(Re-)Flash ESP8266 with dedicated ESP8266 using Ser2Net

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Elektrofreak
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(Re-)Flash ESP8266 with dedicated ESP8266 using Ser2Net

#1 Post by Elektrofreak » 03 May 2017, 14:59

Hi All,

For some cases (especially when playing with rules) I had the problem that I could not get any wireless access to the ESP8266 anymore. I needed to unmount the ESP from the location to be able to put it close to the PC again and re-flash or (factory-)reset it via the serial port.

My idea is now the following:

Is it possible to use one ESP8266 with ESPEasy firmware and Ser2Net Plugin to be remotely able to access the UART ports of the ESP8266 which I want to flash or to communicate with? Thus, I could use one dedicated ESP8266 as my "programmer" by setting up Arduino / a virtual COM-Port or direct write access via AVRDUDE like here:

http://hackaday.com/2015/09/18/transpar ... al-bridge/

This might make it much easier to (re-)flash the ESP8266 with ESPEasy or clean the flash without any cables connected. Only the programmer needs to be able to talk via TCP instead of a COM port.

Looking forward to get some positive feedback!

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costo
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Location: NL, zw-NB

Re: (Re-)Flash ESP8266 with dedicated ESP8266 using Ser2Net

#2 Post by costo » 03 May 2017, 17:34

How are you supposed to have access to the ESPEasy when WiFi connection is lost for some reason ?
Am I missing something?
I cannot imagine to have a wireless TCP connection with ESPEasy without a working WiFi connection.

I use a laptop to , yes indeed with wires , make a serial connection on location to ESPEasy when it is crashed or unresponsive.

Elektrofreak
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Re: (Re-)Flash ESP8266 with dedicated ESP8266 using Ser2Net

#3 Post by Elektrofreak » 03 May 2017, 21:03

Unfortunately I don't have a laptop. So I thought it might be easy to connect a "network based serial port" to the device which should be flashed.

In case of a lost netwok connection you are right. But this szenario is just one additional option to flash an ESP8266, it is not the only possibility :D . And typically you should have WiFi around the location where you want to install the ESP ;)

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toffel969
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Re: (Re-)Flash ESP8266 with dedicated ESP8266 using Ser2Net

#4 Post by toffel969 » 04 May 2017, 09:26

Elektrofreak wrote: 03 May 2017, 14:59 Hi All,

For some cases (especially when playing with rules) I had the problem that I could not get any wireless access to the ESP8266 anymore. I needed to unmount the ESP from the location to be able to put it close to the PC again and re-flash or (factory-)reset it via the serial port.

My idea is now the following:

Is it possible to use one ESP8266 with ESPEasy firmware and Ser2Net Plugin to be remotely able to access the UART ports of the ESP8266 which I want to flash or to communicate with? Thus, I could use one dedicated ESP8266 as my "programmer" by setting up Arduino / a virtual COM-Port or direct write access via AVRDUDE like here:

http://hackaday.com/2015/09/18/transpar ... al-bridge/

This might make it much easier to (re-)flash the ESP8266 with ESPEasy or clean the flash without any cables connected. Only the programmer needs to be able to talk via TCP instead of a COM port.

Looking forward to get some positive feedback!
Hi

I don't see a reason why this shouldn't work. The UART access should be no problem.

In order to flash i would advise on connecting GPIO0 and reset pins to be able to get the ESP in flash mode/reset it if serial is also frozen. You should be able to pull them low using GPIO of the "serial bridge"-esp, providing that GNDs are connected between both ESP devices.
Domoticz on Raspi 2 -- 14 ESP units (hacked Sonoff,NodeMCUs, Wemos, self-built units) running with RC140- Mega 2.0.0 dev8

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