LilyGo T-Embed CC1101
An ESP32-S3 development board with integrated CC1101 RF module, suitable for sub-1GHz wireless communication projects.
Pinout
8 pins
| Pin | GPIO | Labels | Status | Capabilities | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | SDAIO8 | safe | adc · touch · i2c | I2C/QWIIC extension connector SDA; shared with onboard PN532, BQ27220 and BQ25896 |
| 2 | 18 | SCLIO18 | safe | adc · i2c | I2C/QWIIC extension connector SCL; shared with onboard PN532, BQ27220 and BQ25896 |
| 3 | - | 3V3 | power | - | 3.3V output on the I2C/QWIIC extension connector |
| 4 | - | GND | ground | - | Ground on the I2C/QWIIC extension connector |
| 5 | 43 | TXDU0TXD | strapping | uart | UART extension connector TX (U0TXD); reused as nRF24 CE in the extend example |
| 6 | 44 | RXDU0RXD | strapping | uart | UART extension connector RX (U0RXD); reused as nRF24 CS in the extend example |
| 7 | - | 3V3 | power | - | 3.3V output on the UART extension connector |
| 8 | - | GND | ground | - | Ground on the UART extension connector |
Start with these
2 pins with no boot or system involvementFreely assignable - no strapping, flash, USB or JTAG duties. Ideal first picks for buttons, sensors and LEDs.
Fine - with a little care
sampled at boot or shared with debug/serial| Pin | Label | What to know | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| TXD | U0TXD (GPIO43) | Used for bootloader output and UART console logs. If repurposed, you will lose the default serial output (and programming via UART0). | Other |
| RXD | U0RXD (GPIO44) | Used for bootloader input (download mode via serial). If repurposed, you cannot use the default UART0 download mode for programming the chip. | Other |
Pinout notes The LilyGo T-Embed CC1101 pinout brings out 8 pins - 4 usable GPIO alongside the 3V3 and GND power rails. Peripheral wiring is straightforward: I²C is mapped…
The LilyGo T-Embed CC1101 pinout brings out 8 pins - 4 usable GPIO alongside the 3V3 and GND power rails.
Peripheral wiring is straightforward: I²C is mapped to SDA on GPIO8 and SCL on GPIO18.
Beyond plain digital I/O you get 2 ADC-capable pins for sensors and battery monitoring and 1 capacitive-touch inputs.
2 of the exposed pins carry boot-time or system duties on the ESP32-S3 (TXD and RXD) - check the guidance above before wiring anything to them. SDA and SCL are free of any such role - the safest first picks.
Getting started
flash your first firmware in ~2 minutesBoard: ESP32S3 Dev Module USB CDC On Boot: Enabled Flash Size: 16MB (128Mb) Flash Mode: DIO PSRAM: OPI PSRAM Partition Scheme: 16M Flash (3MB APP / 9.9MB FATFS) Upload Speed: 921600
// blink the onboard LED
void setup() {
pinMode(8, OUTPUT);
}
void loop() {
digitalWrite(8, HIGH); delay(500);
digitalWrite(8, LOW); delay(500);
}[env:lilygo_t_embed_cc1101]
platform = espressif32
board = esp32-s3-devkitc-1
framework = arduino
monitor_speed = 115200
upload_speed = 921600
board_build.arduino.memory_type = qio_opi
build_flags = -DBOARD_HAS_PSRAMesp32-s3-devkitc-1 — or type it after board =.esp32:
board: esp32-s3-devkitc-1
variant: lilygo_t_embed_cc1101
framework:
type: esp-idf
psram:
mode: octal
speed: 80MHz
# blink - GPIO8
output:
- platform: gpio
pin: 8
id: led_out
light:
- platform: binary
name: "LED"
output: led_outesp32-s3-devkitc-1 (same ids as PlatformIO).esptool.py --chip esp32s3 --port /dev/ttyACM0 \
--baud 921600 write_flash 0x0 firmware.bin--port = your /dev/tty* (macOS/Linux) or COMx (Windows).Specifications
ESP32-S3 · 97.5 × 39 mmAbout this board
Inside sits the ESP32-S3 - a dual-core Xtensa with vector extensions suited to AI workloads.
At $45.99 it's on the expensive side for an ESP32-S3 board - most land around $30.
Only 4 GPIO are broken out, where most ESP32-S3 boards manage about 22 - worth checking the pinout covers what you need.
Around the module: 8MB (OPI) PSRAM, an IPS LCD 1.9" 170x320 display, a microSD slot, a microphone, a speaker, an addressable RGB LED (GPIO14), an IR transceiver, a battery fuel gauge (BQ27220), an NFC/RFID reader (PN532), a rotary encoder, battery charging (BQ25896) via JST-GH 1.25mm and Reset/Boot buttons.
It flashes over native USB - no serial-converter driver needed, which isn't a given among ESP32-S3 boards.
The LilyGo T-Embed CC1101 is an advanced development board featuring an ESP32-S3 microcontroller with integrated WiFi and Bluetooth 5 capabilities. It includes the CC1101 RF transceiver, enabling sub-1GHz wireless communication, ideal for IoT applications requiring long-range and low-power connectivity.
- CC1101 sub-1GHz RF transceiver (315/433/868/915 MHz)
- 8x addressable WS2812 RGB LEDs on GPIO14
- 1300mAh Li-Po battery included
Where to buy
prices are typical street pricesResources
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