ESP8266 WeMos D1 Mini WiFi Dev Board

The ESP8266 WeMos D1 Mini WiFi Dev Board is one of the newest iterations of the highly popular WeMos WiFi Dev Board, and has been drastically reduced in size while still offering almost identical features and functionality - with a few upgrades added into the design as well. It utilises the classic ESP8266 for effective WiFi communications, with a full complement of digital I/O pins to control LED Strips, servo motors, sensor arrays and many other modules and components over WiFi!

The WeMos D1 Mini is designed to be natively compatible with Arduino, and can be programmed or controlled via Arduino IDe and NodeMCU. This, in conjunction with the plethora of WeMos D1 Mini Tutorials that can be found online, makes this board not only multi-functional, but also very easy to use for beginners and veterans alike.

For more details on how to install the libraries and necessary files for this board, Innovative Tom has a very insightful and easy-to-follow YouTube Demonstration that covers most of the basics - with more advanced instructions found in the videos series Part 2, 3 and 4.

Additional Resources:

• ESP8266EX Datasheet

• Getting Started Tutorial

• Library Setup Video

Note: All of the I/O pins have interrupt/pwm/I2C/one-wire capability, except for D0

Typical Applications for the ESP8266 WeMos D1 Mini WiFi Dev Board:

The ESP8266 WeMos D1 Mini WiFi Dev Board is a truly diverse little module, and can be used for applications ranging from simple WiFi integration into a project, all the way through to building your own WiFi light switches and relays. And because the ESP8266 module has been through so many refinements and upgrades over the years, many of the bugs, faults and other problems have been ironed out - resulting in a quality WiFi dev' board that is not only easy to use, but impressively multi-functional as well.

Whether you want to integrate home automation systems into your home, or whether you want to equip your air conditioner, coffee machine or kids toys with WiFi Capabilities, this clever little module is one of the easiest and most inexpensive ways to do it. Just be sure to remember that, if you want to install other modules, sensors or components with differing voltage requirements, you may need to get a logic converter to ensure that you don’t send too much power to electronics that can’t handle it.

Espressif Systems have their headquarters based in Shanghai Zhangjiang High-Tech Park, which is considered to be “China’s Silicon Valley”, where they produce low-power WiFi and Bluetooth SoC’s and IoT hardware and software.

Their vision is to enhance the world by leveraging modern technologies like IoT and wireless communications to manufacture products that are more versatile, adaptable and eco-friendly, with the aim of reducing the amount of waste and pollution that the world produces each year. So far, they have been able to reduce the consumption of electrical components by hundreds of thousands of resistors, capacitors, inductors, baluns, switches and power management chips, while reducing the amount of Printed Circuits Boards, or PCB’s, by more than 50,000 square meters.

Espressif is quickly becoming the leading manufacturer of IoT and wireless components, modules and devices that cut out the need for cabling and unnecessary electronics, which will not only result in a world that is cleaner and more environmentally sustainable, but also more adaptable and capable of moving towards the future of human technologies.