Arduino Relay not Powering - arduino

I recently bought this Arduino Relay module (http://www.ebay.com/itm/400757832363?_trksid=p2059210.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT) and it hasn't been working. I have tested it with batteries, and connecting it directly to the battery does function. However, when I connect to the Arduino Leonardo board, the indicator lights come on for both the In pin and the VCC pin, but the electromagnet does not function and the circuit does not complete. There is no click when connected to Arduino. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

While this is not the right place to post about electronics, It appears that your relay only triggers at 12V, Arduino supplies 3.3V and 5V, not enough to trigger your relay.

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.

4 Relay Shield rebooting Arduino

I am using a four relay shield to power solenoids, however every time a solenoid is used the Arduino reboots immediately.
We have done this for two different projects with the same type of shield and both cause the same problem.
I am having some trouble figuring out what is causing the system reboot. Any ideas?
The shield is the Catalex relay Shield.
It sounds like driving a relay coil is causing the voltage to drop. After the voltage recovers, the Arduino reboots like it was just turned on.
What happens when you disconnect the solenoids? Does the same behavior happen? These are relays, so the circuit on the relay side should be isolated.
Are you powering the Arduino from a power supply, or the USB port?
Oddly, if you look up the data sheet for the HLS8L-DC5V-S-C:
http://www.dipmicro.com/?datasheet=HLS8L.pdf
it says a 5V relay (L type) should have a coil resistance of 70 Ohms , for 0.35 W, so you should need 70 mA to drive it; I think there is a small transistor that drives that from the pins, but you still need the 70 mA from somewhere to close each relay.
Which version of the board do you have?
http://seeedstudio.com/wiki/Relay_Shield
My search on the Catalex Relay Shield pointed to the Seeedstudio version, but it could be that your board needs to be externally powered.

Unable to communicate with ESP8266 via Arduino Uno

I recently bought an ESP8266 (ESP-01, 1M) yet I have been unsuccessful in making it respond at all.
I have attempted to communicate with it using an Arduino Uno running the built-in BareMinimum script (and also the script described here) to work like an FTDI.
However, when any AT commands are sent to it via the Serial Monitor there is no response whatsoever using either approach.
The red power LED is on, yet the blue LED is always off.
My wiring:
GND - GND
RX - RX
TX - TX
VCC - 3v3
CH_PD - 3v3
I would love some clues as to how to solve this error,
Okay, seems like the same problem I spent hours.
Your Arduino TX has a high level of 5V. If you send a message to your ESP with this voltage you will (surely) destroy it. And I think thats happend to you.
So you have to buy a new ESP.
For the next try:
If you use a baudrate of 9600 you can just use two 10kOhm resistors to half your TX voltage. (I did this already and it worked without problems)
For sending a message to your Arduino 3.3V from your ESP are enought.
For higher baudrates you can use a logic level converter: https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/using-the-logic-level-converter

Arduino WiFi shield not communicating

I'm using the Official Wifi shield on a Uno R3.
Everything was working fine in the beginning.
But now, the Uno couldn't communicate with the WiFi shield whether it's plug in with USB or with a 9V battery. I could still control the L9 LED on the Wifi shield, but the WiFi function isn't working anymore. I'm returned a
WL_Connected = False, when I did WiFi.begin(ssid, pass);
I did notice, even when it was working, when I switched the the 9V battery from laptop power, it doesn't always power up immediately.
How do I even begin to trouble shoot this?
Swapping out boards/shields. It could be something simple like a bad pin.
The WiFi shield was based on a transceiver made by ZeroG. Now this company was bought from Microchip and of course they don't support Atmel processors anymore.
I had the same problem and I switched to another amazing product: Flyport Wi-Fi that has a processor onboard (PIC24) and this transceiver. It's also open source, look to www.openpicus.com

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