Skip to content

flashing.md

Latest commit

 

History

History
146 lines (97 loc) · 4.05 KB

flashing.md

File metadata and controls

146 lines (97 loc) · 4.05 KB
Raw

Flashing Guide

Flash pre-built firmware onto your ESP32 without installing PlatformIO.
Total time: ~5 minutes.

What You Need

  • ESP32 DevKit (ESP32-WROOM-32 recommended)
  • HLK-LD2450 radar module
  • USB-A to Micro-USB cable (or USB-C, depending on your board)
  • Python 3.8+ installed on your PC

1. Download Firmware

Go to the Releases page and download:

firmware-ld2450-vX.Y.Z.bin
firmware-ld2450-vX.Y.Z.bin.sha256

Verify the download before flashing:

# Linux
sha256sum --check firmware-ld2450-vX.Y.Z.bin.sha256

# macOS
shasum -a 256 --check firmware-ld2450-vX.Y.Z.bin.sha256

2. Install esptool

pip install esptool

Verify:

esptool version

3. Wire the Sensor

Connect the LD2450 to the ESP32 before powering on.

ESP32 DevKit                HLK-LD2450
─────────────────────       ─────────────
5V  ──────────────────────► VCC
GND ──────────────────────► GND
GPIO 18 (RX2) ───────────► TX
GPIO 19 (TX2) ◄─────────── RX

Important — TX/RX cross-over: GPIO 18 is UART2 RX on the ESP32, so it connects to the TX pin of the radar (radar transmits → ESP32 receives). GPIO 19 is UART2 TX → radar RX.

Photo reference

Signal ESP32 pin LD2450 pin
Power 5V VCC
Ground GND GND
Data in (radar → ESP32) GPIO 18 TX
Data out (ESP32 → radar) GPIO 19 RX

The radar requires a stable 5 V supply. Power it from the ESP32 DevKit's 5V pin (fed from USB) or an external 5 V adapter — not 3.3 V.

Optional: connect a passive piezo buzzer or relay between any free GPIO and GND for siren/strobe output (configure the pin in the web UI).

4. Flash

Connect the ESP32 to your PC via USB, then run:

esptool --chip esp32 --port PORT --baud 460800 write-flash 0x0 firmware-ld2450-vX.Y.Z.bin

Replace PORT with your serial port:

OS Example port
Linux /dev/ttyUSB0 or /dev/ttyACM0
macOS /dev/cu.usbserial-0001
Windows COM3 (check Device Manager → Ports)

If flashing fails: hold the BOOT button on the ESP32 while running the command, release after "Connecting…" appears.

5. First Boot

  1. The ESP32 starts a WiFi access point: esp32-ld2450-XXXX
    Default AP password: changeme

  2. Connect to it from your phone or PC and open http://192.168.4.1
    (a captive portal opens automatically on most devices)

  3. Enter your home WiFi SSID and password → Save → ESP32 reboots and joins your network

  4. Find the device IP in your router's DHCP table, or use mDNS:
    http://ld2450.local/

  5. Open the web dashboard. Default credentials: admin / admin

    Change them immediately in Network → Web credentials

6. Basic Setup

After first boot:

  1. Alarm tab — set entry/exit delays, configure scheduled arm/disarm
  2. Zones tab — draw detection polygon zones on the live radar map; add blackout zones for furniture/HVAC
  3. System tab — run background calibration (~1 h in empty room) to build the noise map
  4. Network tab — configure MQTT broker and optional Telegram bot

Troubleshooting

Symptom Fix
No serial data received Wrong port, or cable is charge-only (no data lines)
Failed to connect to ESP32 Hold BOOT button while flash starts
A fatal error occurred: MD5 Binary mismatch — re-download the .bin file
Radar not detected at boot Check TX/RX cross-over wiring; verify 5 V on VCC
AP not appearing Power-cycle the ESP32 after flashing
Web UI unreachable Use the IP from router DHCP, mDNS may take 30 s

Building from Source

If you want to customise the firmware, see CONTRIBUTING.md for the PlatformIO build setup.