The Lolin32 Lite development board uses a ESP32 microcontroller and supports connecting an external LiIon/LiPo rechargeable battery. The battery can be charged through the USB-C connector. In combination with its low power consumption and small footprint, it is an ideal choice for use in portable devices.
Technical Details
| Item | Description |
|---|---|
| Memory | external 4MB Flash |
| Clock Speed | 240MHz |
| Charging | 500mA charging current, LTH7/HM4054H |
| Power Consumption | 45.4mA (normal), 1.28mA (sleep mode) |
| Internal LED | GPIO22 |
| Battery | LiIon/LiPo 3.7V |
| USB-to-TTL | CH340 |
| Size | 49.2x25.5mm |
| Weight | 6.6g |
Comparison Lolin32 Lite vs. Lolin32
The Lolin32 Lite development board is the smaller version of the Lolin32 development board. The latter has its JST 2.0 battery socket placed on the side rather than next to the USB connector.
The differences between Lolin32 Lite and Lolin32 are the smaller footprint of the Lite board, and as a consequence of its smaller size the lack of some pins: RX0, TX0, and 5V are not exposed. There is also just one GND pin (instead of five), and just one 3.3V pin (instead of three).
To further reduce the board size, it has a reset but no boot button. This turns out not to be a disadvantage though as the board reliably turns to firmware upload mode automatically when flashing it in Arduino IDE, platform.io, and ESPHome.
Lolin32 Lite specifically targets portable devices and focuses on a small footprint, rechargeable battery support (including charging), and the focus on 3.3V components only. There is no 5V pin, and its GPIOs are not 5V tolerant. The board receives power solely via a connected battery or its USB connector. While you can supply power via its 3.3V pin directly, this disables the built-in battery charger.
Lolin32 Lite should have more accurately be named Lolin32 Portable as it is just as powerful as Lolin32 and not at all a lite version, rather optimized for portable use.
Pins
The board has 26 pins.
When To Use
These are some reasons for choosing a Lolin32 Lite:
| Feature | Use Cases |
|---|---|
| Portable Device | comes with everything needed to hook up a LiIon/LiPo battery and has a small footprint |
| Price | The board is relatively cheap |
| 3.3V | You are planning to use 3.3V components and do not need 5V support |
Here are some reasons to choose a different board:
| Use Case | Recommendation |
|---|---|
| External Power | Cannot be operated with external 3.3V or 5V power supply (except via its USB connector) |
| 5V components | if you need to work with 5V components you want to consider a different board. |
Materials
Lolin Lite eBook
HM4054H Charger
LTH7R Charger (Chinese)
LTH7S Charger (Chinese)
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(content created May 15, 2024 - last updated Jul 16, 2024)