ESP32 Forum

as the tittle imply i am very new to the esp32.

a long time ago i was heavy into using ardunos for projects. i know how to code an arduno. made an nrf24 powered RC "tank" with a working nerf missile turret. i have made an MP3 player out of an arduno. so yes i can totally load up arduno IDE whip up a program and toss it on. well kinda i don't have any ardunos to load software onto. a few years ago i lost all my development stuff (cables computer dev boards all of it) so i am basically starting from scratch(my iron is still in the box) however i have returned to making stuff with a goal in mind. i already have a few projects they i have been laying out the pen and paper for and now comes the time to break out the bread boards.

i have never used an esp32 however from all i have learned about them they will be serving projects better then an arduno. which means it is time to learn. before i unwrap the esp32s however i need to figure out how to actually prepare my computer with the necessary software to write programs for the esp32. i tryed looking around for a guide and feel blind because i cant even find the IDE, or i have found it and know so little about esp32s that i didn't recognize it.

my programing teacher always said "first you begin with a question then you find the answer" except i have realized i don't know enough about the esp32 to know the question.


my first goal is to get everything onto my laptop that i need whip up a simple program to make a few LEDs blink throw it on the bread board and get it to make the LEDs blink. this goal will yield me everything i need to test the board and get me a starting point.

i did find a few things but i found the information too confusing compared to what i know for example i found something called ESP-IDF and an IDE that goes with it but i have no clue what that is yet. it seems too advanced for my current stage but again i could be totaly wrong and that IDF stuff is exactly what i am looking for.

i will happily take links to reading materials that provide the information i am looking for as at the end of the day the reading materials is what i am looking for.

i have a feeling i have already looked at what i am looking for i just didn't recognize it cause i don't know enough or i didn't read far enough in.

If you're used to Arduino, you can still use it on ESP32 chips, we support that. Our official docs on this are here. I'd suggest you try that first, then you can always branch out to ESP-IDF if you need or want to do that.

thank you. that was actually kinda helpful. i will be honest i didn't think that was what i was after however like a good little leaner i am trying it cause you suggested it. i still don't know if it is the IDE i need. then again from what you said it seems that it will be with a side of needing to work my way into the IDF stuff to get my end results.

however i have run into an issue in testing.

this is the sketch as you can see it is a dreadfully simple sketch just to prove the board works.

and this is the log i was able to get the sketch to load onto an arduino nano but the error happens any time i try the esp. i know the cable is fine as it is giving the do doot you get when you connect a device when i plug in the esp. i can use the cord to connect a ps4 controller to the computer(BT turned off for the test so it could not possible use it) but any time i try to upload to the esp i get that error and when i plug it in i don't even get a serial port so even if i had a sketch on there that used serial i couldn't even access that on it. i have been trouble shooting it all day and hit a wall.

What hardware (devkit type, ...) do you have?

You might need to force the ESP32 into download mode the first time. If your board has the buttons, try (when it's plugged in) holding the BOOT button, pressing and releasing the RESET button, then releasing the BOOT button. That should give you a serial port for flashing, regardless of what state the ESP32 board was in before. (Note that normally you wouldn't have to do that, you can just reprogram the board without pressing anything)

Alternatively, if you're using the original ESP32 (no -C3, -S3 or anything), you might need to install a driver for whatever USB-to-serial chip is on the board in order for the serial port to show up.

no joy. holding the boot button and the EN button press didn't get me a port.

i do remember in the reviews for the boards i got alot of complaining about efuses being set in defaults for security and needing to encrypt the sketch or do something about an efuse. the reviews were not exactly clear on it but it was one of the selling points of being able to lock the board so that not just anyone could mess with it. however i get the feeling to fiddle with the efuses i need a serial interface. i mention this cause it might trigger a thought or my assumptions could be wrong and it is a efuse causing the current issue. experts would know better then me so put it out there so they are aware and see what comes.

i have never really installed extra "open drivers" (i hardly understand how to navigate github and i know i am definitely going to need to learn more there for my coming projects. that said i have no idea what drivers would be needed where to find them or how to install them. attached is one of the only 2 files of documentation i got with the board and i had to pull them from the selling page. one is the pin out and the other is attached. it provides all the information that could be gathered if i photographed it but perfectly crisp and in focus.

also thank you for all your help so far sprite

edit because i didn't notice it till i tryed repeating the process over and over thinking maybe i did something wrong in the process. pushing and holding boot then hitting the en button does "something" on the computer i can get the cursor to show it computer is trying to do something on command by holding boot and pressing en.

That's a CP2102 USB-to-UART chip... could try this and see if it works then.

"bittermen you are in the green and ready to go" or maybe in the blue would be better considering the pin 2 built in is blue.

sprite i would like to take this opportunity to say thank you so very much i have everything all figured out now i was able to upload my first sketch for an esp32 successfully thanks to your help.

brings me down to a first question i just realised. this thing runs on 3.3v is there any way to power it with a 5v source without an external regulator or using the usb and what the limits are on each pin. however that is a question that i will be finding the answer to on my own through research. i have a feeling i am going to need to get my hands on some signal voltage correction circuits to drop analog signals into the appropriate range (lowering to 3.3v for the esp and raising to 5v for some of my other hardware) or finding a way to build in 3.3v

however those are problems for tomorrow me and i have already accepted that i am probably going to fry this particular esp32 in a few days because i am so used to working in 5v i am bound to put that voltage where it does not belong. did something simalar with an arduino uno and a 12v supply because i crossed the psus(powered the 12v side with 5v and the 5v side with 12 very good lesson to always check your trace wires before powering up.)