Arduino, Alexa etc.
A short tutorial on using the ESP-01 to connect your Arduino projects to the Internet of Things (IoT) via. The ESP-01 is a WiFi enabled microcontroller that may be used standalone or in combination with an Arduino to enable WiFi control and monitoring of any project.
If you have difficulty getting your ESP-01 to work, see my separate video on flashing new firmware:
In time for Halloween, an Arduino controlled, WiFi-enabled, creepy animated doll. The doll can be controlled manually using a mobile device or set to 1 of 3 automatic modes in order to surprise your friends! Enjoy the video below for now, more details to follow here shortly…
For now, the 3D printable parts to enable control of the eyes can be found here:
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3152317
The micro servos required to control movement of the head and eyes can be purchased here:
I have recently ordered a new batch of custom circuit boards for the Blind Controller. With these you only need to solder components where indicated saving on complicated wiring and making it easier to fit into the 3D printed housing. These will be available on eBay once they arrive and have been tested and will be limited so please check back frequently to secure one!
DuPont or jumper cables are used commonly in Arduino projects, for those components that do not come with DuPont connectors we must fashion our own. The process of adding connectors to the bare wire is known as crimping and it can be done most easily using a crimping tool. Here is a short guide to crimping DuPont cables using one of these to ensure you can get it right everytime!
The crimping tool I use is cheap and widely available:
You will also need some connectors:
Examples of a crimped connector, bad (left), good (right):
First strip the wire exposing only 3-4 mm of wire
This ensures that the connector will grip the plastic insulation and will have sufficient contact with the wire.
Place the connector within the 20-22 AWG slot of the crimping tool ensuring the ‘pin’ portion of the connector is outside of the tool.
Slowly close down on the crimp tool to slightly bend the connector, this is so that we can fit it into the 28-24 slow, do not fully crimp the connector! Release the connector by pushing on the ratchet release located between the handles.
Place the connector inside the 28-24 slot of the crimping tool and close down until it is just in contact with the connector, again making sure the pin portion is not inside the tool.
Place the wire inside the connector and ensure that 1-2mm of plastic insulation is inside the connector.
Clamp down on the tool, 2-3 times until it automatically releases ensuring that the connector does not rotate too much as you do.
Slide the connector into the desired plastic housing and you are done!
The ESP-01 is a simple device but it can be difficult to get working and is easy to break, in this video I’ll show you how I fixed some of mine by easily re-flashing the firmware.
The ESP flasher tool I used is available here:
So I started work on my next project today, an automatic garden watering system and monitor based built using Arduino. My plan is to create a system that can:
With the following additional features depending on how much success I have:
I started out using an Arduino Uno and a cheap 5V motor in order to determine if it could be powered from the USB alone and provide sufficient power to pump water over a distance of approximately 1m. I connected as follows:
Once this was successfully pumping water, I attached an ESP-01 and configured it to connect with Blynk to enable remote control.
This enabled me to start the pump from my phone but unfortunately Blynk would then suddenly disconnect and I would have to recycle power to the ESP-01 to get it going again. So thinking this may be due to the fact the ESP devices are very sensitive to their supply I am attempting to isolate it from both the Arduino and the pump using an external power supply and a relay switch.
I’ll let you know how I get on…
So the solar shed has been up and running for a few months now, decided it was finally time to ditch the breadboard based data transmitter and tidy things up a little.
Before:
After:
In this tutorial I will show you how to configure an ESP32 device within the Arduino IDE and connect it to the Blynk mobile App tp monitor/interact with a variety of projects, in this example a temperature and humidity monitor for a mini greenhouse.
The ESP32 device used in this tutorial can be purchased here:
You’ll also need an DHT11 temperature and humidity sensor:
The Arduino code for this tutorial is available here:
http://medfizz.com/cabuu/Arduino_Scripts/BlynkWithESP32.ino
The original blind controller has been redesigned to incorporate a ‘snap fit’ gear cover for quicker installation/removal, improved mounting points and an overall more efficient/error free design. Download it now via Thingiverse
To allow for quicker installation as well as improved asthetics of my automated blind controller I am redesigning the gear surround and cover to enable them to be joined to one another without screws.
Attempt 1.
For my first attempt I tried a push pin type connector, the resulting design snapped together but broke when I then tried to separate the two parts.
Attempt 2.
For my second attempt I am trying a dovetail join and have cropped the print such that I can test the joint before printing the piece entirely (should have thought of this the first time round!).
Success!
