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• Potentiometer Voltage Reader

  Niam Savaliya • 6 days ago • 0 comments

  Potentiometer Voltage Reader (ESP32)

   Learned how a Potentiometer works, and built a project that reads a Potentiometer with analogRead() and prints live voltage values to the Serial Monitor every 500ms. Moving the Potentiometer from left to right increases its value on a 1-5 volt scale.

  Bugs hit along the way:

  Wrong math: the formula assumed Arduino's classic 10-bit ADC and 5V reference. The ESP32 actually uses a 12-bit ADC (0–4095) with a 3.3V max input, so the conversion needed to change to (3.3 / 4095.0) * readVal.
  

  Wiring mistake: When working with different jumper wires, the potentiometer's wire was landing several rows off from GPIO36 on the breadboard, causing weird readings. Fixed by carefully counting pins from the top of the header, and confirmed the fix by updating the code to that pin.

  Code: https://github.com/Nemo848/esp32-arduino-log-from0/blob/main/06-voltage-reader/voltage_read.ino

• LED Brightness Comparison - AnalogWrite Command

  Niam Savaliya • 09/22/2026 at 02:08 • 0 comments

  Built a two-LED brightness comparison on the ESP32 using analogWrite — GPIO32 set to brightness 5 (dim) and GPIO33 to brightness 243 (bright) — to visually see PWM output in action. Learned from Paul McWhorter, then branched out and created my own mini project(2 LED comparison) writing my own code, and wired correctly.

  Problem: Neither LED lit up at first, and a digitalWrite HIGH test confirmed it was a wiring issue rather than a code issue. The actual cause was a broken ground path: each LED's cathode sat in an isolated breadboard column with no connection back to the ESP32's GND pin. Once the cathodes were moved into the same column as the GND wire, both LEDs lit as expected, clearly showing the brightness difference.

  Code: https://github.com/Nemo848/esp32-arduino-log-from0/tree/main/04-light-brightness-test

  Left LED brightness = 5

  Right LED brightness = 243

• Multi-LED Pattern - Multiple Compontents Connection

  Niam Savaliya • 09/11/2026 at 23:06 • 0 comments

  Next step after single-LED blink: wiring up multiple LEDs and getting them to run patterns together on the ESP32. I learned how to code various different LED's, also learned how to properly connect GND jumper cables.

  Key takeaway: Since delaying would be a problem due to its unique pattern, I had to use different variables for each LEd to make the pattern. Learning how to work with more components and more connections strengthens my understanding of creating more complex projects later. 

  Code: https://github.com/Nemo848/esp32-arduino-log-from0/tree/main/03-multiple-patterns
  
  Credit to Paul McWhorter's Ardunio Tutorials. (Branched off and created my own design/idea)

  
  

• SOS Morse Code Blink — Basic variables lesson

  Niam Savaliya • 08/29/2026 at 21:59 • 0 comments

  Next step after basic blink: an SOS pattern in Morse code (short-short-short, long-long-long, short-short-short) on the ESP32.

  Since Paul McWhorter's course uses the Arduino Uno, pin numbers don't carry over directly, so I had to look up my board's actual pins and pick a valid ESP32 GPIO instead of copying his pin number.

  Bug of the day: moved my jumper to test a different pin but forgot to update pinMode() to match. Code compiled and uploaded fine, but the LED stayed dark. The fix: I put the pin number in one variable (blueLEDpin) at the top of the code, instead of typing the number over and over. Now if I move the wire to a new pin, I only have to update it in one spot. I did the same thing for the blink timing (fastBlink, slowBlink) so the code is easier to read and adjust.

  Code: https://github.com/Nemo848/esp32-arduino-log-from0/tree/main/02-sos-blink
  Credit to Paul McWhorter's Ardunio Tutorials.

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