What to buy
Any of these boards works with Tinkr. All under $10.
| Board | ~Price | Best for | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|
| ESP32 DevKit | ~$6 | First board, the tank build | Buy on Amazon |
| ESP32-C3 | ~$4 | Compact builds, fewest pins | Find on Amazon |
| ESP32-S3 | ~$8 | More GPIO, room for add-ons | Find on Amazon |
Your first day: ~$10
One DevKit board (~$6) plus a USB cable you probably already own. That is it.
The tank upgrade: +~$25
Chassis kit + motor driver + battery pack when you are ready to build something mobile.
The Family Flagship Build
An RC tank your whole family can drive remotely from any phone.
Parts list
- ESP32 DevKit (or C3)
- TB6612FNG motor driver module
- Tank chassis kit (2-motor, tracks included)
- 3x AA or 18650 battery pack
- Jumper wires
Wiring (7 connections)
| Wire | From | To |
|---|---|---|
| STBY (standby) | DevKit GPIO 13 | TB6612 STBY |
| Left PWM | DevKit GPIO 25 | TB6612 PWMA |
| Left dir A | DevKit GPIO 26 | TB6612 AIN1 |
| Left dir B | DevKit GPIO 27 | TB6612 AIN2 |
| Right PWM | DevKit GPIO 33 | TB6612 PWMB |
| Right dir A | DevKit GPIO 32 | TB6612 BIN1 |
| Right dir B | DevKit GPIO 14 | TB6612 BIN2 |
| Power | 5V + GND | TB6612 VM + GND |
Same wiring works with an L298N: PWMA/PWMB go to ENA/ENB, AIN/BIN to IN1-4. STBY is unused on L298N (tie EN high).
Add-ons
Wire in peripherals whenever you want more. One GPIO at a time.
Soil moisture sensor
Analog read on any ADC pin
LEDs
Digital out, any GPIO
Servo motor
PWM on GPIO 4 or 5
Passive buzzer
Tone via ledc PWM
HC-SR04 ultrasonic
TRIG + ECHO, any 2 GPIOs
NeoPixel strip
Single data wire, any GPIO
No hardware yet?
Explore Tinkr free now, or grab a DevKit and flash it when it arrives.
Or get started with just the DevKit. Free software, always.