Category Archives: Arduino: 8266 Wifi controller

ESP generic websocket

A websocket is basically in this context a webpage where when you connect to the ESP 8266 or 32 through your browser, it maintains or streams a live connection, without having to refresh the page to see changes, or transmit data. You can see live feedback, or say, use a slider bar to control something, a simple GET/POST page cant do that, it would rely on refreshing the whole page or clicking a button to do things, during which time it has to connect again, a websocket however keeps the connection open for as long as the page is running.

Anyways, due to circumstances i wont just yet be making the hard-wired backlight dimmer, however, since the project now runs on an ESP board anyway, why not utilize the wifi capabilities. Another project im about to work on, technically altering an existing project, requires an interface, a LIVE interface, for an RBG controller, it also needs live feedback on the microphone so i can improve the responsiveness.

Im going to make my own or adapt, a generic websocket and make it ready to go, super easy to use for people as is, as well as adding this feature to the backlight driver. So, all you have to do is navigate to a fixed IP address (if you forget it theres also tools you can use to scan, or just look up the ESPs IP from your router), type that IP into your browser and a page will pop up with a slider bar or just 2 buttons and a numerical output, click and hold one to raise the brightness, the other to lower, its less risky and fiddly than using a voltage divider to pull -5v up to 0-3V positive. Though i will also add code to the driver to connect a resistor to it and the ‘ON’ line so that the monitor switches off when that signal goes off

Eventually i will still produce the complete circuit but for now this is safer and simpler, and since i have active prending work requiring the use of my cintiq, i cant really justify the slight risk of me causingĀ  problems by opening it again for the Nth time, since this time around im treading in uncharted waters, i also cant test anything using my scope to check for noise because that particular ground line when hooked up to the PC wants to leak a large amount of current out, enough to cause significant heating.

Anyway, the project will be completed soon, and in the comming days everyone will at least have everything they need to acheive a fully functional driver, with backlight and responds to the power button, its just going to take a few more weeks before i can have a completed driver that is a full replacement for the original