Help with GY-53 sensor with esp8266

Other Hardware Sensors
1

I am trying to use sensor GY-53-L1X VL53L1X (datasheet available here ) by using I2C.

Connection:

GY-53-L1X - Nodemcu 1.0 ESP8266
VCC - 3V3
GND - GND
PS - GND
SCL - D1
SDA - D2

Also, SCL and SDA of the sensor pulled up to 3V3, both with 3.3KOhm resistors.
Arduino I2C scanner from playground (I2cScanner) found the sensor (I've tested it with

void setup()
{
  Wire.begin();
  Wire.setClock(400000); // use 400 kHz I2C

too ), here is output of scanner:

Scanning...
I2C device found at address 0x2A  !
done

But pololu vl53l1x-arduino nor SparkFun_VL53L1X_Arduino_Library aren't able to communicate with sensor. For example, vl53l1x-arduino/ContinuousWithDetails.ino at master · pololu/vl53l1x-arduino · GitHub fails to initialize sensor (on line 21 of the example, on if (!sensor.init()) ).

If I disconnect PS of the sensor from GND, I see, that sensor is alive and actively sends data via RT/TX ports on 9600 bods.

What am I doing wrong? How to start receive data from the sensor with SDA/SCL ports (I2C)?

2

Also I want to mention, that I tried to use another one similar sensor now (I bought 5 sensor boards from one seller at one time). I thought, maybe one board is not functioning properly, but another one GY-53-L1X board is not working with those libraries too.
Maybe all 5 boards are not working properly, I don't know...

3

Welcome to the forum.
Was the spam filter a little rough on you ?

You can still edit your post (but don't change it too much).
For example

VCC - 3V3
GND - GND

and so on.

A "datasheet" on a Google Drive might be suspicious.

The Pololu .init() function does some testing and assumes that it runs at a certain voltage.

Can you show a photo of your module and reverse engineer it and make a schematic of it ?

If you want something that works, then you should buy something from a reliable seller.
Adafruit has it: https://www.adafruit.com/product/3967. They test everything before they sell it, they provide a schematic, they make a tutorial, they make a library, they have a forum, and so on.
Most important is that if the chip needs to run at 2.8V, they actually let the chip run at 2.8V and they tell if their module is compatible with 3.3V and 5V boards (they made it compatible with 3.3V and 5V boards).

Your module is totally :poop: because it has no schematic and no one knows if it actually works. It might do some trick for the I2C bus that is not according to the datasheet.

[UPDATE]
I read now that it as a STM32 processor. Is the I2C bus connected to the sensor chip and STM32 as well ? What is the STM32 doing ?

4

Here is photos https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipO1jpPDGXGjYWmxjW4RAHicIl2kHA5pXm0ywYfn3AlAuLVIgQrYT42qTnF7iWIiuw?key=d2JnWkoyTzZsUThWMUdlMkZWSmpBVXFKcjljLWZ3 . I think, it will be too hard to make a schematic for me.

5

I agree, adafruit products are more efficient and well documented, but more expensive.
Those 5 sensors from AliExpress cost about 34 USD ($6.75 per each one), so, adafruit price $14.95 - more than twice higher, than Chinese sensor board. For a hobbyist from Russia (may be you don't know, but a lot of people here have small salaries, even programmers) it's a big price difference.
And, looks like adafruit.com banned users from Russia - when I open Adafruit VL53L1X Time of Flight Distance Sensor - ~30 to 4000mm [STEMMA QT / Qwiic] : ID 3967 : Adafruit Industries, Unique & fun DIY electronics and kits I see message on the page
Error 1020

Access denied

When I opened it from Germany server, it opened very well...
Maybe, they blocked because of sanctions, I dunno...

6

Thanks for the photos. It is a module with 10k resistors, but it does not have a level shifter to convert your 3.3V I2C bus to a 2.8V I2C bus for the sensor.

It does not look good. Here and here are troubles with that module on this forum. It seems that there was no solution.

Do you solder the pins ? Some forget that.

The I2C interface might never work. The examples that I see with an Arduino board use the PWM signal. I suggest to try the Serial interface or else the PWM signal.
Your module might stop working after some time, because I'm sure that the SDA and SCL go directly to the 2.8V sensor chip. That module is not okay.