ESP32-C3 Boards

There are several boards available using the ESP32-C3 chip. Boards based on the ESP32-C3 variant offer a "cost-effective" RISC-V based SoC that can replace ESP8266 boards.

The ESP32-C3 variant of the ESP32 is supported by the espressif ESP32 Board package and by the Homeding library.

The ESP32-C3 is a single-core SoC based on the open-source 32-bit RISC-V architecture.

It offers:

Wi-Fi
Bluetooth 5 (LE)
CPU clock speed up to 160 MHz
Max 22 configurable GPIOs
400 KB static RAM, 16 KB for caching
8 KB of static RTC RAM that keeps data as long as powered.
4 Kbit of eFuse memory for special data like encryption keys
384 KB of ROM
low-power-mode
crypro acceleration
Secure Boot
Flash encryption
Direct USB support.
integrated Flash Memory (option)

This SoC is positioned as a cost-effective RISC-V MCU with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5 (LE) connectivity for secure IoT applications.

It is often seen as a more secure and powerful replacement option for the ESP8266 and has noticeable more internal memory and cpu power as the ESP8266:

The ESP32-C3 offers less IO pins that the ESP32 or ESP32-S3 chips and comes in a smaller 32 pin QFN32 package (5×5 mm) or (4×4 mm) package.

It is part of some modules that offer PCB antenna or antenna connectors.

There is even a ESP-01 kind of module available.

Flash Memory

The ‘F’ version of the chip offers an internal 4 MByte Flash ROM that can be flashed using the QIO mode. It supports external Flash up to 16 MByte.

USB and JTAG Support

When the board has a USB connector that is connected to the GPIO19 (D-) and GPIO20 (D+). The configuration for the USB features in the ESP32-c3 SoC must have:

USB CDC On Boot: Enabled

CAN bus Support

available but never tested with HomeDing library.

Bluetooth LE

The ESP32-C3 supports Bluetooth LE , Bluetooth 5 and Bluetooth mesh.

Bluetooth support is not yet given by the HomeDing library.

Powersave modes

several sleep modes:

Modem-sleep mode
Light-sleep mode
Deep-sleep mode

Watchdog timer

Cryptographic Hardware Accelerators

Secure communication, signing packages and flash memory is supported by some built-in special functionality.

This results in faster secure (https) network requests.

Boards with ESP32-C3

CORE-ESP32C3 development board

The CORE-ESP32 core board is based on Espressif ESP32-C3 SoC that fits good on a breadboard and has the option for a LCD + digital joystick shield on top. The ESP32-C3 variant is supported by the HomeDing library.

ESP32-C3 micro board with OLED display

This is very small board based on EPS32-C3 with an 0.42" onboard OLED display and a single NeoPixel.

WeAct Studio ESP32-C3 Core

This board uses a ESP32-C3 processor …

ESP32-C3 Super Mini

The ESP32-C3 Super Mini is a thumb-size board with integrated antenna.

XIAO ESP32 C3

The XIAO ESP32 C3 is a thumb-size board with external antenna.

Board ESP32-C3 ESP-01

Board ESP32-C3 ESP-01

The ESP32-C3 processor is now also available in a ESP01 form factor board including 4MByte flash and an external antenna connector.

The ESP32-C3 processor is now also available in a ESP01 form factor board.

More details, see Board ESP32-C3 ESP-01.

The ESP01 form factor was initially used for the ESP8266 processor on the Board ESP8266 ESP-01. The original version has limited Flash memory (512kByte).

As of it’s popularity there are variants using the ESP8266 and ESP8285 (= ESP8266 + 1M Flash in the same chip) and more flash memory.

Log info from the DIAG Element

14:50:58 diag/0:t Chip-Info:
14:50:58 diag/0:t   model: 5
14:50:58 diag/0:t     ESP32-C3
14:50:58 diag/0:t   features: 00000012
14:50:58 diag/0:t     2.4GHz WiFi
14:50:58 diag/0:t     Bluetooth LE
14:50:58 diag/0:t   cores: 1
14:50:58 diag/0:t   revision: 3
14:50:58 diag/0:t ChipModel: ESP32-C3
14:50:58 diag/0:t Flash:
14:50:58 diag/0:t   ChipSize: 4194304
14:50:58 diag/0:t   ChipMode: 2
14:50:58 diag/0:t   ChipSpeed: 80000000