Blog
Build logs & guides
Real ESP32 / ESP8266 projects built with RisalDash — the code, the wiring, and how it works.
Featured Guide · Tools · IDE
Top 5 programs for ESP32 & Arduino work — the tools worth installing
Arduino IDE 2 to start, VS Code + PlatformIO for real projects, Thonny for MicroPython, KiCad for real PCBs, ESPHome for no-code nodes — what each is best at, plus BoardLab for wiring diagrams.
Jul 30, 2026
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Project · HX711 · Load cell
ESP32 smart gas cylinder monitor — weigh the LPG bottle with HX711 & load cell
A load cell + HX711 under the LPG bottle; the ESP32 subtracts the empty-bottle tare to show net kg and % left, with a red LED + buzzer before you run dry. Full sketch, runs with no hardware.
Jul 30, 2026
Guide · Motors · Drivers
Which motor for Arduino & ESP32? Servo vs stepper vs DC vs geared vs BLDC
The five motor types every project picks from — servo, stepper, brushed DC, geared TT and brushless — by control, driver, precision and torque, with working code for each and the wiring rules that save your board.
Jul 30, 2026
Project · Energy · PZEM-004T
ESP32 home energy monitor — PZEM-004T, 100A CT clamp, kWh & cost live
A whole-house WiFi energy meter under $25: PZEM-004T + CT clamp measure V/A/W/kWh, the dashboard adds a cost counter and tunable tariff — no cloud. Full sketch, runs on a fake load first.
Jul 30, 2026
Project · Wi-Fi · RSSI
ESP32 Wi-Fi site survey — map RSSI by location with a live dashboard
Walk the site with an ESP32: live RSSI of the actual link, a GPS marker per reading, a signal grade and a weak-zone log — find dead spots for a few dollars. Full sketch.
Jul 29, 2026
Project · Wearable · MPU6050
ESP32 posture monitor — an MPU6050 wearable that nags when you slouch
A $2 accelerometer measures your forward lean, a grace timer avoids false nags, a buzzer coaches you upright — and the dashboard tracks slouch minutes. Runs with no hardware.
Jul 29, 2026
Project · LoRa · SX1278
ESP32 LoRa point-to-point — kilometres of range with SX1278, RSSI/SNR live
Two ESP32s talk over kilometres with no internet, gateway or fees — a CRC-checked beacon protocol with live RSSI/SNR on each node's dashboard. Full two-node sketch.
Jul 29, 2026
Project · Instrumentation · ADC
ESP32 oscilloscope — measure Vpp, Vrms & frequency on one ADC pin
Burst-sample the ADC, three loops of maths, and Vpp/Vrms/frequency read off a live dashboard — with the safe 0–3.3 V front-end and honest sample-rate limits. Full sketch.
Jul 29, 2026
Project · ESP32-CAM · Time-lapse
ESP32-CAM time-lapse camera — JPEG to MicroSD on a schedule, with a live dashboard
A $7 board shoots a JPEG every N seconds to the SD card — with a live shot counter, SD gauge and manual trigger, plus how to pick interval, resolution and power. Full sketch.
Jul 29, 2026
Project · ESP32-CAM · PIR
ESP32-CAM wildlife camera trap — PIR motion trigger, MicroSD & live status
Motion fires a JPEG to the SD card with a cool-down between triggers; a live dashboard shows the trap status, shot counter and capture log — for under $10. Full sketch.
Jul 29, 2026
Project · Climate · DHT22
ESP32 smart thermostat — hysteresis, auto-cooling fan & overheat alerts
A dual-mode thermostat: hysteresis drives the heater, a fan kicks in on overshoot, and an overheat alert catches a stuck relay — with a live setpoint and history chart. Runs with no hardware.
Jul 29, 2026
Project · Smart room · PIR/MQ-2
ESP32 room monitor — DHT22, PIR motion, MQ-2 gas, relays & alarms on one panel
Climate, motion, gas/smoke, a 2-channel relay and a buzzer on one ESP32 — with a priority alarm chain, auto-venting and MCP control. Full sketch, runs with no hardware.
Jul 29, 2026
Project · Water quality · pH/TDS
ESP32 water quality monitor — pH, TDS, turbidity & temperature with auto pump
Four probes, a temperature-compensated TDS reading, a Good/Fair/Poor verdict and a fresh-water pump that kicks in automatically. Full sketch — runs on fake probes first.
Jul 29, 2026
Project · Weather · BME280
ESP32 weather station — BME280, rain, anemometer, UV & light with alerts
The full outdoor station on one ESP32: BME280, a tipping-bucket rain gauge, an interrupt-driven anemometer, UV and light — with a live conditions readout and storm alerts. Starts on fakes.
Jul 29, 2026
Project · Water · JSN-SR04T
ESP32 water tank monitor — level, time-to-empty prediction & leak detection
A waterproof ultrasonic sensor reads the level; the dashboard predicts when the tank runs dry, flags a leak from the drain rate, and drives the pump. Full sketch — runs with no hardware first.
Jul 29, 2026
Project · Smart city · HC-SR04
ESP32 smart trash bin — ultrasonic fill level, multi-bin dashboard & alerts
An HC-SR04 on the lid measures how full each bin is; a self-hosted dashboard shows every site with status badges, an event log and a pickup alert. Full sketch — test it with no hardware first.
Jul 29, 2026
Guide · Power · Batteries
Which battery for ESP32 & Arduino? Li-Ion vs Li-Po vs NiMH vs LiFePO4 vs lead-acid
The five rechargeable battery types for ESP32/Arduino — Li-Ion 18650, Li-Po, NiMH, LiFePO4 and lead-acid — by voltage, capacity, cycle life and charging, plus the one wiring rule that saves your board.
Jul 29, 2026
Guide · Comparison · ESP32
ESP32 dashboard libraries compared — RisalDash vs ESPUI, ESP-DASH & Blynk
A fair, fact-checked comparison of the ways to put a UI on an ESP32 — RisalDash, ESPUI, ESP-DASH and Blynk — by hosting, offline, widgets, provisioning, i18n, AI/MCP and cost.
Jul 28, 2026
Guide · Displays · Wiring
Connect a display to ESP32 — OLED, TFT, touch & E-Ink
Wire and drive every common screen on an ESP32 or Arduino: SSD1306/SH1106 OLED over I²C, ST7789/ILI9341 colour TFT over SPI, an ILI9341 touch panel with XPT2046, and E-Ink — real pin maps and a first sketch for each.
Jul 28, 2026
Guide · ESP32-CAM · Camera
ESP32-CAM image settings — format, JPEG quality & framesize (OV2640)
Get sharp, small photos out of the ESP32-CAM. The OV2640 settings that matter — pixel format (JPEG vs raw), jpeg_quality 0–63, and framesize from QQVGA to UXGA — with the go-to config.
Jul 28, 2026
Guide · LEDs · Electronics
Everything about LEDs — colours, forward voltage & the resistor
The complete beginner’s guide to LEDs for ESP32 and Arduino — why colours differ (the semiconductor table), what’s inside a 5 mm LED, forward voltage per colour, and how to size the series resistor.
Jul 28, 2026
Guide · ESP32 · Tips
5 hidden ESP32 features you are not using (with code)
Your ESP32 already ships with five powerful features most people never touch — ESP-NOW, touch GPIO, deep sleep, OTA and PWM. What each does and a copy-paste code example for all five.
Jul 28, 2026
Guide · Web UI · ESP32
A modern web UI on ESP32 — SPA + WebSockets inside the chip
The page an ESP32 serves doesn’t have to look like 2004. A reactive SPA in flash, live gauges and charts over a WebSocket, no reloads — and the few-lines-of-C++ shortcut.
Jul 27, 2026
Guide · ESPHome · No-code
ESPHome for beginners — any sensor in Home Assistant, no code
Get any sensor or relay into Home Assistant in minutes — describe the device in YAML and ESPHome compiles the firmware. A real config, when you still need C++, and how it compares.
Jul 27, 2026
Guide · Security · ESP32
Securing an ESP32 — Secure Boot & Flash Encryption
An unprotected flash is an open book. Encrypt it with AES, sign the image so only your code boots — how each works, what they stop, and what you give up (debug, OTA, no going back).
Jul 27, 2026
Guide · RISC-V · Chips
The RISC-V era — CH32V, BL602 and ESP32-C3/C6
A royalty-free instruction set is taking over the microcontroller. Why it matters, how ten-cent CH32V003 chips undercut the ATmega, and how you program the RISC-V ESP32-C3/C6.
Jul 27, 2026
Guide · Linux · SBC
Linux for $5 — Luckfox Pico vs an ESP32
Tiny Linux boards run a full OS for a few dollars — so when do you reach past an ESP32? The real MCU-vs-micro-Linux difference, what $5 of Linux buys, and a clear rule for which to pick.
Jul 27, 2026
Guide · TinyML · AI
TinyML on ESP32 — run a neural net with no internet
Run a real neural net on an ESP32-S3 — wake words, gestures, sound — all on-device, no cloud. What TinyML is, why the S3, the Edge Impulse pipeline, and the projects worth starting with.
Jul 27, 2026
Guide · LoRa · Off-grid
Meshtastic on ESP32 + LoRa — off-grid text & GPS mesh
Build an off-grid messenger with ESP32 + LoRa. Meshtastic gives a decentralised text and GPS mesh — kilometres of range, no towers, no SIM. How LoRa reaches, which boards to buy, and flashing a node.
Jul 27, 2026
Guide · Matter · Smart Home
Matter & Thread on ESP32-C6 — one device for every smart home
Build a smart-home device on the ESP32-C6 that Apple Home, Google Home and Alexa all accept — over Matter and Thread. Which ESP has the 802.15.4 radio, what a border router does, and build-once-works-everywhere.
Jul 27, 2026
Guide · MQTT · IoT
MQTT on ESP32 — Home Assistant with PubSubClient & Mosquitto
One sensor, three apps — MQTT’s publish/subscribe beats HTTP polling. Topics, QoS and retain in plain words, a Mosquitto broker in 5 minutes, PubSubClient code, and Home Assistant discovery.
Jul 27, 2026
Guide · AI · ESP32
How to build an AI agent on ESP32 — an LLM and a face that reacts
An ESP32 can’t run an LLM — but it’s the perfect front end for one. The architecture, why the API key must live on a proxy, and the face-as-state-machine pattern in a few lines of C++.
Jul 27, 2026
Guide · Wireless · IoT
Zigbee vs Wi-Fi vs BLE vs LoRa — which wireless for IoT
Range, battery, or a direct line to the cloud — pick two of three. A practical comparison of the four wireless protocols for ESP32 and IoT, and which ESP chip speaks which radio.
Jul 27, 2026
Guide · Firmware · Stacks
C++ vs MicroPython vs ESP-IDF vs ESPHome — what to write ESP32 in
From raw C++ speed to no-code YAML. When to reach for Arduino C++, MicroPython, ESP-IDF or ESPHome — the trade-offs and which fits each kind of project.
Jul 27, 2026
Guide · Displays · ESP32
ESP32 displays — OLED vs TFT vs E-Paper vs Nextion
Which screen for your ESP32? OLED, colour TFT, E-Paper and Nextion HMI compared by bus, colour, refresh, power and effort.
Jul 27, 2026
Guide · Power · DIY
How to power an ESP32 — Li-Po, LiFePO4, PSU or solar
From the wall to lithium: Li-Po/18650, LiFePO4, a switching PSU and solar + supercap compared — voltages, LDO, charging and which source fits your build.
Jul 27, 2026
Guide · FreeRTOS · Dual-core
FreeRTOS on ESP32 — use the second core
Your loop() only uses one of the two cores. Spawn tasks with xTaskCreate, pin heavy work to the second core so Wi-Fi never stutters, and pass data between cores safely with a queue.
Jul 27, 2026
Guide · Interrupts · Timing
Arduino & ESP32 interrupts — stop blocking with delay()
delay() freezes the whole board. Move to non-blocking millis(), catch a button the instant it is pressed with attachInterrupt, and kill contact bounce — wiring diagram + copy-paste code.
Jul 27, 2026
Tool · BoardLab · Wiring
ESP32 wiring diagrams in the browser — a free Fritzing alternative
Pick a board, drag the pins, drop in real sensors, export a PNG. BoardLab draws clean ESP32 / Arduino / STM32 wiring diagrams online — no Fritzing install, no simulator.
Jul 27, 2026
Guide · Memory · Storage
ESP32 memory explained — Flash, SRAM, RTC, EEPROM & NVS
Settings vanish on reboot? Out of RAM? Know which memory holds what — and save config the right way with Preferences (NVS). Copy-paste example + a what-goes-where cheat sheet.
Jul 26, 2026
Guide · Low power · Battery
ESP32 deep sleep — run a sensor for a year on one battery
Wi-Fi drains a LiPo in hours; deep sleep (~10 µA) runs for a year. Sleep modes, the wake-work-sleep pattern with code, the battery math, and the #1 trap that keeps dev boards at milliamps.
Jul 26, 2026
Guide · ESP · Buyer’s guide
Which ESP should you buy? ESP8266 vs ESP32 vs S2 vs C3 vs S3
Lost in the ESP lineup? Cores, Wi-Fi/BT, GPIO, native USB, PSRAM — a clear comparison table and the right pick for every project.
Jul 26, 2026
Guide · Power · Troubleshooting
ESP32 keeps restarting? “Brownout detector was triggered” — fix your power
Random reboots and brownout resets are power, not code. Why Wi-Fi sags a weak 3.3V rail — and the fixes: a better cable, a fat decoupling cap, 5V/VIN, and separating hungry peripherals.
Jul 26, 2026
Guide · Hardware · Levels
3.3V ↔ 5V — how not to fry your ESP32 (3 ways)
A 5V module on a 3.3V ESP32 can kill the pin. Why 3.3V/5V logic doesn’t mix, when you can skip a shifter, and three clean ways — divider, BSS138, shifter ICs.
Jul 26, 2026
Guide · CAN · OBD-II
Read your car’s data with an ESP32 — CAN bus & OBD-II
The ESP32 has a built-in CAN controller (TWAI). Add a $1 SN65HVD230 transceiver, tap the OBD-II port, and stream RPM, coolant temp and more — listen-only and safe.
Jul 26, 2026
Guide · RS-485 · Modbus
RS-485 & Modbus RTU on ESP32/Arduino — sensors 1200 m away
Take your project onto an industrial bus: wire a MAX485, drive the direction pin, and read real sensors over Modbus RTU. Termination, biasing and the classic gotchas. Copy-paste example.
Jul 26, 2026
Guide · I²C · Troubleshooting
I²C not working? Fix a sensor your ESP32/Arduino can’t see
The bus is silent and the scan finds nothing? Work the four usual causes in order — scanner, pull-ups, long wires, address conflicts. Copy-paste scanner sketch. ESP32/ESP8266/Arduino.
Jul 26, 2026
Explainer · Interactive
One byte, six buses — UART vs SPI vs I²C vs CAN vs RS-232 vs 1-Wire
The same byte on six serial buses with interactive oscilloscopes — flip bits and every waveform redraws. Wires, clock, addressing, speed and range, side by side.
Jul 21, 2026
Project · I2C · Sensor test
Compare 4 I2C sensors on one ESP dashboard — BME280 vs BMP280 vs AHT20 vs HDC1080
Four temp/humidity sensors on one I2C bus, each with a live value and trend chart. Watch them agree — or drift: the HDC1080 read ~10% higher humidity than the BME280 beside it. ESP32 & ESP8266.
Jul 21, 2026
Fake sensors · Every widget
Build an ESP32 dashboard for 66 sensors — without owning one
RisalDash fakes 66 real sensors (BME280, DHT22, MPU6050, INA226, PZEM-004T, SCD40, LD2410…) so you build a full dashboard — every widget, live — with no hardware. ESP32 & ESP8266.
Jul 14, 2026
Project · GPS
ESP32 / ESP8266 GPS Tracker with a self-hosted web dashboard
A NEO-6M tracker with a live map, home geofence, GPX export and OTA — served straight from the board. No cloud, no app.
Jul 16, 2026