Getting Started with eCrowne ESP-SimHub Firmware

Welcome to the eCrowne ESP-SimHub firmware! This guide will help you set up your development environment and get started with creating custom sim racing hardware using ESP8266 and ESP32 microcontrollers.

⚠️

This firmware is not supported by SimHub. It’s a custom firmware for ESP devices written by eCrowne.

Forewarning

⚠️

If you don’t have time to code, and maybe debug a thing or two this firmware is not for you. Get an Arduino and use the point and click configurator from SimHub.

⚠️

This firmware is still under development and not all features are fully implemented.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have the following:

⚠️

This firmware doesn’t support built-in point and click configurator from SimHub. You need to manually configure src/main.cpp file with code.

Some electronics knowledge: Generic “how do I connect an encoder?” questions are a search on the internet away, but not here.
Coding Experience: Basic understanding of Arduino or C/C++ programming is recommended.
Development Environment:
- Visual Studio Code and PlatformIO extension. Why PlatformIO?
GIT Binaries: Git for installing dependencies and contributing to the project.
Hardware: ESP8266 or ESP32 development board, USB cable for programming.

Installation Steps

Set Up Your IDE:
- Install Visual Studio Code and the PlatformIO extension from the VSCode marketplace.. Why PlatformIO?
- More setup guidance
Clone the Repository or download the zip file:
- Download the latest release zip file
- Unzip the file into a folder. This will be your working directory (ESP-SimHub).

Open a terminal and run the following command to clone the firmware repository:
```
git clone https://github.com/eCrowneEng/ESP-SimHub.git
```
Navigate to the cloned directory:
```
cd ESP-SimHub
```

Open the Project in VSCode:
- Launch VSCode and open the ESP-SimHub folder.
- PlatformIO will automatically detect the project configuration.
Configure Your Board:
- See the Board Configuration Guide for detailed instructions on setting up your specific board.

Build and Upload the Firmware:
- Connect your ESP device to your computer via USB.
- Use PlatformIO to build and upload the firmware:
  - Find the bottom bar in VSCode.
  - Select “Build” to compile the code.
  - Select “Upload” to flash the firmware to your device.

Additional Resources

Documentation: For detailed instructions and configuration options, refer to the eCrowne Platformio documentation

Outdated video but still relevant for platformio.ini setup:

What is ESP-SimHub?Board Configuration