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Comment by mdorazio | Hacker News Reader

I have to ask this most of the time I see an r-pi project: why r-pi instead of ESP8266 for something this simple?

Faster prototyping, I can ssh into a RasPi wirelessly and control the gpio via my terminal like a REPL, for the ESP I need to keep flashing newer firmware and control it via USB to serial. Feels a bit clunkier although not a huge difference.

If I were making and selling some IoT hardware or if I wanted to re-use the RasPi for something else in my house, it would definitely make sense to move to an ESP/Arduino

you can use micropython for this, a repl over usb or wifi

I personally don’t like accidentally bumping Pi and waiting couple minutes with monitors to see if I have to start over from microSD part. Flashing ESP is slower than Atmega Arduinos but not as slow as Raspbian booting.

I've just been on this same journey building a sensor for the level in our home water tanks.

I started with a raspberry pi, but then discovered esp32 with an lcd display for just a few bucks https://www.amazon.com/LILYGO-T-Display-Bluetooth-Developmen....

How long have you been using it? I find random ESP32s off of Amazon to be a bit of a crapshoot, and I’ve taken to just sticking to big microcontroller integrators that I’ve used before.

It's still in dev, so I haven't run it for more than a few hours at a time. Seems OK so far.

I’ve never heard of the ESP8266, but I have heard of (and used, for several projects) the RPi. That’s probably the reason for a lot of people.

If you want to do things that need an OS use RPI, if you want read/transfer sensor data or control basic servos esp8266 is a joy to work with. There are plenty of others, arduino is maybe more known as buzzword for microcontrollers.

You need a computer and the right cords to program a controller, the pi is that computer as well as the controller.

Yes, but you also get the downsides of having a full computer. Namely, it has an OS, it has an SD card that can wear out, it takes longer to boot, etc.

For me, simply because it was lying around!

It is true that pi is complete overkill for such a project, but it is very convenient and lots of people have experience with it.

Plus your standing desk could also be a pi-hole for wifi security.

or a Plex server.

Yes!

Replace the ESP8266 with some Arduino clone for 3.50 € and you'll even be more beginner friendly...

Makes it harder to make it work with Homebridge/Alexa though.

It's not hard to get an ESP8266 dev board for that much.

If you're willing to wait you can get an ESP8266 dev board such as the WeMos D1 mini from aliexpress for less than $2!

Because it can't be extended so much as the r-pi. Why limit yourself when you don't have to? It's like asking why one would buy a 1TB harddrive when Linux fits in a few GB.

>Why limit yourself when you don't have to?

Cost, power consumption, reliability, performance, security, weight, and volume, to name just a few.

I really dislike the attitude that we should use the biggest hammer we can find for any size of nail just because we can.

And if you dont have to meet those requirements, why waste time, energy, thoughts trying to.

Theres a reason multitools are every day carry, and its not that they are the perfect tool for the job.

> security

The ESP8266 is a product developed by a Chinese company, which would be reason for some to avoid it from a security standpoint.

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