Mode Zero

Saw these cheap on AliExpress (about £3.30 each including shipping), and bought three to try out. They have the 'servo-style' connectors that we like for our projects. Interestingly, the red, 'V' pins are all joined together, but are not connected to the board VCC - rather they are connected to the board Vin (unregulated voltage input) pin present on one of the two white connectors. This is a good thing: the chip runs at 3.3V, and the acceptable range of voltage in is 5-10V. So we can connect normal model ESC/BEC and servos to the pins and everything works fine - the servos are happy to work with a 3.3 V signal, even though their 'power' pin is receiving the usual 5V.

The ESP8285 is basically an ESP8266 with extra flash memory, so it has the usual ESP8266 features of built-in WiFi and Bluetooth, plus much faster operating speed and much more memory than the ATmega chips on 'normal' Arduinos. You can still program them using the Arduino IDE though.

What are you going to make with them?

Shaun

It can act as a WiFi hotspot. So connect to it with your phone or tablet, and its webpage(s) will allow you to control the servos connected to it. I'll need to carefully test the range before possibly risking a plane flight, but it should be okay for a boat or car. If it's usable, I'll add some security like a WiFi password to prevent others connecting to it and interfering with the control.

To test out the servo drive routines and the WiFi connection, I designed and 3D-printed this little clock.
It connects to WiFi, gets the correct local time from an internet time server, and drives the hands using two of those cheapy 9-gram servos. Total parts cost less than ten pounds.

It doesn't send a signal to the servos most of the time, so they just sit idle drawing hardly any current, and experiencing no wear. Once per minute it briefly sends a signal to the minute hand servo to move it to the next minute, and once every twelve minutes to the hour hand servo to move it one sixtieth of a revolution. When the hands get to twelve, they have to sweep back anticlockwise one revolution ready to start over. The extra noise from the servos actually moving serves as an hourly (plus noon and midnight) 'chime'.

I'll tidy up the code over the next couple of days, and then upload the STL files and the Arduino sketch in case anyone fancies making one.

It'll never fly , but clever and I am curious - how about a quick vid of it assembled showing the innards working eh Martin?

Here you go, Wayne.

Martin, once again you have gone a step further than most of us, hat off, very impressive.
So perfect so it looks easy and simple bit in reality proof of an amazing craftsmanship & knowledge.

Cheers Martin

Hope to see you at Ponte

Yes, an excellent project

Simple?

Simply bloomin amazin lad

Prints extremely well with all tolerances on the proper side also the long "shaft" for which I would have considered a dowel pin, once again well done.
Time to deep dive in the good to have stuff box as I'm sure there are suitable servos and one or two ESP8285 but not the Strong Bord however I have regular ESP8266 boards, would this be the right settings? Would you just use the standard settings that comes up?