This DIY Color Display Kit is a fun and educational project for makers of all ages. It is a great way to learn about electronics, programming, and improve your soldering skills.
Microcontroller
As this kit ships with the ePulse Feather ESP32 development board, the kit thereby inherits all the great features of said devkit.
Display
The large 3.5" 320x480 color display also sports a high-precision capacitive touch interface. Contrary to resistive touch interfaces that often work best when using a stylus this auto-calibrated module offers a smartphone-like user experience.
Connector PCB
The connectors for the display are already pre-assembled on the connector PCB, as those require a more experienced hand at the soldering iron. Hence, for the inexperienced solderer this offers the best of both worlds. Also, you may choose to not add the on-off switch or the Grove connector; both are optional.
The connector PCB offers extendability in two ways: the broken out pins of the microcontroller and the connector for the Grove system.
Specifications
Microcontroller
ESP32
Module
ePulse Feather
Display Resolution
320 x 480
Display Driver
ILI9488
Touch Display
Capacitive
Included
1x ePulse Feather, low-power ESP32 development board
1x 3.5" 320x480 Color Display (ILI9488, TFT) with capacitive touch Interface (FT6236) Color Kit Grande Connector Board
1x Custom connector PCB to connect the ESP32 and the display Header Pins
1x Set of special pin headers (to be soldered to connector PCB Color Kit Power Switch)
1x On-off switch (to be optionally soldered to connector PCB SMD Grove Connector)
1x Grove connector (to be optionally soldered to connector PCB Color Kit Grande Foam Stickers)
4x Double-sided foam adhesive to secured display to PCB
Downloads
Schematics
Documentation
The ESP8266 is an impressive, low cost WiFi module suitable for adding WiFi functionality to an existing microcontroller project via a UART serial connection. The module can even be reprogrammed to act as a standalone WiFi connected device – just add power! 802.11 b/g/n protocol Wi-Fi Direct (P2P), soft-AP Integrated TCP/IP protocol stack This module is a self-contained SOC (System On a Chip) that doesn’t necessarily need a microcontroller to manipulate inputs and outputs as you would normally do with an Arduino , for example, because the ESP-01 acts as a small computer. Thus, you can give a microcontroller internet access like the Wi-Fi shield does to the Arduino, or you can simply program the ESP8266 to not only have access to a Wi-Fi network, but to act as a microcontroller as well, which makes the ESP8266 very versatile.
The Arduino Nano ESP32 (with and without headers) is a Nano form factor board based on the ESP32-S3 (embedded in the NORA-W106-10B from u-blox). This is the first Arduino board to be based fully on an ESP32, and features Wi-Fi, Bluetooth LE, debugging via native USB in the Arduino IDE as well as low power. The Nano ESP32 is compatible with the Arduino IoT Cloud, and has support for MicroPython. It is an ideal board for getting started with IoT development. Features
Tiny footprint: Designed with the well-known Nano form factor in mind, this board's compact size makes it perfect for embedding in standalone projects.
Wi-Fi and Bluetooth: Harness the power of the ESP32-S3 microcontroller, well-known in the IoT realm, with full Arduino support for wireless and Bluetooth connectivity.
Arduino and MicroPython support: Seamlessly switch between Arduino and MicroPython programming with a few simple steps.
Arduino IoT Cloud compatible: Quickly and easily create IoT projects with just a few lines of code. The setup takes care of security, allowing you to monitor and control your project from anywhere using the Arduino IoT Cloud app.
HID support: Simulate human interface devices, such as keyboards or mice, over USB, opening up new possibilities for interacting with your computer. Specifications Microcontroller u-blox NORA-W106 (ESP32-S3) USB connector USB-C Pins Built-in LED pins 13 Built-in RGB LED pins 14-16 Digital I/O pins 14 Analog input pins 8 PWM pins 5 External interrupts All digital pins Connectivity Wi-Fi u-blox NORA-W106 (ESP32-S3) Bluetooth u-blox NORA-W106 (ESP32-S3) Communication UART 2x I²C 1x, A4 (SDA), A5 (SCL) SPI D11 (COPI), D12 (CIPO), D13 (SCK). Use any GPIO for Chip Select (CS) Power I/O Voltage 3.3 V Input voltage (nominal) 6-21 V Source Current per I/O pin 40 mA Sink Current per I/O pin 28 mA Clock speed Processor Up to 240 MHz Memory ROM 384 kB SRAM 512 kB External Flash 128 Mbit (16 MB) Dimensions 18 x 45 mm Downloads Datasheet Schematics
The ESP32-WROOM-32, measuring 25.2 x 18 mm only, contains the ESP32 SoC, flash memory, precision discrete components, and PCB antenna to provide outstanding RF performance in space-constrained applications.
ESP32-WROOM-32 is a powerful, generic Wi-Fi + BT + BLE MCU module that targets a wide variety of applications, ranging from low-power sensor networks to the most demanding tasks, such as voice encoding, music streaming and MP3 decoding.
At the core of this module is the ESP32-D0WDQ6 chip. The chip embedded is designed to be scalable and adaptive. There are two CPU cores that can be individually controlled, and the clock frequency is adjustable from 80 MHz to 240 MHz. The user may also power off the CPU and make use of the low-power co-processor to monitor the peripherals for changes or crossing of thresholds constantly. ESP32 integrates a rich set of peripherals, ranging from capacitive touch sensors, Hall sensors, SD card interface, Ethernet, high-speed SPI, UART, I²S and I²C.
The integration of Bluetooth, Bluetooth LE and Wi-Fi ensures that a wide range of applications can be targeted and that the module is future proof. Using Wi-Fi allows a vast physical range and direct connection to the internet through a Wi-Fi router while using Bluetooth allows the user to conveniently connect to the phone or broadcast low energy beacons for its detection.
The sleep current of the ESP32 chip is less than 5 µA, making it suitable for battery powered and wearable electronics applications. ESP32 supports a data rate of up to 150 Mbps, and 20.5 dBm output power at the antenna to ensure the broadest physical range. As such the chip does offer industry-leading specifications and the best performance for electronic integration, range, power consumption, and connectivity.
Downloads
Datasheet
At the core of this module is ESP32-S2, an Xtensa® 32-bit LX7 CPU that operates at up to 240 MHz. The chip has a low-power co-processor that can be used instead of the CPU to save power while performing tasks that do not require much computing power, such as monitoring of peripherals. ESP32-S2 integrates a rich set of peripherals, ranging from SPI, I²S, UART, I²C, LED PWM, TWAITM, LCD, Camera interface, ADC, DAC, touch sensor, temperature sensor, as well as up to 43 GPIOs. It also includes a full-speed USB On-The-Go (OTG) interface to enable USB communication.FeaturesMCU
ESP32-S2 embedded, Xtensa® single-core 32-bit LX7 microprocessor, up to 240 MHz
128 KB ROM
320 KB SRAM
16 KB SRAM in RTC
WiFi
802.11 b/g/n
Bit rate: 802.11n up to 150 Mbps
A-MPDU and A-MSDU aggregation
0.4 µs guard interval support
Center frequency range of operating channel: 2412 ~ 2484 MHz
Hardware
Interfaces: GPIO, SPI, LCD, UART, I²C, I²S, Camera interface, IR, pulse counter, LED PWM, TWAI (compatible with ISO 11898-1), USB OTG 1.1, ADC, DAC, touch sensor, temperature sensor
40 MHz crystal oscillator
4 MB SPI flash
Operating voltage/Power supply: 3.0 ~ 3.6 V
Operating temperature range: –40 ~ 85 °C
Dimensions: 18 × 31 × 3.3 mm
Applications
Generic Low-power IoT Sensor Hub
Generic Low-power IoT Data Loggers
Cameras for Video Streaming
Over-the-top (OTT) Devices
USB Devices
Speech Recognition
Image Recognition
Mesh Network
Home Automation
Smart Home Control Panel
Smart Building
Industrial Automation
Smart Agriculture
Audio Applications
Health Care Applications
Wi-Fi-enabled Toys
Wearable Electronics
Retail & Catering Applications
Smart POS Machines
The ESP32-PICO-Kit fits into a mini breadboard. It is fully functional with the minimum number of discrete components, while it has all the ESP32 pins exposed.
Features
Complete up-to-date documentation is available.
All instructions and commands presented work as described.
Plentiful additional information and hardware documentation are available too.
Applications for the ESP32-PICO-KIT can be developed on Windows, Linux or Mac.
Two cores and a radio
Like the ESP8266 the ESP32 has Wi-Fi but adds Bluetooth. It also has two 32-bit cores inside, making it extremely powerful, and providing all the ports and interfaces that the ESP8266 is lacking.Oversimplifying things, one might say that the ESP8266 is a Wi-Fi controller that provides some I/O, whereas the ESP32 is a full-fledged controller that also has Wi-Fi.
ESP32 peripherals
The ESP32 exposes an ADC & DAC, touch sensor circuitry, an SD/SDIO/MMC host controller, an SDIO/SPI slave controller, an EMAC, PWM to control LEDs and motors, UART, SPI, I²C, I²S, infrared remote controller, and, of course, GPIO.
ESP32-PICO-KIT Development board
The ESP32-PICO-D4 is a System-on-Chip (SoC) integrating an ESP32 chip together with a 4 MB SPI flash memory in a tiny 7 x 7 mm package.
The ESP32-PICO-KIT is a breakout board for this SoC with an onboard USB-to-serial converter for easy programming and debugging.
Besides the board, you'll need a programming toolchain. Complete, up-to-date documentation from Espressif is available on the Read the Docs website.
All instructions and commands presented work as described.Plentiful additional information and hardware documentation are available too.
Applications for the ESP32-PICO-KIT can be developed on Windows, Linux or Mac.
The T-Journal is a cheap ESP32 Camera Development Board that features an OV2640 camera, an antenna, a 0.91 inch OLED display, some exposed GPIOs, and a micro-USB interface. It makes it easy and quick to upload code to the board. Specifications Chipset Expressif-ESP32-PCIO-D4 240 MHz Xtensa single-/dual-core 32-bit LX6 microprocessor FLASH QSPI flash/SRAM, up to 4x 16 MB SRAM 520 kB SRAM KEY reset, IO32 Display 0.91' SSD1306 Power indicator lamp red USB to TTL CP2104 Camera OV2640, 2 Megapixel Steering engine analog servo On-board clock 40 MHz crystal oscillator Working voltage 2.3-3.6 V Working current about 160 mA Working temperature range -40℃ ~ +85℃ Size 64.57 x 23.98 mm Power Supply USB 5 V/1 A Charging current 1 A Battery 3.7 V lithium battery WiFi Standard FCC/CE/TELEC/KCC/SRRC/NCC (ESP32-chip) Protocol 802.11 b/g/n/e/i (802.11n, speed up to 150 Mbps) A-MPDU and A-MSDU polymerization, support 0.4 μS Protection interval Frequency range 2.4 GHz~2.5 GHz (2400 M ~ 2483.5 M) Transmit Power 22 dBm Communication distance 300m Bluetooth Protocol meet bluetooth v4.2BR/EDR and BLE standard Radio frequency with -98 dBm sensitivity NZIF receiver Class-1, Class-2 & Class-3 emitter AFH Audio frequency CVSD & SBC audio frequency Software Wifi Mode Station/SoftAP/SoftAP+Station/P2P Security mechanism WPA/WPA2/WPA2-Enterprise/WPS Encryption Type AES/RSA/ECC/SHA Firmware upgrade UART download/OTA (Through network/host to download and write firmware) Software Development Support cloud server development /SDK for user firmware development Networking protocol IPv4, IPv6, SSL, TCP/UDP/HTTP/FTP/MQTT User Configuration AT + Instruction set, cloud server, Android/iOS app OS FreeRTOS Included 1x ESP32 Camera Module (Fish-eye Lens) 1x Wi-Fi Antenna 1x Power Line Downloads Camera library for Arduino
Practical Multitasking Fundamentals
Programming embedded systems is difficult because of resource constraints and limited debugging facilities. Why develop your own Real-Time Operating System (RTOS) as well as your application when the proven FreeRTOS software is freely available? Why not start with a validated foundation?
Every software developer knows that you must divide a difficult problem into smaller ones to conquer it. Using separate preemptive tasks and FreeRTOS communication mechanisms, a clean separation of functions is achieved within the entire application. This results in safe and maintainable designs.
Practicing engineers and students alike can use this book and the ESP32 Arduino environment to wade into FreeRTOS concepts at a comfortable pace. The well-organized text enables you to master each concept before starting the next chapter. Practical breadboard experiments and schematics are included to bring the lessons home. Experience is the best teacher.
Each chapter includes exercises to test your knowledge. The coverage of the FreeRTOS Application Programming Interface (API) is complete for the ESP32 Arduino environment. You can apply what you learn to other FreeRTOS environments, including Espressif’s ESP-IDF. The source code is available from GitHub. All of these resources put you in the driver’s seat when it is time to develop your next uber-cool ESP32 project.
What you will learn:
How preemptive scheduling works within FreeRTOS
The Arduino startup “loopTask”
Message queues
FreeRTOS timers and the IDLE task
The semaphore, mutex, and their differences
The mailbox and its application
Real-time task priorities and its effect
Interrupt interaction and use with FreeRTOS
Queue sets
Notifying tasks with events
Event groups
Critical sections
Task local storage
The gatekeeper task
The Elektor ESP32 Energy Meter is a device designed for real-time energy monitoring and smart home integration. Powered by the ESP32-S3 microcontroller, it offers robust performance with modular and scalable features.
The device uses a 220 V-to-12 V step-down transformer for voltage sampling, ensuring galvanic isolation and safety. Its compact PCB layout includes screw-type terminal blocks for secure connections, a Qwiic connector for additional sensors, and a programming header for direct ESP32-S3 configuration. The energy meter is compatible with single-phase and three-phase systems, making it adaptable for various applications.
The energy meter is simple to set up and integrates with Home Assistant, offering real-time monitoring, historical analytics, and automation capabilities. It provides accurate measurements of voltage, current, and power, making it a valuable tool for energy management in homes and businesses.
Features
Comprehensive Energy Monitoring: Get detailed insights into your energy usage for smarter management and cost savings.
Customizable Software: Tailor functionality to your needs by programming and integrating custom sensors.
Smart Home Ready: Compatible with ESPHome, Home Assistant, and MQTT for full Smart Home integration.
Safe & Flexible Design: Operates with a 220 V-to-12 V step-down transformer and features a pre-assembled SMD board.
Quick Start: Includes one Current Transformer (CT) sensor and access to free setup resources.
Specifications
Microcontroller
ESP32-S3-WROOM-1-N8R2
Energy Metering IC
ATM90E32AS
Status Indicators
4x LEDs for power consumption indication2x Programmable LEDs for custom status notifications
User Input
2x Push buttons for user control
Display Output
I²C OLED display for real-time power consumption visualization
Input Voltage
110/220 V AC (via step-down transformer)
Input Power
12 V (via step-down transformer or DC input)
Clamp Current Sensor
YHDC SCT013-000 (100 A/50 mA) included
Smart Home Integration
ESPHome, Home Assistant, and MQTT for seamless connectivity
Connectivity
Header for programming, Qwiic for sensor expansion
Applications
Supports single-phase and three-phase energy monitoring systems
Dimensions
79.5 x 79.5 mm
Included
1x Partly assembled board (SMDs are pre-mounted)
2x Screw terminal block connerctors (not mounted)
1x YHDC SCT013-000 current transformer
Required
Power transformer not included
Downloads
Datasheet (ESP32-S3-WROOM-1)
Datasheet (ATM90E32AS)
Datasheet (SCT013-000)
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
From Prototype to Finished Product
What started as an innovative project to create a reliable and user-friendly energy meter using the ESP32-S3 microcontroller has evolved into a robust product. Initially developed as an open-source project, the ESP32 Energy Meter aimed to provide precise energy monitoring, smart home integration and more. Through meticulous hardware and firmware development, the energy meter now stands as a compact, versatile solution for energy management.
At the core of this module is ESP32-S2, an Xtensa® 32-bit LX7 CPU that operates at up to 240 MHz. The chip has a low-power co-processor that can be used instead of the CPU to save power while performing tasks that do not require much computing power, such as monitoring of peripherals. ESP32-S2 integrates a rich set of peripherals, ranging from SPI, I²S, UART, I²C, LED PWM, TWAITM, LCD, Camera interface, ADC, DAC, touch sensor, temperature sensor, as well as up to 43 GPIOs. It also includes a full-speed USB On-The-Go (OTG) interface to enable USB communication.FeaturesMCU
ESP32-S2 embedded, Xtensa® single-core 32-bit LX7 microprocessor, up to 240 MHz
128 KB ROM
320 KB SRAM
16 KB SRAM in RTC
WiFi
802.11 b/g/n
Bit rate: 802.11n up to 150 Mbps
A-MPDU and A-MSDU aggregation
0.4 µs guard interval support
Center frequency range of operating channel: 2412 ~ 2484 MHz
Hardware
Interfaces: GPIO, SPI, LCD, UART, I²C, I²S, Camera interface, IR, pulse counter, LED PWM, TWAI (compatible with ISO 11898-1), USB OTG 1.1, ADC, DAC, touch sensor, temperature sensor
40 MHz crystal oscillator
4 MB SPI flash
Operating voltage/Power supply: 3.0 ~ 3.6 V
Operating temperature range: –40 ~ 85 °C
Dimensions: 18 × 31 × 3.3 mm
Applications
Generic Low-power IoT Sensor Hub
Generic Low-power IoT Data Loggers
Cameras for Video Streaming
Over-the-top (OTT) Devices
USB Devices
Speech Recognition
Image Recognition
Mesh Network
Home Automation
Smart Home Control Panel
Smart Building
Industrial Automation
Smart Agriculture
Audio Applications
Health Care Applications
Wi-Fi-enabled Toys
Wearable Electronics
Retail & Catering Applications
Smart POS Machines
Learn how to use the ESP32 Microcontroller and MicroPython programming in your future projects!
The project book, written by well-known Elektor author Dogan Ibrahim, holds many software- and hardware-based projects especially developed for the MakePython ESP32 Development Kit. The kit comes with several LEDs, sensors, and actuators. The kit will help you acquire the basic knowledge to create IoT projects.
The book’s fully evaluated projects feature all the supplied components. Each project includes a block diagram, a circuit diagram, a full program listing, and a complete program description.
Included in the kit
1x MakePython ESP32 development board with color LCD
1x Ultrasonic ranging module
1x Temperature and humidity sensor
1x Buzzer module
1x DS18B20 module
1x Infrared module
1x Potentiometer
1x WS2812 module
1x Sound sensor
1x Vibration sensor
1x Photosensitive resistance module
1x Pulse sensor
1x Servo motor
1x USB cable
2x Button
2x Breadboard
45x Jumper wire
10x Resistor 330R
10x LED (Red)
10x LED (Green)
1x Project book (206 pages)
46 Projects in the Book
LED Projects
Blinking LED
Flashing SOS
Blinking LED – using a timer
Alternately flashing LEDs
Button control
Changing the LED flashing rate using pushbutton interrupts
Chasing-LEDs
Binary-counting LEDs
Christmas lights (random-flashing 8 LEDs)
Electronic dice
Lucky day of the week
Pulsewidth Modulation (PWM) Projects
Generate a 1000-Hz PWM waveform with 50% duty cycle
LED brightness control
Measuring the frequency and duty cycle of a PWM waveform
Melody maker
Simple electronic organ
Servo motor control
Servo motor DS18B20 thermometer
Analog To Digital Converter (ADC) Projects
Voltmeter
Plotting the analog input voltage
ESP32 internal temperature sensor
Ohmmeter
Photosensitive resistance module
Digital To Analog Converter (DAC) Projects
Generating fixed voltages
Generating a sawtooth-wave signal
Generating a triangular-wave signal
Arbitrary periodic waveform
Generating a sinewave signal
Generating accurate sinewave signal using timer interrupts
Using The OLED Display
Seconds counter
Event counter
DS18B20 OLED based digital thermometer
ON-OFF temperature controller
Measuring the temperature and humidity
Ultrasonic distance measurement
Height of a person (stadiometer)
Heart rate (pulse) measurement
Other Sensors Supplied with the Kit
Theft alarm
Sound-activated light
Infrared obstacle avoidance with buzzer
WS2812 RGB LED ring
Timestamping temperature and humidity readings
Network Programming
Wi-Fi scanner
Remote control from the Internet browser (using a smartphone or PC) – Web Server
Storing temperature and humidity data in the Cloud
Low-Power Operation
Using a timer to wake up the processor
Introducing the Elecrow ESP32 Terminal, a revolutionary handheld device engineered to elevate your projects to new heights. Boasting a 3.5″ 480 × 320 TFT capacitive...