KeyeStudio ESP8266 WI-FI Development Board+USB Cable

The keyestudio ESP8266 Wi-Fi Development Board is built around the advanced ESP8266-12 module developed by Ai-Thinker. This powerful board is designed for integrating Wi-Fi capabilities into your projects, making it perfect for applications in the Internet of Things (IoT).

Key Features

• Powerful Microcontroller: Equipped with the Tensilica L106 ultra-low-power 32-bit microcontroller, supporting frequencies of 80MHz and 160MHz.
• RTOS Support: The board supports a Real-Time Operating System (RTOS), enhancing multitasking capabilities.
• Versatile Connectivity: Features 11 I/O ports (4 of which can be used as PWM outputs) that operate at 3.3V, including an analog input interface for various applications.
• Flexible Power Options: Can be powered via USB or an external power supply (DC 7-12V), offering flexibility in project setups.

Technical Details

• Microcontroller: ESP8266-12F
• Operating Voltage: 3V3
• Input Voltage (recommended): DC 7-12V
• Digital I/O Pins: 8 (GPIO2, GPIO4, GPIO5, GPIO12, GPIO13, GPIO14, GPIO15, GPIO16)
• Analog Input Pins: 1 (A0)
• IO output maximum current: 12 mA
• Main frequency supports 80 MHz and 160 MHz
• LED_BUILTIN: GPIO 14
• Comes with an external power jack (DC 7-12V)
• Dimensions: 54mm*56mm*15mm

Back View:

Element and Interfaces

Here is an explanation of what every element and interface of the board does:

Specialized Functions of Some Pins

• Serial communication: ' GPIO3 (RX) and GPIO1 (TX).
• PWM Interfaces (Pulse-Width Modulation): GPIO 4, GPIO 12, GPIO 14, GPIO 15.
• SPI communication ports: GPIO6（CLK), GPIO7(MISO), GPIO8(MOSI), GPIO9(HD), GPIO10(WP), GPIO1(CS1), GPIO0(CS2)
• IIC communication: GPIO2(SDA); GPIO14(SCL)
• IR Remote Control Interface: GPIO5(IR RX); GPIO14(IR TX)

Detailed Using Methods are as follows:

Step1| Install the Arduino IDE

When programming the control board, first you should install the Arduinosoftware and driver.
You can download the different versions for different systems from the link below:
https://www.arduino.cc/en/Main/OldSoftwareReleases#1.5.x

NOTE: this control board is only compatible with Arduino 1.6.5 version or latest.
In the following, we will download the Arduino 1.6.5 version.

In this Windows system page, there are two options. One is Windows version, the other is Windows Installer.
For Windows Installer, you can download the installation file, this way you need to install the arduino IDE.

For simple Windows version, you can download the software directly, do not need to install, just directly use the software after unzip the file.
Next, we click the Windows, pop up the interface as below.

Click JUST DOWNLOAD.When the ZIP file is downloaded well to your computer, you can directly unzip the file. Open the Arduino-1.6.5-r5 folder, you should get it as follows.

Click the icon of ARDUINO software to open it. This is your Arduino.

Step2| Installing the Driver

The USB to serial port chip of this control board is CH340G. So you need to install the driver for the chip. You can click the driver file here usb_ch341_3.1.2009.06 to download it.
In different systems, the driver installation is similar. Here we start to install the driver on the Win7 system.
Plug one end of your USB cable into the Keyestudio ESP8266 WI-FI board and the other into a USB socket on your computer.
When you connect the ESP8266 WI-FI board to your computer at the first time, right click your “Computer” —>for “Properties”—> click the “Device manager”, under Other devices, you should see the “USB2.0-Serial”.

Then right-click on the device and select the top menu option (Update Driver Software...) shown as the figure below.

Then it will be prompted to either “Search Automatically forupdated driversoftware” or “Browse my computer for driver software”. Shown as below. In this page, select “Browse my computer for driver software”.

After that, select the option to browseand navigate to the “drivers” folder of usb-ch341 installation.

Once the software has been installed, you will get a confirmation message. Installation completed, click “Close”.

Up to now, the driver is installed well. Then you can right click “Computer” —>“Properties”—>“Device manager”, you should see the device as the figure shown below.

Step3| Installing the ESP8266 with Arduino

Double-click the icon of Arduino software downloaded well, you will get the interface shown below.

(Note: if the Arduino software loads in the wrong language, you can change it in the preferences dialog. See the environment page for details.)


The functions of each button on the Toolbar are listed below:

Verify/Compile	Check the code for errors
Upload	Upload the current Sketch to the Arduino
New	Create a new blank Sketch
Open	Show a list of Sketches
Save	Save the current Sketch
Serial Monitor	Display the serial data being sent from the Arduino

First, plug one end of your USB cable into the Keyestudio ESP8266 WI-FI board and the other into a USB socket on your computer.


Then open the Arduino IDE, click the “File” to select the “Preferences”.

The pop-up interface is shown below. See the “Additional Boards Manager URLs”, copy and paste the link: http://arduino.esp8266.com/stable/package_esp8266com_index.json and then click OK.


After that, click “Tools”, for “Board”, enter theBoards Manager, it will automatically download the relevant file. Shown below.




Done downloading the relevant file, it will pop up the window below. Then enter the 8266 on the blank bar and click Install.




Installation completed, click Close, then click “Tools”, for “Board”, you should see the Generic ESP8266 Module. Shown below.

Step4| Add the Libraries

Before upload the code to test your board, you should first add all the libraries into the libraries folder of Arduino-1.6.5-r5. You can click the link to download all the libraries needed.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=11mTs_DbCIx-PQHPjfZOAekBZ7IL8al3D

Step5| Select the Board and Serial Port

Open the Arduino IDE, you’ll need to click the “Tools”, then select the Board and the Serial Port.

You can check the Serial Port on your computer’s Device Manager.

Below is the complete settings you should refer to:

Click JUST DOWNLOAD.When the ZIP file is downloaded well to your computer, you can directly unzip the file. Open the Arduino-1.6.5-r5 folder, you should get it as follows.

Click the icon of ARDUINO software to open it. This is your Arduino.

Step2| Installing the Driver

The USB to serial port chip of this control board is CH340G. So you need to install the driver for the chip. You can click the driver file here usb_ch341_3.1.2009.06 to download it.
In different systems, the driver installation is similar. Here we start to install the driver on the Win7 system.
Plug one end of your USB cable into the Keyestudio ESP8266 WI-FI board and the other into a USB socket on your computer.
When you connect the ESP8266 WI-FI board to your computer at the first time, right click your “Computer” —>for “Properties”—> click the “Device manager”, under Other devices, you should see the “USB2.0-Serial”.
Then right-click on the device and select the top menu option (Update Driver Software...) shown as the figure below.
Then it will be prompted to either “Search Automatically forupdated driversoftware” or “Browse my computer for driver software”. Shown as below. In this page, select “Browse my computer for driver software”.
After that, select the option to browseand navigate to the “drivers” folder of usb-ch341 installation.
Once the software has been installed, you will get a confirmation message. Installation completed, click “Close”.
Up to now, the driver is installed well. Then you can right click “Computer” —>“Properties”—>“Device manager”, you should see the device as the figure shown below.

Step3| Installing the ESP8266 with Arduino

Double-click the icon of Arduino software downloaded well, you will get the interface shown below.

(Note: if the Arduino software loads in the wrong language, you can change it in the preferences dialog. 
The functions of each button on the Toolbar are listed below:

Verify/Compile	Check the code for errors
Upload	Upload the current Sketch to the Arduino
New	Create a new blank Sketch
Open	Show a list of Sketches
Save	Save the current Sketch
Serial Monitor	Display the serial data being sent from the Arduino

First, plug one end of your USB cable into the Keyestudio ESP8266 WI-FI board and the other into a USB socket on your computer.

Then open the Arduino IDE, click the “File” to select the “Preferences”.
The pop-up interface is shown below. See the “Additional Boards Manager URLs”, copy and paste the link: http://arduino.esp8266.com/stable/package_esp8266com_index.json and then click OK.
After that, click “Tools”, for “Board”, enter theBoards Manager, it will automatically download the relevant file. Shown below.



Done downloading the relevant file, it will pop up the window below. Then enter the 8266 on the blank bar and click Install.


Installation completed, click Close, then click “Tools”, for “Board”, you should see the Generic ESP8266 Module. Shown below.

Step4| Add the Libraries

Before upload the code to test your board, you should first add all the libraries into the libraries folder of Arduino-1.6.5-r5. You can click the link to download all the libraries needed.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=11mTs_DbCIx-PQHPjfZOAekBZ7IL8al3D

Step5| Select the Board and Serial Port

Open the Arduino IDE, you’ll need to click the “Tools”, then select the Board and the Serial Port.
You can check the Serial Port on your computer’s Device Manager.


Below is the complete settings you should refer to:

Step6| Upload the Code

Add well all the libraries mentioned above, and select well the Board and Port, you should upload the code to test your board.
Below is an example code, you can copy and paste it on Arduino IDE. Or dowload the code here

void setup() {
  Serial.begin(115200);

  // Set WiFi to station mode and disconnect from an AP if it was previously connected
  WiFi.mode(WIFI_STA);
  WiFi.disconnect();
  delay(100);

  Serial.println("Setup done");
  
}

void loop() {
  Serial.println("scan start");

  // WiFi.scanNetworks will return the number of networks found
  int n = WiFi.scanNetworks();
  Serial.println("scan done");
  if (n == 0)
    Serial.println("no networks found");
  else
  {
    Serial.print(n);
    Serial.println(" networks found");
    for (int i = 0; i < n; ++i)
    {
      // Print SSID and RSSI for each network found
      Serial.print(i + 1);
      Serial.print(": ");
      Serial.print(WiFi.SSID(i));
      Serial.print(" (");
      Serial.print(WiFi.RSSI(i));
      Serial.print(")");
      Serial.println((WiFi.encryptionType(i) == ENC_TYPE_NONE)?" ":"*");
      delay(10);
    }
  }
  Serial.println("");

  // Wait a bit before scanning again
  delay(5000);
}

After copy and paste the code on IDE, click the compile button, if compiling successfully, the message "Done compiling." will appear in the status bar. Then click the “Upload” button, if the upload is successful, the message "Done uploading." will appear in the status bar.

Step7| What Should You See

Done uploading the code, open the serial monitor and set the baud rate to 115200, it can search the WIFI name nearby.

Applications

• IoT Solutions: Ideal for creating connected devices that communicate over the internet.
• Home Automation: Perfect for building smart home systems to automate appliances and improve energy efficiency.
• Wearable Technology: Suitable for developing wearables that require wireless connectivity.
• Education: Excellent for teaching students about microcontrollers and wireless communication in electronics.

Package List

• Keyestudio ESP8266 WI-FI Development Board * 1
• USB cable * 1

The keyestudio ESP8266 Wi-Fi Development Board is a crucial addition for hobbyists and professionals looking to enhance their projects with reliable Wi-Fi connectivity.