6Pcs ESP32 D1 Mini NodeMCU D1 Board MH-ET Live MiniKit for ESP32 WiFi Module Bluetooth Internet of Development Board Based ESP8266 Fully Functional with Pins for WeMos D1 DIY Kit

These are absolutely rock solid. I actually wish I could buy them in bigger quantities for a better discount, even though $5 apiece isn't bad at all.Out of the forty of these I have purchased, not one of them was DOA. To program them from the Arduino IDE, you have to install Espressif ESP32 support. Use "AI-Thinker ESP32-CAM" or "ESP32 Dev Module" as the board in the Arduino IDE, and it'll program perfectly. The "worst part" is that Windows assigns a new COM port number to each board you connect, so it can be a little awkward to figure out which one is the right one - this is a Windows problem, not a problem with these boards. I haven't had any problem at all with them being detected by Windows or Linux. I haven't had any interest in programming them in Micro Python so have no suggestions for doing so.These are actually ESP32s. The vendor's description is a little confusing by saying it is ESP32 and ESP8266. They use the ESP-WROOM-32 module. They use the same pin footprint as the ESP8266 version of the D1 Mini - the eight pins marked with the white bar on the silkscreen have the same general functions and spacing as the ESP8266 D1 Mini. 5v, 3v3, Ground, Rx/Tx, RST are the same pins, and the remaining pins are GPIO pins (albeit different GPIO numbers).I have done a lot with home automation (at home and at the small business I work for), creating my own devices, saving quite a bit of money in the process. I have had a lot of fun with serially-addressable LED strips (WS2812). I am building a wheelchair bot, using two of these as the "brains," and one of them in the remote control. I have created a HUD in my vehicle, and am able to lock and unlock the car doors via Bluetooth or WiFi. I created an access control system for a local makerspace, allowing general members to connect via WiFi to the ESP and activate the electronic lock when a managing member is present. These are beautifully capable with a high clock speed and a nice amount of flash and RAM available. With many of my projects I feel like I'm underutilizing them, since they are capable of much more - but for the price, I don't feel like I'm wasting money when I only use one or two GPIOs. The ONLY functional problem I have had with these, which frustrated me for a bit, is that the ESP WiFi radio overloads PIR sensors, making them constantly false-detect movement when they're put into a small case - separating them by about three feet resolves the problem.I prefer these over other ESP modules because they are the smallest form factor with access to more GPIOs than any single project has needed and they are reliably 5v tolerant (two devices have been running constantly with 5v sensors connected and no level translation for 18+ months). I have a large collection of 5-volt devices, so really don't want to have to switch to 3v3 yet. These fit perfectly into 3/4 inch or larger PVC electrical pull conduit bodies, which is a cheap and easy way to make projects portable, protected, and even waterproof, and I can pick those up at the local home improvement store.I bought some 2x10 DuPont connector housings, which are great for making cable connections to the other components these will interface with (using the wire and DuPont cable terminals I also have). I made a couple of cables specifically for breadboarding that I reuse when I finish a design and make it permanent. I almost always solder pins to the side with Vcc and ground next to each other, and attach pins on the other side when occasionally needed.

ESP32 Cam is an amazing hobby cam for many applications. I really like the versatility and small form factor of this board. The companion MB board makes programming and powering the cam very easy, and is essential for some of my projects.I do have one tip to share, is that there are 3 GND pins, however if one is labeled GND/R (above the Flash LED), do not ground this, the chip will not boot. Especially important if you are making a PCB.

Let me say first off, this board wouldnt be as good without great software support. To all the programmers and devs that have made sofrware for this, thank you.Finding code for this board was easy... literally... easy_target on github. Uploading the code was easy, download the arduino IDE, get the board definitions, download and unzip the code. Double click code, it moves the sketch into a folder named sketches, move the rest of the files into the same folder. Set the settings for the board specifics, and click upload, and it works. Just works, like magic.I didnt expect much from the ov2640 cameras considering Ive tried processing on other esp32 boards and even if next to an AP you cant expect much throughput off the PCB antenna trace. These do OK at this actually, 5-10 meters from the router you can get 3-5 FPS at 800x600 resolution, raise the resolution up and you run into processor limitations. Add an external antenna (not the bingfu ones other sellers package them with, signal declines with them) and you get up to 10 fps at the same distances.The lenses themselves are a miracle on their own but if you get the 160 FOV one it gets crazy. You can clearly see things 90 degrees to the right of the camera module. so 20 for 3 pcs here+ the suggested stuff bought with it and you get a fairly good security camera.All the images have a... nostolgic quality to them, like watching a vacuum tube television, I imagine its the glass in the lense but who knows, looks great, less filling.All in all Espressif outdid themselves with this design, and I cant wait to check out some of their newer chips.