F32
Hardware
microcontroller dev board
SHOW HN2025
302points
51comments
#179of 3,837 in 2025
Top 5%of 2025 by points
How HN took it
CuriousMostly questions and neutral comments
5 positive, 17 neutral or asking, 2 mixed, 3 critical, out of 27 comments about the project. Thread score +0.13.
Idea: 1 for, 1 againstExecution: 1 for, 1 againstPrivacy: 0 for, 1 againstDesign: 1 for, 0 againstDocs: 1 for, 0 against
The thread, comment by comment
Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.
positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker
What HN said
What people liked
Impressive small size and well-documented build
From 5 comments
This is a very cool experiment, even if the board doesn't end up being that practical (the antenna hack is going to be an ongoing issue I think) your documentation looks great at…
tmpfs on HN> This can be seen in my highly necessary depiction below. I love this. Fun and insightful article. Thank you.
NuclearPM on HNNice work, kudos!
ingen0s on HNThis is great, well done! I don't know where I'd use this, but I'd definitely want to use it.
stavros on HNI was thinking "how much smaller than the cheap 30mm x 25mm boards on AliE can you go?" ... much smaller! Very nice.
Swannie on HN
Objections
Antenna design is a problem
From 2 comments
This is a very cool experiment, even if the board doesn't end up being that practical (the antenna hack is going to be an ongoing issue I think) your documentation looks great at…
tmpfs on HNYou should take the metal of the USB connector into account. This will significantly alter the emission pattern of the antenna. Try to find a radio amateur in your area, we have…
wkat4242 on HN
Few GPIOs exposed, limiting use
From 3 comments
If it is a little bigger to incorporate a bigger chip antenna and some GPIO pins, it is going to be very useful for a lot of IoT projects!!
anyg on HNIf you want an ESP32 dev board with GPIOs exposed there are dozens (or hundreds, maybe thousands) of other options out there. It makes sense not to expose them when you're going…
forsalebypwner on HNIt could be even smaller without that USB C port and have more GPIO pads.
imtringued on HN
Hand soldering 01005 parts is very hard
From 2 comments
Jesus. You had me at “hand-soldered 01005 components”. I’m tempted to try a few of these just to see how disastrous my build efforts are.
allenrb on HN01005? Oh no no no. I can barely do 0402s by hand and those are _2.5x_ larger.
puzzlingcaptcha on HN
Requests
More GPIO pins exposed
From 3 comments
If it is a little bigger to incorporate a bigger chip antenna and some GPIO pins, it is going to be very useful for a lot of IoT projects!!
anyg on HNDefinitely would be more functional with more of the GPIOs exposed.
pegor on HNI don't know, I see enough space for four GPIOs there. Not holes, obviously, but pads should be very workable.
stavros on HN
Bluetooth or 5 GHz WiFi variant
From 2 comments
Really cool. I just ran into a situation where it would be handy to have a small Bluetooth device that plugs into USB-C. However soldering something like this seems a bit beyond…
Rebelgecko on HNCan anyone suggest a small module that supports 5 GHz WiFi?
venusenvy47 on HN
Questions
How to rework the bottom side without parts falling off
From 2 comments
Neat! I just sent out an order to JLCPCB for an ESP32 based board. I don't have a rework station or any experience with SMT so I decided to go for their assembly options. It's 80…
actinium226 on HN"Bottom side must be done using a rework hot air gun, not possible with hotplate." Basically you're hoping the bottom side doesn't get hot enough for everything to move or fall…
brokenmachine on HN
Can it run a reverse proxy
From 1 comment
Is it powerful enough to run a reverse proxy?
GardenLetter27 on HN
Alternatives named
XIAO ESP32 boards
From 2 comments
FYI XIAOs are 21x18mm.
selcuka on HNThe XIAO series of ESP32s is exactly that. They are 4x the size though, almost exactly double in both length and width. https://wiki.seeedstudio.com/XIAO_ESP32C3_Getting_Started/
margalabargala on HN
LilyGo T01-C3
From 1 comment
there is plenty of those already and not all too hard to make yourself, see LilyGo T01-C3 Its of format of original ESP8 so you get serial + 3 IO pins
PunchyHamster on HN
JLCPCB and PCBWay assembly services
From 2 comments
JLCPCB also offers assembly and they're much, much cheaper, like an order of magnitude cheaper.
actinium226 on HNThe company that printed the PCB, PCBWay, also offers PCBAs. They're really not expensive, though you might need to order in batches of multiples of five.
dotancohen on HN