🌈 ESP32-S3 Rainbow: ZX Spectrum Emulator Board! Get it on Crowd Supply →
View All Posts
read
Want to keep up to date with the latest posts and videos? Subscribe to the newsletter
HELP SUPPORT MY WORK: If you're feeling flush then please stop by Patreon Or you can make a one off donation via ko-fi
#BUZZER #CH32V003 #COIN CELLS #DIY ELECTRONICS #HALLOWEEN #LEDS #LITHIUM CELL #MOD #PCB #RISC-V #TEARDOWN #TOY HACKING

I got one of these silly Halloween toys - they are kind of fun - but it feels like we can make them even more fun/annoying.

In the original toy, the head is pretty empty. There are a couple of LEDs sticking through the eye holes and these are powered by a couple of LR41 coin cell batteries wired up in series.

Not a lot of brains...

These are wired up in parallel and go into the body of the toy. It’s quite a clever mechanism when the arms are extended they close the circuit and the LEDs light up.

The Switch

That’s it. Super simple.

Original circuit

Here’s my version after a bit of “brain surgery”.

Brain Surgery

We’re using the PCB that we put together previously - it features a CH32V003 and a buzzer.

And here’s the new schematic:

New Circuit

This version has a small lithium cell powering my custom board. Originally, I was planning on powering things off a CR2025 coin cell, which would have worked, but I wanted more volume. After all, if you’re going to be annoying, you might as well do it properly.

#BUZZER #CH32V003 #COIN CELLS #DIY ELECTRONICS #HALLOWEEN #LEDS #LITHIUM CELL #MOD #PCB #RISC-V #TEARDOWN #TOY HACKING

Related Posts

10 Cent Music Machine - I built a tiny coin‑cell music board around the $0.10 WCH CH32V003J4M6 (8‑pin, 48MHz RISC‑V, 16K flash/2K RAM). The PCB is just 16.3×11.7mm with a piezo buzzer and transistor, and in standby it sips 7–8µA. I did hit a snag: playback caused 130mA peaks that browned out a CR2032. A LiPo fixed it, but I really wanted coin‑cell, so I upped the buzzer’s base resistor to 10k, dropping peaks to 56mA and average to ~7mA—now it runs happily (and loudly) from a coin cell. Pro tip: if standby bricks programming, wlink can erase via power-off mode. I’m bit‑banging audio, published a simple MIDI→buzzer tool with a 1‑bit SFX generator, and all the code’s on GitHub.
I Built a 27V Circuit to Fix This $3 Gadget - I revived a cheap scribble pad by swapping its fried board for a tiny PCB that boosts a coin cell to 27 V—enough to cleanly reset the bistable LCD. It’s a Joule Thief with Zener regulation and twin 220 µH inductors (mounted in opposite orientations), pulling ~17 mA during charge and ~7 mA while regulating. It’s coin-cell friendly, works great, and just needs a bit of case surgery for a perfect fit.
Look at my shiny crystal balls - Just upgraded my basic AliExpress crystal balls with some tech wizardry - I've thrown in an ESP32-S3-MINI, a mic, and made them battery powered. Thanks to WLED software, they're now smart and responsive! Shared the KiCAD project for fellow tinkerers. Check out my video to see these balls in action!
High voltage coin cell - I blew up the original PCB on a bistable cholesteric display, so I built a coin-cell Joule thief to crank out 27V and bring it back to life. A simple two-inductor setup with a 27V Zener does the trick—about 10 mA while the button’s held. Then I got fancy with a regulated version (just one extra transistor) that tops the cap to 27V and basically idles—average draw lands around 1.53 mA. It’s neat, tiny, and perfect for this low-current reset job. Full build and measurements are in the video.
Red Arcade Thing Repair - I resurrected a dead AliExpress arcade handheld by swapping the blown 3.3V regulator (I now own 99 spares), adding a TP4056 charger with Schottky diode isolation, and nursing a 0V LiPo back to life. A bit of hot-plate rework, tidier wiring, and—flip the switch—boom: it boots! It’s not pretty, but it’s alive again.

Related Videos

10¢ MCU Brain Surgery - CH32V003 - I crack open a punchy little toy, show how the original just squishes two contacts to light the eye LEDs off a pair of LR41s, then perform some brain surgery to cram in a tiny lithium cell and my own board that triggers lights—and an incredibly annoying tune—on each punch. It sips about 7 µA in deep sleep and wakes via a yellow trigger wire, but the soldering was fiddly and full of swearing. Tape it up, cram it back in the head, and yes, it works a treat… maybe too well, because the beeping is driving me mad.
10¢ MCU Music Hack - CH32V003 - I spun some tiny WCH boards at PCBWay around an 8‑pin MCU (48 MHz, 16k flash, 2k RAM) to beep tunes off a coin cell. I tried hand-soldering, then used my paste-dispensing PCB printer—expired paste still worked great. Standby sips under 8 µA, but it locks out programming; a WLink flash wipe rescued me. Wake draws ~3.3 mA, and audio peaks hit ~130 mA (~13–14 mA average), which browned out the coin cell. A tiny 80 mAh LiPo with a TP4056 (modded to ~100 mA) proved the design, then swapping the buzzer’s base resistor from 1k to 10k tamed it to ~56 mA peak and just over 7 mA average—coin cell friendly and still loud. I’m bit-banging audio for now (PWM/timers later). I also made a quick MIDI-to-note tool and a one-bit SFX generator. These boards are heading into my next project—stay tuned.
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.
Dodgy circuit could have caused a fire! - So, I got this red mini handheld game thing from AliExpress and it died pretty quickly. After a bit of tinkering, I found that it still draws current but isn't turning on because of a dead battery and a burnt voltage regulator. I removed the faulty components and injected 3.3 volts directly into the system, and guess what? The screen lights up and it works, but there's no sound. Despite the hiccup with my microscope, which stopped recording some interesting bits, you get the picture. It's partly revived but not quite there yet. Big shout out to PCB way who help us out with PCBs!
Boost Battery Life: DIY Rechargeable LED Lights Hack - Have you ever wanted to hack your battery-powered LED string lights and make them rechargeable? In this fun DIY project, learn how to replace disposable batteries with lithium cells and transform your LED lights by using a charging board, resistors, and other simple components.
HELP SUPPORT MY WORK: If you're feeling flush then please stop by Patreon Or you can make a one off donation via ko-fi
Want to keep up to date with the latest posts and videos? Subscribe to the newsletter
Blog Logo

Chris Greening


Published

> Image

atomic14

A collection of slightly mad projects, instructive/educational videos, and generally interesting stuff. Building projects around the Arduino and ESP32 platforms - we'll be exploring AI, Computer Vision, Audio, 3D Printing - it may get a bit eclectic...

View All Posts