ESP8266 Community Forum

- Sat Apr 04, 2015 3:43 pm #13495 Hi all,

So I bought a bunch of different modules. Have experimented with only the ESP-01's for now, as I am waiting for adapter boards for the ESP-03, 07 etc..

I really find them quite flakey. I have using a 3.3v source from a quality bench supply, so its not my power source. I have been using an ESP-01 and NodeMCU, with CH_PD high, GPIO0, GPIO2 and RST unconnected (floating). GND is also connected to a FTDI UART. In a temperate measuring module, I had GPIO0 picking up the DHT11 signal.

I am able to flash NodeMCU most of the time, but sometimes it just reboots, or crashes and refuses to come back. I am using the latest NodeMCU firmware.

So I am a bit lost? Do I try an older firmware, different pin configuration, different module?

I want to build an "Open garage door detector" with an ultrasonic sensor, but I need it to be reliable.

Right now I am not very happy with the reliability.

thanks,

loiphin


UPDATE - So it's a couple of weeks later and my ultrasonic open garage door notifier is running brilliantly.

Here is a youtube video and more info. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zI72pZsJ4M

Bottom line, if yours is acting flakey, put it all on a protoboard with nice and tidy connections, and with a decent power supply. You should be good to go

Last edited by loiphin on Fri Apr 17, 2015 10:41 am, edited 1 time in total.

- Sun Apr 05, 2015 2:22 am #13515 Leaving pins floating, especially the pins with special (boot mode) functions is tricky. Floating pins can become antennas and pick up all sorts of RF.
Start with "terminating" all pins correctly. I use myself 3k3 resistors to pull up or to pull down. I try to avoid direct connections to 3V3 or GND, since it is possible that an input becomes an output during boot/execution of a program. Direct connections might mean frying your pin circuitry inside the ESP8266 ..
Once properly terminated, try again. I have no issues so far, like I guess a lot of other people.

- Sun Apr 05, 2015 6:25 am #13541 Esp8266 has multiple pins. Could you show / tell us how you connect everything ?
I expierience some of the same problems like loiphin. Also those sudden restarts of the esp....

- Sun Apr 05, 2015 6:54 am #13545

Esp8266 has multiple pins. Could you show / tell us how you connect everything ?
I expierience some of the same problems like loiphin. Also those sudden restarts of the esp....

I experienced massive restarts at first too.

The measures that resolved the most unwanted restarts were:
1 - good power supply
2 - good power supply
3 - pullup resistor from ESP-RST to Vcc

I have an ES8266-01 with an USB-charger + LM1117 as power supply and a 4.7k pullup resistor between RST and Vcc that I use for "endurance testing". The sketch connect to a server every minute. It (mostly) runs without problems between 5-15 days, and when an unwanted reset occurs (it still does!) it resets nicely and restarts the sketch.