03 First Time Setup
The following process needs to be completed after initial firmware installation or anytime the controller is reset from the web interface.
Note: Currently, you must connected the TFMini to the microcontroller before the controller will boot and begin broadcasting a hotspot.
If you haven't yet built your parking assistant, you can temporarily connect the TFMini to the ESP8266 via Dupont jumpers, breadboard, etc. For wiring and build instructions, please see the written blog article. If you do not connect the TFMini, the board will simply wait for a serial connection and will not finish the setup process (this will hopefully change in a later release).
When the board is powered up for the first time after installation, or the reset command has been issued, the board will broadcast a local access point called 'ESP_ParkingAsst'.
(If you do not see this hotspot after a minute or so, look for one called ESP-xxxxxx as this may be the hotpost broadcast instead).
Use your phone, tablet or laptop to connect to this local AP. If asked if you want to stay connected to this network, select YES. Your device may also prompt you to log into this network, which will open a browser and take you to inital setup page. If this doesn't happen, open a browser and enter 192.168.4.1 in the browser's address bar.
The first step is to join the controller to your wifi network. You may select the first option (Configure Wifi) which will perform a scan of all wifi networks in the area. This could take up to 30-60 seconds, so be patient. If you want to skip the scan and enter your wifi SSID manually, select the second option (Configure Wifi no scan).
If you selected the scan option, all visible wifi networks will displayed. Simply tap the desired network. Otherwise, manually enter your wifi's name (SSID), then enter the wifi password.
Scroll down and enter a unique device name for this parking assistant installation.
The device name is used for multiple purposes. Not only does it help you identify a particular system if you have more than one parking assistant installed, it is also used to create the Wifi Hostname, the OTA Hostname and the MQTT Client name (if MQTT is enabled). For this reason, each device installed on your network should have a unique name.
The device name cannot be more than 16 characters in length and should only consist of letters and numbers (A-Z, a-z, 0-9). Do not include spaces or any symbols. Unexpected results may occur, or the system may not function properly if you do not follow these rules.
If you are upgrading your system from a version prior to v0.41, a default device name of parkasst will be created. If you wish to change this name, you must reset your controller from the web interface.
After you have entered all values, tap the save button. Your values are written to the controller and the following screen will display if successful:
At this point, the controller will reboot and attempt to join your wifi network. If it fails, it will once again broadcast the hotspot network. Rejoin this network, carefully check that your wifi network password was entered correctly and try again.
You may need to use your router or other options to find the IP address of the controller once it is on your wifi. The controller will use the unique device name you entered as the wifi hostname, but this may or may not be recognized by your router. You can use the MAC address to assist if you captured it during the installation.
If you need to later join a different wifi network or wish to change the device name, you can use the IP address to access the web interface and reset the controller and return to the above form. See Using the Web Interface in the wiki. Because the settings and options are writting into a special configuration file on the ESP8266, defaults are used to initially create this file and likely won't match your system (e.g. number of LEDs). You should visit this page and configure your system to match your installation.