“My Motivation: I have seen LOTS of instructables on setting up/ using a NodeMCU (built on the ESP8266 module) for making IoT (internet of things) projects. However, very few of these tutorials had all the details/ code/ diagrams for a very novice person to follow start to finish, and none of them did exactly what I wanted.
What will this cover?: This will cover everything you need to know (and that I didn’t), including:
Materials (what I used, specifically) Arduino, NodeMcu, ESP8266, what’s the difference? Getting started with the NodeMcuSetting up the software (Arduino IDE) Making an LED blink Options for powering the NodeMcu Connecting to the internetHow to pull data from a website “Pointing” to the info you want in the website Thingspeak/ ThingHTTP/ APIs (don’t be scared, no coding necessary) Accessing this data from the NodeMCUDisplaying the data What I used (how to wire a 7 segment display) Some ideas/ things I would have done with more timeHow to build a box I guessDISCLAIMER: I watched LOTS of videos to learn how to make this, and almost all of the code is pieced together from other sources and I can’t remember all of them. The main source of thinghttp inspiration was this guy who is essentially doing the same thing I’m describing, but I found sifting through what was touch screen stuff and what wasn’t confusing. I consider this instructable more of an introduction to the NodeMcu and sorta kinda IoT projects rather than a specific object, but the inspiration for this specific (Northern Lights) indicator was this instructable from 2008. I loved the way it was described as a “poor man’s ambient orb”, displaying ambient information like stocks, youtube views, or weather without the use phones or other intrusive means.”