esp32

3 posts

Designing Antenna-Friendly Enclosures for ESP32-S3: RF Clearance, Wall Thickness, and Material Loss

Placing an ESP32-S3 PCB inside a 3D-printed enclosure can degrade Wi-Fi and BLE signal strength by 3 dB to over 15 dB if you ignore ground plane clearance, dielectric loading, and filament selection. Here is the mechanical guide to preserving RF performance.

August 15, 2026 · 5 min read

#esp32
#enclosure-design
#rf
#3d-printing
#hardware

Close-up of the seven-pin right-angle J5 display header on Board A, several pins showing dull balls of solder that never spread onto the pads

Custom PCB fabrication: three of five boards arrived dead

Three of five assembled boards arrived dead. The defect wasn't ours, and proving that took test points we had added a month earlier.

July 21, 2026 · 6 min read

#bring-up
#esp32
#hc-01
#manufacturing
#pcb
#pcb-assembly

A bare green HC-01 rev D circuit board above the jumper-wire prototype it replaced, which sits on a grey 3D-printed enclosure surrounded by loose wires

From jumper wires to a custom PCB: building the HC-01 humidor controller

An ESP32 rat's nest became a four-revision custom board. The most expensive mistake was a sensor we never actually measured.

July 16, 2026 · 4 min read

#3d-printing
#enclosures
#esp32
#hc-01
#pcb