Using Arduino IDE to Program NodeMCU

ESP8266 NodeMCU

Arduino IDE

<h3 >Introduction</h3><figure><img src=https://projects.arduinocontent.cc/39f61b02-4ace-45f0-904b-c20fb32cc21e.jpeg /><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>In this tutorial, we are going to learn how to use the Arduino IDE to program a NodeMCU.What is NodeMCU?NodeMCU is an open source IoT platform. It includes firmware which runs on the ESP8266 Wi-Fi SoC from Espressif Systems, and hardware which is based on the ESP-12 module. The term &#34;NodeMCU&#34; by default refers to the firmware rather than the development kits. The firmware uses the Lua scripting language.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NodeMCU">Wikipedia</a>Developer: ESP8266 Opensource Community Type: Single-board microcontrollerOperating system: XTOSYes. By default, NodeMCU uses Lua scripting language to program NodeMCU. Here, we are going to learn how to program NodeMCU using Arduino C++ language.<pre ><code >-- Pin definition local pin = 7 -- GPIO 13local status = gpio.LOWlocal duration = 1000 -- 1 second duration for timer -- Initialising pingpio.mode(pin, gpio.OUTPUT)gpio.write(pin, status) -- Create an intervaltmr.alarm(0, duration, 1, function () if status == gpio.LOW then status = gpio.HIGH else status = gpio.LOW end gpio.write(pin, status)end) </code></pre>The above is a sample Lua script to blink an LED connected to the 7th pin ie GPIO 13 of NodeMCU.As you can see here the physical pin and the GPIO pin numbers are different in NodeMCU, below is a chart of the pin assignments,<div id="gallery"><img id="gallery" src=https://projects.arduinocontent.cc/40d31fc8-3819-454a-bb5a-e20466cb9e18.jpg /><figcaption>NodeMCU ver 1.0 Pinout</figcaption><img id="gallery" src=https://projects.arduinocontent.cc/1adfc951-4c0b-48f1-b6eb-20ec9add36f8.jpg /><figcaption>NodeMCU ver 0.9 Pinout</figcaption></div><h3 >Coding in Arduino IDE</h3>Note: When you use the NodeMCU with the Arduino IDE, it will write directly to the firmware, of NodeMCU erasing the original firmware, So if you want back the Lua SDK, use the “flasher” to re-install the firmware. You can download the flasher from their Github page <a href="https://github.com/nodemcu/nodemcu-flasher">https://github.com/nodemcu/nodemcu-flasher.</a>Step 1: Connect the NodeMCU with your PC or laptop with a micro USB cable.Step 2: Download and install the drivers, You can download the driver for Mac, Linux or windows from this link <a href="https://github.com/nodemcu/nodemcu-devkit/tree/master/Drivers">https://github.com/nodemcu/nodemcu-devkit/tree/master/Drivers.</a>Step 3: Open Your Arduino IDE, then open preference from the file menu, then copy this link <a href="http://arduino.esp8266.com/stable/package_esp8266com_index.json">http://arduino.esp8266.com/stable/package_esp8266com_index.json</a> to additional board manager URLs, as shown below in the screenshot, then click ok.<figure><img src=https://projects.arduinocontent.cc/29f41b56-5fd8-4b6a-97f4-95d7735413aa.png /><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Step 4: Installing Board, Open board manager from tools -&gt; board -&gt; board manager.and search from &#34;nodemcu&#34;<figure><img src=https://projects.arduinocontent.cc/07cbf604-c017-492a-bf60-892741c743ca.png /><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Then select the latest version from the dropdown menu and click install and restart the Arduino IDE.<figure><img src=https://projects.arduinocontent.cc/15783b2d-e6f5-4c70-82c0-33500dbdf37a.png /><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>If everything is installed properly then you should be able to see the newly installed boards under tools -&gt; board menu. As shown in the screenshot,<figure><img src=https://projects.arduinocontent.cc/00fa8693-51e3-4740-ba04-b4800d53f1ae.png /><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><h3 >Testing</h3>Now let's test our setup by running a blink sketch in our NodeMCU.Step 1: Open the example blink program from the &#34;example for NodeMCU 1.0&#34; section inside the example menu,<figure><img src=https://projects.arduinocontent.cc/27453bd4-bde5-4cb1-8602-fc97dcea75bb.png /><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img src=https://projects.arduinocontent.cc/d4edabf3-b1be-491a-ae8b-32929cb69a7e.png /><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Step 2: Connect the NodeMCU with your computer using the micro USB cable. <figure><img src=https://projects.arduinocontent.cc/52f89803-d04a-48a5-947a-bc5e6ace9263.JPG /><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Step 3: Select and Board and Port and upload the program, that's it, now the builtin LED should start blinking. <figure><img src=https://projects.arduinocontent.cc/90f478ea-6ef9-4b06-a443-298dc15af37a.gif /><figcaption>LED Blinking</figcaption></figure><h3 >Video Tutorial</h3><div class="se-component se-video-container __se__float-none" contenteditable="false" style="width: 100%;"><figure style="width: 100%; height: 56.25%; padding-bottom: 56.25%; margin: 0px;"><iframe frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tGZCuHjsEHA" data-proportion="true" data-percentage="100%,56.25%" data-size="100%,56.25%" data-align="none" style="width: 100%; height: 100%;" data-index="0" data-file-size="0" data-origin="100%,56.25%"></iframe></figure></div><h3 >Troubleshooting</h3>If your program uploaded properly and the LED is still not blinking then in the blinking sketch change &#34;LED_BUILTIN&#34; to &#34;D4&#34;. like as shown below,<figure><img src=https://projects.arduinocontent.cc/e2ee46ed-f72e-4cf9-bff7-515fdba32ead.png /><figcaption>Changed LED_BUILTIN to D$</figcaption></figure>Image source: <a href="https://www.cnx-software.com/">https://www.cnx-software.com,https://www.faranux.com</a>

Using Arduino IDE to Program NodeMCU

In this tutorial, we are going to learn how to program a NodeMCU using the Arduino IDE.