ESP8266 Community Forum

- Fri Dec 04, 2020 7:37 pm #89689 I have a Huzzah Feather ESP8266 WiFi board.

1 - Is that the same as an Arduino ESP8266 ?
2 - Is the processor instruction set the same?

I'm guessing the different versions have different things on-board the processor
3 - And different stuff available on the PC-Board... Right?

I can buy another processor board if another one would be better to get started learning how to program the devices but... I need some kind assistance getting started.

4 - Also is there a SDK or IDE available for these devices?
5 - Will they allow programing in different languages? Python, C, C++, Basic, Assembly, etc?
6 - What about being able to compile Python?

7 - What about running the device on 5 volts? I see lot's of them use 3.3 volts.

Thanks for any help getting started. I've watched some videos, and read some stuff but need a kind soul to help me get to the starting line

- Fri Dec 11, 2020 5:03 pm #89754 All ESP8266 boards use the same processor chip ESP8266EX so the instruction set does not change.

They differ in the amount of flash provided, the access to the GPIO and other related pins, whether they have pull up resistors, whether they have a USB to UART built in to the board to make serial code uploading easier, and whether they have a voltage regulator. The chip itself needs 3.3V and the GPIO is levels are 3.3V. Some boards have a built in 5V - 3.3V regulator.

3 examples

Low level board ESP-12F - access to all GPIO, not breadboard friendly, needs physical connection to UART pins via a separate USB uart interface to load code, needs to be supplied with 3.3V. Good for final deployment due to small size and minimal excess current particularly in deep sleep battery applications.

Huzzah - intermediate board that is breadboard friendly and has a 5V to 3.3V regulator but needs a ftdi compatible interface for uploading code. This can just be a usb to ftdi adapter cable.

NodeMCU or Wemos D1 - boards that are breadboard friendly and have built in usb to serial interface which provides both power and serial code upload capability.

The last type is probably the easiest to start with and many people use this for development and then might use ESP-12F for deployment if they want smaller size and low power battery operation.

In terms of software capability there is no real difference between the boards other than the amount of flash memory. Most provide 4MByte which allows for maximum program size and some used for a filing system.

Arduino ESP8266 just refers to one of the available software programming environments available. Others include native SDKs, python, LUA, Basic. Some compile direct to code others provide an interpreter environment. Arduino is quite popular due to its range of libraries supporting sensors etc.