Shekhar Vaidya writes about utilizing a $15 ESP32 and a small OLED screen to display live home server stats (CPU, RAM, disk, and load) without requiring an open dashboard or phone app. He selected the Komodo monitoring service for its 5-second refresh rate over Beszel's richer but slower 60-second data, and the project took several days of troubleshooting after a wiring error fried the original display.
- The home server is a repurposed Dell Latitude laptop running Debian with 20+ self-hosted services
- A superadmin API key and secret are stored in plain text on the ESP32
- The display is not a replacement for monitoring tools; it serves as a glanceable trigger to investigate further
- The home server is a repurposed Dell Latitude laptop running Debian with 20+ self-hosted services
- A superadmin API key and secret are stored in plain text on the ESP32
- The display is not a replacement for monitoring tools; it serves as a glanceable trigger to investigate further
Colonel Panic sells open-source, ESP32-S3 based counter-surveillance hardware that passively detects drones, body cams, license-plate readers, and other monitoring devices. The flagship OUI SPY board ($85) runs "Unified Blue" firmware with six modes, including Sky Spy for FAA drone Remote ID, a multi-target BLE scanner that flags axe-on body cams and Taser 7/10, a headless AXEOFF beeper, a Foxhunter proximity tracker, Flock-You for Flock camera detection, and raw Wi-Fi/BLE capture for Wireshark. The mesh-detect v2 ($110) pairs a Seeed XIAO ESP32-S3 with a Heltec LoRa 32 V3 for 5–15 km distributed drone detection and real-time web mapping over Meshtastic. The project has drawn significant press attention—from EFF, Forbes, the Wall Street Journal, and Hackaday—after being credited with spurring local council action against Flock Safety cameras and being featured on the DEF CON 34 main stage.
- A Nerd Nite talk in Asheville is credited by the WSJ with directly prompting the city council to vote against Flock Safety.
- AXEOFF detects axe-on body cams, Taser 7/10, and Signal devices without a UI—just proximity beeps.
- A transparent flexible PCB patch version of the OUI SPY ($75) is sewable onto clothing as a punk art statement.
- A "Flock-You" mode exists but the site admits Flock rapidly changes firmware, so detection coverage is limited.
- Skull earring PCBs ($25) are sold as artistic DIY kits compatible with XIAO ESP32-S3.
- A Nerd Nite talk in Asheville is credited by the WSJ with directly prompting the city council to vote against Flock Safety.
- AXEOFF detects axe-on body cams, Taser 7/10, and Signal devices without a UI—just proximity beeps.
- A transparent flexible PCB patch version of the OUI SPY ($75) is sewable onto clothing as a punk art statement.
- A "Flock-You" mode exists but the site admits Flock rapidly changes firmware, so detection coverage is limited.
- Skull earring PCBs ($25) are sold as artistic DIY kits compatible with XIAO ESP32-S3.
Simon Batt writes about unidex, an open-source operating system for the 1.54" Waveshare ESP32-S3 ePaper display that turns the tiny board into a pocket productivity device with a Tamagotchi-like virtual pet. It displays the next class with a live countdown, converts voice notes to Markdown for Obsidian, and allows the pet to interact with other users' pets.
- Installable directly from a browser
- Includes a WiFi collection game and four one-button games
- Free to fork and customize for non-commercial purposes
- Installable directly from a browser
- Includes a WiFi collection game and four one-button games
- Free to fork and customize for non-commercial purposes
mikedeblin writes about a portable MP3 player built on the ESP32-S3 that plays music from a microSD card or streams it from a DLNA/UPnP media server (tested with Synology Audio Station). The device features a 1.8" colour TFT with four display modes, an OLED status display, a rotary encoder with a 16-LED ring, and an output compressor and limiter that protect the DAC from being overdriven.
- Uses a PCM5102A DAC in hardware I²S mode with a ReaComp-style compressor and brick-wall lookahead limiter
- Network streaming uses a 256 KB PSRAM ring buffer to absorb WiFi drop-outs
- Supports ID3v2.3/2.4 tags in UTF-16, UTF-8, Latin-1, and Windows-1251 (Cyrillic)
- LED ring is driven through an MCP23017 I²C GPIO expander with 125 Hz multiplexing
- MP3 only for now; AAC and FLAC decoders exist in AudioTools but are not yet wired in
- Uses a PCM5102A DAC in hardware I²S mode with a ReaComp-style compressor and brick-wall lookahead limiter
- Network streaming uses a 256 KB PSRAM ring buffer to absorb WiFi drop-outs
- Supports ID3v2.3/2.4 tags in UTF-16, UTF-8, Latin-1, and Windows-1251 (Cyrillic)
- LED ring is driven through an MCP23017 I²C GPIO expander with 125 Hz multiplexing
- MP3 only for now; AAC and FLAC decoders exist in AudioTools but are not yet wired in
Waveshare's Thermal-Camera-ESP32-Module is a compact wireless infrared thermal imaging camera built on the ESP32-S3-WROOM-1 chip, featuring an 80x62 pixel microbolometer/thermopile sensor array with a 25 FPS refresh rate and a dual-mode 2.4 GHz WiFi/Bluetooth 5 LE connection. It offers two field-of-view options (45° basic and 90° wide angle), supports target temperatures from -40°C to 400°C with ±2°C accuracy, and includes a rechargeable lithium battery header, Type-C power connector, and 14 GPIO pins for expansion. The module can stream thermal images via a web interface or serial port, configured through an Android Bluetooth app or factory firmware flashing.
- NETD of 125mK provides reasonable thermal sensitivity for consumer and hobbyist applications
- The module supports both AP (hotspot) and STA (client) WiFi modes, with AP mode defaulting to 192.168.4.1:3333
- Emissivity considerations are important for accurate readings; the article explains gray body and selective radiator concepts
- Source code is provided for VS Code and ESP-IDF v5.4.1, enabling secondary development
- A third-party Node.js web interface project is linked for alternative display solutions
- NETD of 125mK provides reasonable thermal sensitivity for consumer and hobbyist applications
- The module supports both AP (hotspot) and STA (client) WiFi modes, with AP mode defaulting to 192.168.4.1:3333
- Emissivity considerations are important for accurate readings; the article explains gray body and selective radiator concepts
- Source code is provided for VS Code and ESP-IDF v5.4.1, enabling secondary development
- A third-party Node.js web interface project is linked for alternative display solutions
admin writes that multiple independent projects have discovered an undocumented feature in ESP32 chips that bypasses standard WiFi and Bluetooth functions to capture raw IQ baseband samples. This allows several ESP32 models to operate as internal SDRs covering 2.2–2.7 GHz, with the ESP32-C5 extending to 4.8–6.0 GHz at up to 80 MS/s. While most implementations are limited to snapshot-based spectrum analysis due to bandwidth constraints, the new ESP32-S31 supports continuous streaming over Gigabit Ethernet. Other projects have leveraged this feature to enable phase-coherent direction finding and a 5.8 GHz FPV video receiver.
- The ESPARGOS team is not implementing phase-coherent transmissions due to misuse concerns.
- An FPGA-based prototype by user h0m3us3r streams data continuously, though it has poor phase noise.
- The C5VRX project utilizes the undocumented IQ stream for a 5.8 GHz FPV video receiver.
- The ESPARGOS team is not implementing phase-coherent transmissions due to misuse concerns.
- An FPGA-based prototype by user h0m3us3r streams data continuously, though it has poor phase noise.
- The C5VRX project utilizes the undocumented IQ stream for a 5.8 GHz FPV video receiver.
Jenny List writes about how an undocumented feature in certain ESP32 chips allows the raw I/Q stream to be tapped before the WiFi modem, effectively turning them into software-defined radio receivers. Discovered independently by Espargos and a Reddit user, the mode supports both 2.4 and 5 GHz bands but is limited to receive-only operation.
- Only works on ESP32 variants with earlier Tensilica hardware; Bluetooth-only and non-radio P4 chips won't work
- Transmit capability appears possible but remains undocumented, with the discoverer refusing to share due to "rule 3"
- The 80 Msps 32-bit/sample data rate creates bandwidth challenges for external transfer via SDIO or UART interfaces
- Only works on ESP32 variants with earlier Tensilica hardware; Bluetooth-only and non-radio P4 chips won't work
- Transmit capability appears possible but remains undocumented, with the discoverer refusing to share due to "rule 3"
- The 80 Msps 32-bit/sample data rate creates bandwidth challenges for external transfer via SDIO or UART interfaces
Giorgio Mendoza writes that Makerfabs has released the MaTouch ESP32-S3 7.5-inch Quad-Color E-Ink board, pairing an 800×480 four-color electrophoretic display with an ESP32-S3R8 controller, a four-microphone array, a six-axis IMU, and microSD storage for low-power displays and voice-controlled interfaces.
- Priced at $59.80, with an optional OV3660 3-megapixel camera adding $4.80
- The E Ink panel uses a JD79665 controller with a full-screen refresh time of about 20 seconds
- Software support includes ESP-IDF 5.4.2 and Arduino, with published examples for camera capture and voice-activated image browsing
- The board supports 2.4GHz Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5 LE, with 8MB PSRAM and 16MB SPI flash
- Priced at $59.80, with an optional OV3660 3-megapixel camera adding $4.80
- The E Ink panel uses a JD79665 controller with a full-screen refresh time of about 20 seconds
- Software support includes ESP-IDF 5.4.2 and Arduino, with published examples for camera capture and voice-activated image browsing
- The board supports 2.4GHz Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5 LE, with 8MB PSRAM and 16MB SPI flash
This open-source project provides firmware for an ESP32-C3 Super Mini connected to a 1.28″ round GC9A01 display, creating a sonar-style aircraft radar that visualizes live ADS-B data from adsb.fi around the user's location. The device features WiFiManager for easy initial configuration via a captive portal and allows users to cycle through range presets or reset network credentials using hardware buttons.
- Visualizes aircraft with red heading triangles, magenta speed vectors, and callsign tags.
- Supports runway overlays from major airports based on OurAirports data.
- Displays "rim dots" for approaching aircraft located outside the current radar ring but within range of ADS-B data.
- Uses NVS to persist user settings like latitude, longitude, units (mi/km), and WiFi credentials.
- Visualizes aircraft with red heading triangles, magenta speed vectors, and callsign tags.
- Supports runway overlays from major airports based on OurAirports data.
- Displays "rim dots" for approaching aircraft located outside the current radar ring but within range of ADS-B data.
- Uses NVS to persist user settings like latitude, longitude, units (mi/km), and WiFi credentials.
ppoinha writes a project for the ESP32 Cheap Yellow Display (CYD) that functions as a real-time aircraft tracker, rendering a live radar Plan Position Indicator (PPI) on its 2.8-inch touchscreen. The application displays nearby aircraft details such as callsigns and flight levels, provides weather information via Open-Meteo, and includes a built-in web server for remote configuration of location and search radius.
- Utilizes the ESP32's dual-core architecture to handle API calls on Core 0 while maintaining smooth UI rendering on Core 1.
- Integrates data from OpenSky Network for ADS-B states and hexdb.io for ICAO route lookups.
- Features a scrollable list of the five closest flights along with real-time system statistics like WiFi RSSI and free RAM.
- Utilizes the ESP32's dual-core architecture to handle API calls on Core 0 while maintaining smooth UI rendering on Core 1.
- Integrates data from OpenSky Network for ADS-B states and hexdb.io for ICAO route lookups.
- Features a scrollable list of the five closest flights along with real-time system statistics like WiFi RSSI and free RAM.
