You know Christmas is here when a big box arrives from PCBWay.

Lot’s of nice goodies, and a really amazing surprise!

It’s partner of the year award! This is really solid chunky bit of aluminium, thank you PCB Way! They’ve been a great supported of the channel over the past few year.

I’d also like to give a big shout out all my Patreons and GitHub sponsors - it’s really appreciated.

This has been a pretty jam packed year.

We started off playing with very small ESP32 boards, SDCards, Audio and TFT screens.

We made a brief foray into nickel plating, initially trying it with PCBs and then having a go at nickel plating 3D prints. I quickly realised that I was way out of my depth with this and we got back to more PCBs and messing around with addressable LEDs.

It was around this time that full colour silk screen printing started to become widely available and I leapt at the chance to try it out.

That took me to the biggest project of the year - the ESP32 Rainbow - I’m actually taking this from proof of concept all the way through to a live product.

It’s up on Crowd Supply and it’s fully funded now. But don’t worry, you can still pre-order.

We won’t actually be shipping until April 2025. It’s been a fascinating experience going from prototype to product including things like CE testing - which is something I’ve never done before.

This project will take up a lot of time in Q1 and Q1 but I’m still planning on getting some interesting videos out of the door, so stay tuned - 2025 is going to be equally exciting!

Thanks to everyone for watching an supporting - I’ll see you all next year!

Wishing you a Merry Christmas and looking forward to a prosperous New Year!

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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 and jitters. Would I do it again? Well, maybe if lightning strikes twice with another great idea.

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Esp32 s3 zx spectrum - In a bid to quench my nostalgia and flex my ESP32 chops, I managed to get a ZX Spectrum emulator running on my ESP32-TV board! Then, spurred on by PCBWay's new full color silk screen service, I pursuit the audacious task of recreating the ZX Spectrum's iconic keyboard. It's been quite the joyride - wrangling touch pins, shrinking screens and creating a thing of beauty on PCB. It's not quite ready for the spotlight, but keep an eye on my newsletter for more eagerly-awaited updates. It's like the Spectrum is reborn!

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It’s a Christmas wrap up - and a nice surprise! - Christmas has arrived in style with a surprise Partner of the Year award from PCBWay! It's been an amazing year packed with projects, from dabbling in nickel plating to diving into full-color silk screen printing. The highlight? Taking the ESP32 rainbow from concept to a fully funded venture on Crowd Supply. With big plans for 2025 and exciting videos on the way, the future looks bright. Wishing everyone a merry Christmas and an exciting New Year!

Electronic Chopsticks? - So, I got this free gift from Secure - some HT140 solder tweezers, and they're pretty nifty! The kit comes with a stand, a power supply, and these tiny grub screws. Gave them a test run by desoldering components on a Pico board, and they heat up impressively fast! It's really handy, especially for smaller components. Thanks to Secure for sending these over. Definitely a great addition when working on my PCBs. Check them out in the description if you're interested!

Crowd Funding Success? I must be rich! - Hey guys! So, I wrapped up my ZX Spectrum crowdfunding project, and boy, it was quite a ride! The campaign went gangbusters with 146% funding, and I shipped everything out. Total revenue was £12,839.57, but after costs, I pocketed a neat £4,273.91—though, spoiler, that's before considering my labor! There was quite a learning curve understanding COGS, pricing strategies, and the hidden costs of hardware projects. It took about 13 months from idea to fulfillment, and I amassed 436 hours of work! I discussed vital strategies like working with distributors and how PCBs' cost plummets with bulk orders. Plus, the unknowns, like tariffs, which almost threw a wrench in the works. Stick around for the deets, and maybe you'll pick up a tip or two for your own crowdfunded adventures!

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