LILYGO T-Embed SI4732 is an ESP32-S3 development board with an AM/FM radio, a TFT display, a rotary encoder, a built-in microphone, and a microSD card slot powered through a USB-C port or LiPo battery.
As its name implies, it’s based on the earlier LILYGO T-Embed battery-powered WiFi and BLE controller with a display and rotary encoder, but also adds a Skyworks SI4732 AM//FM/SW/LW radio receiver to the mix.
LILYGO T-Embed SI4732 specifications:
- Wireless module – ESP32-S3-WROOM-1 module
- SoC – ESP32-S3
- CPU – Dual-core Xtensa LX7 processor @ 240 MHz with vector extension for AI/ML
- Memory – 512 KB SRAM, 8 MB PSRAM
- Storage – 16MB flash
- Wireless – 2.4 GHz WiFi 4 and Bluetooth 5.0 LE
- PCB antenna
- SoC – ESP32-S3
- Storage – MicroSD card slot
- Display – 1.9-inch IPS color TFT LCD with 320 x 170 resolution (ST7789V SPI driver)
- Audio – 2x microphones, 8 Ohm @ 1W speaker
- Radio – Skyworth SI4732-A10 digital radio receiver chip (I2C + Audio) with support for
- FM band – 64 – 108 MHz (worldwide)
- AM band – 520 – 1710 kHz (worldwide)
- SW band – 2.3 – 26.1 MHz
- LW band – 153 – 279 kHz
- Antenna – Telescopic antenna from 101 to 310 mm
- Rotary encoder with key
- 24 detents
- 12 Pulse/360°
- Ring RGB light (7x LEDs)
- Expansion – Grove connector, unpopulated 8-pin GPIO header (internal)
- Misc – Reset button
- Power Supply
- 5V via USB-C port
- 2-pin connector for LiPo battery; battery charge and discharge protection circuit
- Dimensions – 98 x 39 x 39 mm (enclosure)
The T-Embed SI4732 board shares the same GitHub repository as the original T-Embed. The main page does not mention anything about the SI4732 module, but I can see a SI4735_Shield_250308.bin firmware, and a “SI4735_Shield” Arduino sketch in the “examples” directory that is based on the PU2CLR SI4735 Library.
LILYGO sells the T-Embed SI4732 on AliExpress for $49.98 with free shipping, which compares to $34.98 for the original T-Embed. The new ESP32-S3 AM/FM radio board is also sold on Amazon for $45 plus shipping and taxes.
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
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What a strange niche product! I’m struggling to think of the use-case.
yeah, now why would on earth someone would want to buy a 50$ am/fm radio gadget ?
Would make more sense if it had DAB+ instead of FM/AM
When you ask for DAB in a SI4732 device, then you do not understand the main purpose why it got produced. The FM band is already fully optional functionality and just something added on top. The FM band is not the purpose of this thing. Its the sub 30Mhz reception its been produced for.
And what is the use case of the sub 30Mhz Radio?
I wont advertise you to be curious. If you are not curious on your own and start reading for example wikipedia, then you seem to not be inteterested on your own. It does not make sense to write down here things that are already public knowledge.
You have the information about the device and what its used for. You can from now on read the sourcecode and do all the other research by yourself.
I was reading about SW range of this thing and am honestly slightly disappointed, as it has neither 11m nor 10m band included and also no mention of modulations like SSB etc.
Either it is just a cheap radio chip or the features fell below the table on the way to my browser 😉
P.S. my country stopped AM, FM and SW broadcasting, as well as DVB-T and DAB. Now only DAB+ (with AAC codec) left. So unfortunately such RX chips are just less interesting for me nowadays unlike mc3362, S041, etc. were back in the time.
The chip is working on 11 and 10m band. Its just not that sensitive.
Here some code example: https ://github.com/joaquimorg/si4732-radio/blob/main/src/main.cpp#L242
Just read the code of the projects out there to understand its capabilities.
This is nothing new. Its also named ATS-MINI for some time. There are different firmware images available for it.
You can read the history of the device here:
https ://atsmini.github.io/
https ://esp32-si4732.github.io/ats-mini/
You are for some unknown reason advertising the clone of the clone of it in this news here.
The SI4732 is also a widely known chip you can for example solder into your quansheng uv-k5 and add a second antenna. But it was already used with arduino about 5years ago and projects with it are available on hackaday.
yep, beside that clone of the clone is twice in price comparing to ats-mini and do not has even the headphones connector which definitely is the epic fail
> You are for some unknown reason advertising the clone of the clone of it in this news here.
It’s easy. I had never heard about the ATS-MINI project.
Not much use in Norway (except for some very specific local exceptions) or Confederation Helvetica (Switzerland) which have shut down their FM transmitters in 2018 and end of 2024/first quarter of 2025 respectively. There are no longer any licensed AM broadcast band transmitters in Norway or Switzerland. However it is possible in some areas of Switzerland not too distant from the internatonal frontier to receive transmissions from the neighboring nation of France, Germany. or Italy.
Perhaps the makers of this device will consider a DAB/DAB+ version?