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SparkFun Thing Plus - ESP32 WROOM
The SparkFun ESP32 Thing Plus is the next step to get started with Espressif IoT ideations while still enjoying all the amenities of the original ESP32 Thing. Espressif's ESP32 WROOM is a powerful WiFi and Bluetooth MCU module that targets a wide variety of applications. At the core of this module is the ESP32-D0WDQ6 chip which is designed to be both scalable and adaptive. To make the Thing Plus even easier to use, we've moved a few pins around to make the board Feather compatible and it utilizes our handy Qwiic Connect System which means no soldering or shields are required to connect it to the rest of your system!
Why the name? We lovingly call it the “Thing” because it's the perfect foundation for your Internet of Things project. The Thing does everything from turning on an LED to posting data with your chosen platform, and can be programmed just like any microcontroller. You can even program the Thing through the Arduino IDE by installing the updated ESP32 Arduino Core.
The ESP32 Thing plus integrates a rich set of peripherals, ranging from capacitive touch sensors, Hall sensors, SD card interface, Ethernet, high-speed SPI, UART, I2S and I2C. Thanks to the onboard ESP32 WROOM module, the SparkFun Thing Plus features 16MB of flash memory, 520kB of internal SRAM, an integrated 802.11 BGN WiFi transceiver and dual-mode Bluetooth capabilities, and a JST connector to plug in a LiPo battery.
The SparkFun Qwiic Connect System is an ecosystem of I2C sensors, actuators, shields and cables that make prototyping faster and less prone to error. All Qwiic-enabled boards use a common 1mm pitch, 4-pin JST connector. This reduces the amount of required PCB space, and polarized connections mean you can’t hook it up wrong.
- Xtensa® dual-core 32-bit LX6 microprocessor
- Up to 240MHz clock frequency
- 16MB of flash storage
- 520kB internal SRAM
- Integrated 802.11 BGN WiFi transceiver
- Integrated dual-mode Bluetooth (classic and BLE)
- 3.0 to 3.6V operating range
- 21 GPIO
- 8-electrode capacitive touch support
- Hardware accelerated encryption (AES, SHA2, ECC, RSA-4096)
- 2.5 µA deep sleep current
- Schematic
- Eagle Files
- Hookup Guide
- Graphical Datasheet
- Datasheet (ESP32-WROOM-32E)
- Qwiic Connect System Info Page
- GitHub
SparkFun Thing Plus - ESP32 WROOM Product Help and Resources
TFT LCD Breakout 1.8in 128x160 Hookup Guide
April 11, 2019
This TFT LCD Breakout is a versatile, colorful, and easy way to experiment with graphics or create a user interface for your project.
SparkFun 9DoF IMU (ICM-20948) Breakout Hookup Guide
June 27, 2019
How to use the SparkFun 9DoF ICM-20948 breakout board for your motion sensing projects. This breakout is ideal for wearable sensors and IoT applications.
ESP32 Thing Plus Hookup Guide
March 7, 2019
Hookup guide for the ESP32 Thing Plus (Micro-B) using the ESP32 WROOM's WiFi/Bluetooth system-on-chip in Arduino.
Using Home Assistant to Expand Your Home Automations
May 9, 2019
An introduction to Home Assistant, an open source home automation hub.
SparkFun ESP32 DMX to LED Shield
March 28, 2019
Learn how to utilize your DMX to LED Shield in a variety of different ways.
Sending Sensor Data Over WiFi
January 16, 2022
This tutorial will show you how setup a simple peer-to-peer connection to send and receive sensor data between two ESP32 WiFi boards.
Thing Plus Dual-Port Logging Shield Hookup Guide
June 16, 2022
This tutorial shows you how to hook up and use the SparkFun Thing Plus Dual-Port Logging Shield.
Core Skill: Programming
If a board needs code or communicates somehow, you're going to need to know how to program or interface with it. The programming skill is all about communication and code.
Skill Level: Competent - The toolchain for programming is a bit more complex and will examples may not be explicitly provided for you. You will be required to have a fundamental knowledge of programming and be required to provide your own code. You may need to modify existing libraries or code to work with your specific hardware. Sensor and hardware interfaces will be SPI or I2C.
See all skill levels
Core Skill: Electrical Prototyping
If it requires power, you need to know how much, what all the pins do, and how to hook it up. You may need to reference datasheets, schematics, and know the ins and outs of electronics.
Skill Level: Rookie - You may be required to know a bit more about the component, such as orientation, or how to hook it up, in addition to power requirements. You will need to understand polarized components.
See all skill levels
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Customer Reviews
3.7 out of 5
Based on 7 ratings:
2 of 2 found this helpful:
Love the board with a few exceptions
This product is really easy to get up and running, and I love the additional features (lipo reg and charger). There are 3 gripes that I have though.
This board was clearly intended to have the option of being battery powered. With that in mind, it should be able to achieve a deep sleep current draw much closer to the spec. 1.) Board draws too much power, with the USB-2-Serial being the biggest draw in deep sleep. (4mA is the usb-serial IC) 2.5uA, as specified in the feature list, doesn't seem possible. 2) The Tx and Rx pins should have been broken out. That would allow for someone to pull the usb-2-serial IC off the board and still program it with a FTDI cable. 3) As someone else said, a power switch would be nice to have.
2 of 2 found this helpful:
Easy Intro to ESP32
The ESP32 is a powerful creature, but my skills aren't always up for the bleeding edge. So having the "ease of use" feature set and a reliable set of lib's are important to me. Got it running, sensing, and posting the data in minutes. Now i can start learning the rest at my own pace. Thanks!
2 of 3 found this helpful:
Great but need off-switch
I have it running (after following the directions) and even have QIIC connecting sensors and the OLED too. But I have to unplug the LIPO to turn it off. I would love an off switch on this. That is why 4/5 stars. Want another star--get me an off-switch ;-)
Great arduino upgrade. Feather footprint with quiic connector is awesome!
Great little upgrade to the arduino ecosystem and shield concept. The combination of wifi, the Adafruit Feather footprint, and quiic i2c ecosystem make this device pretty great.
Not sure if this device is capable of monitoring it's own battery like the genuine Adafruit products or not though.
Sparkfun needs more feather shields to make this board more useful though.
0 of 2 found this helpful:
Completely useless
Can not get my Macbook pro to recognize this board. I have spent hours looking for solutions and trying everything suggested to no avail. Complete waste of money!
Sorry to hear you're having trouble.Please post your symptoms and what you've tried in our ESP forum and our support team can look into what might be causing the problem for you.
I really like the QWIIC connector and that the pins match the Feather profile
But just wish it retained the same footprint as the feather. I was unable to fit it into the enclosure that I had selected for my project.
Its good!
I'm already buying my second one because this board makes it so easy to: 1) Connect to WiFi as a client or server 2) Use/charge a LiPo battery 3) Use QWIIC devices
What else could you want? Maybe having screw holes on both sides of the board and having a complete library (with analogWrite, ect). But that's it, get this board while you can!
What kind of current draw can be expected in deep sleep when using a lipo on this board?
I just measured this earlier this week when I created the Home Assistant tutorial. I was measuring around 5mA in deep sleep.
Thank you, Alex. Great tutorial and I appreciate the information. As some feedback, USB to Serial IC is 4-5 mA of the deep sleep current. I ended up measuring 5-6 mA in deep sleep prior to pulling the IC. I was still measuring 1-2mA in deep sleep. I found that switching to EXT1 as the wake-up source, from EXT0, reduced the current draw to > 133uA in deep sleep, I need a better DMM to get a better measurement.
You guys may want to remove the "feature" of "2.5uA deep sleep current," that doesn't seem possible on the board, and I don't think the spec for the ESP32 even goes that low.
Is it possible to power the board with two AA batteries, using the JST connector?
The 2 pin JST is a lipo cell connection with charging capabilities for lipo cells only, so no, would not work for two AA batteries. Lipo cells are relatively inexpensive and don't need to be changed... and come in a variety of capacities.