ESP8266 Thing Hookup Guide

Pages
Contributors: jimblom
Favorited Favorite 36

Introduction

Over the past year, the ESP8266 has been a growing star among IoT or WiFi-related projects. It's an extremely cost-effective WiFi module, that -- with a little extra effort -- can be programmed just like any microcontroller. Unfortunately, the ESP8266 has mostly only been available in a tiny, modular form, which, with limited I/O and a funky pin-out, can be difficult to build a project around.

WiFi Module - ESP8266 (4MB Flash)

WiFi Module - ESP8266 (4MB Flash)

WRL-17146
$7.50
1

The ESP8266 WiFi module. Great for piggybacking onto an Arduino, hard to build a project around.

SparkFun's new development board for the ESP8266 breaks out all of the module's pins, and comes equipped with a LiPo charger, power supply, and all of the other supporting circuitry it requires. We lovingly call it the Thing -- it's the perfect foundation for your Internet of Things.

SparkFun ESP8266 Thing

SparkFun ESP8266 Thing

WRL-13231
$18.50
49
SparkFun ESP8266 Thing Starter Kit

SparkFun ESP8266 Thing Starter Kit

KIT-15258
$28.50 $14.25

Having trouble viewing the videos? Try resizing the video by clicking on the shortcut to view the product showcase in full screen.

Covered in this Tutorial

This tutorial will familiarize you with all things SparkFun Thing. It's split into sections, which cover:

Required Materials

To follow along with this tutorial, and get up-and-running with the Thing, you may need a few extra tools and materials. This wishlist includes everything we use in this tutorial to program and use the Thing if you are ordering the board individually:

Suggested Reading

Before continuing on with this tutorial, you may want to familiarize yourself with some of these topics if they're unfamiliar to you:

How to Solder: Through-Hole Soldering

This tutorial covers everything you need to know about through-hole soldering.

Serial Communication

Asynchronous serial communication concepts: packets, signal levels, baud rates, UARTs and more!

How to Power a Project

A tutorial to help figure out the power requirements of your project.

Logic Levels

Learn the difference between 3.3V and 5V devices and logic levels.