So, I have returned to my last year’s design of the CH340G based programmer and upgraded it with the same pinout as the widely known ESP01 module for the better compatibility and the USB Type C receptacle. Nowadays connectors of this type are way more popular than outdated Micro USB ones.
Picked up one of those common UART fingerprint modules? I did too. Turns out, it’s not just a scanner—it does internal matching with an onboard STM32 chip. I tested it with an ESP32 board, wrote up a simple Arduino sketch, and it works surprisingly well. Full pinout, usage, and code included!
I finally built myself a universal programmer for ESP8266 and ESP32 boards using a CP2102 chip and a bunch of connectors. It’s simple, cheap, and works with everything—from ESP-01 to my custom URU Card. Full schematic, photos, and files are in the repo if you want to build one too.
Slightly tired of big and long-running projects both at work and at home I decided to make a small spin-off project to help me working with ESP8266/ESP32 devices. Is there any reason to make it when there are a lot of cheap USB-Serial converters in the market? I don’t think so. My only reason to make it is to have cool addition allowing ESP8266s to be programmed automatically without flash/reset buttons but simple circuit with two transistors. Most of the USB to Serial converters simply do not have this circuitry on board. And, of course, I wanted to have some fun.