Inpublic Space's New ESP8266, NodeMCU Board Provides Control Over Two DMX Universes

Inpublic Space has launched an add-on board for ESP8266 and NodeMCU microcontroller boards, designed to decode and provide wireless control of two DMX universes — with a minimum of external components.

"I have a lot of DMX lighting that I would like to run but without wires and using open-source hardware and tools," Inpublic Space's Iain explains of the board's origins. "This board works for DMX lighting strands (raw wires) and DMX hosts with 3 pin connectors. It takes 5-24 volts as VIN and regulates that power to run the NodeMCU and the DMX translation chips."

"It replaces typical Arduino DMX shields for one that is integrated with the NodeMCU ESP8266 Dev Board. It also integrates a 5V power supply, reducing the number of external components. Since this board is wireless and relatively inexpensive, the cost and complexity of isolating the output from the low-voltage side of the board did not make sense."

In addition to being able to control two DMX universes, the board breaks out all unused pins from the ESP8266 or NodeMCU module to allow for the connection and control of additional hardware. The board can take its power from screw terminals on the side, the USB input on the microcontroller board, or a barrel jack connector which accepts 5-24V of DC power.

The board is sold for $25 on Tindie $25 as a partially-assembled kit, with a fully-assembled version with NodeMCU available for an additional $8.