Recommended gear

Tools and parts that work well for the projects on this site. We pick cheap things that are easy to find in big stores.

Boards

Board photo

Cheap Yellow Display ESP32-2432S028

ESP32 with a 2.8 inch touch screen, SD slot and USB for the price of a lunch. Many projects here run on it without soldering.

Board photo

Heltec WiFi LoRa 32 V3

ESP32-S3 with SX1262 LoRa and a small OLED, cheap start in Meshtastic.

Board photo

ESP32-CAM with MB programmer

Camera board with the USB adapter that makes flashing easy.

Board photo

ESP32 DevKitC (WROOM-32)

The basic ESP32 board for breadboards, with USB and all pins on headers.

Board photo

ESP32-S3 DevKitC N16R8

ESP32-S3 with 16 MB flash and 8 MB PSRAM: room for screens, cameras and AI.

Board photo

ESP32-C3 SuperMini

A thumb-sized board with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth for small sensors.

Board photo

ESP32-C6 DevKitC

ESP32 with Wi-Fi 6, Zigbee and Thread for new smart home projects.

Board photo

ATS Mini receiver

A pocket SI4732 radio receiver on ESP32-S3 with open firmware.

Arduino Uno R3

The classic board for learning, with endless guides and shields.

Arduino Mega 2560

Lots of pins for 3D printers, CNC and big LED projects.

Arduino Pro Mini

Very small and frugal, runs long on a battery. Needs a USB-UART adapter.

Pro Micro ATmega32U4

Acts as a USB keyboard or gamepad, a favorite for macro pads.

Board photo

Raspberry Pi Pico

Cheap RP2040 board with PIO for precise signals, flashed by drag and drop.

Board photo

Raspberry Pi Pico 2

The faster Pico on RP2350 with more memory.

Board photo

Blue Pill STM32F103C8

Cheap STM32 board for learning ARM. Flashed over a USB-UART adapter.

Board photo

Black Pill STM32F411CE

Fast STM32 with USB-C, flashed from the browser over USB.

Board photo

nice!nano nRF52840

Bluetooth board for wireless keyboards on ZMK.

Digispark ATtiny85

A USB stick sized board for tiny gadgets and keyboard tricks.

Some store links are partner links: the site gets a small share of the purchase, the price stays the same for you.