Arduino uno and esp8266

Projects General Guidance
1

Hi
I have a Arduino uno and esp8266 and very little knowledge.

I tried to use AT commands and it works and connects. but nearly all the projects I can see online use
a libary file like esp8266wifi.h and this wont compile on the uno. from my understanding this is to program the esp8266 directly changing board type. but I cant believe all the projects I have seen and code i have tried program the board independently.

is it possible to use the 8266 without at commands with the uno?

any examples anywhere?

thank you for your help

2

malcomp:
Hi
I have a Arduino uno and esp8266 and very little knowledge.

I tried to use AT commands and it works and connects. but nearly all the projects I can see online use
a libary file like esp8266wifi.h and this wont compile on the uno. from my understanding this is to program the esp8266 directly changing board type. but I cant believe all the projects I have seen and code i have tried program the board independently.

is it possible to use the 8266 without at commands with the uno?

any examples anywhere?

thank you for your help

If you want to communicate with the ESP-01 module -- I am guessing that is what you have -- as the ESP8266 is a chip and not a module, you would need to install Arduino Core ESP8266 in the Arduino IDE and program new firmware into the ESP-01. This will wipe the AT command firmware.

3

malcomp:
Hi
I have a Arduino uno and esp8266 and very little knowledge.

I tried to use AT commands and it works and connects. but nearly all the projects I can see online use
a libary file like esp8266wifi.h and this wont compile on the uno. from my understanding this is to program the esp8266 directly changing board type. but I cant believe all the projects I have seen and code i have tried program the board independently.

is it possible to use the 8266 without at commands with the uno?

any examples anywhere?

thank you for your help

Being relatively new to Arduino myself, I've recently faced this same dilemma.
One way I've handled it is to have an oversupply of ESP8266's on hand. I have about 12 now.

Another thing I've done is learned how to re-flash them.

As far as the projects, I find it's about 50/50. SOme projects require uploading code to the ESP8266 and some dont. Many of the ones I've used lately like Temp & Humidity via Thingspak don't require uploading to the ESP8266.

Just shop around. It seems often you can find sketches that do the same thing with and without uploading to the ESP8266. Off the top of my head I can't think of any reason the sketch would necessarily have to be uploaded to the ESP8266 but then I'm still learning as well.

A LOT of the really cools sketches do NOT need to be uploaded to the ESP8266.

Just look around. If they don't use the ESP8266 library, then you can keep AT commands and send them as needed to the ESP8266 via the Arduino.
Have fun!

4

One very important I want to add.

Get a dedicated 3.3V power supply for the ESP-01. The 3.3V of the Arduino Uno will not adequately power the ESP-01.

5

if you want to use the esp as network adapter like the Ethernet shield or WiFi shield, use WiFiEsp library with AT firmware or WiFi Link firmware and library

6

Thank you for your help, the wifiesp was just what I was looking for. It has brought up a load more questions but they are just formatting questions. the actual wifi server works.

thank you

7

Just to add some more info here...

You can use the ESP by itself.. replacing the Arduino completely.

You can use the same IDE to program the ESP (the same way you do the Arduino Uno/Mega/Nano/Pro-Mini...etc)

If thew ESP-01 doesnt have enough I/O pins for your project.. use an ESP-12 or something with more pins for you use.

I have set up an UNO to talk to my ESP (and vice versa) via serial.

For me.. it depends on my project needs to decide if I can (want) to use an ESP standalone.. or if the extra I/O's from an added Arduino helps..

8

I saw that it can run programs independently, but my program is now so buggy and big that it doesn't fit on the uno, and I have struggled to post it on the forum with some cutting down to get it below 9000 characters.
but the little wifi board is quite amazing,

thank you again for your help

9

malcomp:
I saw that it can run programs independently, but my program is now so buggy and big that it doesn't fit on the uno

Then try programming it directly:
A Beginner's Guide to the ESP8266

Pieter

10

With the 4 MB flash and 80 kB RAM on the ESP8266 you won't run out of memory very soon. Part of the flash can even be used as file system, for long term storage of data, or for more complex web pages, etc.