rdp-button/code

Desert Bus for Hope - RDP Button

This code is intended to run in MicroPython on the ESP8266EX microcontroller. You may experience different results running in a different environment.

Installation

Preparing your computer

1. Ensure that you have Git and Python installed.
2. Install the pipenv virtual environment tool following the official documentation.
3. From a terminal, execute the following commands:

git clone https://code.darkmorford.net/DesertBusForHope/rdp-button.git
cd rdp-button/code
pipenv install

This will create a virtual Python environment and install two essential tools: esptool, used for flashing firmware to the device, and ampy, used to manipulate the filesystem.

The Wemos D1 mini requires a driver for Mac OS X to drive the CH340 serial bridge. It can be downloaded here.

Preparing the ESP8266

1. Connect the ESP8266 module to your computer and determine its serial port identifier.
   • For Windows machines, this will be something like COM1
   • For Linux/macOS, this will be something like /dev/ttyUSB0
2. From this directory (the one containing Pipfile), run the following command to clear the ESP8266's flash memory: pipenv run esptool --port <port> erase_flash
3. Flash the MicroPython firmware onto the ESP8266. This will vary slightly depending on your board.
   • In most cases, flashing with the default quad-I/O mode will work fine: pipenv run esptool --port <port> --baud 460800 write_flash --flash_size detect 0 MicroPython/esp8266-20190529-v1.11.bin
   • For some boards, it is necessary to fall back to the dual-I/O mode: pipenv run esptool --port <port> --baud 460800 write_flash --flash_size detect --flash_mode dio 0 MicroPython/esp8266-20190529-v1.11.bin

Copying files to the device

1. Copy the file config.json.tmpl to config.json, and edit the new file with correct wi-fi details and button ID number.
2. From this directory, use the command pipenv run ampy -p <port> put <file> to copy the following files to the device. Alternately, set the AMPY_PORT environment variable in your terminal and omit the -p <port> argument.
   • boot.py
   • config.json
   • main.py