ESP32 Thing Plus Hookup Guide

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Contributors: Ell C, jimblom, Alex the Giant
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Introduction

The SparkFun ESP32 Thing Plus and the SparkFun ESP32 Thing Plus U.FL enjoy all the amenities of the ESP32 Thing, but with a few added sparkles. We've lengthened the board just a bit to accommodate a Qwiic connector for all your Qwiic breakout needs. We've also moved a few pins around to make the board compatible with the Adafruit Huzzah32 – ESP32 Feather Board such that you can use all of those lovely shields available out there! The ESP32 Thing plus also integrates a rich set of peripherals, ranging from capacitive touch sensors, SD card interface, Ethernet, high-speed SPI, UART, I2S and I2C.

SparkFun Thing Plus - ESP32 WROOM (Micro-B)

SparkFun Thing Plus - ESP32 WROOM (Micro-B)

WRL-15663
$22.50
13
SparkFun Thing Plus - ESP32 WROOM (U.FL)

SparkFun Thing Plus - ESP32 WROOM (U.FL)

WRL-17381
$22.50
11

With Espressif's ESP32 comprehensive development platform, Bluetooth low-energy support (i.e BLE, BT4.0, Bluetooth Smart), and nearly 30 I/O pins, these boards are jam packed with possibilities!

Not Yet Implemented: The Arduino core for the ESP32 microcontroller are still a work in progress. There are a handful of peripherals and features that have yet to be implemented, including:

The peripherals are available (if, also, still in their infancy) in the IoT Development Framework for the ESP32. If your application requires any of the features above, consider giving the ESP-IDF a try! (Updated: June 2022.)

Required Materials

Note: For the ESP32 Thing Plus U.FL, external antenna hardware is required. We offer various antennas options.

Much of the ESP32 Thing Plus's functionality can be used by simply powering the board. To do so, you'll need a Micro-B USB Cable. The ESP32 Thing Plus's USB interface can be used to both power and program the chip. Once you're done programming the chip, a 5V Micro-B USB Wall Adapter can be used to power the board.

Wall Adapter Power Supply - 5VDC, 2A (USB Micro-B)

Wall Adapter Power Supply - 5VDC, 2A (USB Micro-B)

TOL-15311
$6.50
USB Micro-B Cable - 6"

USB Micro-B Cable - 6"

CAB-13244
$2.10
3
USB Wall Charger - 5V, 1A (Black)

USB Wall Charger - 5V, 1A (Black)

TOL-11456
$4.50
2
Electrolytic Decoupling Capacitors - 100uF/25V

Electrolytic Decoupling Capacitors - 100uF/25V

COM-00096
$0.45

As an alternative power source, the ESP32 Thing Plus includes support for single-cell lithium-polymer (LiPo) batteries, which plug into the board's white 2-pin JST connector. LiPos are perfect for projects on-the-go, or those that just need a little extra umph. The board includes a LiPo charger -- the rechargeable batteries can be juiced back up by plugging the Thing Plus into a 5V USB source.

Lithium Ion Battery - 400mAh

Lithium Ion Battery - 400mAh

PRT-13851
$5.50
11
Lithium Ion Battery - 850mAh

Lithium Ion Battery - 850mAh

PRT-13854
$10.95
2
Lithium Ion Battery - 2Ah

Lithium Ion Battery - 2Ah

PRT-13855
$13.95
9

Lithium Ion Battery - 1Ah

PRT-13813
8 Retired

Should you wish to make use of the board's qwiic functionality, you'll need a qwiic cable:

Qwiic Cable - 50mm

Qwiic Cable - 50mm

PRT-14426
$0.95
Qwiic Cable - 100mm

Qwiic Cable - 100mm

PRT-14427
$1.50

Qwiic Cable - 500mm

PRT-14429
1 Retired

Qwiic Cable - 200mm

PRT-14428
Retired

Tools

To take advantage of the ESP32 Thing Plus's 28 external pins, you will need a soldering iron, solder, and general soldering accessories.

Break Away Headers - Straight

Break Away Headers - Straight

PRT-00116
$1.75
20
Solder Lead Free - 100-gram Spool

Solder Lead Free - 100-gram Spool

TOL-09325
$9.95
8
Feather Stackable Header Kit

Feather Stackable Header Kit

PRT-15187
$1.75

Weller WLC100 Soldering Station

TOL-14228
2 Retired

Suggested Reading

It may look intimidating, but the ESP32 Thing Plus -- especially when you take advantage of its Arduino compatibility -- is a perfect IoT foundation for electronics users of all experience levels. There are, however, a few concepts you should be familiar with before venturing further into this tutorial. If any of the concepts below sound foreign to you, consider reading through that tutorial first:

How to Solder: Through-Hole Soldering

This tutorial covers everything you need to know about through-hole soldering.

Serial Communication

Asynchronous serial communication concepts: packets, signal levels, baud rates, UARTs and more!

How to Power a Project

A tutorial to help figure out the power requirements of your project.

What is an Arduino?

What is this 'Arduino' thing anyway? This tutorials dives into what an Arduino is and along with Arduino projects and widgets.

Three Quick Tips About Using U.FL

Quick tips regarding how to connect, protect, and disconnect U.FL connectors.