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July 7, 2026July 7, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

ESP32-C5 devkit offers 2.8-inch capacitive touch display, dual-band Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5 LE, LiPo battery support

Last week, I wrote about the ESP32-C5-LCD-1.47 as one of the first ESP32-C5 devkits with a built-in display enabling dual-band WiFi 6 connectivity for IoT and HMI projects. However, one reader lamented the lack of touch-capable screens, at which point kwchow pointed to the ESP32-C5-Touch-LCD-2.8 model offering just that by pairing an ESP32-C5 with a 2.8-inch IPS display with capacitive touch and 320×480 resolution. The new board also features a microSD card slot, a USB-C port for power and programming, a built-in microphone and a speaker connector, a few sensors, and various I/Os connectors for expansion. Let’s have a closer look. ESP32-C5-Touch-LCD-2.8 specifications: Wireless module – Espressif Systems ESP32-C5-WROOM-1-N32R8 SoC – ESP32-C5HR8 CPU Single-core 32-bit RISC-V processor @ up to 240 MHz Low-power RISC-V core @ 40 MHz acting as the main processor for power-sensitive applications Memory – 384 KB SRAM on-chip, 8MB PSRAM Storage – 320 KB ROM Wireless […]

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

Macintosh emulator works on ESP32-P4 display devkits from M5Stack and Waveshare

ESP32 chips have been used for retro gaming and computing for years, but Austin McChord (Amcchord) adds to that with a Macintosh emulator ported to a couple of ESP32-P4 display devkits. His project is a full port of the BasiliskII Macintosh 68k emulator, bringing classic Mac OS (System 7.x through Mac OS 8.1) to portable ESP32-P4 embedded devices with touchscreen, USB peripherals, and WiFi support through an ESP32-C6 on the boards. The main development platform appears to be the M5Stack Tab5 equipped with a 5-inch touchscreen display with 1280×720 resolution. However, if you need something with a larger screen, the Waveshare ESP32-P4-WIFI6-Touch-LCD-10.1 is also supported, and features a 10.1-inch display with 1280×800 resolution and a 10-point capacitive touchscreen. The actual Mac OS resolutions used are 640×360 and 640×400, respectively, then scaled twice to the native resolution of the display. Highlights of the project: CPU – Motorola 68040 emulation with FPU (68881) […]

July 3, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments

ESP32-C5 dual-band WiFi 6 and Bluetooth LE IoT board features 1.47-inch color LCD

We’ve covered plenty of connected displays based on ESP32 chips over the years, but the Waveshare ESP32-C5-LCD-1.47 is a little different, since it’s the first to feature an ESP32-C5 chip for dual-band WiFi 6 connectivity. It’s basically based on the ESP32-C6-LCD-1.47 design, but replaces the ESP32-C6 supporting 2.4 GHz WiFi 6 with an ESP32-C5 capable of handling both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz WiFi 6. Other features mostly remain the same: a 1.47-inch 262K-color display with 320 x 172 resolution, 4MB of flash, an RGB LED, a microSD card slot, and two 9-pin headers for GPIO expansion. Waveshare ESP32-C5-LCD-1.47 specifications: Wireless MCU – Espressif Systems ESP32-C5FH4 CPU Single-core 32-bit RISC-V processor @ up to 240 MHz Low-power RISC-V core @ 40 MHz acting as the main processor for power-sensitive applications Memory – 384 KB SRAM on-chip Storage – 320 KB ROM, 4MB flash Wireless Connectivity Dual-band (2.4GHz/5 GHz) 802.11ax WiFi […]

June 29, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 4 Comments

Waveshare ESP32-C6-Zero-B – A tiny ESP32-C6 USB-C board with 5V-36V wide supply voltage

ESP32-C6 board 5-36V wide supply voltage

Waveshare ESP32-C6-Zero-B is a variant of the company’s ESP32-C6-Zero USB-C board that adds 5V-36V wide supply voltage support for industrial applications It’s based on the ESP32-C6FH8 wireless RISC-V SoC with 8MB flash, 2.4 GHz WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.x LE, and an 802.15.4 radio for Zigbee and Thread. It also exposes up to 20 GPIOs via headers and pads, and features an RGB LED, as well as Boot and Reset buttons. Waveshare ESP32-C6-Zero-B specifications: SoC – Espressif Systems ESP32-C6FH8 CPU Single-core 32-bit RISC-V clocked up to 160 MHz Low-power RISC-V core @ up to 20 MHz Memory – 512KB SRAM Storage – 320KB ROM, 8MB flash Wireless – 2.4 GHz WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.3, and 802.15.4 radio for Thread/Zigbee USB – USB Type-C port for program download and debugging Expansion 2x 9-pin headers with up to 13x GPIOs, UART, I2C, SPI, 6x ADC, I2S, PWM, Vin, 3.3V out, GND 7x solder pads […]

June 22, 2026June 23, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments

Optocam Zero – A Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W-based DIY digital camera

Inspired by Kodak Charmera and similar toy cameras, the Optocam Zero is a Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W-based DIY digital camera made of off-the-shelf components and 3D-printed parts. It connects the Pi Zero 2 W SBC with a Raspberry Pi Camera Module 3, a 1.3-inch LCD, a 14500 Li-Ion battery holder, and other components. The camera supports autofocus, eight photo filters, USB-C charging, and lasts 70 to 80 minutes on a charge. Optocam Zero camera key features: Based on Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W SBC Display 1.3-inch LCD with 240 x 240 resolution 15–20 FPS camera preview on the screen. Screen dimming when inactive to preserve battery Camera features 2592 x 2592 JPEG image capture. GIF recording and playback support. Autofocus support 8 photo filters included. Misc Image transfer through custom hotspot interface. Fully 3D printed case parts 3D printable TPU protective sleeve and lanyard design is available. 22-second boot […]

June 4, 2026June 5, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 8 Comments

Convert old IR remote controls into presentation clickers using an RP2040 USB board and open-source TTVKTR firmware

Brisk4t’s “Tossed The TV — Kept The Remote” (TTVKTR) is an open-source firmware project for Raspberry Pi RP2040 USB boards that aims to reduce electronics waste by converting old IR remote controls into presentation clickers. Most Raspberry Pi RP2040 boards with USB ports should work, but the project highlights the Waveshare RP2040-Zero combined with a standard 38 kHz infrared receiver due to its small size and low price ($4-5). The project also relies on the built-in RGB LED for layer color feedback. That’s about it for the hardware. It just required some basic soldering of the IR receiver to GPIO 28 (OUT), 5V or 3.3V, and GND pins. Nothing too hard. The WS2812 RGB LED is already connected to GPIO 16. I tried to look for RP2040 USB boards with a built-in IR receiver, but I could not find any. The firmware receives IR codes from a standard 38 […]

June 1, 2026June 2, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

Waveshare RP2350B-Plus-W – A Raspberry Pi Pico 2 W-sized board with 41 GPIOs, 16MB flash, USB-C port

Waveshare RP2350B-Plus-W is a development board that follows the Raspberry Pi Pico 2 W form factor, but offers 41 GPIOs thanks to the RP2350B MCU, integrates 16 MB of flash, and includes a USB-C port. So, in several ways, it’s an upgrade over the RP2350A-based official board, which offers only 26 GPIOs via two 13-pin GPIO headers, 4MB of flash, and a micro USB port. Since it’s the same size, where do the extra GPIOs come from? Answer: The company simply added 15 pads to the bottom of the board, not quite as convenient since it’s requires soldering, but it does the job. Waveshare RP2350B-Plus-W specifications: SoC – Raspberry Pi RP2350B CPU Dual-core Arm Cortex-M33 @ 150 MHz with Arm Trustzone Dual-core RISC-V Hazard3 @ 150 MHz Only two cores can be used at any given time Memory – 520 KB on-chip SRAM Package – QFN-80 Memory – Footprint […]

May 25, 2026May 25, 2026 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments

Monitor live traffic from V2X signals with V2X2MAP open-source Android app and an ESP32-C5 development board

Yesterday, I wrote about the OpenTrafficMap ESP32-C5 C-ITS receiver board to monitor and potentially optimize traffic using 802.11p / ITS-G5 V2X communication over 5.9 GHz WiFi 6, and map all detected nodes on the OpenTrafficMap website. Peter Holzhauser (Pit711) forked the ESP32-C5 C-ITS receiver firmware to port it to the Waveshare ESP32-C5-WIFI6-KIT development board and added BLE streaming. He also designed the V2X2MAP open-source Android app to interface with the board (since 5GHz WiFi on phones can’t usually handle 802.11p), and a Windows installer to flash the firmware. While the ESP32-C5 C-ITS receiver board integrates an ESP32-C5-WROOM-1 module, a GPS module, and an Ethernet port with PoE, the V2X2MAP project leverages any recent Android smartphone with a USB OTG port and GPS, so you can simply connect most ESP32-C5 boards to monitor live traffic at proximity (a few hundred meters to several kilometers) on your phone including traffic lights, public […]