Embedded

This example shows how to use UART on the ESP32 using MicroPython. In this example, we use UART1 which is mapped to pins GPIO9 (RX) and GPIO10 (TX).

from machine import UART
uart = UART(1, 115200) # 1st argument: UART number: Hardware UART #1

# Write
uart.write("test")

# Read
print(uart.read()) # Read as much as possible using

Don’t know how to upload the file to MicroPython so it is automatically run on boot?

• To flash over USB, see How to upload files to MicroPython over USB/serial
• To flash over the network (with WebREPL already enabled), see How to upload files to MicroPython using WebREPL using webrepl_cli.py

Problem:

You are trying to initialize an ESP32 pin in MicroPython using

import machine
machine.Pin(34, machine.Pin.OUT)

but you see an error message like

>>> machine.Pin(34, machine.Pin.OUT)
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>
ValueError: pin can only be input

Solution:

On the ESP32, pins with numbers >= 34 are input-only pins!

You need to use other pins < 34 if you need output capability!

For reference, see the relevant MicroPython source code section:

// configure mode
if (args[ARG_mode].u_obj != mp_const_none) {
    mp_int_t pin_io_mode = mp_obj_get_int(args[ARG_mode].u_obj);
    if (self->id >= 34 && (pin_io_mode & GPIO_MODE_DEF_OUTPUT)) {
        mp_raise_ValueError("pin can only be input");
    } else {
        gpio_set_direction(self->id, pin_io_mode);
    }
}

In this post we will investigate how to connect to a wireless network on boot

First, install ampy – a tool to modify the MicroPython filesystem over a serial connection.

sudo pip3 install adafruit-ampy

Now prepare your script – we’ll use main.py in this example.

Upload the file to the board:

ampy -p /dev/ttyUSB* put main.py

This only takes about 2-4 seconds. In case ampy is still running after 10 seconds, you might need to

• Stop ampy (Ctrl+C), reset the board using the RESET button and retry the command
• Stop ampy (Ctrl+C). Detach USB and ensure the board is powered off (and not powered externally). Re-Attach USB and retry the command.
• In case that doesn’t help, try re-flashing your board with the most recent version of MicroPython. See How to flash MicroPython to your ESP32 board in 30 seconds. This will also clear the internal filesystem and hence remove any file that might cause failure to boot properly.

This MicroPython code blinks GPIO2 which is connected to the LED on most ESP32 boards.

import machine
import time
led = machine.Pin(2, machine.Pin.OUT)
while True:
    led.value(1)
    time.sleep(1)
    led.value(0)
    time.sleep(1)

Don’t know how to upload the file to MicroPython so it is automatically run on boot?

• To flash over USB, see How to upload files to MicroPython over USB/serial
• To flash over the network (with WebREPL already enabled), see How to upload files to MicroPython using WebREPL using webrepl_cli.py

Problem:

You want to enable WebREPL on your MicroPython board using

import webrepl
webrepl.start()

but it is only showing this error message:

WebREPL is not configured, run 'import webrepl_setup'

However, you want to configure WebREPL programmatically instead of manually running it on every single board.

Solution:

Use

import webrepl
webrepl.start(password="Rua8ohje")

This will circumvent webrepl_setup completely and is compatible with an automated setup process.

Note: At the time of writing this you can only use passwords with 8 characters max! (see How to fix MicroPython WebREPL ValueError in File „webrepl.py“, line 72, in start )

Problem:

You want to configure your MicroPython WebREPL programmatically using webrepl.start(password="...") but you see a stacktrace like

>>> webrepl.start(password="Rua8ohjedo")
Traceback (most recent call last):
 File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>
 File "webrepl.py", line 72, in start
ValueError:

Solution:

Use a shorter password with 8 characters max:

webrepl.start(password="Rua8ohje")

In this post we will investigate how to connect to a wireless network on boot

First, install ampy – a tool to modify the MicroPython filesystem over a serial connection.

sudo pip3 install adafruit-ampy

Now download main.py and save it in your current working directory and insert your wifi credentials:

import network
station = network.WLAN(network.STA_IF)
station.active(True)
station.connect("YourWifiName", "EnterYourWifiPasswordHere")

Upload the file to the board:

ampy -p /dev/ttyUSB* put main.py

In case ampy shows no output within 5 seconds, try resetting the board, waiting for 5-10 seconds and retrying the upload using ampy

Note: You can list the files on the board’s filesystem using

ampy -p /dev/ttyUSB0 ls

You can verify the content of main.py using

ampy -p /dev/ttyUSB0 get main.py