Doc no. SK-404-RReferenceRev 2026.10Sheet 2 of 3
Parts
Components, tools and software I use, plus what is still on the list. Notes are bench facts, not reviews.
Updated 2026-10-08
In hand
25 parts on the bench
| Ref | Part | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Boards | ||
| P1 | ESP32 DevKit V1 (WROOM-32, 30-pin) | My main dev board. Uploads at 115200 baud. |
| P2 | Seeed XIAO ESP32-C6 | Li-Po charging is built in. |
| P3 | Seeed XIAO ESP32-S3 | The plain board, not the Sense version with the camera. |
| P4 | Seeed XIAO LoRa board (Wio-SX1262 style) | Came with 860–930 MHz and 2.4 GHz antennas. |
| P5 | Arduino UNO R4 WiFi | 5 V logic, so 3.3 V modules need a level shifter. |
| Sensors | ||
| P6 | BME680 gas / VOC sensor | A genuine part reports chip ID 0x61. Mine sits at I2C 0x76. |
| P7 | MQ-7 CO sensor module | Calibrate R0 on the supply it will actually run from, not on USB. |
| Displays | ||
| P8 | 0.96" SSD1306 I2C OLED | I2C address 0x3C. |
| Modules | ||
| P9 | DS3231 RTC module (with AT24C32) | I2C address 0x68. Deal with the trickle-charge resistor before fitting a non-rechargeable CR2032. |
| P10 | microSD card module (HW-125, SPI) | |
| P11 | 5 V single-channel relay module | |
| P12 | OceanLabz 30-pin ESP32 expansion board v2.1 | |
| Power | ||
| P13 | TP4056 USB-C 1 A Li-ion charger (HW-373) | The version with battery protection (OUT+ / OUT− pads). |
| P14 | MT3608 boost converter | Trim the output with a meter before connecting a load. |
| P15 | 12 V 2 A power supply | A dedicated 12 V rail for fans. |
| P16 | CR2032 lithium cells | RTC backup. |
| P17 | Mini 2510 12 V fan | 25 × 25 × 10 mm. |
| Passives | ||
| P18 | 1N4007 diodes | Flyback across relays and fans. |
| P19 | 10 kΩ ½ W resistors | |
| P20 | 220 Ω ¼ W resistors | |
| P21 | 820 µF 25 V electrolytic capacitors | 105 °C rated. |
| P22 | 5 mm LEDs, assorted | |
| Prototyping | ||
| P23 | Solderless breadboard (830-point) | |
| P24 | Jumper wire ribbon, female-to-female | |
| P25 | 32 GB microSDHC card | |
To buy
19 parts on the list
| Ref | Part | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Boards | ||
| P26 | Raspberry Pi Pico (RP2040) | Becomes a 24-channel logic analyzer with the right firmware. |
| P27 | Seeed XIAO RP2040 | A common macropad controller. |
| P28 | ESP32-S3-DevKitC-1 N16R8 | More pins than a XIAO when I2S, SPI and analog inputs all compete. |
| P29 | ESP32-C6-MINI-1 module | Bare module for a custom PCB. BLE 5.3 and a low-power core. |
| Sensors | ||
| P30 | LIS2DW12 accelerometer | Wake-on-motion at about 1 µA. |
| P31 | INA219 current-sense breakout | For measuring what a build really draws. |
| P32 | MAX9814 microphone module | |
| Displays | ||
| P33 | Waveshare ESP32-S3-Touch-LCD-1.69 | 240 × 280 touch LCD with an IMU and battery connector on one board. |
| P34 | 2.4" SPI TFT 240 × 320 (ST7789) | |
| P35 | 1.14" ST7789 IPS LCD 135 × 240 | |
| P36 | 0.91" I2C OLED 128 × 32 (SSD1306) | |
| Modules | ||
| P37 | u-blox MAX-M10S GNSS module | Low-power GPS. |
| P38 | TCA8418 keypad controller breakout | I2C key-matrix scanner with an interrupt pin. |
| P39 | WM8960 audio codec breakout | Stereo codec over I2S and I2C. |
| P40 | PAM8403 amplifier module | |
| P41 | EC11 rotary encoder | |
| Power | ||
| P42 | TPS62840 buck regulator | 60 nA quiescent current. |
| P43 | BQ25185 charger IC | Power path with low quiescent current. |
| P44 | TPS22916 load switch | |
Tools
13 on the bench
| Ref | Tool |
|---|---|
| Soldering | |
| T1 | Costar 65 W GaN dual-port PD charger |
| Bench | |
| T2 | Themisto TH-M98 digital multimeter |
| T3 | Stanley 84-214-22 wire stripper |
| T4 | KAIWEETS cutters and pliers |
| T5 | Aluminium tin boxes (4-pack) |
| Fabrication | |
| T6 | Pin vise hand drill with bit set |
| T7 | Needle file set (5 pcs) |
| T8 | AASONS automatic centre punch |
| Consumables | |
| T9 | TOWOT flux paste |
| T10 | TOWOT solder wick with flux |
| T11 | Isopropyl alcohol 99.9% (200 ml) |
| Tape | |
| T12 | Kapton polyimide tape |
| T13 | 3M Scotch double-sided mounting tape |
12 ordered, not here yet
| Ref | Tool |
|---|---|
| Soldering | |
| T14 | HGLRC RC2 65 W OLED soldering iron kit |
| T15 | TS100-style replacement tips |
| Bench | |
| T16 | Helping-hand magnifier stand with LEDs |
| T17 | Silicone soldering mat |
| T18 | Non-magnetic ESD tweezers |
| T19 | Activated carbon filters for a fume extractor |
| Fabrication | |
| T20 | Hole punching plier |
| Consumables | |
| T21 | 63/37 rosin-core solder wire |
| T22 | Brass-wool tip cleaner |
| T23 | Tip tinner |
| T24 | Perfboards (5 pcs) |
| Tape | |
| T25 | 3M Temflex 150 vinyl electrical tape |
Software
11 in use
| Ref | Software | What it is | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| S1 | Homebrew | Package manager for macOS | In use |
| S2 | Docker | Containers for everything self-hosted | In use |
| S3 | Tailscale | Private network between my machines | In use |
| S4 | UTM | Windows 11 and Ubuntu virtual machines on Apple Silicon | In use |
| S5 | Raycast | Launcher and clipboard history | In use |
| S6 | LocalSend | File transfer across devices on the LAN | In use |
| S7 | OBS Studio | Screen recording | In use |
| S8 | RapidRAW | RAW photo editor | In use |
| S9 | Signal | Messaging | In use |
| S10 | Zen Browser | Firefox-based browser | In use |
| S11 | uBlock Origin | Content blocker | In use |
4 to set up and learn
| Ref | Software | What it is | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| S1 | LTspice | SPICE simulator, native on macOS | To learn |
| S2 | QSPICE | SPICE simulator, Windows only (runs in a VM) | To learn |
| S3 | Wokwi | ESP32 and Arduino simulator in the browser | To learn |
| S4 | Falstad Circuit Simulator | Quick circuit intuition in the browser | To learn |