ESP8266 Community Forum

- Mon Sep 12, 2016 10:17 pm #54994 Thought it was time for an update, not sure If ther is any interest in this but I have been using ESPs with great success as a network front end for my micromite projects for a long time now. Currently I have my weather data and garden solar monitor project connected this way via ESP wifi and am currently designing a irrigation system to add to the system. All data is monitored by an ESP/uMite display/controller inside the house and sends weather underground updates etc.

The newest addition to project is a PC application that can communicate by wifi to the ESP/uMites via udp similar to the UDP debugger tool by CiccioCB but provides special functions to talk to the attached uMite especially the SD file system.
The ESP firmware and PC application are available on my website http://codenquilts.com.au

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- Tue Sep 13, 2016 4:42 am #55009 Seems like all your ESP devices are being used just as wifi comms interfaces for your uMites devices... have you experimented with also using Esp_Basic for any self-contained node functionality which doesn't require a micro-controller?

You mention other micro-controllers being used instead of the uMites... whatever the pro's and con's, I'm sure there's a lot of people more familiar with Arduino than uMite, so if an Esp_Basic/Arduino node example was available it might attract the interest of a wider appreciative audience.

On a side note, what Windows platform are you using your UDP PC application from, Win7 or Win10?
I ask because some Win10 users have been expressing difficulty receiving windows UDP transmissions... and it's becoming evident that there isn't much existing Win10 Esp_Basic UDP experience yet available for them to benefit from, so if you have any relevent experience it would be useful and appreciated.

I'm glad you have shared your exploits. I remember you excitedly telling others on your 'bug' forum about the potential of cicciocb's udp when he first implemented it, and I congratulate you on what you have since achieved with it.

Obviously not a project that non-uMite users are likely to be able to explore, but certainly a very interesting and well-developed project, and one which demonstrates to Esp_Basic users how ESP_Basic can be so much more than just an interesting toy.

Thanks.

Where to get modules?

https://www.banggood.com/custlink/KvGGhGF4wG

- Tue Sep 13, 2016 7:29 am #55016 Thanks Electroguard for you comments. Your correct I am only using the ESP as a wifi interface at which I must add it has done a terrific job. I do however also use some of the features of the ESPbasic as well, eg NTP, Openweathermap, thingspeak and ofcourse UDP, it was the UDP that clinched me switching from using RF modules for sensor data recovery to home wifi. It made a lot of sense as the wifi system network already existed in the house so why not use?

Yes of course you could use any microcontroller in place of the uMite, for me I have programmed in basic for a long time and being able to use just a chip and design and build my own hardware around it has great appeal. Anyone who can write code using serial communication you can use the ESP wifi interface I have written, its quite structured. Mind you the PC app can just send commands to the ESP , its doesn't have to go any further.

Regards the Windows app, I am currently using Windows 10 totally successfully, it has also been used on XP and Windows 7. I think if people have been having issues with UDP on Windows 7 and probably 10 is perhaps because Windows 7 at least will not allow you to send broadcast/multicast messages to it, they have to be unicast, ie you have to know the IP address to are sending to whereas ESP to ESP doesn't care.

Thanks for your interest.

- Tue Sep 13, 2016 4:25 pm #55049

Regards the Windows app, I am currently using Windows 10 totally successfully, it has also been used on XP and Windows 7. I think if people have been having issues with UDP on Windows 7 and probably 10 is perhaps because Windows 7 at least will not allow you to send broadcast/multicast messages to it, they have to be unicast, ie you have to know the IP address to are sending to whereas ESP to ESP doesn't care.

That's interesting, cos I have never had any Win7 UDP broadcast problems ... cicciocbs utility, AND a UDP Processing script, both successfully broadcast TO or FROM nnn.nnn.nnn.255 (usually 192.168.4.255) on Win7 for me. So well in fact, that I've never even needed to try unicasting before, except as implemented automatically using 'udpreply'.

The fact that you are using UDP with Win10 certainly proves that is possible, so I'm sure that will be good news for others.

I have always known that Esp_Basic won't be able to do everything I'd like it to, so I have always planned to do a final udp node that would just use it to serially interface with an arduino for doing any other stuff. It would still use ascii "Name Command [Parameters]" which I have adopted to communicate because it doesn'r require knowing individual IP addresses.
You've come from the opposite direction and used Esp_Basic to interface to your original uMites... so what communications format have you adopted?

And what language do you program the uMite with?

You've certainly stirred my curiosity - can you point me anywhere which might quickly explain the uMites advantages and benefits over an arduino nano for instance?

Where to get modules?

https://www.banggood.com/custlink/KvGGhGF4wG