I want to connect an Arduino Uno to my PC via USB and have it always connected.
How much internet use this going to use? How often does it poll the Blynk servers and how large are the packets?
Also, is there any software that I’ll have to run on my PC or after uploading the sketch all I’ll have to do is connected the uno to my PC?
it will use 98.37% of it… so please limit your useage as I am still trying the finish off all the past seasons of The Flash.
But seriously, If you really take the time to calculate out all the Blynk commands… using this link to that information… then you can probably make that determination yourself… Or simply use some form of bandwidth monitoring program to run in the background of your PC.
The blynk-ser.bat file simply turns your PC into an oversized USB to Ethernet adapter, so all you need to do is keep the DOS window open (minimised is OK) and your UNO will stay connected as long as the PC itself is online… no extra software to run.
http://help.blynk.cc/how-to-connect-different-hardware-with-blynk/arduino/usb-serial
I see, I want it to be always on and to fire and forget about it so maybe I should use an ESP then.
Which ESP module do you recommend?
@Yamashiro if you want to get into IOT then ESP’s are the way to go. All the ones that have a USB port are very similar and are our choice over the bare ESP boards.
Anything specific that’s easy to use and setup?
The WeMos D1 Mini (or Mini Pro with external antenna fitting) is a very popular ESP. WeMos have a store on AliExpress and then there are the slightly cheaper clones. Unless you are buying quite a few I would recommend buying direct , originals from WeMos.