ESP8266 has become popular as module based on this SoC make it incredibly cheap to add Wi-Fi to all sort of things, the SDK available, and a community has gathered around the solution. Olimex has jumped on the bandwagon, and is now provided two open source hardware ESP8266 modules: MOD-WIFI-ESP8266 which makes it easy to interface to other Olimex boards thanks to its UEXT connector, and MOD-WIFI-ESP8266-DEV with two rows of 0.1″ connectors and an unsoldered UEXT pad, is better suited if you want to integrate it with your own baseboard, or experiment with a breadboard. An evaluation board called MOD-WIFI-ESP8266-EVB will be launched a little later.
Both modules share most specifications:
- SoC – Espressif Systems ESP8266 32-bit RISC processor with 802.11 b/g/n support(32-pin QFN package),
- Wi-Fi – 802.112 b/g/n with WEP, TKIP, AES, and WAPI engines, Wi-Fi direct (P2P), and soft-AP. On-board antenna and u.FL connector
- Expansion
- MOD-WIFI-ESP8266 – UEXT connector for Olimex MCU boards
- MOD-WIFI-ESP8266-DEV – 2x 11-pin connectors (0.1″ pitch) for 11 GPIOs, ADC, SDIO, and power signals, and 10 solder pads for an unsoldered UEXT connector (I2C and UART, 3.3V and GND).
- Dimensions – N/A
- Weight – N/A
The upcoming MOD-WIFI-ESP8266-EVB evaluation board will feature a relay, buttons, a power supply, and GPIOs header. Availability is schedule in a few weeks.
[Update: Features for MOD-WIFI-ESP8266-EVB:
- MOD-WIFI-ESP8266-DEV module with soldered connectors
- Base board with female connectors for accepting MOD-WIFI-ESP8266-DEV
- Power Relay 10A/250VAC connected with driver to GPIO output
- User Button connected to GPIO input
- Power supply jack – 5V input
- DCDC power converter to 3.3V to supply ESP8266 and UEXT modules with up to 1.5A current
- UEXT connector where you can connect different modules and sensors from Olimex
- GPIO CON3 with 16 pins where all ESP8266 resources are available
- 4 mounting holes
]
You can find the schematics and PCB layout (Eagle and PDF) on MOD-WIFI-ESP8266 and MOD-WIFI-ESP8266-DEV product pages, and the two modules sell for respectively 5 and 5.50 Euros + shipping, and as low as 4 Euros in quantities greater than 50 pieces. Price for MOD-WIFI-ESP8266-EVB (including MOD-WIFI-ESP8266-DEV) will be 12 Euros.
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
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