ESP8266 Wifi Module - how to get it running

Projects Networking, Protocols, and Devices
1

Hi,

I just got 2 of these great little wifi modules and wanted to test them right away. I followed some instructions I found online and connected the pins of the esp8266 like this:
gnd - gnd, vcc - 3.3V power source, tx to the rx of my usb to seriall converter and rx via a 74HC4050 to the tx of my converter.
Now whenever I power this up the red led on the wifi module lits up and the blue one starts to blink very fast. I used putty and the arduino ide's seriell monitor, but whatever baudrate I choose (mainly 9600 and 115200) I only get a lot of stupid symbols which just keep coming (at least for 20 or so seconds then I changed the baudrate).

I know some of this stuff is normal but at some point it should show me the firmware version or some kind of hello or anything :wink:

I would be gratefull for any idea what went wrong here!

PS I also tried my second esp8266 => same result
PPS the power source I used has 600mA (which should be enough for the module?!)

2

Waho the solution is strange for me: if I only connect GND, VCC, RX, TX and CH_PD suddenly everything works just fine (9600 baud rate). I've read everywhere that the other pins should be pulled to high (3.3V) too. Why doesn't it work if I do that?

And btw has anyone experience with the firmware? Mine seems to be running 0020000903 from AITHINKER (compiled Dec 15 2014). Seems like a new version, but who or what is AITHINKER? With a model connected (possibly) to the internet, I want to be carefull :wink: