New ESP8266 based board available

[andy]

Dave mentioned in http://www.esp8266.nu/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=1793 in the Hardware section there's a new ESP8266 control board available. This is something we've been working on over the last several months. It scratches a lot of our itches; primarily a small footprint that can take in a lot of analog and digital inputs as well as provide a lot of digital outputs (relays). I'm using it to control my pool pump, read water and air temperature, change diverter valve position, and control lights. I will be adding pH and chlorine sensing as well as acid and chlorine dosing in the near future.

Anyway, we designed this board to be useful for ANYONE that needs lots of I/O and is familiar with the ESP8266. If you like building things from scratch, we offer the board by itself and also as a kit. If you'd rather hit the ground running, we offer complete boards.

This has been a labor of love, and we're really interested to hear what you think. Please check out our website at iothyngs.com or go straight to the ESPEveryThyng-885 user manual at http://iothyngs.com/?download=259.

Any questions, comments, criticisms, please let us know!

[dduley]

Hi All,

We Just added the board schematic: http://iothyngs.com/?download=272

Dave

[mgennip]

Unfortunately the provided link doesn't work.

[andy]

Really sorry, all! Small glitch in the Matrix, all is well now. I've tested the fix and it works.

[costo]

Nice work.

Some points I think to improve the manual/design:
a) The input resistors R22-29 can only be smd, it would be very simple to provide 2 extra holes so that wired resistors, which are often more easy to acquire, can also be used as a choice. I specially think of 0.5W resistors.
For the analogue input scaling resistors is not enough space available for extra holes.
b) The text near the RF module says : ¨315mHz Receiver¨ to be correct it must be MHz because mHz means milliHertz and not MegaHertz. Also I advice to change the text to 315/433 MHz Receiver or just RF Receiver because 315 MHz is not internationally used.
c) The manual speaks of four I2C expansion ports. It is not good practice to configure a I2C bus as a star with multiple branches, because it is meant as a serial bus, connecting devices in series. Two I2C ports can be used for this serial bus where the I2C controller is somewhere along the bus. The third and fourth I2C ports are better left out. Also the manual does not say anything about the pullup resistors. Ideally pullups would only be used at one (or both) ends of the serial bus and devices along the bus should not have pullups. So I think the manual needs some background information and guidelines for using the I2C bus properly.

I probably would not use this board because it is too big and complex for my personal situation. I use several smaller boards, each with there own ESP8266. I do that to keep the number and length of the wires to a minimum.
I see the advantage of using this board for a more complex setup like fi a swimmingpool.

[andy]

Thank you for your input, Costo - I really appreciate it!

The board was designed for SMD components to keep it as compact as possible while still being something a competent DIY'er could build. This was my first exposure to SMD assembly, so I got to learn a new skill. Finding the components was a piece of cake. eBay is a great source for these parts. It's actually very easy to do and doesn't take much investment in additional tools. I bought a syringe of solder paste, some tweezers, and a set of magnification goggles. I used a heat gun normally used for heat shrink to melt the solder paste. It worked great.

We could put holes in the board for resistors on the digital inputs, but as you point out, there's no room to do the same on the analog input section. We'll talk that one over.

I'm pretty picky about labeling, so your point about MHz is well taken. We will change that, and perhaps just relabel as RF Receiver as you suggested.

We will take a closer look at the I2C implementation.

I understand your wanting something smaller and simpler. We have several different boards in development, I'm sure we'll have something that will appeal to you. This was the first one promoted because we're actually using it in our own systems. We will make similar announcements as the other boards and the documentation are ready for release.

[andy]

I'd really like to get input from all of you! Good, bad, indifferent - it's all valuable information for us as we move forward. There's been a lot of manuals and schematics downloaded, so I'm assuming many have had the chance to review and digest the design.

We're running a promotional sale at the moment, so feel free to take another look. Also, we've got some more boards in development - Dave's assembling and confirming functionality as we speak!

[JaseSerre]

Hi...i am a new user here. As per my knowledge there are four I2C expansion ports. It is not good practice to configure a I2C bus as a star with multiple branches, because it is meant as a serial bus, connecting devices in series. Two I2C ports can be used for this serial bus where the I2C controller is somewhere along the bus. The third and fourth I2C ports are better left out. Also the manual does not say anything about the pullup resistors. Ideally pullups would only be used at one ends of the serial bus and devices along the bus should not have pullups.