I recently created a prototype PCB for ESP32 -C3 WiFi-connected LED earrings which I am working on. These were just quick proof-of-concept boards and I didn't spend a lot of time making it the best it could be. The issue is, I am unable to get WiFi to work. For the RF section of my PCB I was confined by space and hoping to just get some that works poorly which I could use for code development. As you can see in the photos below, I have a Pi matching network which I based off a Phil's Lab ESP32 PCB Design video. The traces are not impedance matched but the total trace distance is very small. The circuit connects to a header which has a 2.4GHz dipole soldered onto it.
I understand that this setup is far less than ideal, and does not follow the proper RF standards. The purpose of this was to just get something that would work within a foot or two of the ESP32, so I wasn't concerned about getting the best efficiency. Both in AP and Client modes I get no signal from the ESP32 with my phone scanning for WiFi networks or setting up a hotspot, even right next to the antenna. Is the RF circuitry so sensitive that a poor matching circuit would completely prevent any effective signal in or out of the ESP32, or could there be another hardware/software issue at play?
ESP32-C3 WiFi Not Working Custom PCB
-
- Posts: 9711
- Joined: Thu Nov 26, 2015 4:08 am
Re: ESP32-C3 WiFi Not Working Custom PCB
Erm, what is that 'ant' header going to? What is your actual antenna? Aside from that, generally at 2.4GHz the geometry of your traces start playing a pretty large role and that header footprint probably forms all kinds of parasitic capacitances, stubs etc that mess with reception.
Re: ESP32-C3 WiFi Not Working Custom PCB
A 2.4GHz dipole. Could these issues mess with reception to the point that no signal is received at all? From my experience with Amateur Radio, you should be able to get a signal even with nothing attached to the pin that close!!ESP_Sprite wrote: ↑Fri Aug 04, 2023 3:34 amErm, what is that 'ant' header going to? What is your actual antenna? Aside from that, generally at 2.4GHz the geometry of your traces start playing a pretty large role and that header footprint probably forms all kinds of parasitic capacitances, stubs etc that mess with reception.
-
- Posts: 9711
- Joined: Thu Nov 26, 2015 4:08 am
Re: ESP32-C3 WiFi Not Working Custom PCB
Ah, sorry, just saw you mentioned that in your original post. Hmm, I have no idea then. Could be that the antenna is so different from what's expected that calibration somehow fails, but I'm not really an expert on how that would work.
Who is online
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 54 guests