The ESP32 WROOM
is the heart of our self-made development board.
Are you often working with standard ESP32 development boards and tired of dealing with separate components to fix the shortcomings of this board every time? Look no further!
We have removed all limitations and creates a development board that is fully equipped with all conveniences:
Choice of power supply
You can power the Nexus development board in the following ways:
- A standard 5 Volt adapter / phone charger
- Any solar panel with an input of 6.5V to 12V @ 1 Watt
- A battery (LiPo or Li-ion)
The battery connection features 'load sharing,' so when a charger is connected, the battery is disconnected from the Nexus. This prevents simultaneous charging and discharging of the battery, contributing to the battery's lifespan. Additionally, you can software-select the charging current to 500mAh or 1000mAh. Super convenient!
Standard additional sensors
ADS1015 (analog to digital)
Since most standard ESP32 development boards inaccurately display analog signals (in practice, 0.1V per step), the Nexus includes an additional ADS1015 chip. Two inputs are made available for this purpose, allowing you to make analog measurements with a resolution of 12 bits (0.0008V per step). A significant improvement!
The other two inputs of the ADS1015 are reserved for the LUX header (or another sensor of your choice) and measuring the voltage on any connected battery.
INA219 (current sensor)
To be economical with the battery and energy in general, a current sensor (INA219) is also built-in. This sensor measures voltage and current and is connected to the I2C bus. With this, you can precisely determine the power consumption of your project.
Optocouplers (solid-state relays)
Often, something needs to be switched on or off. For small currents, you can directly use the built-in optocouplers. These are electrically separated from the development board, allowing you to switch 2 external devices up to 48 volts. For heavy power consumers like an electric heater, an external relay is needed but can be safely controlled with the optocouplers.
Handy headers
The headers with I2C and the 1Wire protocol are ready for use; the required pull-up and pull-down resistors have already been added. There is also a header for LEDs with resistors; it's your choice whether to connect an RGB LED or three separate ones. There is a separate header to connect a USB-Serial converter for code uploading. Furthermore, the board has additional outputs for 3.3V and GND. All other (usable) pins also have an easily accessible location.
