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by titanomachy 3285 days ago
This article referenced the ESP8266 (specifically NodeMCU configuration) as a cheap alternative for WiFi IOT projects that don't warrant the Pi's complexity. I've played with this chip and was pleasantly surprised how easy it was to get it working. The bare chips can be had for a couple of dollars, or $15 for a development board which supports USB flashing.

Don't cheap out on the dev board, the cheapest ones use a shitty USB-serial chip and it was a headache to get the drivers working. The adafruit one worked out of the box.
1 comments
Cymen 3285 days ago
I really love the Wemos D1 mini. It fits in a standard breadboard with space for a row of pins on each side. It's only $4 plus shipping from Wemos:

https://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/D1-mini-Mini-NodeMc...

For anyone thinking about trying ESP8266 programming, it's a great way to start. For my one-of projects, I just put a whole D1 mini in and don't worry about trying to optimize it to less components (why bother at $4/board?). Just order at least a handful as shipping is slow.

link