Open Hardware/Modding: Arduino, ESP32, and More

posted by Roy Schestowitz on Mar 24, 2026

• Linux Gizmos ☛ M5StampS3 BAT Module Combines ESP32-S3 and Battery Management

  MINIX is offering the ER939-AI, a compact mini PC built around AMD’s Ryzen Hey Hi (AI) Max+ 395 processor. The system targets high-performance desktop workloads in a small form factor, combining a 16-core CPU, integrated graphics, and an on-chip neural processing unit.

• The New Stack ☛ How to deploy Pi-Hole with Docker and stop ads on every device on your LAN

  How do you block ads? Most people install various and sundry ad-blocking software on their computers or add browser extensions

• CNX Software ☛ ESP-IDF v6.0 framework adds support for ESP32-C5 and ESP32-C61, preview for ESP32-H21 and ESP32-H4

  Espressif Systems released the ESP-IDF v6.0 framework a few days ago with stable support for ESP32-C5 and ESP32-C61 SoCs, as well as preview support for ESP32-H21 and ESP32-H4 low-power wireless microcontrollers. The framework also implements a new ESP-IDF Installation Manager (EIM) to make the ESP-IDF installation easier, relies on the low-footprint Picolibc C library, adds security and tooling updates, as well as a few Wi-Fi enhancements, and the ability to update the bootloader over the air.

• Arduino ☛ Last call and first details for Arduino Days 2026!

  The countdown is on! Arduino Days 2026 kicks off on March 27th with a packed two-day online celebration of everything that makes this community amazing. We’re bringing you product deep dives, inspiring projects, insights from incredible creators, and – of course! – some exciting announcements you won’t want to miss.

• Raspberry Pi Weekly Issue #528 - Update your Raspberry Pi from anywhere with Raspberry Pi Connect

  Howdy, In breaking news, we’ve just introduced remote updates on Raspberry Pi Connect, making it possible to update your Raspberry Pi devices over the air from anywhere in the world. I know.  Earlier in the week, we presented some of the newest additions to our suite of Powered by Raspberry Pi partner products, and told you how to get our seal of approval for your own.

• I Ran Hey Hi (AI) on a Raspberry Pi… The Results Were Unexpected

  I tried running a ChatGPT-style Hey Hi (AI) model locally on a Raspberry Pi… and the results were not what I expected. When you use an online or cloud-based service like ChatGPT, you’re obviously sharing your data with another company.

• CNX Software ☛ ESP32-P4 revision 3.0 gains new power rail, requires new PCB design and firmware

  Espressif’s ESP32-P4 revision 3.0 and greater converts pin 54 of the chip from NC (not connected) to a power rail (VDD_HP_1), requires a few extra passives, and an updated firmware. Espressif Systems first unveiled the 400 MHz ESP32-P4 dual-core RISC-V SoC in January 2023, and the official ESP32-P4-Function-EV development board was launched in August 2024, with commercial solutions slowly ramping up last year. You’d think the silicon and related hardware would now be frozen, but apparently not. The pin 54 was likely converted from NC (not connected) to VDD_HP_1 to improve the stability of the high-performance digital domain. The old revisions 1.0, 1.1, and 1.3 are not recommended for new designs, and the company advises people to use revision 3.0 or 3.1.

• Hackaday ☛ The Zero-Power Flight Computer

  There were a rash of flight computers starting in the 1920s that were essentially specialized slide rules. The most popular one appeared in the late 1930s. Philip Dalton’s circular slide rule was cheap to produce and easy to use. As you’ll see, it is more than just an ordinary slide rule. Keep in mind, these were not computers in the sense we think of today. They were simple slide rules that easily did specialized math useful to pilots.

  Dalton actually developed a number of computers. The popular Model B appeared in 1933, and there were refinements leading to additional models. The Mark VII was very popular. Even Fred Noonan, Amelia Earhart’s navigator, used a Mark VII.

• Hackaday ☛ PicoZ80 Is A Drop-in Replacement For Everyone’s Favorite Zilog CPU

  You can probably guess where this is going: an RP2350B on a DIP-40 sized PCB can easily sit on the bus and emulate a Z80. It can do so with only one core, without breaking a sweat. That left [eaw] a second core to play with, allowing the picoZ80 to act as a heck of an accelerator, memory expander, USB host, disk emulator– you name it. He even tossed in an ESP32 co-processor to act as a WiFi, Bluetooth, and SD-card controller to use as a virtual, wirelessly accessible disk drive.

• Hackaday ☛ Acoustic Drone Detection On The Cheap With ESP32

  The key is what you might call ‘retrovation’– innovation by looking backwards. Most drone detection schema are looking to the ways we search for larger aircraft, and use RADAR. Before RADAR there were acoustic detectors, like the famous Japanese “war tubas” that went viral many years ago. RADAR modules aren’t cheap, but MEMS microphones are– and drones, especially quad-copters, aren’t exactly quiet. [TN666] thus made the choice to use acoustic detection in order to democratize drone detection.

• Hackaday ☛ Build This Open-Source Graphics Calculator

  NumOS comes to us from [El-EnderJ]. It’s a scientific and graphic calculator system built to run on the ESP32-S3 with an ILI9341 screen. It’s intended to rival calculators like the Casio fx-991EX ClassWiz and the TI-84 Plus CE in terms of functionality. To that end, it has a full computer algebra system and a custom math engine to do all the heavy lifting a graphic calculator is expected to do, like symbolic differentiation and integration. It also has a Natural V.P.A.M-like display—if you’re unfamiliar with Casio’s terminology, it basically means things like fractions and integrals are rendered as you’d write them on paper rather than in uglier simplified symbology.

• ZDNet ☛ The Flipper One looks like a serious hacking tool, and I can't wait to try it - here's why

  Without doubt, my favorite gadget from the past few years has been the Flipper Zero -- a pocket-sized Swiss Army knife that grants its owner access to a digital world otherwise off-limits.

  By using its cutesy pixel-art dolphin interface, even complete newbies to hacking can immediately start reading, copying, and even emulating RFID, NFC, radio remotes, iButtons, and digital keycards. It even includes its own GPIO interface for direct, wired access to devices, and an IR emitter to interface with devices that use remote controls.

  With some extra modules, you can even start exploring things like Wi-Fi hacking.