Audio playback module on ESP8266 fails to initialise - arduino

Question

I have a ESP8266(ESP-12-E) and a DFPlayer Mini
I am running the sample application :
#include "Arduino.h"
#include "SoftwareSerial.h"
#include "DFRobotDFPlayerMini.h"
SoftwareSerial mySoftwareSerial(2, 5); // RX, TX
DFRobotDFPlayerMini myDFPlayer;
void printDetail(uint8_t type, int value);
void setup()
{
mySoftwareSerial.begin(9600);
Serial.begin(115200);
Serial.println();
Serial.println(F("DFRobot DFPlayer Mini Demo"));
Serial.println(F("Initializing DFPlayer ... (May take 3~5 seconds)"));
if (!myDFPlayer.begin(mySoftwareSerial)) { //Use softwareSerial to communicate with mp3.
Serial.println(F("Unable to begin:"));
Serial.println(F("1.Please recheck the connection!"));
Serial.println(F("2.Please insert the SD card!"));
while(true);
}
Serial.println(F("DFPlayer Mini online."));
myDFPlayer.volume(10); //Set volume value. From 0 to 30
myDFPlayer.play(1); //Play the first mp3
}
void loop()
{
static unsigned long timer = millis();
if (millis() - timer > 3000) {
timer = millis();
myDFPlayer.next(); //Play next mp3 every 3 second.
}
if (myDFPlayer.available()) {
printDetail(myDFPlayer.readType(), myDFPlayer.read()); //Print the detail message from DFPlayer to handle different errors and states.
}
}
void printDetail(uint8_t type, int value){
switch (type) {
case TimeOut:
Serial.println(F("Time Out!"));
break;
case WrongStack:
Serial.println(F("Stack Wrong!"));
break;
case DFPlayerCardInserted:
Serial.println(F("Card Inserted!"));
break;
case DFPlayerCardRemoved:
Serial.println(F("Card Removed!"));
break;
case DFPlayerCardOnline:
Serial.println(F("Card Online!"));
break;
case DFPlayerPlayFinished:
Serial.print(F("Number:"));
Serial.print(value);
Serial.println(F(" Play Finished!"));
break;
case DFPlayerError:
Serial.print(F("DFPlayerError:"));
switch (value) {
case Busy:
Serial.println(F("Card not found"));
break;
case Sleeping:
Serial.println(F("Sleeping"));
break;
case SerialWrongStack:
Serial.println(F("Get Wrong Stack"));
break;
case CheckSumNotMatch:
Serial.println(F("Check Sum Not Match"));
break;
case FileIndexOut:
Serial.println(F("File Index Out of Bound"));
break;
case FileMismatch:
Serial.println(F("Cannot Find File"));
break;
case Advertise:
Serial.println(F("In Advertise"));
break;
default:
break;
}
break;
default:
break;
}
}
I have the following pins setup on the DFPlayer Mini counting down the left of the board 1-8:
1 - +5v
2 - ESP-12-E GPIO 2 - Software serial TX
3 - ESP-12-E GPIO 5 - Software serial RX
4 -
5 -
6 - Speaker +
7 - GND
8 - Speaker -
The Serial monitor shows:
DFRobot DFPlayer Mini Demo Initializing DFPlayer ... (May take 3~5
seconds) Unable to begin:
1.Please recheck the connection!
2.Please insert the SD card!
Soft WDT reset
ctx: cont sp: 3ffefc30 end: 3ffefe10 offset: 01b0
stack>>> 3ffefde0: 3ffeeab0 3ffeea88 3ffeed2c 402020c4 3ffefdf0: 3fffdad0 00000000 3ffeeddc 40202fc4 3ffefe00: feefeffe feefeffe
3ffeedf0 40100710 <<
ets Jan 8 2013,rst cause:2, boot mode:(3,6)
The stack trace formatted is:
Decoding 3 results
0x402020c4: setup at /Users/user/Documents/Arduino/dfplayer_simple/dfplayer_simple.ino line 42
0x40202fc4: loop_wrapper at /Users/user/Library/Arduino15/packages/esp8266/hardware/esp8266/2.4.0/cores/esp8266/core_esp8266_main.cpp line 57
0x40100710: cont_norm at /Users/user/Library/Arduino15/packages/esp8266/hardware/esp8266/2.4.0/cores/esp8266/cont.S line 109
I see no activity on the DFPlayer Mini LED, and am not sure where to go from here.

Answer 1

A tad late, but using myDFPlayer.begin(mySoftwareSerial, false) as mentioned has been our work around on every 'duino i've tried (esp8266, esp32, mega, uno, teensy, etc). Might as well just eliminate that check code entirely, as once you tell it no ack, it will pass the test even if no DFPlayer is connected.

Answer 2

On my NodeMCU ESP-12E, because of the label vs. GPIO aliasing, instead of
SoftwareSerial mySoftwareSerial(5,6); //didn't work
I had to use
SoftwareSerial mySoftwareSerial(D5,D6); //worked great!
Using the Arduino IDE, NodeMCU 1.0 ESP-12E board. Weird how the samples online that I came across didn't show this detail. Here's a link to pinout references and other good info for a variety of esp8266 boards.
https://randomnerdtutorials.com/esp8266-pinout-reference-gpios/