Posts tagged with “arduino”

Turns out you can program a dirt-cheap ESP01 module to act like an iBus receiver for a flight controller. I threw together a quick sketch to send random channel data—and yep, Betaflight picked it up! It’s just a prototype, but this could be a fun path toward building a Wi-Fi-based RC setup.

A lot of people asked if they can buy the URU Card—so I built one more, opened a little Tindie store, and… it sold out instantly. I’ll build more in small batches, so if you’re interested, just hit the watchlist and let me know your PCB color preference. No Kickstarter (yet), just a hobby!

I added a tiny capacitive touch keyboard to the URU Card using the MPR121 chip—and it works great! The PCB has 12 touch pads, the setup is dead simple with I2C and the Adafruit library, and best of all… no debouncing needed. Smooth and responsive UI, just like I hoped.

Got a fresh batch of URU Card PCBs, and this time I used them to build a full hard shell case—just by stacking boards together. No 3D printing needed! I also switched to a PCB antenna (zero cost!) and prepped the layout for a future USB interface with the FT260 chip. It’s compact, wallet-friendly, and fully functional.

Picked up one of those common UART fingerprint modules? I did too. Turns out, it’s not just a scanner—it does internal matching with an onboard STM32 chip. I tested it with an ESP32 board, wrote up a simple Arduino sketch, and it works surprisingly well. Full pinout, usage, and code included!

Finally, a working BLE-based FIDO2 authenticator on Arduino! The URU Card project now supports basic credential creation and authentication via ESP32. Still early-stage (with hardcoded keys for now), but it’s enough to pass WebAuthn tests in Windows—and it’s open for everyone to try and build on.

After a lot of requests to open-source URU Key, I’m starting a new project—URU Card! It’s a wallet-sized, open-source FIDO2 authenticator with an OLED screen, touch keyboard, and ESP32 brain. No biometrics (for now), but secure, DIY-friendly, and easy to build with Arduino libraries. Want to join in?

I hooked up both the MH-Z19B and CCS811 CO₂ sensors side by side and logged data for a full week. The results? They mostly follow the same trends—but actual readings vary wildly, sometimes by 1000+ ppm. Which one’s accurate? Hard to say without a calibrated reference…

Picked up a CJMCU-811 CO₂ and air quality sensor to compare it with my go-to MH-Z19B. It’s smaller, cheaper, uses I2C, and reacts super fast (you can literally breathe on it and watch the values change). One of my two units didn’t work, though—so quality might be hit or miss.

In Part 2 of my CO₂ sensor project, I set up the MH-Z19b with Arduino and ESP8266 using PlatformIO. Added WiFi-based configuration with my own WiFiConfig library, and used RecurringTask to keep everything responsive without blocking the loop. It’s simple, wireless, and super easy to tweak from your browser!

Back to FPC1020 driver work! I fired up an ESP8266 with Arduino to detect finger presence using the scanner’s built-in sensor matrix. It’s simple, fast, and could help optimize image capture—or even act like a button or gesture detector. Full example code and visuals inside!

Finally got my hands on the FPC1020 fingerprint scanners! These things are tiny, SPI-based, and perfect for a built-in solution. I built test boards, hooked them up to a NodeMCU, and wrote a basic Arduino sketch to read the hardware ID. Next step: integrating with the main authenticator project!

Spent the weekend turning an ESP32 into a FIDO2 BLE Authenticator! Chrome even recognizes it (though it doesn’t do much yet). Also found a neat secure chip—ATECC508A—that could store encrypted keys. Still brainstorming how to handle more than 16 keys. Nerdy fun!

While building my CO2 sensor, I wanted to manage the device over WiFi—no buttons, no cables. So, I made a sleek web-based config panel using VueJS and Tailwind CSS, all running right on the ESP8266. Here’s how I replaced manual setup with a modern, async, file-based config system.

Ever feel like the air in your room gets a bit… stale? I picked up a cheap MH-Z19b CO2 sensor and built a simple home air quality monitor using an ESP8266 and some DIY magic. Here’s how I prototyped it (twice!) and got it up and running with WiFi and colorful LED alerts.