KUWTP Ep. 20 | 16th August 2024 | Attempting to connect both the HX711 and ESP8266 ESP-01 module to Arduino
Where did my summer break go? In the blink of an eye, summer has ended and on 12th August, we officially started a new semester. Time truly flies. As we slowly get used to and adjusted to our new timetables, we hope to free up more time to dedicate to doing MnT on top of our other commitments, so do pardon us if the frequency of our posts decrease! However, a week without MnT left our hearts and souls feeling too empty, so we made a trip to lab on Friday of the first week of school.
Our main agenda today was to figure out the connections between Arduino, ESP8266 ESP-01 module and HX711 module. The connection for all 3 has not been done before, however they have been individually connected to Arduino before in other projects. Firstly, we mainly referred to this project done by Ruzell Ramirez, to learn to connect an ESP8266 ESP-01 module to Arduino. An important takeaway we got was that the maximum voltage input of ESP8266-01 is 3.6V, and connecting it to the 5V supply risks destroying the module. Since our HX711 is powered at a voltage input of 5V, we will make use of a breadboard and use a voltage divider when connecting the Arduino 5V pin to the ESP8266 ESP-01 to ensure that the voltage supplied to the module is 3.6V. The HX711 pin will be connected before the voltage divider so as to be at 5V.
We studied a literature written by Sarah Santos on random nerd tutorials in connecting the HX711 to ESP8266 ESP-01. We referred to a table given in the tutorial in connecting the 2 modules together, and adapted from there to produce our very own connections shown in the figure above. We have yet to test our connections yet but will update again soon!
For our next task, it would be to print the components of our automated pet food dispenser, and tinker with our servo motor. A random update on our budget will reflect that we have merely spent a quarter of our total budget, showing our good financial control! Also, unfortunately there is no digikey haul timelapse as the items arrived earlier this week and we forgot to film our unboxing. Stay tuned for our next step in our project.