AR488 compatible ESP32S2 Adapter¶
This adapter is used in my lab to use old GPIB equipment in test-automation. The initial support in AR488 is preserved (here). This is a fork from (here) that includes the modifications needed to make the pinout work. However, I strongly suggest to use the upstream code and not this PlattformIo based code (see Firmware section for links)!
The hardware design is licensed under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license. Feel free to order a bunch for you and your best friends. However, don't sell these on ebay and such... I will notice! Commercial option available on request.
Mail me for pricing and availability, if you're after something finished and tested.
Remarks¶
The 3d model was optimized for printing with 0.28mm layer heigt using a 0.4mm nozzle.
In the photo above, the hardware of the older Rev2 is shown. The major difference is the switch to the ESP32-S2-mini module due to EOL of the previous module.
Firmware¶
The original AR488 Firmware is available und https://github.com/Twilight-Logic/AR488.
I added various things like a unique serial number for the serial device, added the pinout and configured everthing to run out of the box in my fork: https://github.com/WilheJo-Org1/AR488
There's a rather intense discussion going on on the EEVblog forum (https://www.eevblog.com/forum/projects/ar488-arduino-based-gpib-adapter/). Following this, and looking at commits in the repositories in case you're facing troubles with some of your gear.
My target config in the Arduino IDE looks like this:
Downloads¶
Rev 4.1¶
Rev 4.1 fixes all troubles with the original Rev4 design.
| File | Description |
|---|---|
| Rev4.1-KiCad.zip | KiCad data (for Step-File for enclosue see Rev 4) |
| Rev4.1-Schematic.pdf | The schematic as PDF |
Rev 4¶
Rev 4 uses proper SN75160/SN75161 drivers. However, I made some relatively serious mistake... rework is possible and about 30 units were built from this. A Rev is already in existence, but I will not publish it befor having at least on sample tested :)
| File | Description |
|---|---|
| Rev4-Esp32Ar488-KiCad+Step.zip | KiCad data and 3d files for the enclosure |
| Rev4-ReworkInstructions.pdf | The rework instructions as PDF |
| Rev4-Schematic.pdf | The schematic as PDF |
Rev 3¶
This was never built... I opted to go directly to Rev 4 after someone on the mikrocontroller.net forum mentioned to me that the SN7516x drivers are available again...
| File | Description |
|---|---|
| Esp32S2Ar488_Rev3.zip | Production Data including 3d files for the enclosure |
| Esp32Ar488.pdf | The schematic as PDF |
Stuff that's just here for history reasons¶
Douradda ESP32 port¶
The firmware uses PlattformIo. If you pull my repo, the Rev4 pinout is already selected by default. The only things you need to call are:
pio run -t build
pio run -t upload
The repo is configured to use the correct environment for the Rev4 hardware. However, it was reported, that this may fail to build...
It may be necessary to explicitly specify the environment like in the statements below:
pio run -e AR488-ESP32-Rev4
pio run -e AR488-ESP32-Rev4 -t upload
Last updated 2025-08-04