Olimex Unveils ESP32-POE Board with… PoE Support

ESP32 POE

One of the differences between ESP8266 and ESP32 is the latter adds an Ethernet MAC, and as a results we have seen a few ESP32 boards with an Ethernet jack offering 10/100M connectivity, including Olimex ESP32-GATEWAY, Olimex ESP32-EVB, or ESP32 Monster Board. ESP32 Ethernet enabled boards are definitely in the minority however, and what’s even more difficult to find is an ESP32 board with Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) support. The good news is that if you’re looking for such type of board, Olimex is working on one based on requirements from their customers. Olimex ESP32-POE board specifications: Wireless module – ESP32-WROOM-32 module with 802.11 b/g/n WiFi and Bluetooth LE External Storage – micro SD card socket Connectivity – 10/100M Ethernet with PoE power management based on Si3402 IEEE 802.3at Type 1-compliant chip Expansion UEXT connector for Olimex modules 2x GPIOs stripes spaced at 1″ on 0.1″ step Debugging/Programming – micro USB port […]

MakerAsia KBX is a Cool Extension Case for KidBright ESP32 Board

KidBright MakerAsia KBX

Last week, I wrote about KidBright32, an ESP32 board aiming to teach STEM to students in Thailand, a bit like BBC Micro:bit but with more advanced features, and all KidBright training course and tutorial in Thai language. The project also been partnering with MakerAsia to create a cool-looking extension enclosure for the board calld KBX (KidBright Extension) with display, USB, I/O ports etc… MakerAsia KBX case specifications: TFT Display with Touch USB OTG port with support for Keyboard and JoyStick SD Card slot I/O Extension port with support for I2C, SPI, UART/PGM, and 15 GPIO’s Various buttons and LEDs The two LED dot Matrix displays, plus buttons, LEDs, and + buzzer around are already part of KidBright32 board. It’s unclear whether a battery is included in the kit, or you can somehow fit one inside, as the photos show a micro USB cable connected to the box. They also appears […]

KidBright32 Board is Thailand’s BBC Micro:Bit Equivalent

BBC Micro:Bit board was first announced in July 2015. Designed for STEM education, the board was then offered to UK schools in March 2016, and a few months later UK store would start selling it worldwide. It’s now available pretty much anywhere, and you can likely find it in a local store or online. The Thai government must have seen this, and thought to themselves “If the British can do it, we can do it too!”, as the National Electronics and Computer Technology Center (NECTEC) part of Thailand’s Ministry of Science and Technology designed KidBright32 board and courses to teach STEM to Thai students. The board is based on Espressif Systems ESP32-WROOM-32 WiFI and Bluetooth module, and comes with large holes for power (5V/GND) and 6 digital inputs/outputs,  smaller through holes for I2C and more I/Os, as well as an I2C header. We’ll also find some LEDs, two dot matrix […]

TTGO Micro-32 is a Tiny ESP32-PICO-D4 Module

TTGO Micro-32 vs ESP32-WROOM-32

Unveiled almost a year ago, ESP32-PICO-D4 SiP (System-in-Package) combines ESP32 wireless processor, 4MB SPI Flash, a crystal oscillator, as well as some passive components, and allows more compact or thinner designs such as found in ESP32-PICO- Kit v4 development board. However, so far I had not seen any ESP32-PICO-D4 module, but TTGO Micro-32 fills the void as a compact module based on the SiP. TTGO Micro-32 module specifications: SiP – Espressif Systems ESP32-PICO-D4 based on ESP32 dual core processor + 4MB SPI flash Connectivity – Bluetooth 4.2 LE and 802.11 b/g/n WiFi up to 150 Mbps with chip antenna and u.FL (IPEX) connector Expansion – Castellated holes with GPIO, ADC, DAC, VP/VN, Touch, UART, I2C, and power signals Supply Voltage – 3.3V Dimensions – 19.2 x 13.3 mm (45% smaller than ESP32-WROOM-32) There’s no specific software for the module, since it should be software compatible with ESP-WROOM-32 (now called ESP32-WROOM-32). […]

Design ESP32 LoRa GPS Tracker Applications with TTGO T-Beam Board

TTGO-T-Beam

TTGO introduced a small ESP32 LoRa board with OLED display last year that is still selling  for around $14 shipped. But the company is now back with a similar board called TTGO T-Beam that does without the display, but adds GPS support, and a 18650 battery holder, so it should be ideally suited for all sorts of LoRa GPS tracking applications. TTGO T-Beam board specifications: SoC – Espressif ESP32 dual core Xtensa LX6 processor with WiFi and Bluetooth Memory – PSRAM Storage – 4MB SPI flash Connectivity 802.11 b/g/n WiFi up to 150 Mbps +  Bluetooth 4.2 Classic and LE with “3D antenna” soldered on PCB LoRa 433, 868, and 915 MHz versions with SMA antenna Transmit current – 120 mA @ +20dBm; 90 mA @ +17dBm; 29mA @ +13dBm Receive sensitivity -139dBm with LoRa & 62.5Khz & SF=12 & 146bps -136dBm with LoRa & 125Khz & SF=12 & 293bps […]

ESP32-SOLO-1 is a Single Core ESP32 WiFi and Bluetooth Module

ESP32-SOLO-1 Module

Espressif ESP32 is popular dual core processor with built-in WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity, except as we’ve seen last year, the company also developed a single core version with ESP32-S0WD chip, whose price is only slightly more expensive than ESP8266. But so far, I had not seen many hardware platforms announced with the single core version, with the exception of Particle Argon board. But I believe we should soon see more ESP32-S0WD boards brought to market, since Espressif Systems has now announced ESP32-SOLO-1 single core module. ESP32-SOLO-1 wireless module specifications: SoC – Espressif ESP32-S0WD single core Tensilica Xtensa LX6 processor @ up to 160 MHz with 448 KB ROM, 520KB on-chip SRAM, and 16KB SRAM in RTC Storage – 4MB SPI flash Connectivity 2.4 GHz 802.11 b/g/n WiFi up to 150 Mbps Bluetooth 4.2 LE + EDR I/Os – SD card, UART, SPI, SDIO, I2C, LED PWM, motor PWM, I2S, IR, […]

ODROID-GO is an Arduino Compatible, ESP32 based Portable Gaming Console Kit

ODROID-GO

When I first saw Hardkernel made ODROID-GO portable gaming console, I immediately thought they did a Linux device ala PocketCHIP, since so far the company has only designed Android & Linux development board. But ODROID-GO game console is actually based on Espressif ESP32 WiSoC,  programmable with the Arduino IDE, and launched to celebrate Hardkernel’s 10-year anniversary. ODROID-GO specifications: SoC – Custom ESP32-WROVER module with ESP32 SoC @ up to 240 MHz, 16 MB Flash, and 4MP PSRAM Storage – micro SD card slot connected via SPI Display –  2.4″ 320×240 TFT LCD (SPI) Connectivity – WiFi 802.11 b/g/n 2.4GHz – 2.5GHz, Bluetooth 4.2 BR/EDR, BLE Speaker – 0.5Watt 8Ω Mono USB – 1x micro USB port for charging (500mA) and USB-UART communication Expansion Port – 10-pin header with  I2C, GPIO, IRQ at 3.3Volt Misc – Buttons: Menu, Volume, Select, Start, A, B, Direction Pad Battery –  3.7V/1,200mAh Li-Polymer good for […]

Wemos LOLIN D32 Pro ESP32 Board Supports TFT Displays, Comes with a micro SD Card Slot

Wemos LOLIN D32 Pro

Wemos is popular for their low cost WiFi board based on Espressif SoCs. Their most popular board is ESP8266 based Wemos D1 mini  thanks to its compact form factor, low price ($5 shipped), and available add-on boards. But they’ve also launched some ESP32 in the last year or so with development boards such as Wemos LOLIN32 Lite. Their latest ESP32 board – LOLIN D32 Pro v2.00 – features ESP32-WROVER module, and beside exposing I/Os via breadboard compatible headers, also offers a micro SD card slot, a TFT display connector, and an I2C header. LOLIN D32 Pro specifications: Wireless module – ESP32-WROVER 802.11 b/g/n WiFi + Bluetooth 4.1 LE module with 4MB Flash, 4MB PSRAM Storage – micro SD card slot supporting SPI mode Display I/F – TFT display connector USB – 1x micro USB port for programming and power Expansion 2x 16-pin headers with GPIOs, SPI, I2C, UART, ADC, DAC, […]

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