Surprisingly not CR*P - Vibing hardware - Well folks, what an adventure! After vibe coding our vibing button, I took up the challenge to vibe code the actual hardware for an ESP32 S3 dev board. Used a tool called at pile and gave it a whirl with some AI help from Claude. Interestingly, it handled everything from sourcing components with LCSC part numbers to wiring them up. Had a wee hiccup with missing capacitor in the RC circuit, but overall it was a thrilling ride watching the AI process! A bit of tweaking here and there, and we're good to go! Can't wait to see it in action.

PCB Mistake Turns into Vacuum Stencil Experiment | MHP30 Hotplate Test - Learn how to recover from a mistaken chip order and improve SMD soldering techniques using a mini hotplate and vacuum cleaner stencil holder. Watch the mesmerizing results under the microscope!

Oops I Did It Again… Swapped VCC and GND, on My PCB 🙈 - Hey everyone! In this video, I made a little snafu with my PCB layout by confusing a common anode with a common cathode for my RGB LED. I walked through fixing it by a bit of desoldering, applying solder resist, and reconnecting with a fine wire. Thanks to PCB Way for their awesome service, and as always, all the mistakes you see are mine alone! It's all sorted now, and our LED is shining brightly once again. Let's take a look at the process!

Can You Spot the Problem? - Buckle up folks, this video is a thrilling one! There's everything from unboxing my new ESP32 TV boards that arrived from PCB Way to discovering some hidden issues. We're talking about some pesky problems, surprises, and even a potential catastrophic error that could've led to a disaster. The main dish is the high-speed SD card access over USB - ultimately achieving a whooping transfer rate! But, the journey is a roller-coaster ride, from the project completely failing initially, to some smart hacks and triumphant moments. All the peripherals worked well, from the display to the sound amplifier and even the infrared receiver. Despite the ups and downs, there's a lot to learn and that's what makes this video exciting! Can't wait to share the improvements I have in mind for turning the prototype into the ultimate all-in-one device. But first, let's address the elephant in the room - an ill-placed diode that's a ticking bomb, because you know, safety first!

Sneak Preview of work in progress. - Dive into the fascinating world of PCB coils with this informative video, showcasing innovative ways to create and experiment with them. Get ready to be inspired by @CarlBugeja's groundbreaking work!

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!

A Potentially Explosive Error - Just received the new PCBs for the ESP32-TV project and they're looking sharp with only a tiny resistor tweak needed. But I discovered a sneaky, undocumented resistor causing a conflict between the ESP32 and USB2244 over the USB connection. Fixed that, but there's a bigger issue lurking in the design - check the schematic in the video and see if you can spot it before I reveal the explosive mistake!

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 more high voltage adventures!

The PCBs are in production - what have I messed up? - After some stress and trepidation, I finally took the plunge and sent my PCB design off for manufacturing. My design centers around building a large seven-segment clock with LED filaments. Jumping hurdles such as voltages, pin usage, and limiting the load on my power supply, I've settled on the ESP32 as the system's heart and come up with a final circuit design. While doing this, I've quickly realized I could improve my layout and fixed a small mistake. Also, I've prepared for either types of LED filaments - the high-voltage ones or the larger, 3v ones. However, I did bungle up a couple of things on the enable line of the shift registers and board layout. But hey, this is a learning curve, right? Can't wait to get the boards and see what other exciting errors surface!

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!