HTTP control, relay control and OTA/HTTP firmware updates using an ESP8266 for just $11
The ESP8266 came out a few years ago and people were really excited about its capabilities. I stayed away from it because there were no tools, no decent peripheral libraries, and a questionable supply chain. Fast forward to today and the situation has dramatically changed. Software development is now supported in the Arduino IDE, the PlatformIO development platform and by NodeMCU. Microcenter stocks several different ESP8266 boards by AdaFruit, Link Sprite, and others. They had the LinkSprite with mounting holes, a relay and onboard voltage regulation for sale at $11 so I bought one. The board is smaller than a playing card but larger than many other ESP8266 SBCs. I like the Link Sprite because it is case ready and has soldered-in headers for peripherals. The Link Sprite LinkNode R1 is essentially compatible with the Wemos D1 retired from a programming point of view. A video version of this blog is available on YouTube . A Simple Program for Relay Control This progr...