Use this forum to chat about hardware specific topics for the ESP8266 (peripherals, memory, clocks, JTAG, programming)

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By bkenobi
#72445 I have a box of old mobile phone chargers that I held onto for future projects. I was wondering if ESP-based projects would work. Without listing specifics of each unit, they are generally 5v mini usb but a couple are different connectors (1 is 5.9v). Most are fairly low current (50mA-750mA).

ESP is supposed to be ideal for low power battery use, so I was figuring unless a component added to the project was picky, these would work.
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By rudy
#72446 The average current is low. But use a 3.3 volt regulator that is rated for 500 mA. If you are using a board that has a regulator then you of course you don't need to worry about that. The ESP8266 can draw 400 mA for a short period on startup when it is going through a calibration.
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By bkenobi
#72448 I am planning on using D1 mini's which have micro usb inputs. I could also connect to Vin instead since the connector on my power supplies generally won't match. If the ESP needs 400mA 3.3v, how would I know what 5 current would suffice?
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By btidey
#72449 That board uses a linear regulator from 5V to 3.3V so the current requirement from 5V is just about the same e as needed for 3.3V.

There is a little extra current needed for the on-board USN/serial interface but 500mA should be fine. As mentioned the average current draw will be significantly less.