Hardware Problems: Difference between revisions

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(Created page with "Stacks =Hardware Problems= The EP8266 is great: It gives your IoT device WLAN and IP connectivity for only a few bucks. On the other hand, the ESP8266 is quite a hand f...")
 
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[[Stacks]]
[[IoT with AME|Home]]


=Hardware Problems=
=Embedded Hardware Problems=


The EP8266 is great: It gives your IoT device WLAN and IP connectivity for only a few bucks.
Bugs are not limited to software - plain electricity can be tricky, too! Sometimes it even kills (and I'm referring to Arduinos here).


On the other hand, the ESP8266 is quite a hand full: It creates power spikes that have negative impact on its own operation, it has out-of-the-blue resets that have to be dealt with, and it experiences hang-ups that can be only cured with a hardware reset or "The IT Crowd" mantra ("have you tried turning it off and on again"; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nn2FB1P_Mn8).
* [[Staying well-grounded]] - Why not everybody can have their own GND (ground; this is important to the health of your Arduino!)
* [[Sufficient power-supply]] - Some chips suck (power)
* [[Port-Power]] - How to not power an Arduino (via an I/O port)
* Fun with [[pitfalls-power lan|power LAN]] adapters (don't plug your fridge into one)


I have had A LOT of problems with the ESP8266. Some can be solved with the proper power supply, a bit of hardware, and somewhat sophisticated error handling. Other, more persistent problems can only be addressed with resetting the chip or even cycling the power.
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==Power Supply==
 
The chip sometimes needs quite a lot of power (current), in example when connecting to a WLAN, or setting up a connection. It definitely needs a proper power supply (using the 3.3V supply of the Arduino is NOT enough). Additionally, give it a 100uF or greater electrolytic capacitor across the power pins, as close to the chip as possible (I soldered it ONTO the chip). The capacitor acts as a buffer when the demand of the chip surges; this helps the stable, reliable operation of the chip and the operation of the rest of your device.
 
If you get erratic or unexpected behavior, try these measures first. I wasted hours looking for presumed software bugs that were caused by insufficient supply voltage, loose/ corroded contacts, and wimpy power supplies that could not supply the current required.
 
[[Stacks]]

Latest revision as of 13:42, 24 June 2018

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Embedded Hardware Problems

Bugs are not limited to software - plain electricity can be tricky, too! Sometimes it even kills (and I'm referring to Arduinos here).

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