What do I use to record on ESP01? The channel’s followers asked this question, and I made this video to provide an answer. I will show you the characteristics of ESP01, in the image below, to the right. It is small and has only eight pins. The USB-to-serial converter is also shown in the center of the picture below, and an adapter to the left connects between the ESP01 and a USB port. Which should I use?

Well, the other day I was setting up a mesh network and needed to record 10 ESP chips. To speed up this type of process, the most suitable option is the adapter. I suggest the USB-to-serial converter for when you want to record without dismantling a circuit, that is, when the microcontroller is to be fixed in a certain project.

Step 1: Assembly ESP01 and FTDI

I've already shown this scheme in other videos, but I provide more details here. To put the ESP01 into recording mode using FTDI, which is the USB-to-serial converter, follow the assembly:

I point out that when we write ESP01, and there is a necessity to compile it in the Arduino IDE, we need to load the ESP8266 compilation libraries. It isn’t enough to just assemble this circuit to program, as it is also necessary to configure the Arduino IDE. My advice, therefore, is that you watch the following video: INTRODUCTION TO ESP8266, where I show the whole process.

CAUTION: Be sure to change the voltage selection jumper from 5V to 3.3V.

To use the serial monitor, remove the connection between the GPIO0 and the GND.

Step 2: ESP-01 and CH340G

There is a serial adapter made for the ESP-01, the CH340G, shown in the image below. It is very useful in cases where we need to record multiple ESPs at one time.

This adapter comes as standard when using serial. In order to use it as a recorder, it is necessary to connect the GPIO0 to the GND. To facilitate this process, you can weld a small selector switch, as shown in the image.