Most economical board

Hello all,

I am attempting to use blynk in combination with a mini board to toggle multi channel relays via Bluetooth/WiFi connectivity. This will hopefully turn on/off a few motors and led lighting with a few sensors and sounds. Just tried RPi zero w but ran into a few road blocks as there is no Bluetooth support for those devices. What is the most economical and time friendly hardware device that you guys have experience with. Thank you. You are life savers

https://nl.aliexpress.com/item/V3-4-M-bytes-32-Mbits-FLASH-Lua-NodeMcu-placa-de-desarrollo-de-Redes-WIFI-Basado/32711244582.html?spm=2114.13010608.0.0.c3S3VZ
Most people like the esp8266 because is great an cheap.

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Watch out for boards with the ESP32 chipset (e.g. the Wemos LOLIN32 breakout). They come with
Bluetooth, BLE, Wifi plus a LiPo interface :slight_smile:

This is my first project of this type using boards like these. I’d like to utilize Bluetooth over WiFi with access to both.

The ESP32 could be a good option BUT, at the moment the board is not very friendly… for example analogWrite is not implemented and for me it’s really painful…
Read carefully what you can/can’t do before buying this kind of boards or you will be disapointed…

The WeMos mini D1 is really a good option.
HTH

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Can’t go wrong with an esp8266 they almost free :stuck_out_tongue:

Cant beat free haha, I see the 8266 is WiFi only. Do you have experience with a Bluetooth addon that works with blynk + esp8266 in tandem

I’d like to have toggle features for a multi channel relay with sensors, physical toggles, and blynk remote app switches. prioritizing Bluetooth over WiFi connectivity with access to both.

Thank you

Your current Blynk options are:

App ← BT/BLE (direct link) → Hardware (App still needs internet for account login)

Or…

App ← WiFi/internet/network → Server (Cloud or Local) ← WiFi/internet/network → Hardware

Not both.

Is it possible yo have two tokens to one hardware device and create a blynk remote for each version. They would be identical and controlling the same pins but one token over Bluetooth and one token over WiFi.

If not it would good to have an available option for either if the hardware and blynk in combination is limited to one at a time.

I tried testing the blynk app on RPi Zero W, it failed miserably as Bluetooth is not supported (as of yet)
I noticed that if you get into the settings of your blynk project > Project settings > Devices > connection type

There is an option for changing connection type to WiFi, Ethernet, Bluetooth, etc… without changing the token. Unsure if this could pan out or be a viable option with these devices

Honing in and settling on esp8266, does anybody have recommendations for a solid Bluetooth add on that works with both blynk and the 8266. On the latest android of that matters

use omega 2 plus,

Omega is pricier after all things considered.

Excuse me if its an amateurish question, haha. Might settle on 8266 or esp32. Still trying to get the best of both worlds with Bluetooth and/or WiFi, that’s proven to work with blynk

Unfortunately, due resourses, I am stuck in the past with my Arduinos and USB link (Next time Gadget, next time)… but I do a lot of reading and even some support here in the forum with the ESP boards, so here is my two bits.

Most any ESP8266 based (Wemos, NodeMCU, etc) seems the best choice! FULL support and good reliability.

ESP32 support appears to still be a work in progress?.. or just not mentioned as much? IDK.

And BT/BLE is still BETA from all appearances and possibly least reliable? I have tried it many times… but had much better short and long term functionality from USB than BT/BLE, so I wouldn’t recomend it for much more than novelty.

Oh, and perhaps stay away from many of these specialty “hybrid” or “Do it all” boards… e.g. Arduino UNO WiFi, Robotdyn Mega WiFi, at least as a beginner.

constrained and trying to stick to a budget as much as possible as well haha. Went with RPi Zero W first go around but failed to establish a stable bluetooth connection (among a myriad of other problems) and might have to salvage for other uses.
ESP8266 seems to be the best fit, but will have to look further into adding other modules. Was looking forward to working with ESP32s, gaining traction but lack of mentions does leave a sense of uncertainty in my mouth.

Wifi is definitely the go to as far as what many people think of when hearing IoT, but after snooping I found a list of supported BLE hardware. I wouldnt say bluetooth is a novelty, but it serves it purpose and would be an added benefit on top of wifi. still not exactly sure how the blynk app communicates with the connected hardware when switching out Connection types (ie wifi, ethernet, bluetooth, ble, etc)
Its an added layer of complexity but something that would add to the user experience in the long run.

The beginner boards, arduino and rp is what hooks people in and makes it user friendly at least on paper haha. Its just after tinkering and putting hours in that customizing it to your personal or the projects liking that make it seem easier haha

Bluetooth is a short-range, point-to-point communication protocol, no network involved, therefore it will not work with Blynk in the same way you can over a WiFi/Internet connection. However the same project could include both protocols - [Project]WiFi <–> Blynk <–> Android, and [Project]BT <–> Android. You would be providing two different ways to get to your Android device. The HC05 series modules are built to present a serial-terminal interface to your project so that once your serial terminal communication works, you can replace the cable with an HC05 on your project and whatever BT capability the other end has (Android’s built-in BT in your case). Your project could manage both in parallel if you choose to, but they are two distinct and separate channels.

would not mind doing some minor configuration and installation of the hardware over usb cable/network but am choosing bluetooth to control the blynk app because it is local with direct communication. still untested on my side but aiming to have an option of both as the blynk app has menu settings where you can switch up the connection type (ethernet, wifi, ble, bluetooth, etc), not all at the same time of course.

looking into hc-05 and other chips. do you have a link to authentic modules. hear they may be some fake chips getting around haha

Are you in the US? I bought all of mine (5, in 3 orders) from Virtuabotix. (They sell on Amazon too but Amazon says they’re out of stock at the moment.)

In Texas, America. Might try my hand on the esp8266 + HM10