The new WIFI Extension 2.0 is finally available!
It features the now ubiquitous ESP8266. We use the ESP-WROOM-02 module which is FCC/CE compatible. As you can see on GitHub the development for this new Extension started on July 27th 2015. Nearly one year ago, holy moly!
The new WIFI Extension 2.0 comes with it’s own firmware that can be updated completely automatically by the Brick Viewer through a Master Brick. So you don’t need a FTDI cable or similar to update the Extension. Compared to the old WIFI Extension we have many new features and even more are planned:
| Property | WIFI Extension | WIFI Extension 2.0 |
|---|---|---|
| Price (incl. VAT) | 59.99€ | 29.99€ |
| Modes | Access point or client | Access point or client or both at the same time |
| Encryption | WPA2 for client, WEP for access point | WPA2 for client and access point |
| Tinkerforge Protocols | TCP/IP, authentication | TCP/IP, authentication, WebSockets |
| Firmware updates | No | Yes |
| Mesh networking | No | Comming soon |
| Internal homepage | No | Comming soon |
| Weight | 18g | 12g |
| External antenna | Yes | No (PCB antenna only) |
Every other property between the two are either equal or very similar (RF output power, etc.). As you can see, the new WIFI Extension 2.0 can replace the old WIFI Extension in all but one feature: You can’t connect an external antenna. We realize that this is necessary for some applications. Unfortunately none of the ESP8266 modules with a external antenna connector that are currently available on the market is FCC and CE compatible. As far as we can tell they have neither been tested, nor would they pass a test.
As a workaround we will still offer the old WIFI Extension for the time being. In the last production run a few weeks ago we made sure to produce a full batch. So we expect the old WIFI Extension to be available as fallback for a long time :-)
