Olimex Introduces Open Source Hardware ESP8266 Wi-Fi Modules, Evaluation Board Coming Soon

ESP8266 has become popular as module based on this SoC make it incredibly cheap to add Wi-Fi to all sort of things, the SDK available, and a community has gathered around the solution. Olimex has jumped on the bandwagon, and is now provided two open source hardware ESP8266 modules: MOD-WIFI-ESP8266 which makes it easy to interface to other Olimex boards thanks to its UEXT connector, and MOD-WIFI-ESP8266-DEV with  two rows of 0.1″ connectors and an unsoldered UEXT pad, is better suited if you want to integrate it with your own baseboard, or experiment with a breadboard. An evaluation board called MOD-WIFI-ESP8266-EVB will be launched a little later.

MOD-WIFI-ESP8266-DEV
MOD-WIFI-ESP8266-DEV Module

Both modules share most specifications:

  • SoC – Espressif Systems ESP8266 32-bit RISC processor with 802.11 b/g/n support(32-pin QFN package),
  • Wi-Fi – 802.112 b/g/n with WEP, TKIP, AES, and WAPI engines, Wi-Fi direct (P2P), and soft-AP. On-board antenna and u.FL connector
  • Expansion
    • MOD-WIFI-ESP8266 – UEXT connector for Olimex MCU boards
    • MOD-WIFI-ESP8266-DEV –  2x 11-pin connectors (0.1″ pitch) for 11 GPIOs, ADC, SDIO, and power signals, and 10 solder pads for an unsoldered UEXT connector (I2C and UART, 3.3V and GND).
  • Dimensions – N/A
  • Weight – N/A
MOD-WIFI-ESP8266 Module
MOD-WIFI-ESP8266 Module

The upcoming MOD-WIFI-ESP8266-EVB evaluation board will feature a relay, buttons, a power supply, and GPIOs header. Availability is schedule in a few weeks.

Olimex ESP8266 EVB PCB Layout
Olimex ESP8266 EVB PCB Layout

[Update: Features for MOD-WIFI-ESP8266-EVB:

  • MOD-WIFI-ESP8266-DEV module with soldered connectors
  • Base board with female connectors for accepting MOD-WIFI-ESP8266-DEV
  • Power Relay 10A/250VAC connected with driver to GPIO output
  • User Button connected to GPIO input
  • Power supply jack – 5V input
  • DCDC power converter to 3.3V to supply ESP8266 and UEXT modules with up to 1.5A current
  • UEXT connector where you can connect different modules and sensors from Olimex
  • GPIO  CON3 with 16 pins where all ESP8266 resources are available
  • 4 mounting holes

]

You can find the schematics and PCB layout (Eagle and PDF) on MOD-WIFI-ESP8266 and MOD-WIFI-ESP8266-DEV product pages, and the two modules sell for respectively 5 and 5.50 Euros + shipping, and as low as 4 Euros in quantities greater than 50 pieces. Price for MOD-WIFI-ESP8266-EVB (including MOD-WIFI-ESP8266-DEV) will be 12 Euros.

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11 Comments
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Harley
Harley
9 years ago

Does this work with both Raspberry Pi and Arduino?

halherta
halherta
9 years ago


Apparently you can run Lua scripts on this module that behave very much like Node.js. Have a look here for more info.

You can get the ESP-12 version of the ESP8266 (with something like 16/14 GPIOS) for around $3 US on AliExpress. This might be somewhat expensive to compete…..especially when one factors in the shipping cost.

Ian Tester
9 years ago

The Olimex site incorrectly says they have an ARM processor core inside. It is in fact an Xtensa LX106 core from Tensilica.

Mathieu
Mathieu
9 years ago

Or the one made by limpkin is actually currently available (even if it’s more expensive):
http://www.limpkin.fr/index.php?post/2014/11/27/A-Development-Board-for-the-ESP8266-03

Ian Tester
9 years ago

Yikes, shipping from Europe to Australia is not cheap. I’ve ordered five so that I’m paying more for the product than postage. Lets hope they’re not too hard to program…

halherta
halherta
9 years ago
Paul
Paul
9 years ago

MicroPython also started ESP8266 port. Unlike awful chinese lua mess quoted above, it’s fully open-source project: https://github.com/micropython/micropython/tree/master/esp8266

CNX, btw, will you have your traditional crowdfuning round-up this year? Please include MicroPython in your review – it’s not only one of the successfully projects delivered on time, it continues to be developed and is rumping up.

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