ESP32 Development Board Max V1.0 Compatible with Arduino, USB-C, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, MicroPython Compatible, Single Board Computer Suitable for Building Mini PC/Smart Robot/Game Console (QA009)

I do like this board very much. While I give this ESP32 Development board a 5 star rating, I do want to call out some important facts before you get carried away by its Uno form factor.What's good about this board?-----------------------------------1. You can avoid a bread board to make your project to connect your ESP32 and just use jumper wires and connect your components2. You can avoid a power module like the HW-131 as it is inbuilt in this board3. The included USB-C cable and port seem to provide enough power to a couple of devices like a 1602 LCD, and some LEDs to test them out even as you are programming on the computer.4. You get all the other benefits of ESP32 like Wifi, BLE, FreeRTOS, esp-idf etc. and the Dev Board is pretty inexpensive considering all those5. You can use the Arduino IDE (well, you know that already) if you do not want keep your project within the confines of the setup() and loop() functions.What you might be easily overlook about this board when you get carried away by its Uno form factor?---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------While the form factor and pin layout are exactly (well I couldn't spot any differences in my examples) identical to the Arduino Uno board, the similarity ends there. You cannot reliably use any shields made for the Arduino Uno board with this ESP32 development board as the logic high voltage is only ~3.3v, whereas Arduino Uno board (and its siblings like the Arduino Mega) gives ~5v and some of those shields expect ~5v to work correctly.Attached is a picture an Arduino Multi-function shield (HW-262) which I tried to use with this ESP32 board. As soon as I connected this shield on this ESP32 Dev Board and powered it up, the buzzer started going. I hadn't written any sketches or programs yet. I tried to power off the buzzer with a simple sketch but it never worked. All pins looked good on both the board and the shield. The buzzer didn't start going when I put this shield on an Arduino Mega board. And then when I measured the voltages, I understood that unless pin 3 of this shield is given somewhere ~5v (or even ~4.29v from what I checked on an Arduino Mega), the Q1 transistor on this shield (2N3906) was going to keep the buzzer "on" all the time. In my case Pin 26 of the ESP32 was putting out ~3.6v to keep the buzzer off (which I failed as it was woefully less). And since the operating voltage of ESP32 chips is only 3.3v, this board is not going to put 4.29v or 5v ever, and the buzzer can never be shut off. Cutting some pins, changing some soldering on the shield, shorting the 4.7k R9 resistor etc., were not going to bump up the logic high voltage ever. Just keep that in mind based on your projects and Arduino shields you may have in mind to tie with this ESP32 Dev Board with. I had no problem working the LEDs on the same shield though. I also wrote some ESP-IDF code to connect via wifi to my router, and sync the onboard RTC with an NTP server etc. which worked great.

this is a good little ESP board if you are getting started and don't want to solder. easy to hook up to the device with your peripherals. I use mine for WLED projects and it works great, no issues

Used two of these boards to run a Wi-Fi server which logged data from I2C current draw sensors and run some servos with a HAT. Boards function, but I could not get them to automatically upload a program with either Arduino IDE or PlatformIO. I had to manually connect the GPIO0 '00' pin to a ground to get both of the boards to program. This can be somewhat annoying if you have a HAT on top of the board, as a standard Arduino HAT does not connect to the '00' or '02' pins on the board.Aside from the programming issue, these seem to be good budget ESP32 boards with an Arduino form factor to use with Arduino HATs.

I rarely do this, write a review without first using or testing a product, but I wanted to address the reviews that say the board has poor documentation, I don't know where they were looking? If you go to the company website, click on Tutorials link, at the bottom of the page there are links for this and other boards made by the company, click the link for this board and it takes you to a "wiki" page with all the info you will need!Also, the board is same form factor as Arduino Uno R3, can be used with the Arduino IDE, and has many more connection pins, including pinouts for several small 3 pin servo motors (SG90 type), also includes built-in WiFi and bluetooth.There are several tutorials on their site for their kits that use this board, including software downloads, so you could use that code to give you an idea of how to use the device.Last, but not least, comes packed in very sturdy cardboard box with nice labeling, includes a 3 foot USB-3 to USB-C cable. And, currently, it is selling on Amazon for less than half the price at the company website.This board is cheaper and easier to use than a standard ESP32 board with a breakout/expansion board, and will most likely have more, easier to use capabilities. Looking forward to playing around with it.If you are into this type of thing, give it a try, I think you will be pleasantly surprised!

Love this little board as it's a quick way to wire up a concept with an ESP32 and get results. The other nice thing about the board is that the footprint matches the Arduino R3 with a lot more pins that are easy to get wired up. Don't just plug in other shields designed for the R3 though as you might have trouble with power or other incompatibilities. Be mindful of the design of this board and you'll be happy with it.

What is not to like about the ESP32 Max V1.0 Controller Board? I2C headers. Headers for GPIO. WiFi and BT. The numbers alongside the top and bottom blue "shield" headers, and the internal ones not specifically for I2C connections (I2C are H13,14,15) are the same as the blue numbered GPIO pins - some are duplicated on the internal headers (H1->H12: which also provide easy access to 5V and GND, and H16->21 which provide easy access to 3.3V and GND). Go to Acebott's web page and select Wiki, and you'll find the Tutorial for the Max1.0 board under ESP32/ESP8266 on the left-hand-side of the Wiki page. Select QA007/QA008/QA009. Make your board selection: ESP32 Dev Module. FWIW, I had to install the CP210x drivers under Win10 to perform uploads and have serial output go to the Serial Monitor. The Wiki says install the CH340 USB driver. Maybe it's my computer but if you have initial communications problems from a Win10 pc, try the CP210x USB driver. When I don't have the IDE active, I can still view the serial monitor traffic generated by the Serial.print statements in the sketches using a simple terminal program like PUTTY. This board represents a great value at $7USD (and the time of this comment).