I recommend the NodeMCU Lua firmware as a starting point because it gives you an interactive programming language which allows you to experiment and build simple working programs without a lot of effort. Many come with AT firmware for serial communications. The ESP8266 board you bought may have one of many different firmware versions on it. When you receive your adapter, verify that the actual voltage output is 3.3 volts as some cheap adapters have been found to be mislabelled. The NodeMCU Development Board has the USB to serial interface on the board. It is possible to level convert if you already have a 5 volt adapter. This should be a 3.3 volt compatible model.

The NodeMCU Development Board has a USB to 3.3V power supply on the board.Ī USB to serial adapter. A weak or poor quality supply will cause the board to reset unexpectedly and make debugging difficult. Maximum current draw is 300 mA, so use a supply that can supply 500 mA to be safe. Most of us use aģ.3 volt regulated power source. The ESP8266 runs on anything from 2.8 to 3.5 volts, so a couple of AA batteries will work. Have become available with additional sensors, relays, LEDs and voltage regulators on the board.Ī 3 volt power supply.

The ESP-12 is popular because of its size and the number of pins brought to the side of the board. The ESP-01 is a simple board to start with. The prices vary from around $2 for a simple ESP-01 to $15 for a complete board with USB to serial and 3.3 volt regulator. Check the pins of the actual board you order with the information from your source as the rapid development of these products has led to confusion and duplication of board identification numbers.

There are several ESP8266 boards available, usually numbered ESP-01 through ESP-12. You will need an ESP8266 development board. Not counting waiting for hardware to ship to you (1-10 days), you should be able to use your ESP8266 for something useful in less than an hour. This guide is for Windows users who want to use the NodeMCU environment. This page is meant to be a quick introduction to the ESP8266 for those who are confused by all of the information available on the various blogs and forums who just want to try out this exciting board in the shortest possible time.

Software serial esp8266 programming