ESP32 play

Got a start point for ESP32

Bread boarded with 8 LEDs.

Ok, not that exciting, a set of 8 LEDs flashing in sequence. But that means I have tool chain setup and working and can program the beast. It's not in Arduino, that is available but has a lot missing at the moment, so I'm using the full Espressif tool chain:

https://docs.espressif.com/projects/esp-idf/en/stable/get-started/index.html

I just took their standard Blinky example and tarted it up a bit.

I have a nice little 320x240 LCD with full touch and mmc card holder, works nicely on an Atmega 2560, lets see what I can do with an ESP32, have to interface with bread board first of course.

ESP32

I want to use ESP8255, I think it has enough pins for what I want to do, but I'm waiting for delivery from China.
In mean time, I have a few ESP-WROOM-32 modules. Got 2 off Banggood for £3.42 each.
This is really too new, not fully supported by Arduino, but it is a very nice chip and a very nice module and I have some spare time.

Created a simple PCB to create a bread board friendly module.

Created minimum circuit, serial on TXD0/RXD0 to PC via FDTI, used FTDI 3v3 for power, reset momentary and flash/program slide switch.

https://docs.espressif.com/projects/esp-idf/en/stable/get-started/index.html#get-started-get-esp-idf

Got the "Hello World" example up and running.

It's a good start point. Plus, I now have a new toy :-)

Electronics playing

It didn't work, no idea why. Just what I was worried about.
So, I simplified:

The connections are no longer sorted (simplified).

I actually drilled a 2.5 mm hole through PCB in center of IC base pad. After placing and soldering small pads, I soldered tinned copper wire to base of IC (from other side of PCB through hole) and filled with solder.

Still did not work!!!! Still no idea why.

I used a USB microscope to examine very carefully, all joints look good. All joints buzz out ok.

Maybe the oscillator is not good enough, maybe wrong choice of crystal, maybe wrong capacitor values, I would not have thought this would totally stop it working.

There is no recommendations from Espressif that I could find.

But, whilst I was looking at schematics to try to find a known good set of components, I came across this:

https://www.itead.cc/wiki/PSF-B85

For breadboard, that is pretty close to what I want, ESP8285 with all pins broken out, a little PCB to translate connections to 0.1 inch bread board compatible and I'm up and running.

So, I've ordered 5.

What I want is some building blocks.

I want a block that is all basic known good components to give a basic working ESP8285 circuit.

A block that I can plug into a bread board and with other building blocks and quickly get something working.

A block I can put onto a PCB with other blocks to create what I want after bread board stage.

The ITead module should work as a stepping stone toward this goal.

Electronic Playing

Assembled and plugged into bread board:

Using heat gun to put down 8255 and crystal seemed to work ok.

The '0603' capacitors were as difficult to hand solder as expected. You can't see 0.5 x 0.2 mm well. You pick them up with tweezers, too much pressure they are gone, try to move with end of hobby knife, it flexes, gone. 

Now still being a wimp. If it doesn't work, is it soldering? is it circuit? is it components? is it breadboard wires? has it got bootloader?

I'll get to it tomoz, had to try fixing a DVD drive in a telly tonight.