HiLetgo 1PC ESP8266 NodeMCU CP2102 ESP-12E Development Board Open Source Serial Module Works Great for Arduino IDE/Micropython (Small)

I started with Arduino boards on some small projects, then I wanted to add WIFI capability to the projects. Initially I was trying to add wifi modules to Arduino, but I came across this ESP-12E board, and decided to give it a try. The package came with 3 boards, for about $14, very inexpensive in my opinion. I connected one to my Mac, and started trying the example sketches through Arduino IDE. This little board really surprised me with its capability, and it brought me many ways to expand my ideas on the projects, far exceeded what I had initially expected. I am in the middle of transfer all my projects from Arduino boards to this ESP-12E, and also on its successor ESP-32. I am very pleased with the purchase, and with many other components that I bought from HiLetgo. Finally, as some other reviewers have already pointed out, the CP210X USB driver needs to be installed (download at silabs dot com) on the host computer first, before Arduino IDE to be able to upload sketches to the board.

Works Great

I used this to build a wireless thermostat. It works great.

Ive only played with this for about 6 hours or so. I skipped the built-in firmware and moved to the MicroPython firmware instead; I wanted to get up and running fast and didnt want to spend the time learning a new language. I may flash it to Arduino if I use it in mission-critical fashion. So I can only speak to the MicroPython side. My current project with this is a data logger for temperature and humidity. It did work out of the box and flashing worked flawlessly. Initial tests indicate everything is ok. One of the header strip pins was bent over from the foam, but not a big deal. One thing I did notice, and havent broken out my iron to fix yet: some of the joints are less than ideal. Most of the header is soldered in well, but some of the joints have some flaws. I couldnt get a good picture, so Im sorry for that. The Rx pin looks like it had been too hot, the Tx pin has insufficient wetting, and the GND near the Rx/TX pins looks like it was disturbed. These are all pretty easy fixes, I just havent gotten to them yet. The problems shouldnt be much of a hurdle for someone with basic soldering skills; it seems like the assembly was rushed. Those are my only complaints, and thats well tempered by the price.

The product is good, the bad thing is the assembly, I spent a month not knowing why I could not load code to the nodemcu and today I just noticed that there was a short between SDD and CLK, apart from that some pins were not soldered, solder the pins well and eliminate the short one and now the nodemcu works. He expected Hitletgo to implement quality controls on their products, and those who have bought to notice those little details on the plate that prevent proper operation.

Worked exactly as expected and arrived on time. Used to make a wireless automated dog house heater.

Works great with Arduino projects. The NodeMCU UART chip is CP2102. Like most it takes about 20mA so I will have to remove it for battery power.

Product works out of the box. Easy to get going with Arduino. Found no issues with. Very pleased

These microcontrollers are great fun. With integrated WiFi, you can do all kinds of remote sensing / control projects. I used it with a BME280 temperature sensor to monitor temperature/humidity in my crawlspace. If you assign the I/O pins correctly, you can connect the BME280 directly to the NodeMCU headers. If youre buying a lot, you can get them cheaper (and much slower) on aliexpress.

The stock firmware was operating at some unusual baud rate, which kept me from making this work at first. I followed the steps in the description to install ESP8266 support in the Arduino IDE, then downloaded and installed the ZIMODEM firmware and now it’s great. That firmware emulates the old Hayes Smartmodms, allowing my old Radio Shack Color Computer to connect up to internet BBSes over the serial port. Works great so far! I just used this module, and an RS232 to TTL adapter and some jumper wires and was able to hook it up.