The reason I am doing this is to convert the 3v3 UART lines to RS232 levels without using a MAX chip. Not ideal for TX, but works fine. Using the circuit below (top part):
The cap in series with resistor from TTL (NodeMCU) TXD to VCC works. But then I have to always power cycle to reset so that cap can discharge.
My real question is why does the device not boot into program when TXD0 is LOW.