Posts

Faster SMD Pick-and-Place: Tape Dispensers and Vacuum Tools

October 10, 2026  •  7 min read • PCB Assembly

Faster SMD Pick-and-Place: Tape Dispensers and Vacuum Tools

Accelerating manual SMD PCB assembly using tape-based component dispensers and an electric vacuum suction pen for passives, transistors, and LEDs.
Modernizing My Base ESP32 PCB Design: Native USB-C, ESP32-S3, and Thermal Isolation

October 4, 2026  •  11 min read • Garage133

Modernizing My Base ESP32 PCB Design: Native USB-C, ESP32-S3, and Thermal Isolation

Improving the shared hardware platform behind Garage133 and Plant133 with the ESP32-S3, native USB-C, and improved sensor thermal isolation.
Dual Sonar ESP32 Garage State Estimation

August 9, 2026  •  10 min read • Garage133

Dual Sonar ESP32 Garage State Estimation

An upgraded Garage133 with dual ultrasonic sensors per bay, and multi-observation Hidden Markov Models, reliably detects both car presence and door state.
Reliable ESP32 Garage State Detection: Filtering Sonar Noise with HMMs

March 21, 2026  •  9 min read • Garage133

Reliable ESP32 Garage State Detection: Filtering Sonar Noise with HMMs

Applying Hidden Markov Models (HMM) on an ESP32 to filter sonar noise and achieve reliable garage door state detection in Home Assistant.
Dough133 Control: Precision ESP32 PID and Feedforward Temperature Control

February 14, 2026  •  8 min read • Dough133

Dough133 Control: Precision ESP32 PID and Feedforward Temperature Control

How to achieve sub-degree temperature control on an ESP32 using physical thermal modeling, feedforward prediction, and PID feedback loops.
Building a Modern ESP32 Web Interface with Svelte and AI

November 10, 2025  •  7 min read • Plant133

Building a Modern ESP32 Web Interface with Svelte and AI

Creating a responsive, self-hosted web interface for ESP32 microcontrollers using Svelte, PlatformIO, and AI coding assistance.
Improving Reliability for ESP32 Plant Watering Systems: Lessons from Plant133

November 3, 2025  •  5 min read • Plant133

Improving Reliability for ESP32 Plant Watering Systems: Lessons from Plant133

Diagnosing and fixing common failures in ESP32 plant watering projects: PCB design flaws, pump corrosion, and soil moisture sensor protection.
Improved PCB Stencil Alignment with 3D Printed Fixtures

October 25, 2025  •  4 min read • PCB Assembly

Improved PCB Stencil Alignment with 3D Printed Fixtures

Improving manual solder paste printing using a custom 3D-printed stencil alignment fixture to prevent smearing and speed up assembly.
Garden133 Firmware: Deep Sleep and Auto-Discovery for ESP32 Sensors

August 9, 2025  •  6 min read • Garden133

Garden133 Firmware: Deep Sleep and Auto-Discovery for ESP32 Sensors

Designing modular ESP32 C++ firmware for Garden133, featuring deep sleep power management and automatic Home Assistant discovery via MQTT.
Garden133 Radio: Robust, Low-Power Communication for ESP32 Soil Sensors

July 3, 2025  •  5 min read • Garden133

Garden133 Radio: Robust, Low-Power Communication for ESP32 Soil Sensors

Design of a custom, low-power radio protocol using LoRa and Protocol Buffers for the Garden133 soil moisture monitoring system.