Gurus…
Where would I find a down to earth, product agnostic guide to selecting a microcontroller for home automation projects?
I know its about processing and IO capacity, speed, comms, price, etc for a given project’s requirements and maybe compatibility to existing, built projects (in my case Pico W).
In researching this question I find most website favour one and don’t mention another. One vendor will carry a few devices while another a different range.
I found Wikipedia informative in regard to specs but of course there’s no recommendations (and nor should there be).
I suppose I’m looking for a product neutral site (so not a vendor) that covers the common hobbiest microcontrollers that summaries a given product’s specs and uses.
Cheers.
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Hi Mark,
There’s usually a ton of variables when it comes to selecting a micro.
First would be:
- What are you most familiar with/most interested in?
- What kind of projects do you want to do with it?
- Is there an eco system you need/want to use it within?
And if a guide where to be made that person would have to have familiarity with a ton of options.
(usually Makers and Engineers keep a list of preferences and would deploy the most suitable for the project).
Given all of the above, there isn’t likely a single guide that will cover what you are after
Are you yourself after some guidance, looking to do some more research or looking for some opinions?
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Thanks Liam.
I’ve done a couple of Micropython/Pico W projects now and find both the Pico and m’python to be flexible and featured enough for my needs/skill set. I think the longer I stay with Pico the more “rusted on” I’ll be to that product. Not saying that’s a good or bad thing.
I see a lot of questions on the forum about ESP32 and Arduino and got to wondering about “why” different people use different m’controllers. It is tempting to think that these choices were made based on spec and application but I’m wondering if a lot of the choices users make are more about the product path they’re on.
I do a lot of photography. I’ve used Canon cameras for 40 years.
I’ve had four LR Discoveries over 16 years.
I could have used Nikon and drove Toyota and got the same outcome.
So…specific product selection each buy or the known path…?
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Hi Mark,
I often pivot to the ESP32 if I need a smaller form factor or inbuilt wireless.
The Xiao series, Waveshare boards and Unexpected Maker boards are some of my favourites.
I’ll stick with some generic devboards for prototyping, then consider a smaller board or custom PCB depending on the project.
My usual go tos are ESP32-C3/S3, Pico/Pico W, Teensy and Pi where applicable.
Have also been meaning to check out the Nordic MCUs for low power and ZigBee.
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You can check Hackaday and Hackster.io Articles
Both Hackaday and Hackster.io occasionally publish comparative articles or roundups of microcontrollers.
These are written by hobbyists and engineers, often with real-world experience.
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Hi @Mark285907
This question is a little difficult to answer as it really depends on the kind of projects that you’re doing.
You mentioned that you do home automation projects, for this I would say that either an ESP32 or Pi Pico W will be the best options if you’re using ESPHome. Even then the type of ESP32 that you use will depend on the specific project, for example the ESP32-C6 has limited compatibility with ESPHome, but the ESP32, ESP32-S2, ESP32-S3, ESP32-C3 and ESP32-H2 should all have full functionality.
As @Liam120347 mentioned the XIAO range (ESP32-C3 or ESP32-S3) are great for small form factor applications. There is also ESP32-C3 Mini Dev Board or ESP32-S3 Mini Development Board that both also have the same chipsets but and should work pretty well the same.
In terms of what of all of these are the “best” the best will be what you have available to you, that will be capable of getting your project working. Personally I have a mix of Pico W and ESP32-S3 at home, the projects that I work on rarely need to rely on a battery so I’m fine with boards that will use more current and are probably a little overkill.
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I think most of the above covers most of my thoughts.
Maybe a selection criteria could help determin.
No. GPIO needed
no. Spi, uart, i2c etc
Power consumption
Speed
And so on.
Eg the old PIC or Atmel can do lots of things and at low power needs.
Given what is on offer today, you can do most things on most chips if your happy to put in the time to code. If not and would prefer to use ready built linraries, then that is part of your selecrion criteria.
Are you working on a prokect to learn somethibg new, then go with a new chip. If you want to plug n play, then select a framework that looks tk have the thing’s you want.
I would also not rule out more then 1 micro for a complex project.
Eg. Esp32 may have a good wifi and web server but ots ADC may not be good enough, so push the ADC to something better.
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