A page of microcontrollers, sensors and other hardware that I’ve bought. I’ve listed the projects where an item has been used so if you have something in the list you can find a project to use it for.
Some of the purchase links are affiliate links where I earn a small commission if the item is bought. The actual price of the item is identical if you buy from my link or find the item on the website directly.
Microcontrollers
NodeMcu ESP8266 Development Board
I used versions of this board in lots of tests and projects like:
ESP8266 Fan Speed Control with DS18B20 Temperature Sensor
ESP8266 Sending Data Over Wi-Fi to another ESP8266
ESP8266 and BME280 Temp, Pressure and Humidity Sensor over SPI
Solar Peltier Mini Air Conditioner Experiment
BUY FROM: AliExpress | eBay
Arduino UNO
This version of the UNO has male and female connectors for the pins. It can make it easier when you are low on Dupont connectors. Used in this projects:
Arduino UNO with Ai-Thinker RA-02 SX1278 LoRa Module
Arduino Uno with NEO GPS and OLED
BUY FROM: eBay
LOLIN D32 V1.0.0
ESP32 based development board. Used for various tests but not in a project yet.
BUY FROM: AliExpress
Heltec Wifi 8266
An ESP8266 with a built-in OLED
Used in the following projects: ESP8266 Built-in OLED – Heltec WiFi Kit 8
BUY FROM: AliExpress | Amazon
Heltec Wifi32
An ESP32 with a built in OLED. Very easy to set up and use and you can see what’s happening without connecting to a serial monitor
Used in the following project: ESP32 Built-in OLED – Heltec WiFi Kit 32
BUY FROM: AliExpress | Amazon
14 pin Arduino Pro Mini
I bought this because I thought it looked interesting. Not used it yet.
BUY FROM: AliExpress
Sensors
BME280 I2C Temperature Humidity Pressure Sensor
Used in these projects:
ESP8266 and BME280 Temp, Pressure and Humidity Sensor over SPI
ESP8266 with two BME280 Sensors over SPI
Solar Peltier Mini Air Conditioner Experiment
BUY FROM: AliExpress | AdaFruit | Amazon
Ai-Thinker Ra-02 LoRa Module 433
Easier to use (no soldering) of the module used in this project: Arduino UNO with Ai-Thinker RA-02 SX1278 LoRa Module
BUY FROM: AliExpress
PIR Motion Sensor
Used in this project: PIR Movement Detector with a 3v Mosfet Relay
BUY FROM: AliExpress
Power
Adjustable Volts Step-Down Power Supply 5-23V 3A
These are pretty good if you need something small on the bench to power projects at different voltages. The one below allows you to control the current.
BUY FROM: AliExpress | eBay
Adjustable Volts and Amps Step Down Power Supply
This PSU allows you to control the amps as well as the volts. I use it with a 19v laptop PSU to power projects and charger supercapacitors for testing.
Protected 18650 Cells
I bought these because they are safer than using unprotected cells recovered from a laptop
BUY FROM: AliExpress
USB Volt Amp Meter
These are great for seeing how much power a microcontroller is using when it runs specific code. For example you can see a jump in current when an ESP32 connects to WiFi.
BUY FROM: AliExpress
10W Solar Panel
Used in this project: 5A Lithium MPPT Solar Charger Set Up Instructions
BUY FROM: AliExpress
Screens
96×68 inch HX1230 LCD Screen
I think these are an improved version of the classic Nokia screen. Not tried it yet.
BUY FROM: AliExpress
128 x128 Color Screen SPI Arduino
This screen plugs straight into the pins on the bigger Arduinos
BUY FROM: AliExpress
128×64 OLED Module
These screens are great. Very bright and lots of libraries available.
Used in these projects: ESP8266 Sending Data Over Wi-Fi to another ESP8266 Arduino Uno with NEO GPS and OLED
BUY FROM: AliExpress
Other Items
HDMI VGA DVI Audio LCD Controller
I used with a recovered screen from a broken netbook to use as a monitor for my Raspberry Pi
BUY FROM: AliExpress
Mini Breadboards
These are great when you have a few components floating about and want to connect them in groups.
BUY FROM: AliExpress
CT14 Amplifier Bluetooth Module
Very cheap way to add Bluetooth audio to a project. Used in these two projects:
Raspberry Pi Zero W Bluetooth Speaker Connection Voice
Face Recognition Raspberry Pi Zero Party Greeter
BUY FROM: AliExpress | eBay | ICStation