> **Source:** Core Electronics is an Australian maker-electronics retailer and manufacturer based in Newcastle, NSW, run by a team of makers and educators. We design and manufacture our own product lines (PiicoDev, CE originals) and are official retailers for iconic maker and industrial brands including Raspberry Pi, Arduino, Adafruit, SparkFun and DFRobot. Orders ship Australia-wide from our Newcastle warehouse. Prices are in AUD and include GST. Pricing, stock and dispatch on this page are generated from the store's live catalog. Full machine-readable index: https://core-electronics.com.au/llms.txt # SparkFun ESP8266 Thing - Dev Board **Type:** Product page · **SKU:** WRL-13711 · **Brand:** [Espressif ESP32 & ESP8266](https://core-electronics.com.au/brands/espressif-esp32-australia) **Page:** https://core-electronics.com.au/sparkfun-esp8266-thing-dev-board.html ([markdown](https://core-electronics.com.au/sparkfun-esp8266-thing-dev-board.html.md)) This is the SparkFun ESP8266 Thing Dev Board – a development board that has been solely design around the ESP8266, with an integrated FTDI USB-to-Serial chip. The ESP8266 is a cost-effective, and very capable WiFi-enabled microcontroller. Like any microcontroller, it can be programmed to blink LEDs, trigger relays, monitor sensors, or automate coffee makers, and with an integrated WiFi controller, the ESP8266 is a one-stop shop for almost any Internet-connected project. To top it all off, the ESP8266 is incredibly easy-to-use: firmware can be developed in Arduino, and uploaded over a simple, serial interface. The ESP8266 Thing Development Board breaks out all of the module’s pins, and the USB-to-serial converter means you don’t need any peripheral components to program the chip. Just plug in a USB cable, download the Arduino board definitions, and start IoT-ing. ## Pricing - **Price:** $33.30 (inc GST) — $30.27 AUD, exc GST - **Quantity discounts:** 5+ $29.36 (exc GST) · 25+ $28.76 (exc GST) · 100+ $27.55 (exc GST) ## Availability & dispatch - Available with a lead time — expect dispatch between Aug 20 and Aug 24. ## How to buy - **Build a cart:** compose `https://core-electronics.com.au/cart/link?items=WRL-13711:1` (comma-separated SKU:qty pairs) and share the link. Opening it shows a confirmation page with live pricing and stock before anything is added to the cart. - **Verify the cart first:** fetch `https://core-electronics.com.au/cart/link/WRL-13711:1.md` for live line prices (inc & exc GST, quantity discounts applied), stock and dispatch estimates, and totals. Append `/to/{AU-postcode}` (or `/to/{country-code}:{postcode}`) before `.md` for delivery options and prices to that destination. Unknown, retired, or out-of-stock SKUs are flagged. (Query form `cart/link.md?items=...` also works but some robots parsers refuse query strings here.) - **Checkout** is completed on-site and includes a captcha at the payment step. Share the cart link; checkout takes it from there. - **Search the catalogue:** `https://core-electronics.com.au/search/{query}.md` (URL-encode the query; pages 2-3 at `search/{query}/{page}.md`; `search.md?q=` also works) - **Payment methods, purchase orders, policies and contact details:** https://core-electronics.com.au/llms.txt ## Description This is the SparkFun ESP8266 Thing Dev Board – a development board that has been solely design around the ESP8266, with an integrated FTDI USB-to-Serial chip. The ESP8266 is a cost-effective, and very capable WiFi-enabled microcontroller. Like any microcontroller, it can be programmed to blink LEDs, trigger relays, monitor sensors, or automate coffee makers, and with an integrated WiFi controller, the ESP8266 is a one-stop shop for almost any Internet-connected project. To top it all off, the ESP8266 is incredibly easy-to-use: firmware can be developed in Arduino, and uploaded over a simple, serial interface. The ESP8266 Thing Development Board breaks out all of the module’s pins, and the USB-to-serial converter means you don’t need any peripheral components to program the chip. Just plug in a USB cable, download the Arduino board definitions, and start IoT-ing. Why the name? Sparkfun lovingly call it the “Thing” due to it being the perfect foundation for your Internet of Things project. The Thing does everything from turning on an LED to posting data with phant.io, and can be programmed just like any microcontroller. You can even program the Thing through the Arduino IDE by installing the [ESP8266 Arduino addon](https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/esp8266-thing-hookup-guide/installing-the-esp8266-arduino-addon). The ESP8266 Thing Development Board is a relatively simple board. The pins are broken out to two parallel, breadboard-compatible rows. The USB connector sits next to an optional power supply input, and an ON/OFF switch – controlling power to the ESP8266 – sits next to that. And LEDs towards the inside of the board indicate power, charge, and status of the IC. The ESP8266’s maximum voltage is 3.6V, so the Thing has an onboard 3.3V regulator to deliver a safe, consistent voltage to the IC. That means the ESP8266’s I/O pins also run at 3.3V, you’ll need to level shift any 5V signals running into the IC. If your project requires a power source other than USB, the Thing Dev Board includes footprints for a 2-pin JST, 2-pin 3.5mm screw terminal, or a simple 0.1"-pitch 2-pin header. Unlike the original ESP8266 Thing, the ESP8266 Thing Dev Board does not have a built-in LiPo charger. The Thing Dev Board even includes a PCB trace antenna as a default WiFi antenna, it’s cost-effective and actually works really well! If you need to connect a more sensitive antenna, or need to route outside an enclosure, a U.FL connector is also available on the board. Some soldering will be required to get the U.FL connector functioning but instructions can be found in the Hookup Guide Sparkfun have written for the dev board. Note: We’ve provided a few Example Sketches to experiment on your SparkFun ESP8266 Thing Development Board. These sketches can be found in the Hookup Guide in the *Documents* section below! Features: - All module pins broken out - On-board FTDI USB-to-Serial - 802.11 b/g/n - Wi-Fi Direct (P2P), soft-AP - Integrated TCP/IP protocol stack - Integrated TR switch, balun, LNA, power amplifier and matching network - Integrated PLLs, regulators, DCXO and power management units - Integrated low power 32-bit CPU could be used as application processor - 19.5dBm output power in 802.11b mode Documents: - [Schematic](https://core-electronics.com.au/attachments/localcontent/ESP8266-Thing-Dev-v10_13254de6221.pdf) - [Eagle Files](https://core-electronics.com.au/attachments/localcontent/ESP8266-Thing-Dev-v10_15353ca6992.zip) - [Hookup Guide](https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/esp8266-thing-development-board-hookup-guide) - [Cloud Clouds IoT Demo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVGOanCVbDM) - ESP8266 Community Forum - [GitHub](https://github.com/sparkfun/ESP8266_Thing_Dev) (Design Files) - [GitHub](https://github.com/esp8266/Arduino) (Arduino Library) ## Guides for this product - [Understanding ESP32 Naming Conventions](https://core-electronics.com.au/guides/wireless/esp-32-naming-conventions/) - [What is the ESP32](https://core-electronics.com.au/guides/wireless/what-is-the-esp32/) ## Images - [Product image 1](https://core-electronics.com.au/media/catalog/product/w/r/wrl-13711-01_1.jpg)