SparkFun Inventor's Kit for Edison Experiment Guide

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Contributors: Shawn Hymel
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Connecting to WiFi

We will want connect our Edison to a local WiFi network if we want to program it using the XDK or complete some of the experiments that require Internet access.

NOTE: Alternatively, you can use a USB Network to program the Edison from the XDK. Refer to Appendix C to see how to use a USB network with your Edison. Note that without a WiFi connection, you will not be able to complete the exercises that require Internet access.

Connecting Over Serial

Unplug the USB cable from the OTG port on the Base Block, and plug it into Console port.

Edison Base Block Console USB port

If it is not already open, start the XDK, and create a blank project (like we did in Using the XDK). Click on the Serial Terminal tab.

Serial terminal in XDK

At the very bottom, click the drop-down list for Port and select the Edison device. This will change depending on the operating system. For example, it might be /dev/tty.usbserial-A402IXA0 in OS X, /dev/ttyUSB0 in Linux, or COM78 in Windows. Note that in Windows, you want COMxx[FTDI], not the Standard Serial Port option.

Selecting a serial terminal in XDK

Make sure that the Baud Rate is 115200, Data Bits is 8, Stop Bits is 1, and Parity is "none." Click Connect, and you should see the Edison's terminal login appear.

Connecting to Edison's serial terminal with the XDK

Getting on the Internet

Click in the Serial Terminal window and log in to the Edison:

Username: root

Hit 'enter' (there is no password). You should be presented with a root command prompt.

Logging in as root

Enter configure_edison --setup. You will be walked through a series of steps. The first will ask you to create a password.

Configure the Edison

We definitely recommend you set a password! It can be anything you want, so long as you can remember it. If you don't set a password, evil hackers might be able to control your lights from their car. Or read your emails. That would be bad.

Press 'enter' and enter your password again. On the next screen, you will be asked to rename the Edison. You can give it a unique name or just press 'enter' to keep the default name. I shall call mine squishy.

My Edison called squishy

The Edison will ask you to confirm the name. Type 'y' and press 'enter'. You will then be asked to set up WiFi. Enter 'y' again.

Yes, we want to set up WiFi on the Edison

Wait while the Edison scans for networks. You will then be presented with a list of available networks.

Available WiFi access points

Type the number of the network you would like to join and press 'enter'. Enter 'y' to accept the network, and enter the password for that network.

Enter the password for the WiFi network

The Edison should automatically connect to the network. Enter ping 8.8.8.8 to try pinging one of Google's Public DNS servers.

Successful pings from the Edison

You should see a few responses in the form of "bytes received from 8.8.8.8." Press 'ctrl+c' to stop the pinging. You can get the IP address of the Edison by entering ifconfig.

Edison ifconfig

Under the wlan0 entry, make a note of the inet addr. In my case, it is 10.8.0.171. You can use this to connect to your Edison manually from the IoT Device drop-down menu if, for example, the Bonjour service is not running (if you ran the Installer and accepted all the defaults, Bonjour should have been installed).

NOTE: If you restart your Edison, it should auto-connect to the last network you set. However, you might not get the same IP address. We recommend connecting over serial and typing ifconfig to see that address if you need it. You can also give your Edison a static IP address, if you so desire. See here to lear more about networking in Linux.