esp8266 News - Page 9 of 21 - CNX Software

July 20, 2018July 20, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

Build an ESP8266 IR Remote Control with LOLIN IR Controller Shield for D1 Mini Board

Infrared remote control are still widely with TVs, set-top boxes, air conditioners, and all other sort of appliances with the end result of having many remote control around the house. If you want to cut on the number of remote controls, there are several solutions: Get a smartphone with a Built-in IR transmitter like Xiaomi Mi A1. Add an IR transmitter to your smartphones’s headphone jack using ZazaRemote or USB type C port with ROCK USB type C IR transmitter. Get a WiFi IR blaster in order to control devices remotely, or maybe buy several try control any IR devices from anywhere DIY your own solution for more flexibility, for example using ANAVI Infrared pHAT and a Raspberry Pi board. The smartphone solutions (1 & 2) works as long as you are in the room, but the WiFI IR blaster allows you to control devices even if you are not […]

July 3, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Connect Multiple Rotary Encoders to Arduino, ESP8266, Raspberry Pi, etc… with I2C Encoder V2 (Crowdfunding)

Rotary encoders are pretty common devices that convert the angular position of a shaft to analog or digital output signals with quadrature-encoded A / B pulses the most common way of reporting the position to the micro. So for each encoder you’d need 2-pin, and if your project use many of those you may quickly run out of pin, interrupts, etc… Simone Caron has decided to tackle this issue by creating an I2C encoder board, which works with various encoders, and whose second revision is now offered on Kickstarter. The I2C Encoder V2 board supports standard mechanical encoders, illuminated RGB encoders, and clickable rotary encoders, each of which may be with or without dent. The board also comes with 3 GPIOs following RGB LED footprint, but also usable as PWN, GPIO, or ADC, and each board’s I2C address can be configured with some soldering on A0 to A6 pins. Finally, […]

June 19, 2018June 19, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

$10 H801 WiFi RGB LED Controller Supports Sonoff-Tasmota Open Source Firmware

This week-end, I played with ANAVI Light Controller, an open source hardware solution based on ESP8266 used control 12V RGB LED strips. The board has the advantage of being open source with KiCad schematics, Arduino firmware, and HTML5 server program available, so easy to get started and modify the features as you see fit, and it also supports external I2C sensors via three headers. That’s a low volume project made in Eastern Europe and as a result the board costs $25, so I was shortly made aware there were cheaper solution, and if you are ready to mess around a little bit, H801 WiFi controller appears to be one of the most interesting solution as it sells for under $10 shipped on Aliexpress or eBay, and is officially supported by Sonoff-Tasmota open source firmware. H801 specifications: Connectivity – 802.11 b/g/n WiFi (2.4GHz) with about 10 meter range Output – 5x […]

June 17, 2018November 16, 2020 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

ESP8266 RGB LED Strip Control with ANAVI Light Controller, Arduino, MQTT, and HTML5

Anavi-Light-Controller-Starter-Kit-Assembly

A few months ago I reviewed ANAVI Light pHat for Raspberry Pi which allows you to control an LED RGB strip from the popular development board. However, if all you need is to switch the RGB LED light on and off, or change the color, the hardware is clearly overpowered for the tasks. So Leon ANAVI designed another board based on ESP8266 – ANAVI Light Controller – which does the same thing with lower cost and more power efficient hardware. Leon sent me a sample for review, so let’s see what we’ve got. ANAVI Light Controller Starter Kit Unboxing I received a package for the Starter kit that’s offered for $39 on CrowdSupply. We’ve got the main board, a USB debugging, an acrylic enclosure with screws and spacers, a one meter RGB LED strip, and some stickers inside the package. If we have a close look at the board we […]

June 3, 2018June 5, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 26 Comments

Sonoff S26 Smart Socket Mini Review & Teardown

ITEAD Studio very recently launched their Sonoff S26 WiFi Smart plug as a more compact and cost effective upgrade to their Sonoff S20 smart sockets, and which comes in 6 different versions for China, Australia, the United Kingdom, the United States, Europe type F for Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Portugal, Spain and Eastern Europe, and Europe type E for France, Belgium, Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Tunisia and Morocco. You can find the one that suits you most on World Standard website. I was interested in getting the device, mostly to check the hardware design, so the company sent me one sample to try out. Sonoff S26 Unboxing Sonoff S26 comes is a white package with Sonoff branding. I received the US type plug (S26B model) which includes a ground pin on both side, so it’s not suitable for most sockets here in Thailand that do not […]

May 24, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

ESP8266 based ANAVI Light Controller can be Programmed with Home Assistant or the Arduino IDE (Crowdfunding)

ANAVI Technology previously launched a Light pHAT allowing for RGB Light strip connection to Raspberry Pi boards, and during my review of ANAVI Light pHAT with Raspberry Pi 2, it did the job, but if that’s all you want to do, the Raspberry Pi board is clearly oversized & overpowered for the job. So Leon ANAVI got back to the drawing board and designed a similar open source hardware board – called ANAVI Light Controller – with an built-in ESP8266 module that removes the need for a fully fledged Linux board. ANAVI Light Controller specifications: Wireless Module – ESP8266MOD module based on ESP8266 Tensilica L106 32-bit processor Connectivity – WiFi 802.11 b/g/n Expansion Terminal block for 12 V RGB LED strip 3x I2C headers for sensors Debugging – UART header Misc – Button Power Supply – 12 V via power barrel jack Dimensions – 75 mm x 40 mm Certification […]

May 4, 2018October 19, 2021 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

ESP8266 Loader App Allows you to Flash and Debug ESP8266 Boards from Android Smartphones

In case you’d like to flash ESP8266 boards using a phone, you can now do so with ESP8266 Loader app for Android, which also gives you access to the serial console. All you’ll need to an Android smartphone with USB OTG support, a good USB cable, and a few ESP8266 boards such as Wemos D1 mini or NodeMCU. It should also be possible to use a TV box instead. Other listed features: Support any USB chip – CDC/ACM, FTDI, PL2303, CH34X and CP210X Change the SSID & password automatically durring upload No Ads (Pro version) Access to Google Drive storage (Pro version) Multiple upload widgets button (Pro version) That’s a free app with premium features, which also means it’s not open source, so any new features would have to be implemented by the developer. I asked him whether ESP32 boards were also supported, but he answered the app only works […]

March 28, 2018 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 15 Comments

Sonoff Pow R2 is a Power Monitoring WiFi Smart Switch with Better Accuracy, Safety and Extra Features

ITEAD Studio released several wireless switches / sockets with power monitoring capability over the years. Recently they company launched Sonoff S31 smart socket that plugs directly into your AC socket and does not require any wiring, but earlier they introduced Sonoff Pow that is meant to be connected directly into your circuit via terminals. ITEAD has now launched an upgrade to the latter – Sonoff Pow R2 – with many of the same features, including support for eWelink, but offering 99% measurement accuracy, overload protection defined by the user, and various other features like the ability to export data. Sonoff Pow R2 (Revision 2) specifications: WiSoC – Espressif ESP8266 (TBC) Connectivity – 802.11 b/g/n WiFi with WPA/WPA2 support Voltage Range – 90 to 250 VAC input Max Current – Up to 16A Max Power – 3,500 Watts Terminals – 6 terminal for mains and load’s ground, live and neutral signals. […]