MEAM.Design - PicoKit or NodeMCU - Getting Started


Hardware/software Requirements

  1. Arduino Integrated Development Environment (IDE)
  2. ESP32 board
  3. MicroUSB cable
  4. WindowsPC or Mac
  5. SiLabs CP210x driver (for Mac)

Install Arduino IDE

  1. Both Mac and Windows can download Arduino IDE. Arduino.cc e.g. version (1.8.7) or later.
  2. Install according to the instructions

New 2021 ESP32 Installation Instructions

Try the Board Manager version listed here.

  1. https://docs.espressif.com/projects/arduino-esp32/en/latest/installing.html

If you run into problems, you may try the older methods below.

Test with Example Code

  1. Restart the Arduino IDE (be sure the ESP32 board is connected via usb to your computer)
  2. Tools→Board→ESP32 Pico Kit (if you don't see Pico Kit use NodeMCU-32S)
  3. Tools→Upload Speed →921600 (or 115200 if you have NodeMCU)
  4. [On Windows] Tool→Port →COM#
    [On Mac] Tool→Port →/dev/cu.SLAB_USBtoUART
  5. [For NodeMCU] In the Arduino IDE go to Files→Examples→01.Basics→Blink
    [For Pico Kit] There is no controllable LED on the ESP32 Pico Kit, in the Arduino IDE go to Files→Examples→01.Basics→ReadAnalogValue
  6. In the new window click the ‘check’ ✓ <Verify> button in upper left to compile the code
  7. Click the ‘arrow’ → <Upload> next to the ✓, to Flash the code. Note: on NodeMCU you must depress the "boot" button on the ESP32 to enable flash to occur.
  8. [For NodeMCU with blink] the LED should be blinking on 1 second off 1 second. The built in LED is on pin 2, otherwise you will need to connect an LED to the pin the code is using.
    [for Pico Kit] Open the monitor (click on the magnifying glass in upper right corner of Arduino IDE window) you should see numbers being printed (most likely 0's) if things are working correctly.

V1.0 Windows PC Instructions

( You can use this video starting at 5:30 for a reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJcxnaR08Dg )

  1. If you used the Boards Manager method previously, be sure to install Version 1.0X (not 2.0)
  2. Go to: https://github.com/espressif/arduino-esp32/tree/release/v1.0
  3. Click Clone or Download→Download ZIP
  4. Extract downloaded files.
  5. Create new file path in your Arduino folder: C:\Users\ YourName \Documents\Arduino\hardware\espressif\esp32 and copy and paste the files from Step 3 here.
  6. Go to the Tools folder and run get.exe
  7. Test with the Blink Code (see below)

V1.0 Mac instructions

( You may use this video starting at 1:45 for a reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-P7RD-DWVuA&t=320s )

  1. If you used the Boards Manager method previously, be sure to install Version 1.0X (not 2.0)
  2. Go to: http://www.silabs.com/products/development-tools/software/usb-to-uart-bridge-vcp-drivers
  3. Find the "Download for MacIntosh OSX", and download [v5]
  4. Plug the ESP32 into your computer
  5. Install the driver
  6. Go to: https://github.com/espressif/arduino-esp32/tree/release/v1.0
  7. Scroll to the ‘Installation Instructions’ section and click ‘Instructions for Mac’ and follow those instructions.
  8. Test with the Blink Code (see below)

If you are using Mac OS 10.12.6 (Sierra) and you cannot upload with the latest Mac OS VCP driver, please try the legacy v4 driver below. Note you will need to uninstall the v5 driver using uninstall.sh (in the driver package). You may or may not need Python…