Arduino Input pin from external system - arduino

Is possible for Arduino to receive a 5V into a inputPin from a external battery?
If I have a system that has it's own power supply and after an event fires 5V. How can Arduino read this input?

This is an electrical problem, no software issue I presume.
Here is how to proceed:
1) Make sure both boards have the same ground (connect GND together and make sure there is no conflict)
2) Connect your output to an input on the Arduino board (pin 2 e.g.). This connection is preferably done using a resistor, 1 kOhm will be ok.
On software side, just set this pin as input pinMode(2,INPUT); in setup() and then get its value status = digitalRead(2); in loop().

Related

Error in Arduino with Espressif ESP32-CAM [duplicate]

I've just recieved my very first esp32cam (AI THINKER) today and I was excited to test it, but I'm unable to upload any code to it. I'm always getting the following error:
Failed to connect to ESP32: Timed out waiting for packet header
So, the FTDI I'm using is the FT232r with the following wiring scheme
FTDI Wiring
How I reproduce this error:
Plug everything
Order IDE to upload the sketch
Wait for the "connecting" text
Press the RST button
Also:
Plug everything
Press the RST button
Order IDE to upload the sketch
I've already tried:
Switching to 3.3v (plugged on 3.3v pin)
Using external 5v power supply (plugged on 5v pin)
Using another computer
Swapping RX TX
Trying in different upload speeds
Holding RST button
Switching board between ESP32 Wrover Module and AI Thinker ESP32
I'm I doing something wrong or there's just something faulty?
I have delved for a solution in this regard for weeks and it seems I have a solution.
Findings-
FTDI module is probably faulty or not supported for each instance.
Aithinker Board is not compatible with esspressif (use ESP32Wrover, more details below )
I have an esp32cam from Esspressif, not Aithinker.
I was trying with FT232rl , No matter what Voltage/jumpers/USB cable I used, it didn't work. Always stuck with fatal timed out error.
After many futile attempts with FTDI breakout, I gave my Arduino UNO a try (please note my UNO has mega16u2 chip as USB serial chip (top right corner just beside the oscillator) and fortunately it worked.
I have read that CP2102 is also working.
**Here are the steps to follow-**
Arduino ESP32Cam connections
3.3 Arduino --------- 3v Esp32CAM
GND Arduino ------------ GND Esp32CAM
RESET Arduino to Ardunio GND
RX Arduino -------------- VOR Esp32CAM (this is not a mistake RX to rx & TX to tx)
TX Arduino -------------- VOT Esp32CAM
GPIO 0(zero)(written as IO0) Esp32CAM to GND Esp32CAM
I didn't have any need to press the reset button in any part of the operation before & during uploading.
I am assuming You have pre-installed the esp32 board manager.
Now select the correct COM port where your Uno (in this case) is
plugged in.
Select the correct board as mentioned
Tools>Board>ESP32 Arduino > select ESP32 Wrover Module
Some uploading setups are to be Done (Under Tools, these will only appear when the Wrover module is selected )
Upload speed -- 115200
Flash Frequency -- 40Mhz
Flash Mode -- QIO
Partition Scheme --- Huge App
Port ---- select the right com port for your breakout or UNO
JUST press upload and relax
After a while, you will be able to see this message
Leaving...
Hard resetting via RTS pin...
Disconnect the Esp32Cam GPIO 0 and GND
Power the ESP32Cam with 5/3v with external power supply (Arduino or other breakouts may not be able unless you are connected with a Powered USB Hub)
keep TX, RX, & GND of the 2 boards connected, don't disconnect Arduino Reset and GND.
Press Reset on ESPCAM and open Serial monitor and you will be able to see the IP address of the cam if it was configured with your wifi correctly.OR get any network scanner App on android or windows.
I hope it helped.
Pre-requisites for flashing:
ArduinoIDE 1.8.12
Core ESP32 1.04 (at time of writing)
Select board AI Thinker Cam
uplooad speed 921600
freq 240Mhz
flashfreq 80Mhz
mode QIO if not working try DIO
partition scheme default
Serial monitor is closed
NO hardware connected to the pins of the ESPcam
Make sure the USB cable is a data cable and NO loading cable only
check Windows device manager if programmer is shown and has max speed / 8n1 hardware
Connections
FTDI - ESP32
GND GND
5V 5V
TXD UOR
RXD UOT
If you use an AIThinker Cam clone you have to ground GIPO 0:
connect GPIO 0 with a dupont wire connected to GND
press reset
compile and upload (use AI THINKER CAM)
optional:
press reset
upload filesystem data (SPIFFS)
disconnect GPIO 0 and GND
press reset
code should execute
And yes you have to do it every upload, on my dev board I soldered a little switch with proper isolationSome more solutions from experience:
If there is still a problem use a 10K (or so) pull-down resistor between RX0 and GND (test on breadboard before soldering)
Pressing and holding (!) the boot-button while uploading on some "bad" boards
Happened with a "normal" ESP32 board to me - just to be sure - I got an ESP8266 in an ESP32 packaging. Configuring for the ESP8266 solved the issue of uploading.
In my case I forgot to remove the SD card. Other users recommended removing unnecessary connections to the pins-- and the SD card technically uses some of those :)
This was solved by using other jumpers. It seems one of the jumpers used in the wiring was faulty.
If you're having the same issue and tried everything in this post, try checking your cables!
Another solution here. Just to add, I tried everything on this QA, as well as many other things suggested online. e.g. tested by powering from 3.3V then 5V, various permutations of holding the reset button down and disconnecting IO00 from GND at the point of flashing. Changing various settings in Arduino IDE/
I was unable to flash a single one of the 5 ESP32-CAM boards I bought. Spent a good two hours on it. I even continuity tested every pin on the board to its ESP32 chip pad, and all the hookup wires were tested too. The board seemed fine.
Then I soldered a 100uF capacitor between 5V and GND, and used my USB-UART 5V power... tested and worked straight away. No need to pull out the IO00->GND connection and no need to press RST button on the board during flashing. (Of course, pull out IO00->GND after flashing complete.
So - it was a power problem.
I can only guess that the cheapo regulator they used on the copy of board that I got was not quite efficient enough, but basically that capacitor resolved the issue.
p.s. the ESP on board was marked "ESP32-S". I selected "AI Thinker ESP32-CAM" in Arduino IDE as suggested by most people online, and this worked.
There are 3 pins marked GND on the ESP32-CAM board. Buuuuut (!) the one marked GND/R just by the U0T is NOT connected to other grounds or anywhere else I could had find. Check with a multimeter and use a REAL GND. It just worked for me after days of puzzling.
If you try it with arduino it works but its needed to press reset button on esp32 before you upload your code
Basically I was facing the exact same problem fro quite some time. What worked for me was that as the chip was flashing, shifting the power wire from 5V to 3V3 pin. I do not know why but it workes. When esptool starts flashing at 2%, switching the cable just then, despite having 5V from supply into the 3V3 point made the flashing successful. I do realize this is probably a bad answer to your problem since it involves oversupplying voltage to the chip on the wrong point as it is flashing and could damage the chip. However, if anyone is tired of debugging and are at the point where you are considering throwing the chip away, might as well try my method. For other's who value their chip, don't try this method and if you still do, kniw it is at your own risk. But it worked for me after 3 days of just messing around with connections.

Esp32cam Failed to connect to ESP32: Timed out waiting for packet header

I've just recieved my very first esp32cam (AI THINKER) today and I was excited to test it, but I'm unable to upload any code to it. I'm always getting the following error:
Failed to connect to ESP32: Timed out waiting for packet header
So, the FTDI I'm using is the FT232r with the following wiring scheme
FTDI Wiring
How I reproduce this error:
Plug everything
Order IDE to upload the sketch
Wait for the "connecting" text
Press the RST button
Also:
Plug everything
Press the RST button
Order IDE to upload the sketch
I've already tried:
Switching to 3.3v (plugged on 3.3v pin)
Using external 5v power supply (plugged on 5v pin)
Using another computer
Swapping RX TX
Trying in different upload speeds
Holding RST button
Switching board between ESP32 Wrover Module and AI Thinker ESP32
I'm I doing something wrong or there's just something faulty?
I have delved for a solution in this regard for weeks and it seems I have a solution.
Findings-
FTDI module is probably faulty or not supported for each instance.
Aithinker Board is not compatible with esspressif (use ESP32Wrover, more details below )
I have an esp32cam from Esspressif, not Aithinker.
I was trying with FT232rl , No matter what Voltage/jumpers/USB cable I used, it didn't work. Always stuck with fatal timed out error.
After many futile attempts with FTDI breakout, I gave my Arduino UNO a try (please note my UNO has mega16u2 chip as USB serial chip (top right corner just beside the oscillator) and fortunately it worked.
I have read that CP2102 is also working.
**Here are the steps to follow-**
Arduino ESP32Cam connections
3.3 Arduino --------- 3v Esp32CAM
GND Arduino ------------ GND Esp32CAM
RESET Arduino to Ardunio GND
RX Arduino -------------- VOR Esp32CAM (this is not a mistake RX to rx & TX to tx)
TX Arduino -------------- VOT Esp32CAM
GPIO 0(zero)(written as IO0) Esp32CAM to GND Esp32CAM
I didn't have any need to press the reset button in any part of the operation before & during uploading.
I am assuming You have pre-installed the esp32 board manager.
Now select the correct COM port where your Uno (in this case) is
plugged in.
Select the correct board as mentioned
Tools>Board>ESP32 Arduino > select ESP32 Wrover Module
Some uploading setups are to be Done (Under Tools, these will only appear when the Wrover module is selected )
Upload speed -- 115200
Flash Frequency -- 40Mhz
Flash Mode -- QIO
Partition Scheme --- Huge App
Port ---- select the right com port for your breakout or UNO
JUST press upload and relax
After a while, you will be able to see this message
Leaving...
Hard resetting via RTS pin...
Disconnect the Esp32Cam GPIO 0 and GND
Power the ESP32Cam with 5/3v with external power supply (Arduino or other breakouts may not be able unless you are connected with a Powered USB Hub)
keep TX, RX, & GND of the 2 boards connected, don't disconnect Arduino Reset and GND.
Press Reset on ESPCAM and open Serial monitor and you will be able to see the IP address of the cam if it was configured with your wifi correctly.OR get any network scanner App on android or windows.
I hope it helped.
Pre-requisites for flashing:
ArduinoIDE 1.8.12
Core ESP32 1.04 (at time of writing)
Select board AI Thinker Cam
uplooad speed 921600
freq 240Mhz
flashfreq 80Mhz
mode QIO if not working try DIO
partition scheme default
Serial monitor is closed
NO hardware connected to the pins of the ESPcam
Make sure the USB cable is a data cable and NO loading cable only
check Windows device manager if programmer is shown and has max speed / 8n1 hardware
Connections
FTDI - ESP32
GND GND
5V 5V
TXD UOR
RXD UOT
If you use an AIThinker Cam clone you have to ground GIPO 0:
connect GPIO 0 with a dupont wire connected to GND
press reset
compile and upload (use AI THINKER CAM)
optional:
press reset
upload filesystem data (SPIFFS)
disconnect GPIO 0 and GND
press reset
code should execute
And yes you have to do it every upload, on my dev board I soldered a little switch with proper isolationSome more solutions from experience:
If there is still a problem use a 10K (or so) pull-down resistor between RX0 and GND (test on breadboard before soldering)
Pressing and holding (!) the boot-button while uploading on some "bad" boards
Happened with a "normal" ESP32 board to me - just to be sure - I got an ESP8266 in an ESP32 packaging. Configuring for the ESP8266 solved the issue of uploading.
In my case I forgot to remove the SD card. Other users recommended removing unnecessary connections to the pins-- and the SD card technically uses some of those :)
This was solved by using other jumpers. It seems one of the jumpers used in the wiring was faulty.
If you're having the same issue and tried everything in this post, try checking your cables!
Another solution here. Just to add, I tried everything on this QA, as well as many other things suggested online. e.g. tested by powering from 3.3V then 5V, various permutations of holding the reset button down and disconnecting IO00 from GND at the point of flashing. Changing various settings in Arduino IDE/
I was unable to flash a single one of the 5 ESP32-CAM boards I bought. Spent a good two hours on it. I even continuity tested every pin on the board to its ESP32 chip pad, and all the hookup wires were tested too. The board seemed fine.
Then I soldered a 100uF capacitor between 5V and GND, and used my USB-UART 5V power... tested and worked straight away. No need to pull out the IO00->GND connection and no need to press RST button on the board during flashing. (Of course, pull out IO00->GND after flashing complete.
So - it was a power problem.
I can only guess that the cheapo regulator they used on the copy of board that I got was not quite efficient enough, but basically that capacitor resolved the issue.
p.s. the ESP on board was marked "ESP32-S". I selected "AI Thinker ESP32-CAM" in Arduino IDE as suggested by most people online, and this worked.
There are 3 pins marked GND on the ESP32-CAM board. Buuuuut (!) the one marked GND/R just by the U0T is NOT connected to other grounds or anywhere else I could had find. Check with a multimeter and use a REAL GND. It just worked for me after days of puzzling.
If you try it with arduino it works but its needed to press reset button on esp32 before you upload your code
Basically I was facing the exact same problem fro quite some time. What worked for me was that as the chip was flashing, shifting the power wire from 5V to 3V3 pin. I do not know why but it workes. When esptool starts flashing at 2%, switching the cable just then, despite having 5V from supply into the 3V3 point made the flashing successful. I do realize this is probably a bad answer to your problem since it involves oversupplying voltage to the chip on the wrong point as it is flashing and could damage the chip. However, if anyone is tired of debugging and are at the point where you are considering throwing the chip away, might as well try my method. For other's who value their chip, don't try this method and if you still do, kniw it is at your own risk. But it worked for me after 3 days of just messing around with connections.

Xbee and Arduino acting strangely regardless of code

I'm trying to write a simple code that sends a string to an xbee and one that sends the string back, I was able to do this with XCTU via console, but I want my arduino to send the string.
I was able to use a simple code that read my output from the serial monitor and sends it to an xbee connected via usb adapter, the problem is that I now wrote the code so it sends a predefined string like in the screenshot, but when I write into the monitor it still sends whatever I wrote instead of the static string. I'm also unable to read what I type into the xbee console from XCTU.
I'd love any assistance in this, I've tried uploading and resetting everything to no avail.
Screenshot of problem with the current code of the arduino on the left
You said you were using an Arduino to try to communicate with your XBee Zigbee module.
One thing you have to check is the connection between the TX and RX signals on the Arduino side and on the XBee Zigbee side.
I've helped someone on another forum who used this Seed Studio XBee shield :
If you look at the schematics of this shield, the XBee 'DOut' signal (Tx) is wired to the XB_TX line which can be connected to any of the AJ2 pin with a jumper.
Now on the Arduino side :
On this extract of the Arduino schematics, we can see that the ATMEGA UART has it's RX signal connected to pin 2 of the CPU which is wired to the IOL (AJ2) pin 0.
So, that means that on this shield, the jumper have to be placed between XB_TX and pin 0 of AJ2 to connect the XBee transmission signal (output) to the ATMEGA reception signal (input) [and also XB_RX have to be connected pin 1 of AJ2].
As you didn't mention what kind of shield you were using, you have to double check this point which is a common issue when using serial communication.
In a general way, ALWAYS connect 1 output to N input (except open-drain or open-collector outputs which can be connected together to make a wired OR but which finally have to be connected to N inputs)
Hope this helps
Best regards
From what I can tell on the documentation Xbee "hijacks" the serial system. Instead try blinking an LED to confirm data is being received and sent.
documentation

how to get AT response from ESP8266 connected to arduino

I am fighting with ESP8266 wifi module and connecting arduino. After updating firmware to newest version i started to programm arduino to get data incoming from wifi. I saw many examples about maiking webserver via ESP8266 but none of them works for me.
ESP is connected to my Arduino Leonardo:
>
Arduino -> ESP8266
power 3.3V -> vcc
ground -> ground
tx -> rx (via logic level converter 5->3.3V)
rx -> tx (via logix level converter
power 3.3V ->gpio0 (without any resistors)
I made simple sketch:
void setup(void){
Serial.begin(9600);
Serial1.begin(115200);
}
void loop() {
if(Serial1.available())
{
Serial.println("WIFI IS AVAILABLE");
Serial1.println("AT");
delay(1000);
} else {
Serial.println("WIFI not available.");
delay(1000);
}
}
After executing it ESP8266 is powered (red led is on) and also every second blue led (blinks). That makes me sure that in fakt "AT" command is transmited to module. But there are also two issues:
i want to get response from esp - in this case word "OK". I tried Serial1.read() but it only reads one byte. Serial1.readString() makes my messages "wifi not available" and sametimes "wifi is available" as if for a while the connection would be unavailable
after uploading sketch to arduino and having powered esp8266 wifi module is always unavailable - i need to power the module off and on again to have it working.
Anybody please can help me?
What you need to do is change your approach a bit. Do not check if data is available. The trick is to send the module something and then check for data.
Do something like:
while (Serial.available() > 0)
Serial.read();
to clear the buffer before any command you want to send. Then send the command. Then check for data as a response.
Do not rely on that Blue LED as any indication. It is only an indication that the ESP8266 is busy using the WiFi in some sort of way, whether it is doing keepalives, initializing WiFi or whatever. It can be totally unrelated to whatever you are sending. If you do not receive a valid response then you must assume that there is comms issues between you and the module. One thing though is that if that Blue LED never goes off then either the module has frozen or the firmware was corrupted. I have had that many times. I then reload the firmware and usually that fixes it. It usually only happens during development times where I reset, upload code or change wires.
I use mine with an atmega328 on a separate slef-built board and not the one on the Uno and run that board on 3.3v itself and then use a logic level converter between that atmega board and my Uno so that I can program it. But I have had sporadic issues with non-comms but I suspect it might be power related. Be aware that running your Serial via the logic level converter might also be causing comms issues.
Proposed wiring: All pins except RX,TX,VCC and GND goes to VCC via 10K pullup resistors. RX goes to the arduino's TX and TX goes to the arduino's RX. Of course you know where VCC and GND goes.

Arduino - Detect external power

I have an external power source (6v) that is connected to a motor and a servo, and on my arduino board I have a couple of LEDs which are powered by the onboard 5v. The external power is connected to a switch so I can turn on the motor and servo (to save battery). My main board just blinks the different LEDs. What I want to happen is that the moment my external power is switched on, the LEDs stop blinking and the code to move the servo and motor is executed. As a result I have a boolean called intro. When it is true, the LED code executes, when it is false the motor and servo code will execute. The only problem I am having is that how can the Arduino know if the external power is switched on so that the boolean can be set to false? Is there a way that the arduino can detect if the external power is on (for example checking the pins of the motor/servo?)?
The general idea is to connect the external power to an I/O pin so you can read its status. You'll also want a pull-down on the I/O pin so that it doesn't float and give random values when power is not connected.
Don't connect 6V directly to an Arduino I/O pin, it will be far enough above Vcc that the clamp diodes on the pin will activate. A series resistor like 10K to reduce the clamp current will probably be OK but still isn't the best design practice. I'd recommend a 3V3 zener diode clamp such as that on this page:
http://www.kevinmfodor.com/home/My-Blog/microcontrollerinputprotectiontechniques
Check the max input voltage on the IO pins, but you should be able to connect the external power to a pin and drive an interrupt.
The interrupt can then be used to decide if the power is on (rising edge) or off (falling edge).

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