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I stayed up until 2:30am working on my father in law's pump monitor.
It turns out I had accidentally flashed the onboard wifi chip with bad microcode. 
To make matters worse, you can't just find a bin file and reflash it. No, you have to cross-compile the firmware sourcecode and *then* flash it.  To add to the complication, the firmware is different depending on how much RAM and EPROM you have and the board shipped with no instructions and doesn't say its configuration. The boards ship with different sizes of each.
Anyway, I finally got that done, and then I finally figured out how to monitor the hardware serial port #1 from my PC so I could get debug spew. That was a godsend!
Now I've got it doing everything it should - connecting to wifi, logging in and sending UDP packets every half second to a fixed IP address based on the state of 3 digital input pins.
What's left is to basically drive some switches carrying 3.3volt DC, flipped by their 120volt ac inputs using a dry relay setup, and then testing to make sure the client software works on windows, not just linux.
Woot. I'm very nearly done with this little monster.
The thing that gets me is I have no idea how I managed to pull this off with no instructions. Even just installing the toolchain to compile the firmware was a nightmare.
I'm excited.
If anyone wants to know how to build and flash firmware for an Arduino Mega with an onboard ESP8266 wifi chip, I'm your monster!
Real programmers use butterflies
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Sounds like you're have a fun time through all the suffering. I wouldn't even know where to start! 
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I didn't know where to start either. That's how I almost bricked my wifi chip!
Real programmers use butterflies
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I hope you made copious notes, as we are all looking forward to reading the article.
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I'm not going to cover reflashing the firmware because it's different on every device. That's what makes it so complicated. My way works for a robodyn board clone with a particular esp8266 configuration of(32Mbit/1024x1024) in terms of memory, and flash sizes. The odds most everyone having that same thing aren't very good, and if they did it wouldn't be this board, which isn't the most popular. I may write an article about that portion in the future.
That said, you don't need to flash the "AT" firmware to the 8266 if you don't muck it up in the first place like I did. They come out of the box with that firmware.
I will cover installing the WifiEsp package using the Arduino IDE, and wiring up the Arduino Mega style board to the pump circuits using relays.
I'll also cover the client software.
It may be a bit before I can produce an article as we still have to purchase the outdoor wifi repeater(s) to get the signal down to the pumphouse, and get the 3 relays to make it work
Real programmers use butterflies
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My comment was half in jest, but I am sure any article on what you have done will be welcome.
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I have unlimited 120vac power right there. My biggest problem is going from 110-120VAC to <5 DC.
Here's the deal: There are existing circuits in the pumphouse that report the status using a series of standard incandescent lights. They are all 120vac. What I'm going to do is tap the power to those lights and use them to drive some relay coils. The associated relay switches will be wired into the arduino. Easy peasy, because I don't care much about contact bounce or anything.
Real programmers use butterflies
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Have a look[^]
M.D.V. 
If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about?
Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you
Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.
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How about photo-diode or other light sensors to detect the indicator lights?
Then the system, and you, are really isolated from the 120 VAC
"Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana."
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In one project I use a light-dependant resistor and another fixed resistor to make a voltage divider, connected to the GPIO of an 8266 to get the state of an LED...
A lot cheaper and easier than using relays etc..
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The nice thing about relays is I already know how to use them and what to expect. I don't want to mess with light sensors unless i had an LED coupled to it - i'm not relying on the pumphouse bulbs that are there.
Real programmers use butterflies
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You have analog inputs to your Arduino. Look into current transformers like this. You can find a whole bunch of them at DigiKey or Mouser. The advantage is that you can generate an alarm also if the pump motor is seized.
Mircea
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Well done  often it's about starting at one end of the puzzle and having persistence .. and if that fails, know when to re-shuffle what you're given and change tack
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I am also very proud of you 
I can't even remember the last time I had to take out my pitchfork 
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Wait until you see my Arduino code.
Real programmers use butterflies
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Oh golly! I can't wait to see all those curly braces around your single line if statements!
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Why do they call it a haircut when you have most of them done?
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
"Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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The toothbrush was invented in the south otherwise it would be called a teethbrush.
I'm not sure how many cookies it makes to be happy, but so far it's not 27.
JaxCoder.com
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See hair! What part does this play, if any, in the out-comb of anything? Time, perhaps,to brush-up on your punmanship?
P.S.: is a follicle just a small amount of silly behavior?
[edit] Fixed turpo typo[/edit]
| Ravings en masse^ |
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| "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein | | "If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010 |
modified 30-Oct-20 13:58pm.
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Dirk Ehlert - Elements[^]
This week's SOTW was brought to me by @Nelek 
I didn't know Dirk Ehlert, nor his project/pseudonym(?) Dos Brains (under which this song is also known).
Looking at it, Dos Brains may be a publisher, but they do have a Spotify account with LOADS of albums, and Google also says they're a musical artist.
Anyway, Dirk Ehlert makes music for film and media, probably many of which are trailers.
I see his work includes The Hunger Games, Assassin's Creed, CSI: Miami and American Idol.
His music is pretty epic.
So if you like epic soundtracks and trailers this may just be your thing.
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I like this very much. Should be used in an "epic" movie of sorts.
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If you haven't heard of it, you might like Arnaud Rebotini's - "Pagan Dance Move". It is a little risque for the Lounge, but you can look it up on YouTube.
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