Published June 15, 2016 © GPL3+

Blynk Board Arduino Development 101

This guide shows you how to add Blynk Board support to the Arduino IDE.

BeginnerProtip2 hours1,310

Things used in this project

Hardware components

SparkFun Blynk Board - ESP8266

Software apps and online services

Arduino IDE

Blynk

Story

This guide show you how to add Blynk Board support to the Arduino IDE, so you can get started writing and uploading Blynk firmware of your own.

Install FTDI Driver

The Blynk Board uses a specialized chip called an “FTDI” to convert USB data to a more simple serial interface. It’s over this serial interface that the Blynk Board downloads new code.

Follows this link to install FTDI driver.

Install Blynk Board Arduino Add-on

Download and install Arduino IDE and install the Blynk Board add-on. Open the Arduino Preferences under the File > Preferences menu.

Then copy this URL:

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sparkfun/Arduino_Boards/master/IDE_Board_Manager/package_sparkfun_index.json

And, paste it into the "Additional Board Manager URLs" text box.

Install the Definitions

Navigate to Board Manager Tools > Board > Boards Manager... and search for Blynk. Select "SparkFun ESP8266 Boards" and click install.

Select the Blynk Board

Under the Tools > Board menu, select the "SparkFun Blynk Board" menu item.

Get a Blynk Auth Token

With Blynk App, create a new Blynk project. Give your project a name and set the Hardware Model to SparkFun Blynk Board. Tap E-Mail under the Auth Token to send yourself a copy of the 32-byte string.

Finally, tap Create Project to create a blank Blynk project.

Setup a new Blynk Project

Add a button widget to drive the tiny, blue, pin 5 LED. Configure it as either push or switch; just make sure the pin is set to 5.

Add a value widget. Set the widget’s pin to 0.

Use a gauge widget to display the value of the ADC. Just make sure to set the pin to ADC.

Finally add a zeRGBa widget, set the switch to Merge and set the pin to V0.

Your project will look like this.

Load the Example Program

In Arduino IDE, create a new sketch and copy and paste the attached code in code section. Before uploading the Blynk Board, make the following changes:

Paste your Blynk auth token over auth_token , setting the BlynkAuth variable.

Paste your WiFi network name over wifi_ssid , setting the WiFiNetwork variable.

Paste your WiFi password over wifi_password , setting the WiFiPassword variable.

Select the correct COM port under the Tools > Port menu and hit the upload button. Check the serial monitor and you will see something like the following.

Blynk_101.ino

#define BLYNK_PRINT Serial    // Comment this out to disable prints and save space
#include <ESP8266WiFi.h>
#include <BlynkSimpleEsp8266.h>
#include <Adafruit_NeoPixel.h>

////////////////////
// Blynk Settings //
////////////////////
char BlynkAuth[] = "auth_token";
char WiFiNetwork[] = "wifi_ssid";
char WiFiPassword[] = "wifi_password";

///////////////////////
// Hardware Settings //
///////////////////////
#define WS2812_PIN 4 // Pin connected to WS2812 LED
#define BUTTON_PIN 0
#define LED_PIN    5
Adafruit_NeoPixel rgb = Adafruit_NeoPixel(1, WS2812_PIN, NEO_GRB + NEO_KHZ800);

BLYNK_WRITE(V0) // Handle RGB from the zeRGBa
{
  if (param.getLength() < 5)
    return;

  byte red = param[0].asInt();
  byte green = param[1].asInt();
  byte blue = param[2].asInt();

  uint32_t rgbColor = rgb.Color(red, green, blue);
  rgb.setPixelColor(0, rgbColor);
  rgb.show();
}

void setup()
{
  // Initialize hardware
  Serial.begin(9600); // Serial
  rgb.begin(); // RGB LED
  pinMode(BUTTON_PIN, INPUT); // Button input
  pinMode(LED_PIN, OUTPUT); // LED output

  // Initialize Blynk
  Blynk.begin(BlynkAuth, WiFiNetwork, WiFiPassword);
}

void loop()
{
  // Execute Blynk.run() as often as possible during the loop
  Blynk.run(); 
}