In a Shoebox

[treeSpyder]

i'm looking at capturing here my starting over after trying esplorer (best gui)arduino(most support library),lua etc.,
>>coming back to espEasy as best/most usable/easiest way to go, Thanx!
i fried a unit trying to use gpio_9,10 on 12e breakout board, and other mis-adventures to share/in 1 place.
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So have an order for another coming this week, then several units on slow boats to save money.
i'd advise the curious to dive in; target what want to do, buy slow/cheap on eBay, study to gear-up while waiting!
(also waiting for newest 12-f witty that never used before!)
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realistic, cheapChina on usa/ebay prices 2017 (assume have computer,internet, usb cables, phone charger etc.)
base: $4 esp 12-e breakout better ch340g + $2 breadboard , $1 dupont cables
add : temp sensor + misc. switches , LED's for testing
home control: $4 4channel relay +maybe water solenoid thru 12 adapter,consider terminal strips
Trying to invite for ~$20/us if worked at it could set up 2 units,control 4 110v lights, from 2 points, get temperature,control over phone,computer,network, track usage etc. as pretty real utility for the buck$ to confidently get started;this is very do-able!
When in a hurry, not being so cheap etc. i root for the home team and filter to US or NA only or use Amazon prime; but still you can sort by cost and $ave!
>>having local buddy to trade parts around makes it even smarter to get 10/$2.50 rather than 2@ .80ea. of prices of some misc. parts will see over time!
Best advise on a budget is have sense of where going, order early before you get there!
>>purposefully manage encouraging self to go forward w/ready parts as manage money!
(so don't discourage self or inertia by having to choose to wait long or short wait for more $)
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i'm going to build inside a see-thru plastic $1 shoebox
>>function as AC spark arrestor for 110v control, plenty of airspace
>>can see pwr LED's thru,
>>light, cheap,easy to work/cut/drill
>>keep toys collected from hazards of wife's cleaning radar
then add plastic cable-ties (instead of screws) for fasteners
>>make razor slit in plastic shoebox hold to hold cable-tie ( w/o really locking tie) make temp/re-usable, secure,non-conducting fastener
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Always worksafe , weigh everything against safety factors and what ifs with good insulation, heat, secured, strain reliefs etc. considerations; especially as game goes from 3v3 volts to 110v+!

[treeSpyder]

So many pins, so few brain cells to remember them with!
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Favorite recommendation is AIO(all in 1) board, that best fits on breadboard search: esp8266 12e ch340g
>>rest of boards except later esp-12f witty expect to need to add uart/ftdi and 3v3 regulator devices to cost/build
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pinEasy for espEasy
So many pins on recommended AIO can be confusing, so let's divide them up to simplify:
w/usb port towards you/pins down ; forget all LEFT PINS makes immediately simpler
>>Exception :if want to use VIN for 5v in/out, make avail. maybe w/ GND next to it
These leave room for 1hole either side of AIO chip when mounted on breadboard
>>all you really need
>>other non-AIO chips are even LESS breadboard friendly than this AIO board!
>>there is an AIO version that is wider, so leaves no holes in breadboard, AND doesn't have screw holes
>>if not going to use 5v at all, sometimes move AIO over 1 hole so only pwr rails (if not torn off) show on left
>>this hides all left side usage and leaves 2 seemingly easier to hit holes for each right side pin.
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esp_Breadboard_400_guide_1.png (501.53 KiB) Viewed 5706 times

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LINK: wiki shows in use with relays i'm targeting
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Right pins, starting bottom up
forget bottom 4 : leave for FTDI w/o usb or other power connections(for now)
5th from bottom d8/gpio15 >>also leave alone.
d5,6,7 USABLE gpio_14,12,13
mid 3v/GND :put red/black wires here as dividing INDEX for pins!
still moving up skip d3,d4 gpio_0,2
d1,d2 gpio_5,4 USABLE
top d0 gpio_16 some usage
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so Eliminating left pins, then eliminating bottom 5 right pins =
>>Indexing from red/black mid power pins upwards skip next 2 up and use next 2 d1,2 gpio_5,4
>>Indexing from red/black mid power pins downwards can use next 3 lower gpio d5,6,7
Immediately simpler!
>>pins are in 2 groups,easier to stabilize connectors.
esp_01 offers 2 gpio, this offers 5 full usage gpio (+ regulator ,uart)
There are now few enough gpio in keyed groups to focus on,and can actually remember!
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i purposefully never use bottom right pwr unless also using tx/rx for PUTTY ck or fw flash;
>>so always index from mid red/black 3v3 purposefully make
>>and NEVER CONFUSE 5V PWR,EVEN IF FLIPPED/ PINS UP, always & all ways careful about 5v deal
>>ALL esp8266 are 3v3, AIO offers: 5v vin pin /usb input,to uart
>>after that regulator feeds rest of board @3v3
>>assume all 3v3 besides these 2 exceptions, don't feed exceptions into the NATIVE 3v3 architecture!!
Don't feed 2 pwr sources into board, especially mixed voltage!
Just as use familiar pattern to index right side of board,look over wires you have, develop
shorthand to self what color is generally for what when you use/see it,and then remember
occasional exceptions had to make!
Make systems intuitive to you!

[treeSpyder]

Not everyone will want to use a breadboard; but this also shows size comparisons etc.
Breadboard very nice for playing in lab, but only fair for deploying long term in attic.

esp_Breadboard_400_3b.png (547.97 KiB) Viewed 5656 times

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ESP-12e AIO boards are about the 4th of the size of a raspberry Pi or deck of cards, so board would fit in matchbox w/room to spare
>>ESP-01 minimal config, but would add 3v3 regulator to each used, and have an FTDI for flashing them
>>ESP-12e AIO boards have more pins with 3v3 regulator and uart cp2102 or ch340g built in for flashing
>>ESP-12e boards that aren't AIO are the BLUE suare in pics, would need to be good w/solder, and add 3v3 regulator +ftdi for flashing
>>ESP-01 offer 8 pins 2 of which are gpio, can add pcf8574 (or others) to add more gpio by assigning 2 pins on esp-01 or 12e as sda/sdc

[treeSpyder]

Still waiting for new chip but got these baby 170pin breadboards was wondering how/if they would hold 8266
Thought others mite wonder about these also, seeing is believing
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These are just like the other boards w/o power rails;
it takes about 3.5 small boards to be as long as standard 800 hole board.
So they leave 1 open hole next to each pin like full size boards.
(So if not using the side with 5v, can cover all the holes and have 2 holes per chip pin on other side )
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inset: 2 mini boards together,the seam between 2 chips gives same spacing as center in mini-board;
so; can span chip across seam of both boards,and have same 1 hole exposed per pin on either side
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i habitually index 3v3,gnd w/red, dark wires.
GND is right off the edge of main SOC as starting point for these old eyes.

[AndrewJ]

I personally quite like these small breadboards.

They have two disadvantages (to get those out of the way first)
- no power rails (as you say) but I have got around that by putting my NodeMCU midway along the length, leaving a free row at each end which can be used for + and -ve.
- many nodeMCU's are quite wide, and fit into the outer line of holes on each edge, all the other rows are hidden under the nodeMCU - not ideal. My ways around this are
1. Choose the narrower nodeMCUs if possible (this leaves one row free at the outside on each side), or if that's not enough,
2. Cut each small board down the middle, making two separate parts which can be spaced out to leave upto 4 rows of holes accessible at each side.
(I can't claim novelty for these ideas, they are just things I have picked up from others!)

On the plus side, they are nice and compact, and cheap. They also generally seem to grip the wires better than the larger type of board. I've used them successfully for extended periods in a variety of environments.
I also find the short, rigid type of connecting wires good with these. Sets are available at relatively low cost, and reduce the "forest" of wires which can form all too quickly.
Hope this helps.
Andrew

[papperone]

I think those small ones are useless for NodeMCU/Wemos usage leaving no advatages as they are not allowing anythign else to be connected on the breadboard itself...
You can still solder female connectors facing up instead of male ones on the Wemos (for example) and connect jumpers directly to it.
I personally use bigger breadboard (either the 1/2 size or full size of the ones with power rails) as they are allowing me to add other components to the test environment (like LEDs, resistors, capcitors, transistors, mosfets, pushbuttons, any type of module or sensors, etc...).
Of course this is my personal view that I'm sharing...

[treeSpyder]

i too prefer the half size/400pin boards; i have a 400pin board i tore a power a rail pair from 1 side for nice smaller size.
AIO(All in ONE) board with holes fits breadboard; AND mounting holes nice for deploy w/o breadboard.
>>once again the wider AIO boards w/o holes leave no breadboard holes exposed w/o wiring UNDER the AIO to exposed holes on breadboard
>>colored mini_170 boards just barely enough room for esp-12e AIO
>>breadboards are handy, can give loose connection, but do 'sheath' all those dangerous, wild, loose male pins on AIO!
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i just use PuTTY if trying to verify board is good a/n

putty_2.png (129.51 KiB) Viewed 5445 times

The different serial comm. UARTs: CP2102 and later CH340G show on different ports (even 1@time) in devmgmt.msc
>>so i have 2 specific presets, with 115200 baud set to SERIAL comm.
>>sometimes have to change serial line com# ; so always ck devmgmt.msc, especially if more than 1 board on bus(especially for flashing!)
Can get gibberish if not communicating right>> try reset btn, then try different baud rates trying to catch right comm. 'frequency'.
i used gpio_9,10 on AIO board after reading could use all gpio pins >> not all internet info is good info!
>>3 PuTTY memFail on reset msg's from same chip/not always same msg.
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AT commands(from 1980's as msDOS was being born) were invented by Dennis Hayes(for their Hayes modems);
>>AT cmd's are another deFacto standard from the PC birth era.
>>The AT command set/lexicon can be pushed to ESP, and leveraged w/standard syntax thru serial comm w/PuTTY
>>can look at chip w/PuTTY w/o AT cmds.
>>AT cmd set not on all ESP chips when you get them, nor exposed after espEasy fw flash
tmi:EspressIf: AT cmds for 8266 or Kolban's book
i consider AT a lower level CLI(command line interface) language, and espEasy more refined,upper level language(more human) + gui
>>espEasy suited to my needs and patience; http wife usable(ok maybe some day she will)
>> olde worlde PuTTY:my geek side still wants to play with AT, but not to deploy, and never to pain wife's eyes with!

[LisaM]

Why all this trouble? Just buy the NodeMCU breadboard and you're set: https://nl.aliexpress.com/item/NodeMcu- ... 52838.html