ESP8266 FAQ

Where do I buy these?

Online Retailers

Amazon - Some ship from China, but others ship quickly from the US.
Adafruit - In house quality control.

Online Auction / Shopping Sites - Keep an eye on seller feedback and shipping times.

What is the difference between all of the models?

In general, the ESP2866-01 variant is best for beginners. It is well-documented online and easy enough to hook up to a breadboard with "Dupont" connectors. Other models are well-suited for stand-alone applications (i.e. without an Arduino) but will require custom code and (in some cases) an external antenna. For one discussion of the variants see this.

What are the specifications?

https://nurdspace.nl/images/e/e0/ESP8266_Specifications_English.pdf
- Only external BOM items, resistors, capacitors and crystal.
- Max current consumption when transmitting 200-300 mA.
- Can wake up from sleep (low power mode) quickly.
- 32bit processor.
- 16 GPIO pins.
- 1 ADC pin.

What can I use it for?

Smart power plugs
Home automation
Mesh network
Industrial wireless control
Baby monitors
IP Cameras
Sensor networks
Wearable electronics
Wi-Fi location-aware devices
Security ID tags
Wi-Fi position system beacons

Firmware

Cross-platform programmer
- https://github.com/themadinventor/esptool/

Firmware

Transparent Bridget
- https://github.com/beckdac/ESP8266-transparent-bridge