November 25, 2025

Electronics 25-11-2025

Raspberry Pi updates, IoT tech, retro games consoles, microcontrollers.

🐧 Raspberry Pi Insights

Raspberry Pi 5 FAQ – Your Questions Answered (bret​.dk). Comprehensive Raspberry Pi 5 FAQ covering hardware, NVMe/USB boot, emulation, OS support, power, and troubleshooting

Juan A. Suárez: Major Upgrades to the Raspberry Pi GPU Driver Stack (XDC 2025 Recap) (blogs​.igalia​.com). Raspberry Pi GPU driver upgrades showcased at XDC 2025, covering OpenGL 3.2 alignment, NIR printf, framebuffer fetch, and performance gains by Igalia

Raspberry Pi Assembly Language Programming – Second Edition (smist08​.wordpress​.com). Stephen Smith updates Raspberry Pi Assembly Language Programming to 64-bit ARM on newer Pis, includes 64-bit OS support and RP2040 considerations

📡 IoT & Home Automation

Air Lab is the Flipper Zero of air quality monitors (jeffgeerling​.com). Air Lab measures CO2, NOx, VOCs, temp, humidity, and pressure, publishes data via MQTT/Home Assistant, and compares to AirGradient and Flipper Zero-like versatility

My Home Assistant Setup 2025: Reolink, EVCC, and New Dashboards (markus-haack​.com). Home Assistant 2025 update: Reolink cameras, EVCC energy management, and new dashboards with UI-driven automations

Be My Eyes using Raspberry Pi and AI (piyushgupta​.xyz). Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W project using camera, OLED, button, speaker to describe surroundings via GPT-4o and TTS

Reading the Gas Meter (tunbury​.org). DIY approach using a Raspberry Pi, image processing, and cosine similarity to read a mechanical gas meter with templates

What is MQTT? An Introduction to the Lightweight IoT Messaging Protocol (shawnhymel​.com). Overview of MQTT’s publish/subscribe model, topics, QoS, retained messages, LWT, security, and MQTT 5 enhancements with examples and common formats

🧰 Maker Projects & Hacks

Tree Dangler (jasonthorsness​.com). A hands-on account of designing a walnut tree ornament with Voronoi-based editor, distance fields, matter-js simulation, and AI-assisted development

Bird Feeder Tray Mount (softsolder​.com). Bird feeder tray mount built from lid scraps using OpenSCAD, 3D printing, and drill-guided assembly

Black Relay: Building an IoT Data Platform in 100 Days (joshrnoll​.com). Real-time IoT sensor platform for first responders using MongoDB, MQTT, React-Leaflet, Proxmox, and a multi-team sprint

UniFi G3 Flex Bird Camera (alec​.is). Repurposing a UniFi G3 Flex to capture sharp close-up bird images by physically adjusting the focus lens in a backyard nest box setup

Configuring Keyboards with Org-mode Babel (kyo​.iroiro​.party). Configuring a 60% QMK keyboard with Colemak, APL symbols, and Org Babel in Emacs

🎮 Retro & Console Mods

Why I forked the SPIISD project (colino​.net). Fork of SPIISD v2 aims to fix boot-time visibility, open-source firmware, and DIY-friendly Smartport hard drive support for Apple //c

My Custom Game Boy Advance (tylersticka​.com). A DIY original Game Boy Advance mod with a Fusion-inspired aesthetic, backlight upgrade, and component upgrades

Sega Master System: Program Walkthroughs (bumbershootsoft​.wordpress​.com). Hello World and a Genesis-to-MMS port review, with Z80/VDP setup, OTIR tricks, and VRAM loading in assembly

Fixing a Nintendo DS Lite (wolfgang-ziegler​.com). Repairing a transparent Nintendo DS Lite: display and digitizer fixes, ribbon cable work, and replacement parts

Mystery O gauge signals (philsworkbench​.blogspot​.com). Mystery O gauge signals uncovered from vintage box, exploring possible plug-in valve sockets as connectors

🛠️ Microcontroller Builds

F32 – An Extremely Small ESP32 Board (github​.com). Ultra-compact ESP32-C3 board f32 behind USB-C, DIY assembly, antenna hack, DIY ESP-IDF/Arduino testing, and captive portal demo

Fixing the RP2350-USB-A not working as USB host (qsantos​.fr). RP2350-USB-A host issue fixed by desoldering resistor R13 to enable proper USB host operation with low-speed devices using TinyUSB on Waveshare RP2350 board

Building the One Button Remote (circusscientist​.com). Bluetooth foot switch with ESP32 C3, latching and momentary switches, USB charging, PlatformIO firmware, Android app integration

Advanced techniques for porting libraries to ESP-IDF components (developer​.espressif​.com). Advanced tips for porting large libraries to ESP-IDF components using CMake, port layers, sock_utils, and linker wrapping with ASIO, mosquitto, and libwebsockets

New Course - Arduino to MicroPython Quick Start Guide (kevsrobots​.com). Arduino to MicroPython quick-start guide with side-by-side code, practical projects, and Nano ESP32, Pico W, Pico 2W support

Raspberry Pi Pico 2W on the go! (embeddedjourneys​.com). Compact Raspberry Pi Pico 2W on the go kit for tidy, portable development with Pico, Python, and basic electronics

SitStand - Controlling My Standing Desk with Bluetooth (gregraiz​.com). BLE desk controller for UPLIFT/Jiecang desks with CLI, web dashboard, and activity tracking using Python

🔌 Components & Modules

Mastering the L293D Motor Driver: Comprehensive Guide for Makers (ikkaro​.net). Comprehensive guide on using the L293D motor driver with Arduino, including basics, wiring, PWM speed control, and alternatives

TTP223B Touch Sensor: Complete Guide, Features, and How to Use It (ikkaro​.net). Explore TTP223B capacitive touch sensor: features, wiring, toggle mode, Arduino/Raspberry Pi integration, and practical projects

Flexible led filament a first look (lucstechblog​.blogspot​.com). Overview of flexible LED filament tech, colors, power options, and basic MicroPython/Pico PWM demonstrations

M5Stack U187 General MIDI module (sandsoftwaresound​.net). Tiny, inexpensive GM module using M5Stack U187 with SAM2695 audio, GPIO cabling, and GS engine access

🔧 PCB, Soldering & Design

Poor man's soldering fumes extractor (celso​.io). Soldering fumes extractor using Ikea UPPÅTVIND, ESPHome on ESP8266, Home Assistant automation, and a floor-mounted hose modification

Making Actually Useful Schematics in KiCad (pappp​.net). Open-source hardware hackers’ KiCad schematics improvement checklist covering visual design, symbols, BOM annotations, ERC, and design-for-test/fail considerations

AC Power / Energy Meter (softsolder​.com). Compact, self-contained AC power/energy meter project using a split-core current transformer, mud ring mounting, and DIY wiring notes

Building new version of the PCB for 1130 MRAM (rescue1130​.blogspot​.com). Solder paste and hot air rework used to assemble MRAM PCB for IBM 1130, with testing and future parts on order

Replacing the Kobo Libra H2O battery. (ei3lh​.eu). Guides replacing a Kobo Libra H2O battery with a PR-158098N cell, adhesives, and basic soldering tips sourced from Ali Express

🔬 Electronic Deep Dives

Unusual circuits in the Intel 386's standard cell logic (righto​.com). Explores unusual standard-cell circuits in Intel 386, including large multiplexers, CMOS switches, and a misfit transistor

Excited by silicon! (zerotoasiccourse​.com). Open-source silicon momentum spans Sky130, GF180mcu, IHP130, Tiny Tapeout; PDKs, MPWs, IP, tools, and community events drive innovation

Noooooooooo Touch! (sensepost​.com). No-touch access vulnerabilities analyzed via IR sensor replay, DIY torch-based field attack, ESP/ATtiny412 microcontroller hardware rigs

📚 Academic Research

CorrectHDL: Agentic HDL Design with LLMs Leveraging High-Level Synthesis as Reference (arxiv:cs). Uses LLMs plus HLS references to generate correct, efficient HDL—bridges AI and hardware design, speeding FPGA/ASIC development for advanced hobbyist projects

Cement2: Temporal Hardware Transactions for High-Level and Efficient FPGA Programming (arxiv:cs). Introduces temporal hardware transactions (Cement2) in Rust for cycle-aware, transactional FPGA programming—boosts productivity and generates efficient RTL suitable for makers using FPGAs

ioPUF+: A PUF Based on I/O Pull-Up/Down Resistors for Secret Key Generation in IoT Nodes (arxiv:cs). IO-based PUF (ioPUF+) uses existing I/O pull-up/down resistor variation to derive cryptographic keys on COTS microcontrollers—practical IoT security for DIY devices

Scenario-Aware Control of Segmented Ladder Bus: Design and FPGA Implementation (arxiv:cs). Presents a lightweight, scenario-aware control plane for segmented ladder bus interconnects—energy-efficient FPGA implementation useful for neuromorphic and low-power hobbyist designs

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