Introduction: Make ESP8266 REV-12 Prototype Friendly

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You might have heard about the ESP8266, it's a new wifi chip that, if used with the correct firmware, can run Lua code and that all just for 3 dollars! The problem is that the most populair version only has 2 GPIO's available. Luckily the new rev-12 is out and this one counts up to 9 GPIO's! Unfortunately the spacing of the holes is 2 mm instead of 2.45 but this can be solved.

Step 1: The Materials

You're going to need some equipement:

  • Soldering iron (~$8 on ebay)
  • Solder (~$2.50 on ebay)
  • Knife, scissors or something like that

The materials consist of:

  • A prototype board (~$0.30 on ebay)
  • Female headers (~$0.60 on ebay)
  • Kynar wire (~$1 on ebay)

The shipping was free for me on all these items

Step 2: Preparing the Materials

First cut the board with a sharp knife before you break it because otherwise you'll get a tear in your board.

Step 3: The Soldering

You'll want to strip the isolation of the kynar wire (entirely you don't have to worry about them shorting). Bul the wire trough a hole and bend it back. The wire should point away from the board (as shown in the pictures) and te other end should be folded around the hole so it just touches it's self.

Next you want to apply a bit of solder to your iron (not to much!) and just touch the golden connector on the ESP. If you can see the solder covering op the hole (on the other side too) it's good.

Next you put all the wires in the designated holes and pull them trough (using a plier or something). If you soldered the wires correctly they can withstand a bit of force so don't worry.

Then insert in the same holes the female headers (you'll have to press pretty hard). Turn the board over and add solder to the holes until they are filled up.

Step 4: Add Labels

Add labels to your headers because you can now not longer see the indications on the back of the board:

TXD

RXD

GPIO4

GPIO5

GPIO0

GPIO2

GPIO15

GND

REST

ADC

CH_PD

GPIO16

GPIO14

GPIO12

GPIO13

VCC