A Life in Tech - The Early Years - I was fortunate enough to enter the world in 1971 alongside Intel's 4004 microprocessor – a moment that ushered in the digital era as we know it. Although a bit of an educational renegade, my curiosity steered me down a path filled with ZX Spectrums, Christmas wish lists, dangerously strewn cables and a legion of half-disassembled childhood toys. In spite of the haphazard approach to my intellectual explorations, I eventually managed to grasp the fundamentals of assembly language and savoured the glory of publishing a small utility, all whilst navigating the complex prepubescent minefield of Dungeons & Dragons. Looking back, I wish I could've broken out of my shell to learn more from my peers and mentors. Still, I cherish these nerdy memories and the doors they opened for me in life...

Minimalist Microcontroller: Building a Bare-Bones Dev Board - In a thrilling DIY endeavour, I attempted to build the most minimalist ESP32 dev board possible. Diving deep into the schematic of the ESP32 S3 WROOM module, I chopped out the non-essentials and whittled our needs down to bare bones. The experiment saw me juggling USB data lines and voltage regulators, waving goodbye to an array of capacitors and connectors and boldly embracing the simplicity of direct connections. Despite a few hitches, the miniature Frankenboard came alive, proving that sometimes less is more...at least in the world of microcontrollers.

The Center of Computing History - Faced with free time in Cambridge, I decided to visit the Center of Computing History. It's a bit quirky and tucked away in an industrial park, but worth finding. Right in the entrance, you'll see the Megaprocessor, a 16-bit processor that's programmed to play Tetris. But the highlight for me was seeing the prototype ZX Spectrum, the computer that sparked my interest in tech. Though they didn't have a working Spectrum, I got a kick out of programming on a ZX81 and playing with a BBC Micro. They've even got a room full of consoles and the first ever Apple 1. Though I recorded some footage, I spent most of my time just soaking in the history of computing.

Hue Light Hack - In a fun-filled deep dive into a Philip's Hue Color light bulb, I disassembled, analyzed, and ultimately restored it to working order. Over the course of the hack, I dismantled the bulb’s interior, from the aluminum PCB to the tiny ICs on the logic board, gave a detailed breakdown of their functions and even reverse engineered the signals controlling the colors. Most of the colors worked out pretty well, except for the dodgy yellow. Also, I tried running the hacked bulb setup with my old Moonlamp project. It was a great challenge and an exciting journey!

Decoding AVI Files for Fun and... - After some quality time with my ESP32 microcontroller, I've developed a version of the TinyTV and learned a lot about video and audio streaming along the way. Using Python and Wi-Fi technology, I was able to set up the streaming server with audio data, video frames, and metadata. I've can also explored the picture quality challenges of uncompressed image data and learned about MJPEG frames. Together with JPEGDEC for depth decoding, I've managed to effectively use ESP32's dual cores to achieve an inspiring 28 frames per second. Discussing audio sync, storage options and the intricacies of container file formats for video storage led me to the AVI format. The process of reading and processing AVI file headers and the listing subtype 'movi' allowed me to make significant headway in my project. All in all, I'm pretty chuffed with my portable battery powered video player. You can check out my code over on Github!

Surprisingly Simple! - “16-bit" Mini Handheld Arcade - In this video, I explore and dissect a 16-bit handheld gaming machine that hosts 160 Sega games. This interesting gadget priced at twenty dollars is surprisingly accurate to the original Sega console. After unboxing and testing the game Golden Axe, I opened it up to check out the internal components like the pcb, chips, battery pack and controls. Although it's not very hackable, as the functionality lies under an epoxy blob, this little machine was a treat to disassemble and reassemble, all while still keeping its functionality intact. With a dash of nostalgia and quality gaming in a handheld package, the machine is certainly an intriguing find.

Streaming Video and Audio over WiFi with the ESP32 - In this video, we dive into a hardware hack combining several components to create my version of the TinyTV, complete with a remote control, and video streaming over Wi-Fi. We challenge the speed of image display, using different libraries and tweaking performance for optimal results. We explore Motion JPEG or MJPEG to decode and draw images quickly, and even reach about 28 frames per second. We also catered audio using 8-bit PCM data at 16kHz, and deal with syncing both video and audio streams. Finally, we add some interactive elements allowing us to change channels and control volumes, with a classic static animation thrown in for good measure. There's a few hiccups along the way, but that's part of the fun, right?

Lots of Stuff - And a NEW PCB! It's a rare mailbag video. - In today's episode, I'm unboxing some goodies from PCB way - my super tiny esp32 breakout boards, which I'm planning to use to recreate a mini TV complete with speakers and a display. Also received some convenient adapter boards for easier testing. Excited to explore a new Arduino Nano esp32 based on a different, tinier module, and contrasting it with other products like the Tiny Pico. Also up for testing is a new mini wear electronic load compared to my old one, and an ATX power adapter for more USB ports. I'll be testing power banks, playing with inexpensive yellow displays and nunchucks for fun gaming projects, and testing out an RGB bead curtain with hackable possibilities. Also, under my ongoing experiments is a Raspberry Pi zero, turning into a 'Doom' playing device with added sound and game controllers. Finally, an air quality measuring device for detecting air particles, CO2 levels, humidity, temperature and other parameters is up for exploration as well. A whole array of fun projects queued up, so stay tuned!

Streaming Video From an SD Card on the ESP32. - In this video, we successfully navigated the convoluted process of setting up movie file playback from an ESP32 with an SD card. There were a few bumps along the way, such as confusing USB data pins and the intricacies of various video container formats, but our quirky PCBWay board came through. Discussed an ingenious method of creating a simple custom video container format with ffmpeg that can be effortlessly parsed by the ESP32. And yes, even though the tiny TV guys use AVI files, we pushed boundaries and learned a thing or two about list chunks, sub formats, and hex dumps. The result? We achieved smooth audio playback and video frame skipping for an optimal balance. Check out the streaming version on WiFi for more fun!

Can You Spot the Problem? - Buckle up folks, this video is a thrilling one! There's everything from unboxing my new ESP32 TV boards that arrived from PCB Way to discovering some hidden issues. We're talking about some pesky problems, surprises, and even a potential catastrophic error that could've led to a disaster. The main dish is the high-speed SD card access over USB - ultimately achieving a whooping transfer rate! But, the journey is a roller-coaster ride, from the project completely failing initially, to some smart hacks and triumphant moments. All the peripherals worked well, from the display to the sound amplifier and even the infrared receiver. Despite the ups and downs, there's a lot to learn and that's what makes this video exciting! Can't wait to share the improvements I have in mind for turning the prototype into the ultimate all-in-one device. But first, let's address the elephant in the room - an ill-placed diode that's a ticking bomb, because you know, safety first!