The first step in starting with microcontrollers is choosing an appropriate development board. A development board is a ready-to-use PCB with a specific microcontroller and all necessary peripherals (like USB connectors, UART, crystal, and power supply).
Choosing a Microcontroller Board
Your microcontroller board should be easy to use, especially when you are new to microcontrollers. Consider these aspects:
- Popular: Choose a microcontroller type that is popular in the community. This ensures you can find plenty of example code, good advice, and documentation. The two most popular options are Arduinos and the ESP32 family of microcontrollers.
- Future-Proof: Make sure the board is powerful enough and has sufficient memory. While most boards can run basic blink sketches, you’ll quickly need more capability for advanced projects. Additionally, the board’s voltage regulator must handle connected sensors and peripherals. When comparing ESP32 and Arduinos, it becomes clear that ESP32 boards are far more powerful and future-proof than typical Arduino boards.
- Affordable: Instead of spending €10-20 on a single branded Arduino board, you can buy 10-20 ESP32 boards for the same cost from AliExpress. Boards may get damaged during experiments, or you may want to dedicate boards to specific projects. Having spares is highly recommended.
ESP32 Works Best
The clear recommendation is to avoid getting an Arduino. Instead, start with an ESP32 board. Here is why:
- Easier: When Arduinos first appeared, they were renowned for their ease of use. However, Arduino is not a microcontroller but a company name. Over time, various Arduino board types have emerged, using different microcontrollers and pin layouts. Today, getting an Arduino code example to work can be frustrating: you may need extra drivers, pin configuration changes, and more. In contrast, the ESP32 family of microcontrollers is much easier to use.
- Affordable: Arduino boards are often overpriced, with branded models costing €20-30. By comparison, ESP32 boards offer much more memory, faster processors, and built-in wireless capabilities at a fraction of the cost.
- Same Toolchain: Both Arduinos and ESP32 use the same toolchains. If you prefer the ArduinoIDE to write firmware, you can use it for either board.
- Better Examples and Projects: The ESP32 ecosystem has extensive support, with projects like ESPHome for firmware development and integration with Home Assistant for smart home automation. Similarly, WLED provides tools to control LED strips directly with an ESP32. Arduinos often miss out on these modern capabilities.
One reason ESP32 is superior may be its origins in the smart device industry. Originally designed for professional hardware producers, ESP32 microcontrollers are affordable and frequently updated. Arduino, by contrast, is a private company that struggled to stay modern after its early success.
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Another option is the ESP8266. Don’t buy it. It is the ESP32’s predecessor, and today you can get a ESP32 for the same price. ESP32 boards are faster, have more memory, and use better peripherals. ESP8266 boards were also notorious for poor voltage regulators, leading to instability when peripherals were connected.
Recommended ESP32 Development Boards
One of the best beginner boards is the ESP32 C3 SuperMini: it is highly affordable (around €1.50 on AliExpress), easy to handle, and small enough to fit on a breadboard. It features 4MB flash memory, WiFi and Bluetooth, and a programmable on-board LED, making it perfect for entry-level and advanced projects. This board uses the new ESP32-C3 microcontroller, which is single-core. While not as fast as classic ESP32 boards, it is much faster than most Arduino boards and sufficient for most projects.
Another excellent beginner option is the T-Display LilyGO board, often available for under €5 on AliExpress. It features a classic dual-core ESP32, capable of handling compute-intensive tasks and compatible with the vast ESP32 ecosystem. It includes a color display, two programmable buttons, and a LiIon battery connector, making it ideal for portable and wireless battery-powered projects. While its deep sleep power consumption is not the lowest, you can reduce it to below 300uA, which is excellent for general use.
Where To Buy
Don’t hesitate to buy from sources like AliExpress. Prices are lower because you buy almost directly from manufacturers, avoiding middlemen.
When shopping on Amazon, eBay, or local dealers, you may pay substantially higher prices for the same boards.
AliExpress affordability stems from factors like fewer middlemen and less strict quality control. Based on experience, about 1 in 300 boards may have a defect or poor soldering. To account for this, purchase in bulk (packs of 5 or 10). Even when a single board should be defective, you will still save significantly compared to buying single boards at a national (re)seller.
Next Steps
Once you’ve selected and purchased a microcontroller board, the next step is connecting it to your PC via USB cable, then programming it.
Connect the Board to Your PC
Regardless of whether you plan to write firmware or use pre-made firmware, the first step is to connect your microcontroller board to your PC via USB. Verify that your PC recognizes the board.
Firmware
Once your board is connected, you can upload firmware. Firmware basically is the software program that runs on a microcontroller.
Pre-Made Firmware via Browser Upload
If you chose an ESP32 board, you don’t need to write firmware yourself. Here are two examples of pre-made ESP32 firmware that can be uploaded directly from your browser:
- WLED: Visit install.wled.me to install WLED firmware. It lets you control programmable LED strips or matrix displays.
- ESPHome: Visit web.esphome.io to install ESPHome firmware. With ESPHome, you can create firmware using simple text configurations and upload it wirelessly to your ESP32 board.
For more options, explore additional pre-made firmware.
Pre-made firmware must match your microcontroller type. That’s why above examples work for ESP32 boards but cannot be used on Arduino.
Programming Your Own Firmware
If you have programming skills or sample code, you can use a development environment to compile the source code into firmware. Once compiled, the firmware can be uploaded to your microcontroller.
During compilation, you specify the target microcontroller type. That’s why source code originally written for Arduino can be compiled to run on an ESP32 as well.
If the source code uses hard-coded GPIO pins, you may need to adjust the pin numbers to match your microcontroller. While microcontrollers are abstracted by development tools, specific pin numbers and layouts can differ.
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(content created May 20, 2024 - last updated Dec 15, 2024)