Since there are no instructions yet, anyone who wants to cobble up something their own way, here's something to get started:

The ESP8266 is connected as follows to the 74HC595:

  • GPIO2 to Pin 14 Data
  • GPIO5 to Pin 11 Shift (careful, some ESP07 and ESP12 have the wrong silkscreen)
  • GPIO4 to Pin 12 Latch
  • Pin 13 /OE, Pin 10 /MR to GND of course
  • The outputs appear in order Q0 thru Q7 as Zones/Relays 1 thru 8, active high.

Each output is connected to a transistor thru a 10K resistor, to drive a relay. The relays of course provide 24vac to operate a sprinkler control valve.