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

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By metalphreak
#14112 There are two versions of the ESP-07.

The first one is no longer being sold.

The second and current one is exactly the same as the ESP-12 except it has a ceramic SMD antenna AND an external antenna connector in place of the PCB one.

The ESP-12 has FCC certification (for real, AI-THINKER had it tested) but the ESP-07 currently does not. The external antenna connector is going to make FCC cert difficult.

ESP-07 and ESP-12 are likely to be the more popular ones, unless you want something more breadboard/jumperwire friendly (ie 0.1" header instead of 2mm).
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By Rocco
#14276 I'm partial to the ESP-07, while not breadboard friendly, the through-holes on the board nevertheless make it fairly easy to work with and there are a few breakout boards available for only a buck or two, which make it very convenient the same goes for the ESP-12 but the 07 gets my vote because I like having the option of an external antenna..

And speaking of antennae, what are the relative merits (if any) of the ceramic chip antenna vs printed circuit antenna from the point of view of the end user?
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By Simon
#14901 I started out with the ESP-12. I can see what you mean with it not being breadboard friendly, but after some soldering it is now "connectable" :)

Do you know of any good guides for setting up the different modules e.g. ESP-12 and also custom firmware? I have been searching and searching, but many guides are for ESP-01 (guess the basics are the same) and you usually get stuck during the process because when you encounter an error there is no immediate solution.

I also ran into some other issues when setting up the unit. I started a new post here, should you be able to help: viewtopic.php?f=13&t=2565#p14900