Arduino-esp32: Help me be a better debugger?

[MrJustPaul]

I wonder if anyone can recommend techniques/tips for helping to determine what's wrong with my set-up/sketch/bad code... I usually start at the end of the log and read back a bit to find an error that points to the problem but I'm new to Arduino and really anxious to try some magic with my ESP32 module but I can't seem to get the tools/directories/libraries all in order to make things work. Any pointers would be appreciated! Thank you.
Paul

[tobozo]

Creative problem solving is required with windows. Also note that some creativity requires destruction: have you tried to turn it off and on again reinstall windows and start the install from a fresh system with no user app history ?

[MrJustPaul]

Hi @tobozo,
I haven't gone as far as to uninstall and reinstall Windows. This is a brand-new PC so it would only be MILDLY painful to do that. I have uninstalled (via Control Panel) Arduino IDE and GIT - several times - and carefully stepped through the "espressif" instructions but I seem to run into different issues - tools (I believe - ESP32 board not appearing in list) ... directories - duplicate or missing items.
I'm reluctant to wipe and reload the entire PC from scratch since this is not just a development machine. Getting all that "STUFF" working again - apps, scanners, printers, permissions... is a chore!
Thanks! Paul

[copercini]

What is your Sketchbook location? see it on Arduino -> File -> Preferences menu
Where did you put the ESP32 files?

[tobozo]

@MrJustPaul maybe create a new user and try the tutorial again ?

A failure in this situation (provided the tutorial is correct and you followed all steps) would mean the problem isn't on the user side but on the Arduino (software installation) side.

[edit] because finding what the problem is not may help you find what it is (by process of elimination).

[MrJustPaul]

Thanks both of you! I'd been thinking that my "Documents" folder being on another computer on our network could be an issue and I'm SURE there is plenty of junk strewn around. I created another user and left all folder paths to Windows defaults. I will go through the tutorial again as a brand new user and see what happens! I'll let you know. Wish me luck!

[MrJustPaul]

I didn't get very far...

• Installed Arduino IDE - sets Sketchbook Location to: C:\Users\justp_i2qm3ez\Documents\Arduino - my new user.
• Installed Git but when I try to "Clone" I get
  
  Well, YEAH! I just installed Arduino and it created it. What's my next step? I've gotten this before and deleted the folder, assuming that the clone would re-build everything, but I thought I would ask those far smarter than I! Thanks in advance.
  Paul

[MrJustPaul]

Oops! Now I know what the "Close and Comment" button does. Sorry!

[copercini]

clone to C:/Users/justp_i2qm3ez/Documents/Arduino/hardware/espressif/esp32

another alternative is just download as zip from here: https://github.com/espressif/arduino-esp32/archive/master.zip and extract the files from arduino-esp32-master folder to C:/Users/justp_i2qm3ez/Documents/Arduino/hardware/espressif/esp32

[MrJustPaul]

Wow! Thanks @copercini ! Changing the "clone to:" path worked. ESP32 Boards appear in Arduino. But I'm back to the "'class WiFiClass' has no member named 'firmwareVersion'" error when I try to compile. I will try to figure out what's wrong but I'm too new all this to understand classes and where this WiFiClass thing is and who took his firmwareVersion member! Here's where I could use some guidance about where to start looking.

[copercini]

What code are you running?

[MrJustPaul]

Sorry, I don't understand the question.. are you asking which sketch am i using?

[copercini]

Yep

[MrJustPaul]

What do I need to include/attach to give you the info you need?

[MrJustPaul]

I picked this from the examples... ScanNetworks
Some sketches WILL compile so I'm assuming they're not looking for the "firmwareVersion" in WiFiClass. Is that correct?
Paul
Here's the sketch Is there a better way to attach this?

`/*

This example prints the Wifi shield's MAC address, and
scans for available Wifi networks using the Wifi shield.
Every ten seconds, it scans again. It doesn't actually
connect to any network, so no encryption scheme is specified.

Circuit:

• WiFi shield attached

created 13 July 2010
by dlf (Metodo2 srl)
modified 21 Junn 2012
by Tom Igoe and Jaymes Dec
*/

include

include

void setup() {
//Initialize serial and wait for port to open:
Serial.begin(9600);
while (!Serial) {
; // wait for serial port to connect. Needed for native USB port only
}

// check for the presence of the shield:
if (WiFi.status() == WL_NO_SHIELD) {
Serial.println("WiFi shield not present");
// don't continue:
while (true);
}

String fv = WiFi.firmwareVersion();
if (fv != "1.1.0") {
Serial.println("Please upgrade the firmware");
}

// Print WiFi MAC address:
printMacAddress();
}

void loop() {
// scan for existing networks:
Serial.println("Scanning available networks...");
listNetworks();
delay(10000);
}

void printMacAddress() {
// the MAC address of your Wifi shield
byte mac[6];

// print your MAC address:
WiFi.macAddress(mac);
Serial.print("MAC: ");
Serial.print(mac[5], HEX);
Serial.print(":");
Serial.print(mac[4], HEX);
Serial.print(":");
Serial.print(mac[3], HEX);
Serial.print(":");
Serial.print(mac[2], HEX);
Serial.print(":");
Serial.print(mac[1], HEX);
Serial.print(":");
Serial.println(mac[0], HEX);
}

void listNetworks() {
// scan for nearby networks:
Serial.println("* Scan Networks *");
int numSsid = WiFi.scanNetworks();
if (numSsid == -1) {
Serial.println("Couldn't get a wifi connection");
while (true);
}

// print the list of networks seen:
Serial.print("number of available networks:");
Serial.println(numSsid);

// print the network number and name for each network found:
for (int thisNet = 0; thisNet < numSsid; thisNet++) {
Serial.print(thisNet);
Serial.print(") ");
Serial.print(WiFi.SSID(thisNet));
Serial.print("\tSignal: ");
Serial.print(WiFi.RSSI(thisNet));
Serial.print(" dBm");
Serial.print("\tEncryption: ");
printEncryptionType(WiFi.encryptionType(thisNet));
}
}

void printEncryptionType(int thisType) {
// read the encryption type and print out the name:
switch (thisType) {
case ENC_TYPE_WEP:
Serial.println("WEP");
break;
case ENC_TYPE_TKIP:
Serial.println("WPA");
break;
case ENC_TYPE_CCMP:
Serial.println("WPA2");
break;
case ENC_TYPE_NONE:
Serial.println("None");
break;
case ENC_TYPE_AUTO:
Serial.println("Auto");
break;
}
}

`

[copercini]

So, that's it!
Try some examples of this repository, like this https://github.com/espressif/arduino-esp32/blob/master/libraries/WiFi/examples/WiFiScan/WiFiScan.ino

[MrJustPaul]

Really?? WHAT'S it? I don't understand. I went to the link and copy/pasted the code into a new sketch and it compiled! Then I uploaded it and it uploaded!! Can you tell me what you see that I'm missing?
I did try to view the Serial Monitor and it errors: "Board at COM3 is not available'"
I expected to see something... ??
Now I seem to be locked up. COM3 is not available. Rebooted everything and I seem to be stuck.

[copercini]

Your code is for arduino wifi shield, which is not full compatible with ESP32 (it should be, but isn't), so running an ESP32 sketch, everything works fine

About COM3, probably is open by another Arduino window running in your PC, try close everything and open again and test it

[MrJustPaul]

I was able to get my COM port back but now when I plug in the ESP32 it just connects/disconnects and plays the little ba-da-bink connect sound over and over and I can't connect to the board in the IDE

[MrJustPaul]

I'm afraid I may have a bad ESP32 module - connecting it just loops on and off - USB problems now. Is there a way to RESET/Wipe it?
I took a different path altogether! I picked up a LinkNode D1 WiFi board a while back - ESP-8266EX based.
I figured I'd see if I had better luck with the tried-and-true 8266 and voila! I went through the LinkNode tutorial, installed the tools, worked through a directory issue, compiled/uploaded and off and running!
So, I will close this. @tobozo @copercini Thank you so much for all your help! I'm sure I'll be back to the ESP32 but I'm thinking that this chip and an Arduino noob may not be a good fit. Too many bumps in the road for now. Thanks again!
Paul

[sahique]

Am a new bee to the esp32 and trying out the different features of the module. When i tried example of this repository, https://github.com/espressif/arduino-esp32/blob/master/libraries/WiFi/examples/WiFiScan/WiFiScan.ino, i got an error as "'class WiFiClass' has no member named 'mode' ". Any suggestions would be nice.
thanks in advance...