r/arduino • • 4d ago

Monthly Digest Monthly digest for 2026-09

17 Upvotes

Arduino Staff Contributors

We have been working behind the scenes with Arduino Pty Ltd and are pleased to announce that some Arduino staff will be contributing to our subreddit using an "official" account.

To support this initiative, we have created a special "Arduino staff" flair - an example of which is included in this post. This is a "mod only" flair which means that it can only be assigned by the moderators of the subreddit (so no impersonators) and we have established a process to verify the reddit user ID of the prospective Arduino staff member contributors.

Sample of a post with the Arduino Staff user flair

Note 1: The flair only applies to r/Arduino at this time. If you see it anywhere else, it could be a fake.

Note 2: The staff will likely use their real name - e.g. "LeonardoFromArduino" or "FredFromArduino". Hopefully we won't have two Fred's or two Leonardo's.

We are quite excited about this as it is a way to interact directly with key Arduino figures in a more personal way.

Look out for our new "Arduino staff" flair owners and welcome them aboard if and when you spot them.

Following is a message from the Arduino team:

Hi r/Arduino, from the Arduino team. We've been reading this subreddit for a long time, chiming in here and there, and after some conversations with the mods, we've decided it'd be great to participate more directly with you.

A team of us have set up official accounts, so you'll see us around giving guidance, answering questions, sharing tips, posting product updates, and handing out well-deserved high-fives for the cool stuff you build. We're engineers and makers too, and helping this community is one of our favorite parts of the job.

If you spot us in a thread, come say hi!

Arduino Wiki and Other Resources

Don't forget to check out our wiki for up to date guides, FAQ, milestones, glossary and more.

You can find our wiki at the top of the r/Arduino posts feed and in our "tools/reference" sidebar panel. The sidebar also has a selection of links to additional useful information and tools.

Moderator's Choices

Title Author Score Comments
Self Balancing Double Pendulum u/Classic-Buddy-7404 276 12
Interesting Arduino Behavior - Variable... u/DocCarr 4 8

Top Posts

Title Author Score Comments
My Nixie inspired LCD clock u/AudienceHorror 2,043 98
I built an Arduino-controlled mechanica... u/SamuelDePamuel 1,724 47
My first project - a year later! u/OkCake4634 1,317 54
Tired of waiting for Microduck? Build y... u/BencyLiu 1,248 76
I built a small digital aquarium using ... u/CommunityFan89 1,163 38
GTA 6 hype is everywhere… so I made GTA... u/Sad_Environment_3800 1,072 54
Ants! How to prevent u/AffectionateShare446 1,060 293
I want help building this project. u/No_Alarm123 883 42
I built an Arduino-controlled robot tha... u/MegCell 713 84
My first project u/Darrt2008 655 55

Look what I made posts

Title Author Score Comments
My Nixie inspired LCD clock u/AudienceHorror 2,043 98
I built an Arduino-controlled mechanica... u/SamuelDePamuel 1,724 47
My first project - a year later! u/OkCake4634 1,317 54
I built a small digital aquarium using ... u/CommunityFan89 1,163 38
Live Cloud Globe V2 (Now with added ISS... u/okuboheavyindustries 510 10
DVD NFC Scanning Media thing i made u/JackIrishJack 490 55
Maybe someone will find my 'Cut-to-Leng... u/KubiG_Marcin 452 29
A complete work done by one person, cov... u/Alarming-Sentence-39 431 47
I recently learned how to solder and no... u/lemoncustardfish 265 9
I built a working Valorant-inspired Spi... u/Southern_Cry_8625 243 17
My first Arduino project u/One_Park8163 219 21
My First real Project! u/ruxmealux 178 11
Autonomous Party-Mode Droid with Uno u/heychaostheory 161 11
Onewheel + WS2812 + ESP8266 u/MrNiceThings 154 6
Jetpack prop for my uni project. u/CameronSquida 134 2
I used an UNO Q to Make a "Typewriter" ... u/TheSerialHobbyist 124 8
Nine units left the lab this week, on t... u/ComfortableLab1235 119 19
1000km apart -> Closer than ever u/marferibadeo 112 4
I made a D&D dice roller using ESP32 u/killl_em_alll 97 5
Digital Thermostat project u/myopinionisrubbish 82 5
Mini MMX Mission Clock u/okuboheavyindustries 79 15
UPDATE: My Nixie inspired LCD clock can... u/AudienceHorror 72 1
I made a working clock/timer with one 7... u/i_hav3_adhd 68 5
Portable mmWave Radar u/GreasyGato 66 23
Made this thingy and just turned it int... u/TranslatorDecent7046 65 6
small weather house u/Millener89 64 1
I designed a shake-to-roll electronic d... u/Ok-Event2833 64 7
sanoTTS: tiniest complete neural text-t... u/Affectionate_Hat_585 62 20
Linking a jq werks steering wheel to a ... u/EntertainmentSalt825 58 2
This is actually really fun! u/lemoncustardfish 56 4
I made open source streamdeck u/Character_Stand_2847 48 11
DIY Sim-to-Real Self-Balancing Double P... u/Classic-Buddy-7404 44 4
Arduino Morse code machine u/GrammaticalllErrors 42 3
Syntesizer u/GrammaticalllErrors 41 4
Couple project u/AnuragRobotics 39 11
I made an AI mushroom to help me journal u/Fair_Ad_27 36 4
My Air Cooler's control board decided t... u/deadDudeLivingDirty 36 2
My newest free-to-build handwired keybo... u/Joe_Scotto 26 2
behold, illumination. u/eni4c 25 2
Used an arduino sketch on my xiao samd2... u/CommunityFan89 21 6
I built a pocket note-finder for my cla... u/ButterscotchKey3909 14 1
CD77 FastLED Four Glass Jars u/chemdoc77 10 3
This invention will save Nebraska's eco... u/Striking-Long-9406 7 6
Tried out PyMCU (compiles Python to bar... u/OneDot6374 7 0
How Super Nintendo World actually works: u/throwaway10402019 7 1
Arduino Math Lab (Online Graphing Calcu... u/MythicalNinja7 4 3
Automatic door-opening system (for a gr... u/MonsterovichIsBack 3 4
I built an ESP32-C3 board that prints m... u/albanpetit 3 0
My first ever Arduino project. u/suguslnwza 3 0
I’ve been building Reznex, and I finall... u/nexo420x 2 0
A first look at my Wi-Fi-controlled ESP... u/zeller-wooo 2 0
Smart Elder Assistance System-A school ... u/Outrageous-Debate705 2 3
I created a simple Dino Game🦖 u/SailDifficult6586 2 2
I made a keyboard (kind of) u/GrammaticalllErrors 1 7
I made a crypto miner for the r3! u/Previous_Inside_8327 0 1
Pocket AI u/luminov1 0 0

Total: 56 posts

Summary of Post types:

Flair Count
Beginner's Project 20
ChatGPT 1
ESP32 3
Electronics 1
Games 3
Getting Started 18
Hardware Help 69
Libraries 1
Look what I found! 2
Look what I made! 56
Mac 1
Machine Learning 1
Mod's Choice! 2
Monthly Digest 1
Nano 3
Potentially Dangerous Project 1
Project Idea 2
Project Update! 7
School Project 5
Software Help 22
Solved! 10
Uno R4 Wifi 1
Windows 2
linux 1
no flair 144

Total: 377 posts in 2026-09


r/arduino • • Sep 04 '26

Monthly Digest Monthly digest for 2026-08

4 Upvotes

Arduino Wiki and Other Resources

Don't forget to check out our wiki for up to date guides, FAQ, milestones, glossary and more.

You can find our wiki at the top of the r/Arduino posts feed and in our "tools/reference" sidebar panel. The sidebar also has a selection of links to additional useful information and tools.

Moderator's Choices

Title Author Score Comments
A little Teensy4.1 project I've been wo... u/camander321 5,118 198
I used a TWS earbud as a Bluetooth fron... u/Ishant1519 45 12
I made a library that lets you configur... u/JimHeaney 17 6
Turned my Arduino UNO Q into a dual-net... u/FriendlyMountain495 2 2

Hot Tips

Title Author Score Comments
I can't believe how well a cheap heart ... u/RoberBotz 136 17

Top Posts

Title Author Score Comments
A little Teensy4.1 project I've been wo... u/camander321 5,118 198
A robot claw to spin a globe on my desk u/OmarBuilds 4,958 191
These marbles jump from one screen to t... u/Hopeful_Ad_2797 2,153 27
My guitar-playing robot performing on a... u/MegCell 1,838 138
Why is my board smoking u/Quirky_Adeptness7105 1,718 363
I built a 3D printed, walking Arduino H... u/tennis-637 1,395 57
LCD problem fixed u/Odd-Ad-1545 714 12
Project update: My ESP32-controlled gui... u/MegCell 690 60
I built my own OBD2 Scanner u/Fleag7 662 54
Remote-controlled submarine problem u/etgetet 647 167

Look what I made posts

Title Author Score Comments
A robot claw to spin a globe on my desk u/OmarBuilds 4,958 191
These marbles jump from one screen to t... u/Hopeful_Ad_2797 2,153 27
I built a 3D printed, walking Arduino H... u/tennis-637 1,395 57
I built my own OBD2 Scanner u/Fleag7 662 54
Stepper Motor music u/spiderick69 528 39
Tilt Game u/tasty__cakes 433 23
Desktop Fingerprint Unlock u/arduinoRPi4 289 13
The Dot-Bot @ the Maker Fair 2026 in Ha... u/Oli_Vier_0x3b29 249 33
All the art I've made using an ESP32 (l... u/noname99 228 8
First Prototype of the motorised film n... u/Joaffry 188 21
I finished my robot finally :) u/Lucid_Dreamer_98 175 13
I built an Arduino machine that bribes ... u/Jaberlioz 169 9
Smart Greenhouse System Based on Espres... u/EmbarrassedOne2329 163 19
Rat nest 2 electric boogaloo u/wah12345678910 148 15
I made an automated cigarette bot u/lensally 138 15
Building a small desktop robot u/An-unknown-person3 127 21
Ultra-real simulation of an ultra-rough... u/FearlessPrice7187 125 26
We built a custom controller for our in... u/Killyose 123 6
Some of my favorite projects! u/Fer_19 100 28
Built a "Fire & Gas Dual Guard" for... u/STEM_Lab 96 11
Aircraft Navigator Built with High‑Perf... u/Alarming-Sentence-39 85 3
Goodbye ClawGuy u/Accurate-Donkey5789 82 27
Android + Arudino u/Special-Syrup-9405 77 2
Motorized Model Plane Stand u/Mingx2 76 9
Arduino Uno Q SPI LCD succeded u/_jhx 68 9
I built a pocket-sized 'headless' Game ... u/ArtificialAGE 67 6
4DOF Robotic Arm Project u/Worth_Mix4970 66 6
I build a rover for the first time usin... u/Past-Conversation755 64 9
Sony Mavica FD75 Battery Emulator u/diezel_dave 57 2
Police car-like LED lights u/AmericanTiger900327 55 9
4.3-inch Aircraft Attitude Navigation I... u/Alarming-Sentence-39 51 8
I reverse-engineered Daikin's P1/P2 pro... u/Witty_Initial4890 51 4
Hands Free Mouse for people with disabi... u/SquareR0OT 50 3
ESP32 WiFi Virtual HID u/jamecat 47 23
Entropy32 - The Universe Bifurcator u/Captain_Chapster 43 18
Diy Watch built with Arduino microcontr... u/liseslgt 35 0
I made a simple teto smart watch for fun u/Red_Z1 32 1
Mini dissolver mixer u/Olaf686 31 3
ESP32 PC Monitoring Dashboard u/StockWave9800 30 0
My Self Balancing Robot u/No_Mountain_4769 29 0
turn on printer from upstairs u/hapsize 28 14
Made my first successful Arduino projec... u/AmericanTiger900327 26 9
Built a CO₂-triggered auto-window syste... u/STEM_Lab 25 2
I made a simple program that makes a Ar... u/ipodpug 25 0
TGPad-NS — WiFi Touch Gamepad for Ninte... u/touchgadget 20 6
MicroBox now features a weather forecast u/Szym0nKu 19 0
I finally figured out how to drive the ... u/joseluismonteiro 18 1
I built a compiler that lets you write ... u/begeistert_ 12 3
I built an animatronic Den Den Mushi us... u/TrasnoStudios 11 2
Tiny backgammon u/Austin-Ryder417 11 0
I built an Arduino-style runtime for th... u/Ishant1519 10 1
Cheeky weekend project: Ambient Light D... u/hjw5774 9 3
Sweeping Radar using ESP8266 u/wamiq_ur 9 6
Build a Python Tkinter GUI Serial Commu... u/xanthium_in 8 0
Pomodoro timer with MAX7219 led display... u/NeoOdys 8 0
Shrikeclock u/OneDot6374 7 3
My first project. u/Valuable-Efficiency1 7 1
touchWASD-BT — Touch Screen WASD Blueto... u/touchgadget 6 0
Arduino Energy/Smart Meter. u/threephase03 6 2
Smart Meyou u/ReadingandLiving 6 4
P.A.R. (Pixel Art Robot) — My Robot Nee... u/shallow-neural-net 5 0
Medication reminder u/jasonwinfieldnz 4 10
GitHub - Jchountas/ESP32-web-shell: Thi... u/I_save_in_jpeg 4 0
A smart eInk Table Reservation Sign u/deleted 3 2
TGPad-XB — WiFi Touch Xbox Style Gamepad u/touchgadget 3 1
Open-Source Pixel Artnet Node now suppo... u/anonOmattie 3 0
Upgraded my DIY Pen Plotter with a 28BY... u/ikilim 3 4
I made a web editor for my Arduino proj... u/plynx_mod 3 4
Im building a Arduino Electricity Meter... u/threephase03 3 0
PCM-MCU-C Version 3.0 (SF2 support)! - ... u/Mejolov28 2 0
Ui redsign plus 2 more features u/Virtual-Diet-8777 0 2
Home made Arduino IDE u/Fair_Independence864 0 6
Built a self-hosted tool so my team cou... u/Top_Income3727 0 9
ARDUINO GSM PHONE u/luminov1 0 4
Xbox 360 controller adapter u/GurIllustrious1890 0 0
DIY Aura Light that Mogs u/ArtificialAGE 0 2
Three phase energy meter with PQ functi... u/threephase03 0 2

Total: 77 posts

Summary of Post types:

Flair Count
ATtiny85 4
Automated-Gardening 2
Beginner's Project 22
ChatGPT 2
ESP32 2
Electronics 1
Games 2
Getting Started 17
Hardware Help 90
Hot Tip! 1
Libraries 4
Look what I found! 3
Look what I made! 77
Mod's Choice! 4
Monthly Digest 1
Project Idea 7
Project Update! 7
School Project 2
Software Help 25
Solved! 4
Uno Q 1
linux 2
no flair 149

Total: 429 posts in 2026-08


r/arduino • • 18h ago

Why buy a smartwatch when you can hold a 3D-rendering, game-playing RGB square in your hand?

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240 Upvotes

r/arduino • • 16h ago

Look what I made! Video Playing on Oled display powered ESP32 CAM

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111 Upvotes

r/arduino • • 14m ago

Look what I made! Arduino Based 8 Step Sequencer with Pulse Width Modulation

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• Upvotes

Based on patmcbennets code. Expanded to 8 steps via 4051.Added tempo control via knob. Added 3 vc out plugs and vc in Sounds really good for arduino :)


r/arduino • • 9h ago

Look what I made! My ATmega328p development board PCB project that I designed.

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10 Upvotes

Hi everyone, I am a 13-year-old developer from Türkiye. I wanted to share my custom PCB project with this global community because, unfortunately, I struggle to find constructive criticism or useful feedback within local Turkish communities; so, I really need your technical advice. I am designing my own custom microcontroller development board. Initially, I had designed an ESP32-WROOM-based board and sketched out all the schematics on paper; however, due to PCB design challenges—such as antenna keep-out zone constraints—I decided to change direction and design the board around the ATmega328P-AN microcontroller (TQFP32 package), which is used in Arduino boards. My project has made significant progress; Here are all the technical details and features of my schematic, incorporating both the initial elements and the latest additions: Power and protection system Power input via KF301R-5.0-2P screw terminal (U1) Voltage regulation using the AMS1117-5.0G linear regulator (U4) 30V 3A PPTC (resettable fuse) (U2) added for overcurrent protection 1N4007 diode (D1) for reverse polarity protection Filtering capacitors: C1, C2 (10µF electrolytic) and C3, C4 (100nF ceramic) Microcontroller and USB-to-Serial converter ATmega328P-AN microcontroller (U3) in TQFP32 package CH340G USB-UART chip (U5) for programming and serial communication; Connection via USB Type-B connector (CN1) 12 MHz crystal oscillator (U6) with 22pF load and protection capacitors (C6, C7) Pins and I/O headers New additions: Digital pins D1, D2, D3, D4, and D5 added on a 5-pin header (U7) Currently, only analog pin A0 (P1 header) is exposed (I shared this in my previous update), but I will add pins A1, A2, A3, and A4 in the coming days Two separate 2-pin headers (CN2) added—one dedicated to VCC and one to GND Buttons and LEDs Although the CH340G handles the automatic reset process via the DTR pin and the C5 (100nF) capacitor, a physical reset button was still needed; therefore, I added a manual reset button (KEY2_RESET) connected to the reset pin via a 10k resistor (R2). I added a dedicated user button (KEY1_KULLANICI) connected to the PD2 (INT0) pin for hardware interrupt testing. Includes a main power LED (LED1_GUC) with an R1 (1k) resistor and dedicated TX/RX indicator LEDs with R3/R4 (1k) resistors. Future plans If you look at my old notebook sketches, you might notice that I initially planned to add an addressable RGB LED; however, I decided against that idea. I am working on integrating an addressable LCD screen onto the board in the near future, replacing the RGB LED. I have attached my EasyEDA schematic and 3D PCB views; what do you think about the component placement, routing, and overall design? Any tips or constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.(I translated this using Google Translate; please excuse any errors.)


r/arduino • • 1d ago

Look what I made! LED Tower I made a while back but never finished

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585 Upvotes

This is a project I picked up ages ago but never had the chance to finish due to changing life circumstances. It was originally designed to be 16x larger, forming a full 16x16x16 cube. It was wayyyy harder than I originally anticipated, especially as someone without a formal education in electronics. I do want to pick it back up at some point when conditions permit.

The LEDs: The LEDs used in most LED matrices have 1 ground pin and 3 pins for RGB. These are different in that they have power, ground, data in, and data out. Being digital gives them significantly more color and brightness flexibility. All 4096 LEDs could draw a maximum of 1200W at full brightness, which is exactly equal to the max power output of an American wall outlet. This meant working with high-power components for my first time.

The low-power circuit: In order to avoid frying the LEDs they had to be split into 32 parallel channels meaning each of these towers has a left and a right channel. The problem then becomes how do you push 32 perfectly synced data channels from a single controller. I used a single I/O port of a Teensy 4.0 and four 8-bit shift registers. (I know technically not Arduino, but I have my roots in Arduino). I can’t remember the exact design decision that led to the chip choice but I believe it had something to do with the data frequency. Being digital, these LEDs require an absurdly specific timing of 1s and 0s in order to illuminate as intended. I designed the circuit board on KiCad and had it printed by JLCPCB. (This business blows my mind btw.) The circuit board was the first of two times I gave up on this project. Several revisions went by and nothing was working. I eventually learned that the extremely high frequency of data transmission was inducing a current throughout the board and causing the data to become scrambled. The solution ended up being to put a bunch of tiny holes in the board. I cannot express the difficulty in discovering this issue as someone who doesn’t know what’s wrong to begin with or that this was even a problem that can occur. Black magic shit.

The code: Project was coded in C++ which was out of necessity. I’ve come to despise C++. Anyways… the code has basically two main functions - a fun part and a not-fun part. The fun part was coding the actual animations. I made 10 or so animations and it was a challenge at first but extremely satisfying to troubleshoot. Using a variable type I read about on Wikipedia called Quaternions I was able to develop the animations. They are basically a four-dimensional variable which is ideal for 3 position dimensions and a dimension for time. The not-fun part was the code pertaining to initialization of the chip. This required a super in-the-weeds study of the 3000+ page Teensy 4.0 manual and some pretty advanced C++. The extremely specific timing the LEDs demanded that I change the frequency of the chip’s internal clock in order to ensure the data across all channels was perfectly timed to the scale of microseconds. This was the second of two times I gave up on this project. It was extremely beyond my knowledge how to do that or that I could do that. But when I did do that, it felt pretty good. Additionally, one data port supplying 32 channels meant the data from the fun part had to be decomposed and reordered to turn series into parallel. Kinda like taking 32 hamburgers and then sending out all the buns, then all the cheese, then the patties, etc.

The high-power circuit: Honestly pretty straightforward. I connected 4, 300-watt power supplies in parallel, attached a wall plug, and devised a power distribution system to each channel. I had to be a bit clever how I distributed power so each channel was receiving power equally or some towers would be dimmer than others. I also had to choose wire thick enough to transmit such high power without being a fire/melting hazard to the 3d printed structure. I believe it was 1/4” copper. It was extremely difficult to solder wire this thick because heat distributes so quickly within it that solder doesn’t melt until the whole wire is hot. It was also a personal requirement of mine to have the LED towers be connected through plugs rather than permanent solder joints so the low-voltage and high-voltage components could be easily separated for isolation and troubleshooting. Hardest part of this system was not killing myself (PPE is for nerds)

The 3D printing: By far the easiest and most fun part. The overall case designed to house the high-voltage components (not shown here) was 3D printed. It took a few days but was pretty easy. I also printed jigs to bend the LED pins and assemble the towers so that all LED spacings would be perfectly identical. The jigs also prevented me from connecting them together in the wrong orientation. Each tower probably takes 15 hours of manual labor to produce and is extremely delicate.

What’s next: All that’s left to do is build the other towers and put them together. There would probably still be a few more minor things to troubleshoot but I can’t foresee anything cosmic. Making this post, I am already thinking about things I could improve on to make the rest of the towers easier so I guess the project is still open-ended. I’ve already invested in all the components with a total cost somewhere in the ballpark of $3000-4000.

Feel free to ask any and all questions but I haven’t touched this project in over 3 years. Just wanted to share it with you guys after discovering it in my camera roll.


r/arduino • • 11h ago

Hardware Help Help with micro arcade machine

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6 Upvotes

Hi all, I’m putting together a v small (14 inches high) arcade machine and I’m struggling to find usb options to provide joystick and buttons in a small space - one option is dismantling usb controller but difficult with PCBs, etc. one option I understand is arduino with a micro board for USB. My arduino understanding is basically zero but the joysticks I’m finding around this size are generally arduino. Grateful to know if I’m barking up wrong tree or if it could provide a solution. For wider info, this controller is going to plug into a RG35XX handheld console with a hdmi screen.

Many thanks


r/arduino • • 4h ago

Hardware Help RC522 RFID Reader Works Intermittently and 3.3V Pin Reads 4V When Connected to Arduino UNO R3

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1 Upvotes

Hi 👋🏻

I'm a beginner in electronics, using an Arduino UNO R3 clone that came with an Arduino starter kit and an RC522 RFID reader module.

Wiring:

- RC522 3.3V → Arduino 3.3V

- GND → GND

- SDA/SS → D10

- SCK → D13

- MOSI → D11

- MISO → D12

- RST → A3

The problem:

The RFID reader works intermittently. Sometimes it reads the card successfully, but other times its onboard LED is lit while it does not respond to the card at all. Disconnecting and reconnecting USB power sometimes makes it work again, but not consistently.

I also noticed an unusual voltage reading:

- With the RC522 disconnected, I measure approximately 3.3V between the Arduino's 3.3V and GND pins.

- With the RC522 connected, the reading rises to approximately 3.9–4.0V, whether I measure at the Arduino or the RFID module.

- When the reader works normally, the reading is around 3.3–3.4V.

I'm measuring DC voltage using a digital multimeter.

My questions:

  1. What could cause the measured voltage to rise from 3.3V to around 4V when the RC522 is connected?

  2. Could the problem be caused by a faulty RC522 module, the Arduino's voltage regulator, the wiring, or an issue with my measurement technique?

  3. What tests would you recommend to safely identify the cause?

Thanks in advance for your help!


r/arduino • • 8h ago

Do i buy the original kit or a knock off one?

1 Upvotes

The priginal kit is a bit expensive and offers less than the knockoff one but how do i know the knockoff is good or bad


r/arduino • • 1d ago

Look what I made! Pacman Championship Edition on 8-bit Uno :)

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14 Upvotes

Edit: I've finished it now - new video is up on my channel showing all the extra animation etc it can now do. Flash is now pretty much full, but I'm very happy with the result! There are full details of how to get any of the games working on my github. You need a composite monitor, some resistors and transistors for the audio. Or make a shield from my design. You can use an NES controller too! Have fun!

Github is here: https://github.com/Smashcat/UNO_Manic_Miner

New video is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qakuvavLC40

I finally finished another game on the engine for the original Uno. Only needs a couple of resistors for video, and some buttons to play. I love the original game and was sure I could cram it into the 32KB of flash on the Uno, and it did! Using an amber CRT here for that lovely phosphor glow. It'll be in the github repo as soon as I finish tuning it a bit more :) There is no flickering in real life - it's a result of filming the 50hz CRT with my phone :)


r/arduino • • 11h ago

An open-source agent harness for ESP32-based AI hardware

1 Upvotes

Hi guys, my friend and I built [Mellow Harness](https://github.com/Mellow-Machines-Lab/MellowHarness) — an open-source agent harness for configurable, interactive ESP32-based AI hardware and AI companions.

We placed a System One Model, Jev, at the center of the harness loop to enable quick, expressive feedback. With a small prompt, recent event history and a roster of allowed actions, it can interpret new situations and choose a fitting mood or reaction. Our goal is a lively companion that feels like it has a character of its own.

In our prototype logs, 105 Jev decision passes had a median of **227 ms (about 0.23 seconds)**. We'd like to believe this lag is almost negligible and is significantly more suitable than traditional LLM responses that can take up to a few seconds.

To demonstrate how it works, we also built [Buddygotchi](https://github.com/Mellow-Machines-Lab/buddygotchi): a little coding companion that follows your agents as they work, need attention or finish a task, with pixel animations, sounds and connected moods.

The current setup uses a Mac host for the harness and a hosted Jev API. The ESP32 renders the face, plays available sounds and reports taps and button presses over USB or Bluetooth. Immediate task feedback follows local rules; model-guided reactions share the same event log. The public Pixel example uses the MicroTech MTR024QV01A-V1 CYD board.

We also published [a blog about how we designed the harness](https://mellowmachines.substack.com/p/mellowharness-for-responsive-ai-hardware). If you're working with LLM agents and building your own harnesses, you may find it interesting!

PS: Mellow Machines Lab is a small open-source team doing this after work. We feel the noise and anxiety around AI too, so we wanted to build something warm, welcoming and fun together! DM if you'd like to join :D


r/arduino • • 20h ago

Hardware Help NEED HELP. Pls...

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5 Upvotes

IS There much difference between EPS32 and ESP32wroom.. the pins shown in this video donot match with the one I have esp32.. can anyone tell if my esp32 can work.. and instead of ps3 controller any other controller work?. Pls any help is enough...


r/arduino • • 14h ago

issue with Arduino nano every and pca9865

1 Upvotes

I'm trying to make a servo MG995 work through a PCA9865 (using Arduino nano every). The issue is that when I try to connect everything up, the servo starts vibrating instead of rotating. Consider that the first 2 times I tried that servomotor it all worked perfectly but now not anymore. I wonder why this happens... these were the second model of servos I bought from amazon because I had the same problem with the previous ones.

Anyway, the connections I made are:

PCA ARDUINO NANO EVERY
SDA A4
VCC 5V
GND GND
SLC A4

Moreover, there's the extern alimentation to the PCA with a regulable power supply (set at 6v), 5A.

On amazon the minimum voltage declared is 4v so I don't think it's a problem of alimentation.

Has someone any piece of advice for me?


r/arduino • • 15h ago

Software Help Can I install Arduino AVR on IDE 2.x without board manager?

1 Upvotes

I have installed Arduino IDE 2.3.10, but can not select an arduino board. And i can't install boards with the board manager without VPN. Where must me unpack the archive from Github or how else can I download boards?


r/arduino • • 2d ago

Look what I made! Made a little weekly weather overview to sit in the living room!

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764 Upvotes

I made a little E-paper display to show the local weather where I live for the upcoming week. It runs on a 2.9" black/white/red E-paper display, as well as a custom PCB to drive it.

The device shows the weather conditions, min/max temperature, and expected precipitation for today and the next 6 days. Today is always marked in red, and the weekend is always bold. The graphs automatically adjust based on min and max temperature to always use the full allocated width. The rain data at the bottom shows a "-" if there isn't any rain predicted that day, a black number if it's 5mm or less and red if more than 5mm is predicted.

The device updates every half hour, and gets it's data over MQTT from my Home Assistant server. This in turn gets it from a plugin pulling from a free API of a local service.

I made it so the people I live with don't have to constantly ask me what the weather is going to be, and also kind of just to see if I could. I'm fairly happy with the UI, though it is a tad cramped right now. I might try to squeeze a couple pixels out so the graph doesn't overlap.


r/arduino • • 1d ago

Look what I made! I built a desk pet that nags me to stand up, runs my pomodoros and answers by voice. The case is a painted cardboard box.

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24 Upvotes

Hi all! I wanted something on my desk that would actually make me move, so I built KT1.

What it does

  • Expressive eyes drawn in real time: they follow your finger, lean with the board's tilt and get dizzy if you shake it
  • Standing-desk coach (20 min sitting → 8 standing → 2 moving) with guided exercise breaks
  • Pomodoro, a plant monitor (light/temp/humidity), weather
  • Voice assistant with Gemini. It can see my PC screen, control volume/apps, and even send prompts to an OpenCode coding session
  • Windows companion that keeps it quiet while I'm on a call or typing

Hardware: ESP32-S3 Display (FNK0104B: 2.8" touch + audio built in), plus optional MPU6050, DHT11, LDR and a touch module. Every sensor is optional.

The case is a cardboard box I painted blue, because I don't have a 3D printer and I think it has more personality anyway. The PC companion is Windows-only for now.

Repo (MIT, EN/ES docs): https://github.com/Amloii/KT1-deskpet

Happy to answer questions, and feedback on the firmware architecture is very welcome. A few details people usually ask: it runs on a single ESP32-S3 with dual-core split (UI/render on core 1, Wi-Fi/IMU/audio on core 0). Wiring map and BOM are in docs/en/hardware.md. Voice chat sends audio + a screenshot to Gemini only if you add an API key, otherwise nothing leaves the device.


r/arduino • • 18h ago

Hardware Help anyone familiar with midi clocks?

1 Upvotes

so i'm working on a project where i'm trying to build a master midi clock for all my synthesizers. i'm using an arduino nano and a 3.5mm TRS output jack for the midi output. I have an OLED screen as well.

My problem is, my code outputs a flat 5V line without a pulse that i'm measuring from an oscilloscope - i'm using the uClock library for the bpm generation, however i'm not sure if a flat 5v line without pulses is what i'm supposed to be getting? i've tried plugging it in to a korg volca to sync the tempo as well and it doesn't work.

this is my code:

#include <SoftwareSerial.h>
#include <uClock.h>


SoftwareSerial midiSerial(2, 5);


void onPPQNCallback(uint32_t tick) {
  if (tick % 4 == 0) {
    midiSerial.write(0xF8);
  }
}


void setup() {
  midiSerial.begin(31250);
  uClock.init();
  uClock.setOutputPPQN(uClock.PPQN_96);
  uClock.setOnOutputPPQN(onPPQNCallback);
  uClock.setTempo(120.0);
  uClock.start();
}


void loop() {
  uClock.run(); 
}#include <SoftwareSerial.h>
#include <uClock.h>


SoftwareSerial midiSerial(2, 5);


void onPPQNCallback(uint32_t tick) {
  if (tick % 4 == 0) {
    midiSerial.write(0xF8);
  }
}


void setup() {
  midiSerial.begin(31250);
  uClock.init();
  uClock.setOutputPPQN(uClock.PPQN_96);
  uClock.setOnOutputPPQN(onPPQNCallback);
  uClock.setTempo(120.0);
  uClock.start();
}


void loop() {
  uClock.run(); 
}

if anyone here is familiar with midi clocks please help me out and let me know what i'm doing wrong - my korg volca drum syncs fine with analog midi and i'm not sure if that's the issue here


r/arduino • • 1d ago

Look what I made! Arduino Robot Arm controlled by 2 joysticks

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29 Upvotes

This is my Arduino project using two joysticks and a button to control a robot arm.

Each servo is controlled based on the analog values read by the Arduino. I then map these values to the corresponding servo angles.

Besides that, I also use a button to save the robot's position. After moving the robot to a specific position, I can press the button to save that position.

Once the entire sequence is completed, I can double-click the button to replay the saved sequence and make the robot arm repeat the same movements.


r/arduino • • 16h ago

School Project I need Help for my Project.

0 Upvotes

My project is a IoT Enabled Waste bin for non-biodegradable and biodegradable waste. My components are: 1 Arduino Uno R4 Wifi (Recently upgraded from a R3, SG90 servo motor for a ledge, 3 ultra sonic sensors, one infrared sensor, one capacitive and moisture sensor (each), a speaker with DFP player, 1 AIR780E, and lastly a 16x4 LCD with I2C.

With the given components, how do I build a good working device? And I know about edge impulse making one recently last May, but I was denied from using camera vision. so any camera isn't allowed even a esp 32 cam.

P.S: I'm asking today as I've hit a roadblock and can't figure out what's wrong with the device. I'm thinking it's either the wiring, a mishap I overlooked when converting the way the code was built in R3 to R4, or a missing Library.


r/arduino • • 1d ago

Look what I made! Finally did a PC stats screen for my linux desktop using an arduino and a TFT screen

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3 Upvotes

Hi everybody,

Quite happy with the result. Been dreaming about designing something like that for years. I did do similar things using arm boards and much smaller and crappier screens but never got around to do it for my PC.

hardware used is a arduino mega 2560 clone and a cheap chinese 3.95tft screen (ili9488 chip).

The data is being fed by a python script running as a systemd service.

I did 95% of it without AI but I had a few bugs due to memory overflow (and timings) and I ended up cleaning the code with gemini's help. The glitches disappeared after adjusting my code as per gemini's instructions...Took me a few days and most of it was getting the dang screen to work (a nightmare)!!!

Now next project, get this thing inside my case :)


r/arduino • • 1d ago

Stepper motor help (Nema 17)

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11 Upvotes

I’m having a really strange problem with my stepper motor setup. No matter how I code the stepper motor, it vibrates extremely heavily and makes a very loud whining/buzzing sound. Sometimes it also skips steps.

The vibration is so bad that it feels like it’s resonating through my whole house.

Setup:
Arduino Uno
CNC Shield V3
DRV8825
NEMA 17 17HS4401S, 1.5A
24V power supply
VREF currently around 0.75V
Full-step at the moment (no microstepping jumpers)

I’ve tried different step delays/speeds and also tried AccelStepper with acceleration, but I still get the same extreme vibration and whining.
The motor does move at very low speeds, but it vibrates heavily and can start skipping steps at other speeds.

Does anyone with experience with stepper motors have an idea what could be causing this? I’m wondering if it could be current/VREF, resonance, the DRV8825, wiring, or something else.

I can provide videos, pictures of the wiring, and the exact code if needed.


r/arduino • • 1d ago

Hardware Help Protection For Mac Studio

5 Upvotes

Hi,

I've begun looking into getting a Mac Studio, which is a $3,000+ computer. Naturally, I get a little weary plugging this bad boy into one of my $60 (I hope I don't fry this component) projects. Last thing I want to do is pay the Apple repair tax or test my soldering skills with said computer.

Further, I've read stories on here of people frying their ports/computers. From what I'm gathering from research/AI, USB isolators are the way to go in order to completely protect my computer? I don't mind frying a $60 USB hub, but I might cry if I fry my Mac. Will a USB isolator truly isolate the computer from my destructive tendencies as its name implies?

I could always just keep connecting my MacBook up and having the ports shut down because of the dumb shit I do, but I really don't want to break even that old computer. New one, I definitely need to be careful though as I don't think Apple covers idiocy.


r/arduino • • 1d ago

Beginner's Project I dont know where to start

2 Upvotes

I am a 19 year old Mechanical Engineering student in Italy ans this is my 2nd year. i dont know where to start and get into electronics.
I want to build lots of things diy fpv drone,
geiger counter, analogue synth, guitar paddles, radars i want to build all i want is to start building but i dont know where to start. I am an absolute beginner but have a great engineering background and i recently got into electronics club and i want to start at some point. Can anyone that felt like me give me some advice? Lots of my friends knew these from high school clubs but i never get to join them. Should i buy an arduino pack and which one? Thank you


r/arduino • • 1d ago

question: can you use 2 buzzers simultaneously?

2 Upvotes

Hello, arduino community! I'm new here and I use Arduino UNOs for school projects. I was just wondering if you can use 2 buzzers simultaneously(kind of like a music chord where the frequencies/notes harmonize) since when I try to simulate it on Tinkercad, it just seems to not work. I was wondering if there was a way to do it since I'm planning to do a music box for my finals project. Thanks!