Arduino Nano & Esp8266-01 Over the Air

Projects General Guidance
1

Guy's & Gal's

Not sure if this is the correct location I have a Project that I i'm struggling to find info on.

Hardware:
Arduino Nano
ESP8266-01 Wifi Module
4-Relay Module
DHT11

(Installing Automated Ventilation Fans into outdoor shed) Reporting back to MQTT with fan on/off status & Temp & Humidity of shed).

I have been looking online for several days looking to a way to do OTA updates to this install but have not had much luck in the way of my setup. Seems like everything references the NodeMCU chip-set with onboard esp8266.

I did stumble across a uno and esp-01 setup but again still not quite what I'm looking for.

I am new to this and have a basic understanding. Can someone point me to a way of doing OTA updates via a serial connection between the ESP8266-01 module and the Nano.

Thanks for the help and guidance.

Mike

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have you seen

1 Like
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Seems like everything references the NodeMCU chip-set with onboard esp8266.

And they are dead right. The ESP-01 is at the bottom of the barrel, as it has insufficient i/o pins, but you may find that, with a slightly better endowed ESP8266, not necessarily a Node MCU, the Nano will be redundant.

The great thing about the NodeMCU is that it is more convenient to use, and I would go for it straight away. Indeed it is rather like a Nano.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjplteuxqbdAhVOdt4KHR4YBAkQFjAAegQIABAB&url=https%3A%2F%2Ftttapa.github.io%2FESP8266%2FChap01%2520-%2520ESP8266.html&usg=AOvVaw23hIXXZyWgotEobOyFW4fI

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do you have a sketch in esp-01 or AT firmware?

5

Hey guys,

Thanks for the responses. No as far as I know there isn't a sketch in the ESP-01 I believe I am using AT commands to pass the info on to the nano with the software serial. I re-flashed the ESP-01 back to a stock out of the box firmware.

I was just trying to exhaust all my options with the hardware I currently have before buying additional boards.

I'm not exactly sure to be honest I'd ever really need to update or modify this but it was a feature I though might be nice if I could get it working.

I'm not sure if the Uno version would work or if I'll run into memory issues. Maybe someone here could help point me if they have any insight.

Thanks.

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Michilson02:
Hey guys,

Thanks for the responses. No as far as I know there isn't a sketch in the ESP-01 I believe I am using AT commands to pass the info on to the nano with the software serial. I re-flashed the ESP-01 back to a stock out of the box firmware.

I was just trying to exhaust all my options with the hardware I currently have before buying additional boards.

I'm not exactly sure to be honest I'd ever really need to update or modify this but it was a feature I though might be nice if I could get it working.

I'm not sure if the Uno version would work or if I'll run into memory issues. Maybe someone here could help point me if they have any insight.

Thanks.

the OTA of AVR over esp8266 AT firmware is complicated. the Nano would have to open a transparent connection over esp8266 AT firmware to a server with STK500 programmer code, then start the programmer on server and then reset itself to bootloader.

Nano is a small Uno. there is no difference in this.

for Mega self updating I have ArduinoOTA library, which can work over my WiFiEspAT library. then you would have to use WiFiEspAT library for all networking. AT firmware has only one server, that would be used for the OTA server.

for Nano and Uno with esp8266 the EspLink firmware can OTA upload, but it doesn't have a general purpose networking library.

other option for Uno/Nano is WiFiLink firmware. it can do OTA upload to ATmega328p and has a general purpose networking library.

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@Juraj - do you have an example of WifiEspAT + ArduinoOTA from Server , I am using your libraries but I could only make upload from IDE so far and cant find an example to update from Server

The only example there is is using ethernet

Thanks for these great libraries

8

gcharles:
@Juraj - do you have an example of WifiEspAT + ArduinoOTA from Server , I am using your libraries but I could only make upload from IDE so far and cant find an example to update from Server

The only example there is is using ethernet

Thanks for these great libraries

in Advanced examples of ArduinoOTA library

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Juraj:
in Advanced examples of ArduinoOTA library

I checked that but that uses Ethernet library and not the WifiespAT Thanks Charles

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gcharles:
I checked that but that uses Ethernet library and not the WifiespAT Thanks Charles

it demonstrates InternalStorage, not the networking library or how you should download, version etc.

11

Why???

Why do people keep trying to glue the ESP-01 to the Arduino board. It's a kludge at best, IF you get it to work reliably. You can glue wings to a toaster, but it still can't fly.

If you need WiFi, use a board that has WiFi already.

My go-to board is the Wemos D1 Mini and I use the ArduinoOTA.h library on them all the time. Works great.

12

SteveMann:
Why???

Why do people keep trying to glue the ESP-01 to the Arduino board. It's a kludge at best, IF you get it to work reliably. You can glue wings to a toaster, but it still can't fly.

If you need WiFi, use a board that has WiFi already.

My go-to board is the Wemos D1 Mini and I use the ArduinoOTA.h library on them all the time. Works great.

yes the esp8266 can be used as standalone MCU for some projects, but it was developed as WiFi module. the use as standalone MCU was not planed. 3 pins are boot config pins. analog pin is shared with WiFi code...

the HC-10 BLE modules are a MCU too, do you plan to code it directly too? everybody uses it with AT firmware

and what do you use if you want Ethernet? do you buy a board with a MCU with native Ethernet support? or for CAN a MCU with native support of CAN? or RS485 or ...?

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I don't think any of that is answering the "why". More to the point would be why a stand alone ESP is not appropriate in this instance. It is not as if there is much demand on it.