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April 21, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments

DIY Sendspin audio receiver supports multi-room audio synchronization, integrates with Home Assistant

SendspinZero is an open-source, DIY Sendspin audio receiver for your amplifier that relies on off-the-shelf parts costing around $10 and a 3D printed enclosure. It integrates with Home Assistant for multi-room audio synchronization. It sounds good, but what is Sendspin exactly? It’s a royalty-free, open protocol developed by the Open Home Foundation for synchronized audio playback across multiple devices and rooms. Besides audio, it also supports screens for album art and control music, and sound-activated lights (coming soon feature). The protocol enables open-source products that compete against proprietary systems like Sonos, AirPlay, or Google Cast, and integrates nicely with the Music Assistant add-on for Home Assistant. Sendspin audio receiver key components: Waveshare ESP32-S3-Zero board with 2MB PSRAM (About $4-$6 on AliExpress, $12 on Amazon), ideally the version without pre-soldered headers Optional 1.54-inch LCD screen (About $5 on AliExpress) Optional 3-6V, 22mm bi-color button (About $2 to $3) Audio output options: […]

April 17, 2026April 17, 2026 by Debashis Das - No Comments

reBot Arm B601-DM – An open-source 6+1 DoF robotic arm for embodied AI and teleoperation applications

Seeed Studio reBot Arm B601-DM is a fully open-source 6-axis robotic arm (plus a parallel gripper) designed to lower the barrier to entry for embodied AI learning and teleoperation. Built around high-performance Damiao actuators, the arm offers up to 767mm of reach, a 1.5kg payload capacity, and high-precision 0.2mm repeatability. Designed for researchers and robotics developers, the B601-DM is compatible out of the box with major AI and robotics frameworks, including ROS 1/2, Hugging Face’s LeRobot, NVIDIA Isaac Sim, and Pinocchio. Seeed Studio reBot Arm B601-DM specifications: Communication – CAN bus @ 1Mbps) and UART @ 921600bps Degrees of Freedom (DOF) – 6-axis arm + 1 parallel gripper Motors / Actuators – 7x Damiao motors 4x DAMIAO 4310 (DM-J4310-2EC) 3x DAMIAO 4340P (DM-J4340P-2EC) high-torque motors Payload – 1.5kg (without gripper, at recommended 70% reach) Reach – 767mm (with gripper), 607mm (without gripper) Repeatability – < 0.2 mm Joint torque and […]

April 10, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

Bee Write Back – A Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W-based DIY writerdeck with 5.5-inch OLED and mechanical keyboard

Based on Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W, the Bee Write Back writerdeck is another DIY project that should be relatively easy to reproduce, since it relies on off-the-shelf parts, including an OLED and mechanical key switches and caps, as well as a 3D printed enclosure. Simon (shmimel) had trouble falling asleep and found out that journaling helped him a lot, but he was not so fond of writing in a physical journal. So instead, he created the Bee Write Back journal/writerdeck as a distraction-free writing machine, and the result looks pretty neat. Bee Write Back key components: Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W SBC with Broadcom BCM2711 quad-core Cortex-A53 SoC, 512 MB RAM, WiFi 4 and Bluetooth 4.2 Display – 5.5-inch AMOLED screen with 1280 x 720 resolution($52 on AliExpress) Keyboard accessories 47x switches 47x keycaps YMDK Air40 keyboard PCB (about $30 on AliExpress) Power – Seengreat Pi Zero UPS USB HUB […]

April 9, 2026April 9, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

Flash Bee – An ESP32-C3-based DIY handheld lightning detector

Flash Bee is an easy-to-make DIY handheld lightning detector based on off-the-shelf parts such as the XIAO ESP32C3 board and the Round Display for XIAO, as well as a 3D-printed enclosure. The design relies on the AMS AS3935 Franklin lightning sensor that’s been around for years, and found in kits like Sparkfun’s Arduino IoT weather station, which is capable of detecting lightning up to 40 km away with 1km accuracy. While it’s not quite new technology, I found the Flash Bee design to be rather cute and convenient, and it looks really easy to reproduce. Flash Bee key components: Seeed Studio XIAO ESP32-C3 with Wi-Fi 4 & Bluetooth LE 5.0 connectivity ($4.90) Round Display for XIAO – 1.28-inch touchscreen display with 240×240 resolution, 65K colors, 100 Hz refresh rate ($18) Grove Lightning Sensor AS3935 ($26.90, alternative link if out of stock) 3.7V 400mAh LiPo battery Slide switch 2x M2 5mm […]

March 30, 2026March 29, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

DIY ESP32-S3 Internet radio features Winamp-styled user interface

Volos Projects recently showcased an easy-to-reproduce, inexpensive DIY ESP32-S3 Internet radio based on a Waveshare ESP32-S3-LCD-1.54 development board and an Arduino sketch with a Winamp-styled user interface. As its name implies, the hardware is based on the ESP32-S3 WiFi and Bluetooth SoC, connected to a 1.54-inch 240×240 color display and a speaker that delivers better-than-expected audio quality, according to Volos Projects. Waveshare ESP32-S3-LCD-1.54 specifications: SoC – Espressif ESP32-S3R8 CPU – Dual-core Tensilica LX7 microcontroller up to 240 MHz with vector instructions for AI acceleration Memory – 512KB SRAM, 8MB PSRAM Wireless – WiFi 4 and Bluetooth 5.0 LE + Mesh connectivity Storage 16MB NOR flash MicroSD card slot Display 1.54-inch IPS display with 240×240 resolution, 262K colors 4-wire SPI ST7789 driver Optional CST816 capacitive touch controller (not used by the DIY Radio project) Audio Speaker 2x microphones NS4150B audio amplifier ES8311 low-power audio codec ES7210 AEC (acoustic echo cancellation) chip USB […]

March 15, 2026March 15, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments

AERIS-10 open-source hardware radar can track multiple objects up to 20km away

AERIS-10 is an open-source hardware, “low-cost” (more on that later) 10.5 GHz phased array radar system featuring Pulse Linear Frequency Modulated (LFM) modulation and based on an AMD Artix-7 FPGA. Two versions are available: the AERIS-10N (Nexus), providing up to 3km range with an 8×16 patch antenna array, and the AERIS-10X (Extended), offering up to 20km range thanks to a 32×16 dielectric-filled slotted waveguide array. ARIES-10 key components and features: Main board FPGA – AMD Artix-7 XC7A100T for: PLFM Chirps generation via the DAC Raw ADC data read Automatic Gain Control (AGC) I/Q Baseband Down-Conversion Decimation Filtering Forward FFT Pulse Compression Doppler, MTI, and CFAR processing USB Interface MCU – ST STM32F746xx microcontroller for Power management FPGA communication Setup and interface with the components on the main, frequency synthesizer, and power amplifier boards, plus: GPS module for GUI map centering GY-85 IMU for pitch/roll correction of target coordinates BMP180 Barometer […]

February 20, 2026 by Debashis Das - No Comments

2.1-channel audio HAT for Raspberry Pi features Texas Instruments TAS5825M class-D amplifier

Previously, we wrote about the Louder Raspberry Pi, an open-source media center that integrates the Louder Raspberry Hat based on a 25W TAS5805M Class-D amplifier. Now, the developer has introduced the Louder Raspberry Hat Plus, upgrading from the TAS5805M amplifier to the more powerful TAS5825M, capable of driving up to 53W in mono (PBTL) mode while offering improved efficiency and thermal performance. The Louder Raspberry Hat Plus is compatible with all Raspberry Pi models and comes in 1X and 2X variants. The 1X version delivers up to 2×32W at 8Ω or 2×45W at 4Ω, the 2X version, on the other hand, supports 2×32W plus a dedicated 53W subwoofer channel, with bridge mode available for higher mono output. The board also integrates a DSP with 15-band parametric EQ per channel, 128-tap FIR filtering, 3-band DRC, selectable LF/HF crossovers, digital volume and gain control (32-step analog gain), selectable modulation schemes, adjustable switching […]

February 16, 2026February 19, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

Project Aura – A neat, easy-to-assemble, DIY Air quality monitor compatible with Home Assistant

Project Aura is an ESP32‑based DIY air quality monitor that combines a touchscreen display and industrial sensors. It is fully integrated with the Home Assistant open-source home automation platform. The words “DIY” and “open source” often imply manufacturing the board yourself and soldering components, but that’s not the case for Project Aura. It’s based on off-the-shelf components connected through cables without any soldering requirements, while the enclosure can be 3D printed. The firmware is equally easy to install through a one-click web installer. Project Aura key components: Waveshare ESP32-S3-Touch-LCD-4.3 – ESP32-S3 board with 16MB flash, 4.3-inch IPS display (800×480) with capacitive touch. Similar to the ESP32-S3-Touch-LCD-4.3B but using PH2.0 connectors instead of a terminal block for I/Os Sensirion SEN66 + Adafruit breakout for data capture PM1, PM2.5, PM4, PM10 particle levels (full spectrum of particles from smoke to pollen) CO2, VOC, and NOx for air freshness, volatile chemicals, and exhaust […]