YAEP (Yet Another ESP Powered Project): An ESP8266-12 powered WiFi module for the Sharp Pocket Computer via the 11-pin connector connects wireless to PCs for transfer of programs and data.

The ESP8266 connects to your home WiFi or acts as an AP for initial configuration. The Serial port of the G850 becomes accessible via TCP on port 23. You can use telnet or netcat (nc) for simple direct transfers to/from the PC or use socat to create a virtual com port. The module supports 9600baud and shortens CTS/RTS and pulls these signals up to +5V, so you need to use XON for flow control.

Please note:

The module is a double sided PCB. I isolation-routed it with FlatCAM. Top-side is very much limited to traces and the two buttons, all vias can be manufactured with just copper wire (i.e. no through-hole rivets required) and all pins only need soldering on the bottom-side. You can find the EAGLE files at the end of this post.

The module consists of a double sided 1.5mm PCB, an ESP8266-12, a 3.3V voltage regulator, a 6x 1K, 2 x 330Ohms, 1 x 1.5K, 1 x 3K3 SMD resistors (0805 type), a 100uF capacitor, 1x LED (0805) and a 90 degree 11-pin header. The G850 connector and the case are 3D printed.

Disclaimer: I am not an electrical engineer. These projects are a way for me to learn and figure out ways to overcome the problems I encounter. By all means, if you have suggestions for doing things better, please let me know.

You can reach me on bsky at @thechrisherman.bsky.social if you need help.

11-pin connector: A 3D part for the 11-pin connector which others may be able to re-use in their designs. The 2mm drill holes need to be positioned 200mil (5.08mm) above and below the connector and 100mil (2.54mm) in the orthogonal direction, away from the axis formed by the 11 pins (see picture below)

Sending and receiving files

To receive a file, plug-in the module (hostname of my module is G850V.local), type on the PC (OSX/Linux):

nc G850V.local 23>test.c

And on the G850 press TEXT, then S (for Sio) and S again (for Save).
Terminate nc with ^c on the PC

To send a file, first press TEXT, S (for Sio) and L (for load) on thje G850.
Then type on the PC:

nc G850V.local 23 <test.c

terminate nc with ^c on the PC

AT commands

Baudrate (1200..9600), WiFi settings and sleep timeout can be set via a small set of “+++AT+” commands. These commands can be sent from the G850 or via netcat ot telnet from your PC/Mac (of course, this will require your WiFi settings work). There’s also a “failsafe” configuration that can be selected when pressing the PRG button of the module for 5 sec:

+++AT+CFG?

+++AT+CFG={“rev”:1,”sleep”:60,”baud”:9600,”port”:23,”ssid”:”GUEST”,”wifipw”:”your_pw_here”,”host”:”G850V.local”,”otapw”:”myOTAPW”}

Example:
+++AT+CFG={“ssid”:”GUEST”,”wifipw”:”pw”}

this sets the SSID to “GUEST” and the wifi access point password to “pw”.

numeric configuration items:
rev: integer, referencing the version of the configuration. I recommend leaving at 1
sleep: seconds until unit goes into deep sleep
baud: baudrate for connection with G850 (600…9600)
port: TCP/IP port (use 23 for telnet compatibility)

string configuration items:
ssid: the ssid name of your wifi
wifipw: password of your wifi network
host: hostname for use when requesting an IP address
otapw: password for protrcting your ota passwords (use espota protocol)

+++AT+SAVE
Returns: OK
Saves current configuration as failsafe.ini to LittleFS Flash file system. Pressing the PRG button for longer than 5 sec will load failsafe.ini configuration and reboot. This allows you to recover from a messed-up config.ini (e.g. wrong wifi credentials).

+++AT+SLEEP
Returns: OK
Puts the adapter immediately into sleep. Pressing the RES button on the module will wake it up.

Resources (all in my github repository)

• Fusion360/Eagle schematics and board

• 11-pin connector and case 3D design and STLs

• ESP8266 code

• PC-G850 sample program
  
• Jack W. Hsu’s Sharp PC-G850V(S) User’s Guide (specifically Appendix A – 11-pin Interface)