New firmware release, version 1.6.0.b1

[livius]

@Neo
I do not want to defend PYCOM but you mentioned inoperative few things
which work for me in current firmware (1.6.1):

1. Onewire work for me - i read 3 x ds18b20 at the same time
2. BM180 work also for me (but i have some problems previously and do not test if i still must read first something from i2c e.g. light sensor)
3. I have many others sensors working but
4. I forgot about this sensor(DHT11) - because it was so inaccurate - but yes there are problems with timing - you remind me about it - I have to go back to it ;-) and when succed i will try dht22
5. I fight with color tft (some progress but..) but i wait until pycom merge github with official micropython

[daniel]

@Neo, thanks for your feedback. Let's go one by one:

1. Can you share a minimal example that reproduces this issue? Or is it only with big scripts?

2. Adding this option to MicroPython is easy. Then we have to write a guideline on how to do it for the ESP32 port. We have been working on this but is not finished yet.

3. One-wire is working on the latest release as @livius just confirmed. Are you sure it still doesn't work for you with 1.6.1.b1?

4. Are these devices I2C devices (BMP180 or ADC1115) requiring a really fast clock? Exactly what happens on the I2C bus? Are you getting exceptions somewhere?

5. If sleep_ms is not accurate enough, could it be done with sleep_us. If you really need this in C, share with us a C driver, and we can make it part of the C firmware and expose a Python API. Would that work?

Cheers,
Daniel

[daniel]

@livius I have reproduced your issue with NTP and I have fixed it just now. The problem was caused by the wlan.ifconfig() line. It turns out that Espressif fixed the issue with setting the DNS server that we have been working around for months. This is good but it made our work around break internet connectivity. I have tested the patch in 2 different ways:

Setting the static IP after connecting to the AP:

if not wlan.isconnected():
    wlan.connect('my-ap', auth=(None, '123456abc'), timeout=5000)
    while not wlan.isconnected():
        machine.idle() 
    print('WLAN connection to the router succeeded!')
    wlan.ifconfig(config=('172.20.10.8', '255.255.255.240', '172.20.10.1', '8.8.8.8'))

and Setting the static IP before connecting to the AP:

if not wlan.isconnected():
    wlan.ifconfig(config=('172.20.10.8', '255.255.255.240', '172.20.10.1', '8.8.8.8'))
    wlan.connect('my-ap', auth=(None, '123456abc'), timeout=5000)
    while not wlan.isconnected():
        machine.idle()
    print('WLAN connection to the router succeeded!')

In both cases setting the static IP works and there's internet connectivity. We'll release this along with other fixes tomorrow.

Cheers,
Daniel

[crankshaft]

@daniel - I have just upgraded again and onewire is now working, but I am still getting the same wlan error mesaages:

W (240989) wifi: post pm rx bcn failed
W (240990) wifi: post pm rx bcn failed

Questions:

1. How can I disable these debug messages as they fill up my screen so quickly and I am unable to read my own debug data as it gets pushed off the top of the screen by all of the wlan 'bcn failed' messages

2. [ Add parameter to enable/disable WLAN power save mode ] - How can I disable / enable wlan power saving, what is the parameter ??

Thanks

[robert-hh]

About frozen bytecode: I managed to enable it with the following steps, copied from the eps8266 build:

In mpconfigport.h of the ESP32 directory, goto the line

#define MICROPY_MODULE_FROZEN (0)

and change it to the four lines:

#define MICROPY_PERSISTENT_CODE_LOAD (1)
#define MICROPY_MODULE_FROZEN (1)
#define MICROPY_MODULE_FROZEN_MPY (1)
#define MICROPY_QSTR_EXTRA_POOL mp_qstr_frozen_const_pool

Then, put your python code like before into the directory modules and run:
make FROZEN_MPY_DIR=modules BOARD=LOPY
The first line added allows you to run crosscompiled code from the file system (.mpy files), which are generated by mpy-cross.
You have to build mpy-cross before in the mpy-cross directory.

That worked for my sample files, totalling to 750 loc, but @shaun had problems to replictate these steps. Maybe his code was too large and he would have had to adapt the linker map.

[daniel]

@crankshaft Power save is disabled by default now, and it's controlled by an extra parameter in the init/constructor:

https://docs.pycom.io/pycom_esp32/library/network.WLAN.html#network.wlan.init

How can I disable these debug messages as they fill up my screen so quickly and I am unable to read my own debug data as it gets pushed off the top of the screen by all of the wlan 'bcn failed' messages

This needs to be disabled internally in the IDF. Before there was not a way to do it, but now it's possible. We'll try to do it today.

Cheers,
Daniel

[livius]

@daniel said in New firmware release, version 1.6.0.b1:

This needs to be disabled internally in the IDF. Before there was not a way to do it, but now it's possible. We'll try to do it today.

Will be good to have possibiliti to turn it on
e.g. if we encounter some problem with wifi it can be usefull to look at it
and e.g. send it to you

[jmarcelino]

I suspect what's being discussed is setting the CONSOLE_UART=None which is a compile time-only option so I agree with @livius until the system stabilises (especially IDF) the messages are very important for our own debugging and should stay.

I guess you can send your own debug messages to the second UART perhaps?

[Neo]

@livius Looking to your posts, somehow you are a defender, or probably working/part of pycom team... but this actually doesn't matter.

Here I am proudly part of a team of people, experts in micro&electronics, C/C++ RTOS and other related stuff, implementing dozens of IOT systems, running real product deployments.

The onewire that we are using is from micropython git repo, module written and tested by many people. Can you point me the onewire DS1B20 that you are using?
That module was working with 1.3.0 LopY... now is not working anymore (LoPy ). That's the point: if your work is going to be continuously impacted by regression means, frustration, waste of time and finally money.
Have you checked your sketch with only one DS1B20 sensor running on LoPy 1.6.x (p23) ? If not ... please do it and then post your results. Have you put BMP180 and read simply the SN ... with LopY/Wipy this is raising I2C errors. With Arduino/PI this is working.

Have you performed stress tests on your pyboard? Running complex scripts for hours in lab and outside at bad conditions (eq temperature), in transmission mode (frequently Wifi up then down, Lora up then down) loading modules progressively, gc collect, running with free memory around 8-10k ?

That is a big difference between real IOT stuff and running a sketch with 1-2 sensors on it... where probably Wifi is always ON and the board is running on wall power and not battery/solar.

[Colateral]

@robert-hh Thanks. We will try it.

[Colateral]

@Neo I understand your frustration, but let's keep our faith that pycom product development manager is proactive on the enumerated issues.

[livius]

@Neo

Looking to your posts, somehow you are a defender, or probably working/part of pycom team... but this actually doesn't matter.

no i am not from pycom team if you look at history you can find much more criticize post by me ;-)
https://forum.pycom.io/post/2245
but i try to change attitude ;-)
Because much more working now then previously was even possible...
UPDATE
I change also attitude because @daniel describe how situation looks like - that they are affected by ESP-IDF development

about onewire i use this:
https://github.com/pycom/pycom-libraries/tree/master/examples/onewire
and it work for me on version 1.5.0 and it write data to direcly connected sdcard (without expansion board) many days
it is stable. On version 1.6.0.b1 it was broken but day after @daniel fix it and release 1.6.1
which work continously for me since yesterday and write data throught wifi to my server throught tcp/ip socket

I can not test on Lopy because i have only 2x Wipy2.0
First is with 1.5.0 firmware second with 1.6.1

Have you performed stress tests on your pyboard? Running complex scripts for hours in lab and outside at bad conditions (eq temperature), in transmission mode (frequently Wifi up then down, Lora up then down) loading modules progressively, gc collect, running with free memory around 8-10k ?

now memory is to limited to me to write main concept.
and until more memory will be avaiable i only play with sensers
Current working scenario is lilke this
first Wipy retrive data from sensors store it to sdcard and connect to second Wipy (master) and send data packet
Second Wipy have same sensors and store data but is as master and get data from first.
After whole packet retrive it change from AP to STA mode and connect to server and send whole data.
After sended all data it go back to AP.
And this work for me.
I try playing with STA+AP mode but without success
but not played much ..

[Neo]

@daniel Hello.

1. Yes. The code was taken from micropython. You can download from here: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B2FyGVkp3y9ZZ2plTHNFUFF2WW8
2. This we tried.We compiled mpy-cross and generated binary... but that is not working.
3. Yes. 1.6.1b1 LoPy.
4. Most probably requires fast clock... same fast clock issue we believe is also with DHT22 (not I2C). On the terminal we "I2C bus error" message comming from pycom framework.
5. I need to check this with our management.

[livius]

@Neo
"I2C bus error"

@livius BM180 work also for me (but i have some problems previously and do not test if i still must read first something from i2c e.g. light sensor)

I suppose than that problem presists
i fix this by first read light sensor (it fix something for me) i do not dig enaught because @daniel say that I2C is still software not hardware.

@daniel is this still true I2C still software?

[Neo]

@livius Thanks. I am also a peaceful guy... but the level of frustration starting to go out from me. My apologies.

Than you for your feedback.

Onewire libray that we are using IS THE SAME... LOOL. Check it here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2FyGVkp3y9ZZ2plTHNFUFF2WW8/view?usp=sharing

WiPy for us is not interesting - We are working only with LoPy that has also what Wipy offers.
On LopY we have almost 20 modules and more than 20 sensors implementation. The problem is that an IOT node has at least 8 sensors on it. So if you load that modules one by one, the memory is going to be fast drained... so you need to call gc.collect... an amazing this is not freeing the memory accordingly. SO after data acquisition we start the transmission and we stop it after that. And this doing for hours /days.

With 1.6.x the system is HANGING on gc.collect and sometimes on gc.mem_free This was not happen on previous 1.5.0b1.
We noticed also that with 1.6.x, if you start and stop WLAN many times, at one moment the OS is rebooted, most probably due to memory management.

[livius]

@Neo
Maybe this is some lopy releated problem
Did you tried clear Lopy with only onewire.py and one sensor DS18B20?

I have log on every boot of Wipy
I have checked in the morning there was no log
i also do not see any gaps in data in Firebird database on the server

[Neo]

@livius Thanks. This solution is definitely not for real deployed systems. I mean we are forced to deploy a light sensor in order to read the temperature. Waste of energy and money.

What I2C light sensor are you using for this workarround? We would like to investigate it.

[livius]

@Neo
yes, definitely not for real deployed systems but if I2C is still software than maybe still required
i use BH1750.

[Neo]

@livius Yes. One LoPy and one DS1b20... and empty output. As far as I remember this was happen also on Wipy 1.5.1b1 but I will check again

[Colateral]

@Pete said in New firmware release, version 1.6.0.b1:
Which different brand of WiFi IoT module are you using?