atomic14

Web Serial Plotter

I've created a web-based serial plotter for easy data visualization from Arduino and ESP32 projects. It boasts real-time plotting, interactive controls, data analysis, and a serial console—all within your browser with no extra installations needed. Give it a try and streamline your microcontroller data analysis!

03 September 2025

Tearing Down a Bistable Cholesteric Display

I recently dug out my bistable cholesteric display and decided to see how it works after being inspired by Big Clive's teardown. This nifty gadget, which allows you to write and erase with just a button, operates on bistable cholesteric crystals without needing constant power. Measuring the clear voltage showed around 30V, and a little experimentation confirmed its dependency on polarity. Despite a minor spark mishap, it's still a neat, low-power device. If you're interested, you can grab one from AliExpress for some hands-on fun.

12 August 2025

This number does nothing

Ever wondered about the ubiquitous 'Serial.begin(115200);' in your Arduino projects? It turns out, with boards like the ESP32-S3 offering native USB support, this baud rate doesn't really matter when streaming data. My tests even showed surprising results with different speeds using Arduino and ESP-IDF, highlighting potential in USB full-speed capabilities. I dove into raw performance testing, and saw deviations from expected UART limits. Check out the full video and explore the results if you're curious about maximizing your data transfer speeds!

12 August 2025

My pcb has a digital twin

In my latest hardware experiment, I dove into testing the LSM6DS3 accelerometer and gyroscope on a custom board. While accelerometer mode adeptly handles pitch and roll detection, the gyroscope mode offers smooth rotational insights, despite its tendency for drift. Fusion mode shines by blending both datasets for a more reliable output, though the potential addition of a magnetometer beckons for even greater accuracy. Plus, I've integrated a playful web app that animates your 3D PCB models in real-time! Dive into the open-source firmware on GitHub—it's a breeze to set up with BLE connectivity and streams detailed sensor data. Try it...

12 August 2025

A nicer repair

After my previous messy attempt, I aimed for a more refined repair by carefully matching and tinning the bodge wire. Despite a minor mishap during the cleaning, the final result is much cleaner thanks to solder resist. I feel like I'm improving! Watch the video to see the process!

07 August 2025

Oops I Did It Again

New PCBs have arrived, but of course, things didn't go as planned! The simplest part, the LED, was a bust due to a common anode vs. common cathode mix-up in the design. Thankfully, the fix wasn't too tough: just needed some good ol' solder resist, a bit of desoldering and resoldering, and a bit of a workaround to get it blinking right—and yes, it involved a fair amount of swearing!

01 August 2025

Crowdfunding Success - Was it worth it?

I embarked on a thrilling adventure of turning a nifty idea into a tangible product — the ESP32 Rainbow, a Sinclair Spectrum-inspired gadget that merges retro vibes with modern tech. With the brains of an ESP32-S3, capacitive touch, a built-in display, and some snazzy UV silk screen printing, it's a little marvel that got crowdfunded successfully. But, oh boy, was the journey enlightening — from grappling with pricing conundrums and the bureaucracy of certifications to the harrowing odyssey of international shipping. While it didn't line my pockets with gold, seeing people enjoy something I created is worth all the sweat...

21 July 2025

Worlds smallest USB-C Li-Ion charger

I stumbled upon these incredibly tiny USB-C Li-ion chargers on AliExpress and couldn't resist checking them out! These minuscule PCBs, just 10mm x 6mm, feature the LP4054 (or TP4054) linear battery charger. With a 1.65K programming resistor, they offer a charging current of around 600mA. Keep in mind, they can get pretty toasty, reaching up to 92-93C! For fun, I tried recreating them in KiCad and found it surprisingly easy.

16 July 2025

Vibing a PCB - surprisingly good

In my latest adventure, I challenged AI to design a working ESP32-S3 development board from scratch using Atopile and Claude. The idea was as simple as vibe-coding actual hardware without diving into the code. It was a chaotic yet fascinating journey, with some misses like unwired components and a forgotten capacitor. After a few prompts, the AI delivered a surprisingly functional board featuring USB-C, an AMS1117 regulator, and status LEDs. While not yet perfect, vibe-coding feels like a glimpse into the future of hardware design.

12 July 2025

Just Vibe It

I crafted a whimsical single key keyboard ideal for vibe coding! It's powered by a TPS2117-equipped PCB, offering slick battery-to-USB switching. Tried out low profile Cherry switches, but faced some stabilizer challenges with bigger keycaps. Check out the final fun in my GitHub repo and video!

04 July 2025

More fun and games with high voltage

Hey everyone! I know it's been a while since the last video, but things have been crazy busy with shipping off the ESP32 Rainbows. Lately, I've been diving into the world of high voltage again. My last endeavor with a high voltage board led to some gnarly waveforms and flickering LEDs, so I tested with beefy resistors but wasn't thrilled with the results. Fortunately, I've found some nixie tube driver boards that work wonders with LEDs, providing smooth output with little ripple. Still, playing with the old boards has its thrill—hello, 787 volts and some wild sparks! Stay tuned for...

14 June 2025

Danger danger high voltage

In this blog post, I explore my experiments with high-voltage circuits, trying to light up LED filaments salvaged from broken light bulbs. Despite some explosive mishaps with capacitors and MOSFETs, I decided to try a proper DC-DC converter. Unfortunately, the one I got turned out to be faulty, highlighting some rough soldering and component failures. I've ordered replacements and hope to successfully light the filaments soon. Follow along on my troubleshooting journey with plenty of learning curves!

27 March 2025

Whats wrong with my lightbulbs

In the saga of my beleaguered light bulbs, I've found myself knee-deep in electrical components and a fair bit of frustration. Of the four LED bulbs I invested in, only one survives unscathed, while another's flickering demise is imminent. My investigation revealed overheating bases, resilient capacitors, and an interesting LED filament setup. Ultimately, it seems one LED strip in the bulbs went open circuit, setting off a cascading failure. It's been a journey through minor electrical engineering heartbreak, with some messy disassembly and a sprinkle of high voltage excitement!

16 March 2025

Electronic chopsticks

I recently got my hands on the HT140 Solder Tweezers from Sequre, adding an exciting new piece to my toolkit. Powering it via USB-C, these electronic chopsticks heat up fast thanks to a robust 65W power supply. Testing on a Raspberry Pi Pico board proved successful with a little flux help. Despite hoping for minimal use due to my PCB order, these tweezers are a handy backup for precise soldering work.

05 February 2025

Custom kicad silk screen

In my latest blog post, I dive into the surprisingly straightforward process of importing custom graphic designs into KiCad for your PCB projects. While KiCad's built-in silk screen tools are basic, the Image Converter tool makes it easy to bring your unique designs to life, transforming them into striking black and white silk screens. With a few tips on handling image DPI and anti-aliasing, you can ensure your graphics are pixel-perfect. Check out my video to see the full process!

27 January 2025

Thats a wrap

It's that festive time of year when goodies arrive from PCBWay, and what a delightful surprise to receive the Partner of the Year award! A huge thanks to PCBWay, my Patreons, and GitHub sponsors for the amazing support. This year has been thrilling, starting with ESP32 projects and diving into nickel plating experiments. I'm particularly excited about the ESP32 Rainbow project, now fully funded and gearing up for a 2025 release. With lots planned for the coming year, here's to a Merry Christmas and an exciting New Year ahead!

23 December 2024

Old school tape loading

If you're anything like me, the nostalgic screeches of ZX Spectrum games loading might bring a smile to your face. I've taken a trip down memory lane by working on my own tribute to this iconic machine—introducing the ESP32 Rainbow. It’s on Crowd Supply, where we're closing in on full funding! This blog post walks you through the journey of harnessing audial data to load games directly into my emulator—faster and more reliable than those temperamental cassette decks from our childhood.

24 November 2024

More Updates on the ZX Spectrum Board

I'm gearing up for production with some updates to our prototype, including switching to a 4-layer board to improve EMI, and refining USB power filtering. Check out the video for a deep dive into our battery charger and an exciting expansion port for potential HDMI output. The main goal now is to get our boards ready for manufacturing and shipping through Crowd Supply!

19 August 2024