38-pin ESP32 Development Board - my experience

@theoldbrick

jBo reported a similar problem (using two breadboards) and I suggested the following ...

Try tracing out the breadboard assembly onto a piece of cardboard, cut the cardboard to size and then hot-glue the pair of breadboards to the cardboard. I've done that to hold the breadboard and associated parts like stepper, power supplies and so on into the bottom of a box (cut down to about 2" high) to hold parts for a project steady enough to stop jiggling on the wires.

It works pretty well, but don't peel the breadboards first. If you leave the covering on the base, it's a lot easier to bend the cardboard off them when you want to re-use them for something else later. The hot glue peels off quite well.

@will Have you got a picture of this? I ran into the same problem in that my ESP32 board doesn't find into my breadboard. Why would they make an ESP32 like this?

@bonshates 

Here are pictures, but it's really just like I said - sticking the breadboards to the cardboard, no technique is required.

You may need to insert the module into the second board and drop it into the first as you're lowering the second board to make sure you have the proper distance for the holes to line up.

I switched over to using 2-sided tape to hold the boards down because i found that hot glue let go of the boards undercoating too easily. It's much more secure with the tape.

@will Oh now I see the confusion. I wasn't using Amazon box cardboard. 😮 

Thanks for your quick response.

@bonshates 

Thanks, I enjoyed that 

There are a couple of workarounds for the problem you are having.  One would put some stackable headers in the breadboard where the ESP32 board would go, and then make all of your connections under the ESB32 board before plugging it into the stackable headers.  The other is to use a variation of the idea to glue breadboards to a substrate.  Instead of using multiple breadboards, just cut a breadboard in half ans use the ESP32 board to space the halves the right distance apart before gluing them down. 

If you have access to a 3D printer, there are files on Thingiverse that let you print trays to hold two breadboard halves spaced 0.7 inches apart (hole to hole).  I use one to hold two breadboard halves that are 3.25" long, but you should be able to stretch the tray before printing it.

HTH,

Ed

Posted by: @theoldbrick

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The ESP32 board arrived that I ordered here: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005001381907493.html

1. Each pin clearly labelled on top of the board.  That's the main reason that I ordered this particular board.  If I plan to work with the ESP32 board in a breadboard, pin labels on the bottom of the board, which occur in many ESP32 boards, are useless.

2. Unfortunately...

WARNING! My 38-pin ESP32 board does not fit properly into a breadboard. It is too wide, leaving only one row of empty holes. 😒  Of course, the seller made no mention of this fact.

By contrast, the ESP32 board that Bill uses in

, for example, leaves two rows of empty holes.

Possible solution #1: Buy a 3220 breadboard and straddle the ESP32 board over a set of power rails (I didn't test, but this comment suggests it works).

Possible solution #2: Do not put the ESP32 board in a breadboard. Instead, as necessary, use male-female Dupont jumper wires to connect individual pins from the ESP32 board to a breadboard (my less-than-desirable approach).

3. This board works very well with Arduino IDE (1.8.16).

4. Yes, must hold "BOOT" button while uploading a program to the 38-pin ESP32 board. Given that the permanent fix is so simple (see https://randomnerdtutorials.com/solved-failed-to-connect-to-esp32-timed-out-waiting-for-packet-header/), I wonder why the board's designers haven't incorporated it.

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Overall, I do not recommend this particular 38-pin ESP32 board given it does not fit properly into a breadboard.

The Jameco Valuepro WBU-204-3-R solderless breadboards will fit these chips perfectly, I picked up a few for this exact purpose.

😎

Bill

@dronebot-workshop I just noticed the problem, I was in the past simply bending the pins to fit. I ordered a couple of the breadboards you mentioned.

Any recommendations for a good material to glue those boards to?