[TUTORIAL] WITTY FOX ESP32 DEV BOARD

Summary

WittyFox ESP32 Dev Board Features:

• Inbuilt battery protection and charge-discharge module
• Multiple power supply options (microUSB, DC Jack, Battery, Headers)
• Selectable power switch
• 2 x I2C Breakouts
• 2 x SPI Breakouts
• Breakout of all usable GPIO
• 200mA LDO 3.3v regulator for wide operating voltage range
• External reusable programmer
• 1x controllable LED, 1x push button connected to GPIO

Absolute Maximum ratings:

• Power inputs (J2, J3, VAC, M1) - 4.5v - 5.5v for BAT mode and 3.5v to 5v for AC mode
• Maximum current from 3.3v supply pins - 600mA
• ESP32 related pins - according to the datasheet.

 

The procedure to install ESP32 using the Arduino IDE is given below:

1. Download the Arduino IDE from the following link https://www.arduino.cc/en/Main/Software

2. Install the Arduino IDE.

 

3. When prompted to install drivers, say yes for all the drivers.

4. Next, you need to find the COM port of your Witty Fox programmer:-

• Plug in the Programmer to your laptop
• Open Device Manager
• Click on Ports
• Note down the Programmer’s COM port number(Usually specified as Silicon Labs CP210x ). This will be useful in the later steps.

 

 

5. In the Arduino IDE, go to File -> Preferences

 

6. Enter https://dl.espressif.com/dl/package_esp32_index.json into the “Additional Board Manager URLs” field as shown in the figure below. Then, click the “OK” button.

Note: Witty Fox programmer can also be used to program the ESP8266, if you want to install both chips on the Arduino IDE, you can separate the URLs with a comma as shown in the image below. The ESP8266 board URL is http://arduino.esp8266.com/stable/package_esp8266com_index.json

 

 

7. Open the Boards Manager. Go to Tools > Board > Boards Manager…

 

8. Search for ESP32 and press install button for the “ESP32 by Espressif Systems“

 

9. Select your Board in Tools > Board menu (For the Witty Fox ESP32 Dev Board, select ESP32 Dev Module)

10. Connect the Witty Fox Programmer and ESP32 Dev Board to your computer. The two boards are directly compatible with each other and do not need any extra jumpers.

11. Select the COM port of the programmer that you saw in the device manager earlier.

12. To test out the ESP32 Dev Board, upload the Blink LED code for the Witty fox ESP32 Dev Board, which is given below.

// the setup function runs once when you press reset or power the board void setup() {   // initialize GPIO2 as an output. This pin is connected to an on-board LED.   pinMode(2, OUTPUT); } // the loop function runs over and over again forever void loop() {   digitalWrite(2, HIGH);   // turn the LED on (HIGH is the voltage level)   delay(1000);                           // wait for a second   digitalWrite(2, LOW);        // turn the LED off by making the voltage LOW   delay(1000);                           // wait for a second }

 

13. Press the Upload button (shown in the image below) in the Arduino IDE, which is located in the top left-hand corner. Wait a few seconds while the code compiles and uploads to your board.

 

14. If everything went as expected, you should see “Done uploading.” message.

 

15. Check the onboard LED of the ESP32 Dev Board. It should be blinking at an interval of 1 second.

 

 

Refer to the following instructions to program the ESP32 Dev Board without the Witty Fox Programmer. 

If you are using a generic FTDI or any other USB to TTL programmer, the circuit to program ESP on the Witty Fox ESP32 Dev Board is given below.

 

FTDI Pin	ESP32 Dev board pin
GND	RGND
VCC	VBUS
GND(through a switch)	RST
GND(through a switch)	BOOT
RXI	RxD
TXO	TxD

Note: While uploading the program, when you get the connecting message on the bottom of the Arduino IDE, long-press the switch connected to the Boot pin of the ESP32 Dev Board and press the reset switch once. Once the program starts uploading, you can release the Boot switch.