esp8266 News - Page 11 of 20 - CNX Software

September 12, 2017September 25, 2017 by Karl Johnson - No Comments

Review of Sonoff RF Bridge, Sonoff 4ch Pro, and Sonoff POW with Sonoff-Tasmota Firmware

Karl here. Today we are going to look at 2 new and one older Sonoff devices. Sonoff RF Bridge – $9.90 433MHz RF to WiFi Bridge Sonoff 4ch Pro – 4 Gang WiFi RF Smart Switch Sonoff POW – Wireless switch with power metering capabilities I spent very little time with the stock firmware on the device. I don’t like the fact that an Internet connection is needed, and I am not in control. As of the time of this writing I found the Ewelink was not configurable enough to meet my needs. There is one feature that is really nice that I could easily see keeping stock firmware. It is the Alexa Skill. It worked. I am also currently reviewing Vobot Smart Alarm Clock with Alexa integration and had no trouble controlling the Sonoff devices with Alexa. But unfortunately I am lazy and want everything automatic so I can’t […]

July 8, 2017March 29, 2019 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 17 Comments

1btn is a Battery Powered Open Source ESP8266 WiFi Button

If you have some WiFi power switch like Sonoff TH16 at home, you’d normally control them using a mobile app or a web interface. This is all good, but getting your phone, unlocking it, and launching the app to turn on or off an appliance is not the most efficient way to operate, and in some cases, some people in the household may not know how to use a smartphone. Physical WiFi buttons are the solution, but there aren’t so many for sale. We’ve seen previously it was possible to hack an Amazon Dash, but it’s not really that flexible, and 1btn could potentially be a better option, as it’s open source and based on Espressif ESP8266 WiSoC. 1btn specifications: WiFi Module – ESP-12F based on Espressif ESP8266 MCU – Microchip Atmel ATmegaxx8 AVR MCU Connectivity – 802.11 b/g/b WiFi up to ~50 meter range USB – 1x USB port […]

July 4, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

Sonoff B1 is an $18 Hackable WiFi RGB LED E27 Light Bulb based on ESP8285 WiSoC

Earlier this year, I wrote about an ESP8266 based RGB LED “AI Light” lightbulb that was hacked to run ESPurna open source firmware. That’s all good, except some people tried to get one, and ended with a different hardware. So if you’d like something that’s more of a “sure thing”, ITEAD Studio has designed Sonoff B1 dimmable RGB LED E27 light bulb based on ESP8285 processor, and with a “4 pads” to allow for custom firmware flashing. Sonoff B1 hardware specifications: Typical Lumen Output – 600lm Beam Angle – 120 degrees typ. Color Temperature – 2800K-6500K & RGB full color Connectivity – WiFi 802.11 b/g/n @ 2.4GHz Power Supply – 90-260V AC 50/60Hz via E27 base Power Consumption – Light off: 0.5W Max; rated power: 6W Temperature Range – Operating: 0ºC~ 40ºC; storage: -20ºC~ 80ºC Operating Humidity – 5%-90% RH Sonoff B1 with stock firmware can be controlled using the […]

June 9, 2017June 9, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 11 Comments

Apple Opens HomeKit Accessory Protocol Specification to Non-Commercial Projects

HomeKit is a software framework that allows Apple users to control smart devices with their iPhone or iPad. But so far, you had to become an MFI licensee to design a HomeKit compatible device, you product had to be tested by Apple, and – according to a story on Hackster.io – also required a special cryptographic chip for authentication. Developers creating commercial devices still need to become an MFI license, but Apple has now opened HomeKit Accessory Protocol Specification for non-commercial projects, meaning you can now use the Framework on Arduino, ESP8266 boards, Raspberry Pi, and other development boards using software authentication. You could already use HomeKit on Raspberry Pi board previously using HomeBridge, but the advantage now is that you don’t need to breach Apple’s terms and conditions, and you can talk directly to your phone without the need for a bridge. If you want the specifications got to […]

April 20, 2017April 22, 2017 by Karl Johnson - 4 Comments

Karl’s Home Automation Project – Part 4: MQTT Bridge Updated to Use YS-IRTM IR Receiver & Transmitter with NodeMCU

In a previous article, I wrote about an MQTT bridge by 1technophile. I added a DHT temperature and humidity sensor as well as a light sensor. Previously it included a software decoder to decode the IR signal. I never did test the IR transmitter on the gateway, as I didn’t have the parts. But thanks to IC Station, who sent me over a small YS-IRTM hardware based decoder and NodeMCU that I am writing about today. I have replaced the software based version with the YS-IRTM module in the latest update. I found this project challenging. I admit I am a little weak in my programming skills. It was difficult to find documentation but I found a forum talking about this device and basics of how it works. When an IR code is recognized it sends 3 hex codes via serial connection on the transmit pin. To transmit, it expects […]

April 12, 2017April 12, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

ESP8266, Mongoose OS & Grove Sensors – An Alternative Solution for Hackathons

CNXSoft: This is a guest post by Cesanta If you walked into any Hardware hackathon over the last year, you would see they are about innovation and bringing new ideas to this world and most of them are centered around the connected devices nowadays. However, just walk the floor, talk to the teams and you can quickly see an elephant in the room. The Hackathons are about connected devices, but with the ‘recommended’ and frequently sponsored hardware distributed to the teams such as Intel Galileo, Raspberry Pi, etc…. developers may struggle for a long time to even connect it to the cloud! Not to mention the innovation is usually hindered by a tedious environment setup which takes hours, things to learn about the specific hardware and how it can be programmed using low level languages. So many teams spent most of the time fighting with those issues and oftentimes still […]

April 9, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

ESPurna-H is a Compact Open Source Hardware Board with ESP8266 WiSoC, a 10A Relay, HLW8012 Power Monitoring Chip

ESPurna is an open source firmware for ESP8266 based wireless switch as such Sonoff POW, which I’ve been personally using to monitor my office’s power consumption. The developer, Xose Pérez (aka tinkerman), has now developed his own hardware with ESPurna-H board, as existing wireless switches with power monitoring functions would not fit into a gang box. ESPurna-H board specifications: WiFi Module – ESP12 with Espressif ESP8266 WiSoC Relay – Songle SRD-05VDC-SL-C 10A relay with NO and NC connection Power Monitoring – HLW8012 chip as found in Sonoff POW Expansion – 2x 5-pin header with the programming GPIOs, and two connections for external button and LEDs Misc – Reset button Power Supply Input – 100 ~ 240V AC Output – 5V up to 600 mA via Hi-Link HLK-PM01 Safety – Optical isolation between the logic circuit and the relay circuit Dimensions – 50x50x20mm Xose designed the board with Eagle 8.0 and released […]

April 7, 2017April 7, 2017 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments

Transform Your ESP8266 Board into a USB to Serial Board Easily with Arduino Serial Bypass Sketch

USB to serial boards are necessary to program and debug boards, and/or access the serial console, and while they are very cheap, you may be in a situation where you don’t have any around, but you do have some Arduino compatible boards. It’s been possible to transform an Arduino board into a USB to TTL debug for several years using ArduinoSerialBypass.ino sketch, but I’ve been informed this also works on ESP8266 boards such as Wemos D1 Mini. The sketch could not be simpler:

void setup()
{
  pinMode(0,INPUT);
  pinMode(1,INPUT);
}
void loop()
{

}

void setup()

{

pinMode(0,INPUT);

pinMode(1,INPUT);

}

void loop()

{

}

The code simply makes sure that Tx and Rx pins are set as inputs in order not to disturb the serial connection as explained below: This code makes the Arduino not interfere with pins 0 and 1 which are connected to RX and TX on the FTDI chip. This allows the data coming from the FTDI USB 2 Serial chip to flow directly to another device. […]