Delorean Time Machine Prop Firmware Installer
This page is intended to ease initial firmware installation on fresh ESP32 boards for use in CircuitSetup/A10001986-designed DTM props such as Time Circuits Display, Flux Capacitor, SID, Dash Gauges, VSR or Futaba Remote Control kit. The installation works without installing any software apart from a USB driver. You don't have to deal with source code, compilers, libraries and the likes.
Requirements:
- NodeMCU ESP32 board (or TCD Control Board >= 1.4)
- USB cable
- Computer with Windows 10 or later, or MacOS >= 10.15.7
- Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge browser
- Driver for the USB bridge on your ESP32 board, see below
Driver for USB connection
- For ESP32 boards with a CP210x USB-to-UART chip (CircuitSetup boards all have those):
- Windows is said to come with a suitable driver. After connecting the ESP32, start the Device Manager, expand the "Ports (COM & LPT)" list and look for a port with the ESP32 or CP210x name. If there is none, or Windows shows messages about unsupported hardware or a missing driver, please install this.
- MacOS supports this chip since around 10.15.7 (Catalina). The port is named "cu.usbserial-XXXX" ('XXXX' being a random number). If no such port is created upon connection, install this driver. The port is named "cu.SLAB_USBtoUART" after installing this driver. Do not use this driver to upload a firmware on TCD Control Boards >= 1.4, it will fail. Use the Apple built-in driver instead.
- For ESP32 boards with a CH340 USB-to-UART chip,
- Windows users may need to install a driver; see above on how to find out about the port.
- On Mac, the port is named cu.usbserial-XXXX, no additional driver is required for MacOS Mojave and later.
Let's get started:
- Please select the firmware you want to install:
- Now connect your ESP32 board to your computer through USB and wait a few seconds. At this point, Windows users need to find out about the port to choose, see above. Then click Connect, select a port, and click Install [prop type].
Your browser is not supported. Please use Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge. HTTPS required, HTTP not supported - After the upload has finished, disconnect the ESP32 board from your computer and put it in/on your prop (if you haven't done that already).
If you chose Generic, please power-up the prop and connect your computer or hand-held to the WiFi network named "NP-AP". Navigate your browser to http://install.local or http://192.168.4.1 and click on Update. On the page presented then, select the firmware binary to be installed (eg. a firmware binary from a CircuitSetup Time Circuits release), and click UPDATE to proceed. The selected firmware will be installed on your ESP32.Future firmware uploads/updates can be done through the prop's WiFi-accessible Config Portal.
- After the upload has finished, disconnect the ESP32 board from your computer and put it in/on your prop (if you haven't done that already).