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.
So, I have returned to my last year’s design of the CH340G based programmer and upgraded it with the same pinout as the widely known ESP01 module for the better compatibility and the USB Type C receptacle. Nowadays connectors of this type are way more popular than outdated Micro USB ones.
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!
I finally built myself a universal programmer for ESP8266 and ESP32 boards using a CP2102 chip and a bunch of connectors. It’s simple, cheap, and works with everything—from ESP-01 to my custom URU Card. Full schematic, photos, and files are in the repo if you want to build one too.
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!
Slightly tired of big and long-running projects both at work and at home I decided to make a small spin-off project to help me working with ESP8266/ESP32 devices. Is there any reason to make it when there are a lot of cheap USB-Serial converters in the market? I don’t think so. My only reason to make it is to have cool addition allowing ESP8266s to be programmed automatically without flash/reset buttons but simple circuit with two transistors. Most of the USB to Serial converters simply do not have this circuitry on board. And, of course, I wanted to have some fun.
Got into a Reddit convo about showing JPEGs on e-ink displays with ESP8266—and turns out, you don’t need an external service to dither images. Just a bit of code magic in C++ or Python can convert JPEGs to black and white right on the device. Simple and 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.