I am undecided on what module should I use for accessing Google Calendar via my Arduino - I know it is something that I can use to access Internet for sure. So I narrowed down to two -
a. Ethernet Shield for Arduino
b. ESP8266 WI-Fi Module (for Arduino)
And then someone suggested the use of ESP32 which includes Bluetooth support as well.
Now I would have preferred the ESP8266 one but since the mention of ESP32, my state of undecidedness has increased.
As of now I only need to access the Calendar (4 times a day, fetch in the Events/Appointments in the next set of say 4 hours) and beep an alarm some 5 minutes or so before the time of the event. And of course, I need the minimum number of Arduino pins used because this is just one part of my entire project.
For sure, this might have been done by many here, and hence I am seeking out some suggestions to help me decide.
Oh yes, Google often seem to change the ways they allow access (I know as I have faced problems wrt their APIs for MAPs etc). So if it is not Google Calendar, I am also open to any other Online Calendar (I only need it shareable across my family or at least with my wife)
Looking forward for some advice in the right direction.
Why would you prefer esp8266 over esp32 for this project? You did not really explain that.
Reading Google Calendar will not require any Arduino pins, so not sure what your concern is about that.
Using an esp8266-01 as a wifi adaptor for Uno/Mega was never a great idea. Better to use an esp8266 dev board, that has more pins, instead of the Uno/Mega. Esp has far more speed and memory than Uno/Mega anyway, and if you need more pins, it's just as easy to add pins to an esp than to use esp-01 as a wifi adaptor with Uno/Mega.
Juraj:
you can't access https with Ethernet shield
See that is why I hopped on here. I have never worked with any of those Internet connectivity add-ons with Arduino and so I do admit, I had no clue on this. Thanks for mentioning this. I am striking it out of my list.
Thanks
PaulRB:
Why would you prefer esp8266 over esp32 for this project? You did not really explain that.
Reading Google Calendar will not require any Arduino pins, so not sure what your concern is about that.
Using an esp8266-01 as a wifi adaptor for Uno/Mega was never a great idea. Better to use an esp8266 dev board, that has more pins, instead of the Uno/Mega. Esp has far more speed and memory than Uno/Mega anyway, and if you need more pins, it's just as easy to add pins to an esp than to use esp-01 as a wifi adaptor with Uno/Mega.
I have never tried working with accessing internet via Arduino. As such, I had no idea where to start off with (wrt the Internet access/connectivity).
Having said that, I had read some posts/articles on the ESP8266 and hence it was/is on my list of preferred modules/boards. And I read here (just after your post) that I cannot use Ethernet Sheild to access HTTPS. So that is ruled out now.
About my preference to go with the ESP8266 and not the ESP32 - The fact that there were too many things bundled with (what I could find locally) like the Ethernet Interface, CAN, Touch and Temperature sensor (maybe more, I am unsure). And I thought that as this particular project that I am trying to get through, does not need all that (because I can use the Wi-Fi on the ESP8266 for the connectivity). The next is the cost issue - at the moment, as I am experimenting, I thought not to spend more.
The local store from where I buy my supplies showed me two models/makes -
A OLatus OL-nodeMCU-CH340 Wireless and the REES52 Serial Wi-Fi Wireless (I have linked both words to their amazon.in links as I did not have any photographs of them from the storekeeper). Probably that is where the issue with usage of Pins arose.
For esp8266, your first link is ok. But I find wemos d1 mini equally capable but more compact. The NODEMCU looks like it has more pins, but don't be fooled, those extra pins are not useful!
Your second link is the esp-01 I was talking about. Only good as a wifi adapter for Uno/Mega, and NODEMCU or wemos is better than those options.
PaulRB:
Did you search Google, and this forum, for "Arduino Google calendar"? I saw some interesting projects there.
In fact yes, this instructable here had made me realize that this is do-able. Then another instructable here shows how to connect to Google Calendar using Adafruit and Zapier. I got into some more researching and found a repository on GitHub that mentions things are possible from just Google (The only line of instructions it has reads- "Add the googlescript to your google account, set your calendar and publish it") and probably this is the one I will follow/use.
Also, I found another video on YouTube with a funny title though - "Google Calendar Reminder: How To Make Your Wife/Girlfriend happy (Arduino)" - where he explains how to get the Google Settings done as well.
These have been the sources of my project where I want to attempt a Clock with an Alarm that sounds the buzzer a few minutes before the Appointment on the Google Calendar.
PaulRB:
For esp8266, your first link is ok. But I find wemos d1 mini equally capable but more compact. The NODEMCU looks like it has more pins, but don't be fooled, those extra pins are not useful!
Your second link is the esp-01 I was talking about. Only good as a wifi adapter for Uno/Mega, and NODEMCU or wemos is better than those options.
I did a search for Wemos D1 Mini (link goes to amazon.in).
I will spend sometime reading about this and ESP32. It will also give me a week or more to get into the other aspects of this project as well (going by the fact that amazon will take a while to deliver either)
PaulRB:
Why would you prefer esp8266 over esp32 for this project?
I have used both, and while I haven't used the esp32 very much, I prefer the esp8266.
The platform core APIs are a bit different and the esp8266 platform seems more stable and mature.
From my uses, the esp32 platform had some issues that the esp8266 platform did not.
Some can be worked around but some cannot.
Also, the esp32 devs maintaining the Arduino platform, seem to have an attitude and are definitely not as open to fixing things or accepting github pull requests as the esp8266 devs.
Not sure why. i.e. why can't the esp32 guys just pull in some of the esp8266 code and updates/fixes into their platform?
Here is just one of many examples: the esp32 platform does not come with analogWrite(). And while the github issue for this has existed for YEARS and sample code was provided to implement it, it is just now being looked at.
The esp8266 does not have this issue.
So my preference at this point in time is for the esp8266.
