.5 and v1.6.11, I was not able to upload code unless I hold the button down when the IDE was uploading code. Looking into the Eagle files, it looks like he might have already considered using the DTR from the FTDI to reset the ESP32 to upload. Based on previous experience with the esp-type IC's, it's possible that there is something in the ESP32 Arduino Core's board add-on files preventing the ESP32 from automatically resetting when DTR toggles the pin.

From what I can see in the ESP32 repository's issues [ https://github.com/espressif/arduino-esp32/issues/60#issuecomment-261771864 ], people that had similar errors were able to upload when GPIO0 was held low (i.e. pressing button 0 down). I am not sure what ESP32 development board was used in the issue reported.

ESP32 Resetting when Serial Monitor Closed

This sounds normal. Just like any Arduino connected to the Arduino IDE's, the Arduino resets when you initialize the serial monitor. For the ESP32, it sounds like it might be doing the same thing when the serial monitor is closed. There might be some serial data being sent to the ESP32 that tells it that the serial monitor is closing and it is probably resetting as a result. Doing a quick test with our known good, I am seeing the same behavior. I am not sure how to avoid this.

Power consumption lower than 2mA, is it possible ? I did cut the trace for the PWR led, did try any combination of (slow/fast mem) : esp_deep_sleep_pd_config(ESP_PD_DOMAIN_RTC_PERIPH, ESP_PD_OPTION_OFF); with gpio pin wake, seems to work but only down to 2 mA (2.5mA if Vbat is used, instead of V33). Also changed, the bat. charge current limiting Resistor to 10K.

my code: https://github.com/marcos69/Esp32Prowl_Thing

I'm a little confused about pins 36-39. Can they still be used as analog inputs, even though they are connected to the caps? Do I need to cut the trace to use them as inputs?

I get ">>> Client Timeout !" when running the Wifi example.

1) It is connecting to the internet. I've double checked this. 2) Output says Connected! and then after a brief pause shows the timeout message. 3) I've tried increasing the timeout to 15 seconds

Any ideas?

The exact output is:

WiFi connected!
IP address: 192.168.5.212
Press button 0 to connect to google.com

------------------------------
Connecting to domain: google.com
Connected!

------------------------------
[E][WiFiClient.cpp:196] available(): 88
>>> Client Timeout !

I see the serial module error too, and I do have pyserial installed. And I am able to import serial in my other python programs that I'm running from the terminal. Any suggestions?

If you are having difficulty getting Blink t compile with a fresh install of Python 2.7 and the Arduino IDE, with a "'serial' module not found' error or similar, try installing 'pyserial'. If the installer hits a wall because it cannot locate a registry entry for your Python version, try this: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/17872234/how-to-add-python-to-windows-registry

It seems, that I got a board, where the capacitor C28 was not soldered. I had very bad response times with the webserver example programs and also the asynchronous webserver examples. (Reponse times of 20 seconds and more and inability to connect to local AP). As soon as I soldered a capacitor to the spot of C28, the problems where gone and the responses always under a second.

In the product images on Sparkfun, it looks like C28 (and maybe L1 as well) are not in place, like on my board.

But still: A great little board for the ESP32.

Are the WiFi examples in the hookup guide obsolete? Has anyone gotten them to work lately?

messing around a half year with this board. using BLE and a capacitive moisture sensor to measure and send values in two our interval (BLE notification) - then deep sleep (hibernation state). With two 2500 mAh batteries and this setup the board works 1 week. I don't know whats wrong.

I notice on the pinout diagram that both pin 2 and 21 (as marked on the board) are both labeled as GPIO21. Is this a typo?

I loaded the esp32 Thing with MicroPython because, well, I could. Besides, I wanted to see what that environment looks like. After tinkering around for a while, I realized that MicroPython doesn't support BLE yet. And, as usual, I will be using this "Thing" in an environment where I can't use WiFi, but BlueTooth or BLE are just fine. I see BLE is supported in Arduino, so here is the question:

How can I get the Arduino Bootloader back on this board?

I'm having trouble downloading the Arduino Core GitHub repository from Espressif as well as installing the FTDI drivers.

FTDI Driver problem: I am trying to install the FTDI drivers for use with the Sparkfun ESP32 Thing. In the in-depth tutorial for Windows, it says that the FTDI device should show up on your device manager when plugged in, and you select it to update the drivers from the folders where you downloaded them to. My Sparkfun ESP32 thing does not show up on my device manager so I'm not sure how to flash the new drivers that I have downloaded.

Arduino Core Repository Problem: When I try to download the arduino-esp32 repository, I get an error from my Windows Defender saying that the download is unsafe and it aborts. Not sure what is causing the threat and how to get rid of it.

Computer details: Windows 10 Pro (version 1803) running on Surface Book, 64-bit, Intel Core i5.

1) more than one sensors:
I try to connect two inputs at the board: first, battery on Pin 34 (over a voltage divider) to measure the current voltage. That works fine. Second, the SparkFun soil moisture on Pin 36 to measure the moisture. In my case, the moisture sensor don't give correct values, dry soil or pure water - the sensor gives values around 700.(I know about ADC noise, but that couldn't the question) I'm confused, wants wrong. Other port permitted ....? why?
2) use the sparkfun fuel gauge with the ESP32 board:
The ESP32 Thing I equipped with a battery loader on board, that's fine. I tried to use the sparkfun fuel gauge to measure the battery capacity. But I'm confused, how to connect both boards.The Sparkfun Fuel gauge/Max17043 data sheet suggest me, it's easy - GND to GND, Plus to ESP32 VBAT Pin, I2C to I2C. But that kills the board.

Question for the designer @jimblom: Why did you rearrange the inductor and capacitor in the RF antenna subcircuit? The ESP32 Hardware Design guidelines has your L1 and C8 in reverse positions. Also, how did you choose the values for those components? Thanks!

Hi, I'm trying to follow your tutorial but I have a different board. Unfortunately it has a different architecture that can't support the artnetwifi library. It is the mkr1010. It also has the esp32 module. Is there any way to adapt the the artnetwifilibrary to work on the board I have?

Arduino core for ESP32 WiFi chip can now (as of July 2018) be installed using Arduino IDE Boards Manager https://github.com/espressif/arduino-esp32 https://github.com/espressif/arduino-esp32/blob/master/docs/arduino-ide/boards_manager.md

I have a doubt on SPI bus. I'm trying to use VSPI in Espressif's SDK with this board, so I connected the VSPI bus' pins (19, 23, 18 and 5) to the slave but I couldn't make it work until I changed CS to pin 2 on the board even if I didn't change the pin declaration in my program. I had the same behavior with the arduino IDE. Is this a known issue or am I getting confused with this?

Thanks!

Hi! I have a specific question. I want to drive a LCD 20x04 I2C Display with the ESP32 Thing. This display requires 5 V for VCC. Any suggestions on how a schematic should look like (e.g. implementing a boost converter) ? Thanks!

Got this board yesterday given it has some perfect specs for a project I'm doing. However, now I read in the Hookup guide that several key features aren't implemented; analogRead and analogWrite is absolutely crucial for my use, touch I have a couple of ideas for, might not be essential though, and BLE is pretty much the reason I got it.

That said, the Hookup Guide I guess wasn't written yesterday, so the status may have changed, so could someone enlighten me as to which of those features, if any are now available?

BLE still not supported natively with adruino IDE...

When is there going to be a more complete BLE library for arduino?

I hope to get helpful resource from you. Thanks :) ;) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGUrgOV_6ro

I hope to get helpful resource from you. Thanks :) ;) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGUrgOV_6ro :) ! :)

Board works OK and it works fine with the Arduino IDE with ESP32 extension. One thing though... Serial monitor pins that control transistors for reset and GPIO0 are unstable when only the battery is connected. This will make the operation of the board unstable and can put board into boot mode and perform random reset. So any battery powered applications are not usable without some small modifications to the board.

Is there anyway for the ESP32 Thing board to detect when power has been lost and it is running on the battery?
This would be very helpful to have the ESP32 send an alert out stating power has been lost.

Espressif has updated the instructions for getting the core on their github page. I followed them explicitly but the 32 does not show up in the board manager. Any idea how to fix that?

What's the range of the BLE? As in, how far away can it be before BLE connection gets flaky?

I have gone thru the steps to set up on a Windows 8 machine. When I compile a sketch I get the following error:

Arduino: 1.6.13 (Windows 8.1), Board: "ESP32 Dev Module, 80MHz, 921600"

exec: "C:\Users\Jimmy\Documents\Arduino\hardware\espressif\esp32/tools/xtensa-esp32-elf/bin/xtensa-esp32-elf-g++": file does not exist Error compiling for board ESP32 Dev Module.

This report would have more information with "Show verbose output during compilation" option enabled in File -> Preferences.

Trying to run get.py and I keep getting the error: Traceback (most recent call last): File "C:\Program Files (x86)\Arduino\hardware\espressif\esp32\tools\get.py", line 124, in <module> get_tool(tool) File "C:\Program Files (x86)\Arduino\hardware\espressif\esp32\tools\get.py", line 92, in get_tool unpack(local_path, '.') File "C:\Program Files (x86)\Arduino\hardware\espressif\esp32\tools\get.py", line 55, in unpack zfile.extractall(destination) File "C:\Python27\lib\zipfile.py", line 1040, in extractall self.extract(zipinfo, path, pwd) File "C:\Python27\lib\zipfile.py", line 1028, in extract return self._extract_member(member, path, pwd) File "C:\Python27\lib\zipfile.py", line 1083, in _extract_member file(targetpath, "wb") as target: IOError: [Errno 13] Permission denied: 'xtensa-esp32-elf\xtensa-esp32-elf\sysroot\lib\libm.a'

I've changed the permissions on libm.a but still no go.

Member #590256, this is because you're using Python3 and not Python2 as required. I am having trouble getting Python2 to work though.

Getting an error when uploaded a sketch. Looks like an error in File "C:\Program Files (x86)\Arduino\hardware\expressif\esp32/tools/esptool.py", line 183

print '%s' % inst.CHIP_NAME

         ^

SyntaxError: Missing parentheses in call to 'print'