Pico_ESP8266.md

Installing Blynk.NCP on Pico-ESP8266 shield

Prerequisites

Hardware:

• Pico-ESP8266 shield
• USB to TTL Serial (3.3v) adapter or cable
• Jumper wires
• Soldering iron and accessories (read more about soldering)

Software:

• Espressif esptool
• Blynk.NCP firmware binary: BlynkNCP_generic_esp8266_4M.flash.bin

Assemble the shield

It is recommended to route the VCC_EN of the voltage regulator to the GPIO header:

1. Remove the 0R resistor labeled VSYS
2. Place the same resistor on GP14 pads (or just create a solder bridge)

Tip

Alternatively (depending on your application) you may want to route the ESP8266 REST pin to GP15. Check out the schematic for details.

Connect the TTL Serial adapter or cable

Shield	TTL adapter
GND	GND
VSYS	5V
GP14(EN)	3v3 or 5V
GP1(TX)	RX
GP0(RX)	TX

Flash Blynk.NCP firmware

1. Press and hold the IO0 button
2. Press RST button shortly
3. Release the IO0 button
4. Run this command:

esptool.py --baud 460800 --before default_reset --after hard_reset write_flash --flash_size detect --erase-all 0x0 BlynkNCP_generic_esp8266_4M.flash.bin

Expected esptool output

esptool.py v4.6.2
Serial port /dev/ttyUSB1
Connecting....
Detecting chip type... ESP8266
Chip is ESP8266EX
Features: WiFi
Crystal is 26MHz
MAC: 4c:75:25:xx:xx:xx
Uploading stub...
Running stub...
Stub running...
Changing baud rate to 460800
Changed.
Configuring flash size...
Auto-detected Flash size: 4MB
Erasing flash (this may take a while)...
Chip erase completed successfully in 9.8s
Compressed 515296 bytes to 372588...
Wrote 515296 bytes (372588 compressed) at 0x00000000 in 8.4 seconds (effective 490.8 kbit/s)...
Hash of data verified.

Leaving...
Hard resetting via RTS pin...

Verify

1. Use your favorite serial terminal software (PuTTY, minicom, screen) to access the TTL serial console (38400 8N1).

2. Press the RST button and wait a few seconds.

3. The serial monitor should display:

   [rpc port] Blynk.NCP started
   Version: x.x.x, Build: (date and time)
   

Finish

Disconnect all the wires and adapters from the shield.