Thinger.IO client setup for GPRS enabled ESP32 project - arduino

Question

I've been using the Thinger.io platform for some of my IoT projects (mostly ESP8266 modules) for quite a long time now. The way I implemented it is something similar to that:
#include <ThingerESP8266.h>
#include <ESP8266WIFI.h>
#define USERNAME "username"
#define DEVICE_ID "deviceid"
#define DEVICE_CREDENTIAL "devicecredential"
ThingerESP8266 thing(USERNAME, DEVICE_ID, DEVICE_CREDENTIAL);
void connectToWifi() {
...
}
void setup() {
connectToWifi();
}
void loop() {
thing.handle();
}
and it just works. It is good to also mention that I've been using WiFi all the way.
Now I am trying to achieve the same by taking advantage of a controller called TTGO T-Call ESP32. It is GPRS enabled (using the TinyGsmClient.h) and I have inserted a SIM card inside of it which successfully connects to the internet. The issue is that I can not really establish a connection to the Thinger.io platform where my devices are hosted. This is what my code looks like (making a reference to this library example)
// Your GPRS credentials (leave empty, if not needed)
const char apn[] = ""; // APN (example: internet.vodafone.pt) use https://wiki.apnchanger.org
const char gprsUser[] = ""; // GPRS User
const char gprsPass[] = ""; // GPRS Password
// SIM card PIN (leave empty, if not defined)
const char simPIN[] = "";
// TTGO T-Call pins
#define MODEM_RST 5
#define MODEM_PWKEY 4
#define MODEM_POWER_ON 23
#define MODEM_TX 27
#define MODEM_RX 26
#define I2C_SDA 21
#define I2C_SCL 22
// Set serial for debug console (to Serial Monitor, default speed 115200)
#define SerialMon Serial
// Set serial for AT commands (to SIM800 module)
#define SerialAT Serial1
// Configure TinyGSM library
#define TINY_GSM_MODEM_SIM800 // Modem is SIM800
#define TINY_GSM_RX_BUFFER 1024 // Set RX buffer to 1Kb
// Define the serial console for debug prints, if needed
//#define DUMP_AT_COMMANDS
#include <Wire.h>
#include <TinyGsmClient.h>
#ifdef DUMP_AT_COMMANDS
#include <StreamDebugger.h>
StreamDebugger debugger(SerialAT, SerialMon);
TinyGsm modem(debugger);
#else
TinyGsm modem(SerialAT);
#endif
// I2C for SIM800 (to keep it running when powered from battery)
TwoWire I2CPower = TwoWire(0);
// TinyGSM Client for Internet connection
TinyGsmClient client(modem);
#define uS_TO_S_FACTOR 1000000UL /* Conversion factor for micro seconds to seconds */
#define TIME_TO_SLEEP 3600 /* Time ESP32 will go to sleep (in seconds) 3600 seconds = 1 hour */
#define IP5306_ADDR 0x75
#define IP5306_REG_SYS_CTL0 0x00
bool setPowerBoostKeepOn(int en){
I2CPower.beginTransmission(IP5306_ADDR);
I2CPower.write(IP5306_REG_SYS_CTL0);
if (en) {
I2CPower.write(0x37); // Set bit1: 1 enable 0 disable boost keep on
} else {
I2CPower.write(0x35); // 0x37 is default reg value
}
return I2CPower.endTransmission() == 0;
}
void connectToApn(){
SerialMon.println("Connecting to: internet.vivacom.bg ... ");
while(!modem.gprsConnect(apn, gprsUser, gprsPass))
delay(500);
SerialMon.println("Successfully connected to: internet.vivacom.bg");
}
// #include <ThingerCore32.h> => ArduinoJson.h: No such file or directory
// #include <ThingerESP8266.h> => ESP8266WiFi.h : No such file or directory
#define USERNAME ""
#define DEVICE_ID ""
#define DEVICE_CREDENTIAL ""
#include <ThingerESP32.h>
ThingerESP32 thing(USERNAME, DEVICE_ID, DEVICE_CREDENTIAL);
//#include "arduino_secrets.h"
// Server details
const char server[] = "vsh.pp.ua";
const char resource[] = "/TinyGSM/logo.txt";
const int port = 80;
#include <ArduinoHttpClient.h>
HttpClient http(client, server, port);
void setup() {
// Set serial monitor debugging window baud rate to 115200
SerialMon.begin(115200);
// Start I2C communication
I2CPower.begin(I2C_SDA, I2C_SCL, 400000);
// Keep power when running from battery
bool isOk = setPowerBoostKeepOn(1);
SerialMon.println(String("IP5306 KeepOn ") + (isOk ? "OK" : "FAIL"));
// Set modem reset, enable, power pins
pinMode(MODEM_PWKEY, OUTPUT);
pinMode(MODEM_RST, OUTPUT);
pinMode(MODEM_POWER_ON, OUTPUT);
digitalWrite(MODEM_PWKEY, LOW);
digitalWrite(MODEM_RST, HIGH);
digitalWrite(MODEM_POWER_ON, HIGH);
// Set GSM module baud rate and UART pins
SerialAT.begin(115200, SERIAL_8N1, MODEM_RX, MODEM_TX);
delay(3000);
// Restart SIM800 module, it takes quite some time
// To skip it, call init() instead of restart()
SerialMon.println("Initializing modem...");
modem.restart();
// Unlock your SIM card with a PIN if needed
if (strlen(simPIN) && modem.getSimStatus() != 3 ) {
modem.simUnlock(simPIN);
}
// Configure the wake up source as timer wake up
esp_sleep_enable_timer_wakeup(TIME_TO_SLEEP * uS_TO_S_FACTOR);
// Connect to APN
connectToApn();
}
void loop() {
thing.handle();
SerialMon.println("In the loop ...");
delay(3000);
SerialMon.print(F("Performing HTTP GET request... "));
int err = http.get(resource);
if (err != 0) {
SerialMon.println(F("failed to connect"));
delay(10000);
return;
}
int status = http.responseStatusCode();
SerialMon.print(F("Response status code: "));
SerialMon.println(status);
if (!status) {
delay(10000);
return;
}
SerialMon.println(F("Response Headers:"));
while (http.headerAvailable()) {
String headerName = http.readHeaderName();
String headerValue = http.readHeaderValue();
SerialMon.println(" " + headerName + " : " + headerValue);
}
int length = http.contentLength();
if (length >= 0) {
SerialMon.print(F("Content length is: "));
SerialMon.println(length);
}
if (http.isResponseChunked()) {
SerialMon.println(F("The response is chunked"));
}
String body = http.responseBody();
SerialMon.println(F("Response:"));
SerialMon.println(body);
SerialMon.print(F("Body length is: "));
SerialMon.println(body.length());
// Put ESP32 into deep sleep mode (with timer wake up)
// esp_deep_sleep_start();
}
NOTE: The board I've picked from the Arduino IDE is called ESP32 Wrover Module

Answer 1

It would be better if you ask this question on the thinger community, the thinger.io https://community.thinger.io/ where the thinger devs or community will be listening.
I have some working code, see below, this works with SIM7000E, but it should work OK with SIM800 the code should work the same. I have noticed that you are not using the thinger library (ThingerTinyGSM.h) and this is probably why the device isn't connecting to thinger.
#define THINGER_SERIAL_DEBUG //This will provide debug messages of what thinger
code is trying to do
#define _DISABLE_TLS_ //TLS needs to be disabled if using ESP32 (not sure why, this is a known bug)
// Select your modem:
//#define TINY_GSM_MODEM_SIM800 //Note SimCom docs state that SIM7000e used same commands as SIM800
#define TINY_GSM_MODEM_SIM7000 //Note SimCom docs state that SIM7000e used same commands as SIM800
#define APN_NAME "..."
#define APN_USER "..."
#define APN_PSWD "..."
//Pins for connecting to SIM module using 2nd Serial connection
#define RXD1 16
#define TXD1 17
#include <TinyGsmClient.h>
#include <ThingerTinyGSM.h>
//Thinger credentials
#define USERNAME "...." //Thinger Account User Name
#define DEVICE_ID "...." //Thinger device IC
#define DEVICE_CREDENTIAL "...." //Thinger device credential (password)
ThingerTinyGSM thing(USERNAME, DEVICE_ID, DEVICE_CREDENTIAL, Serial2);
/*******************************
**** SET-UP **** SET-UP ****
********************************/
void setup() {
// open serial for debugging
Serial.begin(115200);
Serial2.begin(115200, SERIAL_8N1, RXD1, TXD1);
delay(1000);
Serial.println(); Serial.println();
Serial.println("Starting Thinger GSM Test");
delay(1000);
// set APN, you can remove user and password from call if your apn does not require them
thing.setAPN(APN_NAME, APN_USER, APN_PSWD);
////// Thinger resource output example (i.e. reading a sensor value)
thing["Status"] >> [](pson & out) {
out["Timer(ms)"] = millis();
out["device"] = String(DEVICE_ID);
};
}
void loop() {
thing.handle();
}

Answer 2

This is the code which worked for me:
const char apn[] = ""; // APN (example: internet.vodafone.pt) use https://wiki.apnchanger.org
const char gprsUser[] = ""; // GPRS User
const char gprsPass[] = ""; // GPRS Password
// SIM card PIN (leave empty, if not defined)
const char simPIN[] = "";
// TTGO T-Call pins
#define MODEM_RST 5
#define MODEM_PWKEY 4
#define MODEM_POWER_ON 23
#define MODEM_TX 27
#define MODEM_RX 26
#define I2C_SDA 21
#define I2C_SCL 22
// Set serial for debug console (to Serial Monitor, default speed 115200)
#define SerialMon Serial
// Set serial for AT commands (to SIM800 module)
#define SerialAT Serial1
// Configure TinyGSM library
#define TINY_GSM_MODEM_SIM800 // Modem is SIM800
#define TINY_GSM_RX_BUFFER 1024 // Set RX buffer to 1Kb
#include <Wire.h>
#include <TinyGsmClient.h>
TinyGsm modem(SerialAT);
// TinyGSM Client for Internet connection
TinyGsmClient client(modem);
void connectToApn(){
SerialMon.println("Connecting to: internet.vivacom.bg ... ");
while(!modem.gprsConnect(apn, gprsUser, gprsPass))
delay(500);
SerialMon.println("Successfully connected to: internet.vivacom.bg");
}
#define USERNAME ""
#define DEVICE_ID ""
#define DEVICE_CREDENTIAL ""
#include <ThingerTinyGSM.h>
ThingerTinyGSM thing(USERNAME, DEVICE_ID, DEVICE_CREDENTIAL, Serial1);
void setup() {
// Set serial monitor debugging window baud rate to 115200
SerialMon.begin(115200);
// Set modem reset, enable, power pins
pinMode(MODEM_PWKEY, OUTPUT);
pinMode(MODEM_RST, OUTPUT);
pinMode(MODEM_POWER_ON, OUTPUT);
digitalWrite(MODEM_PWKEY, LOW);
digitalWrite(MODEM_RST, HIGH);
digitalWrite(MODEM_POWER_ON, HIGH);
// Set GSM module baud rate and UART pins
SerialAT.begin(115200, SERIAL_8N1, MODEM_RX, MODEM_TX);
delay(3000);
// Restart SIM800 module, it takes quite some time
// To skip it, call init() instead of restart()
SerialMon.println("Initializing modem...");
modem.restart();
// Unlock your SIM card with a PIN if needed
if (strlen(simPIN) && modem.getSimStatus() != 3 ) {
modem.simUnlock(simPIN);
}
// Connect to APN
connectToApn();
}
void loop() {
thing.handle();
}