🔧 Tool of the Week
ESP32‑S31 (Espressif)
A new dual‑core RISC‑V SoC with Wi‑Fi‑6, Bluetooth 5.4 (LE + Classic), 802.15.4 and a big peripheral set — useful when you need a single chip for multimedia, HMI, and multi‑protocol IoT devices. Great for developers targeting audio, camera, or Ethernet‑connected embedded products. 🔗 Espressif announcement / product pages (espressif.com)
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🛒 Deals & Finds
- Open Book Touch (Crowd Supply pre‑order)
– Pocketable, front‑lit open e‑reader (ESP32‑S3-based); useful if you want a hackable e‑paper dev board or a ready-to‑tinker device. 🔗 Crowd Supply listing & pre-order (crowdsupply.com)
- ESP32‑S31 modules / dev platform
– If you’re prototyping modern IoT with Wi‑Fi‑6 / BLE Audio / Thread, start with Espressif’s S31 docs and dev resources. 🔗 ESP32‑S31 product & docs hub (esp32-s31.espressif.com)
- sigrok / PulseView downloads (nightlies & releases)
– If you use cheap logic analyzers or Saleae‑style clones, grab the latest PulseView build for protocol decoding and captures. 🔗 sigrok downloads (PulseView) (sigrok.org)
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🧪 Cool Build
ESP32‑Bit‑Pirate (geo‑tp)
A hardware‑hacking tool running on ESP32 that exposes multiple buses/protocols (I2C/SPI/UART/etc.) with a web CLI — handy for quick on‑device protocol poking and automated probing. Great if you want a tiny, cheap multi‑tool for hardware reverse engineering and prototyping. 🔗 geo‑tp / ESP32‑Bit‑Pirate (GitHub) (trendshift.io)
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📚 Worth Reading
- Getting started with a logic analyzer (sigrok) – Practical quick guide to capture workflows, decoders and recommended probe types. 🔗 sigrok: Getting started with a logic analyzer (sigrok.org)
- Open Book Touch makes crowdfunding debut (Hackaday) – Short, pragmatic write‑up on the new open e‑reader and what it means for builders who want a small e‑paper dev platform. 🔗 Hackaday: Open Book Touch makes crowdfunding debut (hackaday.com)
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⚡ Quick Hits
- OpenOCD user guide updated (useful if you debug via JTAG/SWD). 🔗 [OpenOCD docs / user guide]. (openocd.org)
- ESP32‑S31 datasheet & tech docs (pinout, peripherals, power). 🔗 [ESP32‑S31 datasheet / docs]. (documentation.espressif.com)
- The Open Book / Open‑hardware repo — firmware, board files and the older Open Book resources (good if you want to hack an e‑paper device). 🔗 The Open Book (GitHub) (github.com)
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📺 Cool Videos
- ESP32‑S31: Most Powerful Chip by Espressif?
– Short explainer & comparison to other ESP32 families — good primer if you’re deciding which chip to target. 🔗 YouTube: ESP32‑S31 overview video (youtube.com)
- Joey Castillo // Hackster Café (Open Book interview / demo)
– Conversation and demo of the Open Book lineage — useful background if you plan to hack the e‑paper platform. 🔗 Hackster Café video page (hackster.io)