WiFi on Altairduino Pro...

[Pellatonian]

Hello,

I'm new to this group, so I hope this subject hasn't already been covered.

I recently completed the newer Pro kit for installation in my old Altair Clone case.

Basic build and installation was fine. I then added an ESP-01S to connect WiFi to the D18/D19 serial port. The object is to use the A6/A7 as the local terminal connection and D18/D19 as a remote connection anywhere else in the house. The D18/D19 jumpers were added on the main board.

The Wifi works perfectly as long as the expansion bus is not connected. When it is connected data transmitted to the terminal is received correctly but nothing is received from the terminal (in this case the Serial app on a Mac).

Is there some magic which needs to be done to allow this configuration?

Thnks for any ideas.

[Chris Davis]

What pins are you connecting the ESP-01s to - D18/19 or A6/7?

You need to remove the PIC32 to use pins D18/19, or remove the SP3232 to use pins A6/7.

There's a lot more info here: https://adwaterandstir.com/2021/01/23/use-telnet-over-wifi/

[Pellatonian]

OK, got that. Don't know why I missed it in the build instructions. I was contemplating removing the D18/D19 pins on the expansion connector, but your way is better.

Thank you.

[John Galt]

here is a question.

Is a switch bypass possible for the PIC32. a way to leave the pic 32 in place but then switch to allow another external serial port, if there was some double pull switch on the back panel and you had the option of switching back and forth from wifi to the internal terminal.

i realize sometimes its just not possible and a component would just have to be removed.

?

[Chris Davis]

Sure you could use a DPDT toggle to switch the D18/19 lines.

[Nathanael Nunes]

Before you do that look at the https://adwaterandstir.com/2021/01/23/use-telnet-over-wifi/ documentation again.   You can solder a wire to the TX/RX LEDs and connect these to the A6/A7 pins on the ESP32 and you get an additional port.   This is what I did with my altairdueno pro kit, and I have all my seral ports available.