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Dave come see - it's beautiful man - Hey folks, I revisited my flame lamp project from 2020 and gave it a serious upgrade - we're talking a leap from 300 to a whopping 1024 LEDs thanks to these nifty flexible WS2812 panels. I've kitted it out with a versatile PCB from my Crystal Balls project, tackled power injection challenges and kept things cool with a current-limiting power supply. I had to wrestle with 3D printing and getting the panels to behave inside the lamp's tube, but the end result? A mesmerizing blaze of colors with gorgeous fire effect, all orchestrated by the WLED software. It's like my very own Phoenix rising from the 2020 ashes. Curious to see this electronic inferno come to life? Check out my videos for the full, fiery scoop!

Easy esp32 s3 dev board - Quick recap: I’m putting together a super simple ESP32-S3 dev board—there’s a video walkthrough, the full KiCad project on GitHub, plus the schematic and a slick 3D render of the assembled board.

Self Organising WS2811 LEDs - I've successfully used addressable WS2811 LED strings and an ESP-CAM board to create an adjustable lighting system. The best part is that the image processing code can be duplicated in JavaScript which allows you to use a plain dev board to drive the LEDs instead of needing a camera on your ESP32 board. If you want to replicate this project, you'll need your own ESP32 dev board and some addressable LEDs. After figuring out the location of each LED in 2D space, it's easy to map from each LED's x and y location onto a pattern you want to show on the frame buffer. Desiring to keep it accessible, I've posted detailed instructions and my sample code on GitHub, making sure anyone with basic knowledge can undertake this fun technological DIY project!

Brain Surgery - I cracked open a cheap Halloween toy, found the super-simple LED + LR41 setup with the arm-as-switch trick, and swapped the ‘empty head’ for my own CH32V003 + buzzer PCB. Now it screams as well as shines—powered by a small lithium cell for extra volume because if you’re going to be annoying, do it properly. New schematic, new brains, same spooky vibes.

ESP32-S3 Dev Board Assembly - I finally assembled our ESP32-S3 dev boards—used a stencil for easy SMD work, fixed a few tiny USB solder bridges with flux, and even hand-built one for fun. The EPAD isn’t required (per the datasheet), power LEDs look good, and on macOS you can spot it under /dev before flashing. A quick boot-button dance and the blink sketch runs great—full build and walkthrough in the video.

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Look at My Shiny Crystal Balls - Custom ESP32 PCB With WLED. - Step right up, folks, for the grand unveiling of my shiny new crystal balls – yes, crystal balls. I've transformed ordinary AliExpress pieces into juggernauts of light and color, all powered by the splendid WLED software. Dive deep with me into the nitty-gritty of the underlying electronics and come face-to-face with the true beauty of voltage measurements (I promise, it's more riveting than it sounds). While the original circuit boards from AliExpress might not thrill, my beefed-up version invites gasps of wonder, with microphone-controlled LEDs throwing light in a million dazzling ways. Join me as I chronicle my journey through schematic revisions, components selection, and technological trickery – in short, the wild ride that has led to this epic macOS light show.

Custom ESP32 PCB Soldering - Watch the process of soldering and testing a custom ESP32 circuit board for a Moon Lamp project, featuring various components like a linear regulator, output drivers, and indicator LEDs.

I Designed My Own ESP32-S3 Dev Board… and It Actually Worked! - I finally assembled my super simple ESP32‑S3 dev board—voltage regulator, reset button, three status LEDs (5V, 3.3V, and a GPIO blinker), and all pins broken out. I showed two build methods: stencil + hot-plate reflow (quick, with a few USB bridges to clean up) and full hand-solder under the microscope, complete with the rigorous ‘solid’ test. Soldered the ESP32‑S3 module (skipping the center thermal pad unless you need it), plugged in, got power LEDs, confirmed USB enumeration, flashed a blink sketch, and we’ve got a blinking LED. Next up: turning this basic dev board into something more professional for production.

Magic LEDs: Self-Organizing with ESP32 CAM & Simple Image Processing! - Unleash your creativity and transform chaos into order using an ESP32 camera board, image processing, and a string of WS2811 RGB LEDs. Find out how wiring, level shifting, and a simple web interface bring this mesmerizing project to life.

Lovely High Res E-Paper Display - Just when we thought we'd done with our mailbag, some exciting new stuff tips up. This time, we've got a soldering kit, a fun-looking Dash, and extra bonus, an ink plate 10, which is a cool e-paper display from Soldered. We've unboxed it, pulling out a board with an esp32 module, an SD card, and a battery connector. One of the major selling points is its open-source nature, you can download all the schematics from GitHub, and for those inclined, learn about how to build pcbs. Also showcased a Simon Says game soldering kit, despite my modest soldering skills (we all need practice, eh?), it turned out to be good fun. Plus, we've got a Dev board fitted with an at Mega 328p and an ultra-bright ws2812 RGB LED. Let's see if I can turn this e-paper display into a weather display or maybe you have more exciting ideas, drop them down in the comments!